Read more about Bucklin Society tours - VIP tours with a historian guide - available in many area of the United States.

This is a continuation of the prior page, which includes excellent restaurants to visit and special things to do in the area of our Bucklin Society tour to "a place named Bucklin"  in the wine growing  area of California.

Visit Ledson winery, north of Sonoma.  Ledson offers a majestic diversity of vineyard designated red and white varieties. Ledson Wines are sold exclusively at the winery and in restaurants.  The "house offerings" at the tasting room are first class; but they have some outstanding reserve wines, so pay for a reserve tasting.  Every year I buy bottles of their "Old Vine Zinfandel", which is worth the price, although not any better in quality than the less expensive Bucklin "Old Hill Zinfandel".  [Hopefully, that comment will not get me thrown out of the Ledson wine club to which I belong.  Seriously, each wine (Ledson's Old Vine Zinfandel, and Bucklin's Old Hill Zinfandel) are produced by excellent winemakers. Each have different taste and qualities.] Ledson winery, 7335 Highway 12, Santa Rosa, CA,

Ledson is housed in an extraordinary, unique, castle gothic style, strikingly expensive building.  They have an on-site store selling gourmet food that you can eat at in their beautiful picnic area. Take your best girl to a wine tasting, decide on an impromptu picnic, and impress her with your impressive sensitivity to the expensive things of life, your good taste in knowing superior wines, and your sense of impromptu adventure.

Work your way further up the Sonoma valley to De La Montanya Winery, in the heart of the Russian River Valley. Visit their website for directions before you try to find their place if you want to preserve your sanity, but it is worth the trouble to get there.  Winemaker Dennis De La Montanya lives there on the 36 acre estate vineyard. Walk around the tasting room building to find a beautiful garden for a picnic. (It is so romantic that the phrase "affaire d'amour" will suggest itself if no one else happens to be there, but the area also is a quiet and restful place to bring a family and let the children run around in safety in an area you can watch easily.)  Bring your own food.

The main reason to find the De La Montanya Winery (DLM) is to experience some special wines crafted (I'll use that word again) in small production runs. Don't miss the taking room.  Seven generations of the De La Montanya family farmers are now transferring their farming experience into winemaking, to our advantage as wine drinkers.

DLM takes small amounts of grapes and crafts them into limited production batches of wines that reflect the classic characteristics of the grape involved. I use the word "crafted" advisedly, because the DLM wines suggest to me that great care has been used in the grapes selected (maybe the farmer generations background) and serious thought and technical excellence has been used to bring the grape variety taste through the winemaking process and into their blends.  The DLM craftsmanship was recognized in the 2006 annual San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition where more than 3,300 wines were tasted, including the wines of all the well known California winemakers.  DLM came away with 11 gold and silver medals, including a Double Gold Best of Class for '$30 and over' Pinot.  In the DLM tasting room, you should taste medal winners like their: 2004 Fumé Blanc, 2004 Pinot Noir (Tina's Vineyard), 2003 Pinot Noir (Christine's Vineyard), 2004 Zinfandel, and 2004 Felta Creek Pinot. 

DLM has also won honors such as "Best of Show" at the Wine Literary Award is one of the most unique and exciting events in the wine industry. With 1000 wines in the show, It is designed to provide wine journalists with a comprehensive tasting of American wines, give winery personnel an opportunity to show support for wine writers and to recognize one of the world’s best wine authors for his or her contribution to the literature of wine.

The Wine Literary Award is presented in two parts. The daytime Press Wine Tasting is open only to wine journalists. Wine writers from around the world come to this event to experience a professional, comprehensive tasting of 1000 American wines. The buzz with wine writers is that the WLA is the most enjoyable and productive tasting of the year (if you know one, ask them. If you are one, you probably already know). The participants of the Press Tasting are also treated to a “Tour Through the Kitchen” lunch buffet, prepared by the students at the California Culinary Academy.

Special Note: De La Montanya has a PinUp series of wines.  Don't be fooled by the legs on the bottles of the PinUp series into thinking the label is likely to be better than the contents.  The PinUp series are dependably good wines, on which the winemaker at DLM spends serious effort. The 2004 PinUp Rosé, and 2003 PinUp Cabernet were medal winners.

So I repeat: Don't miss the tasting room. The tasting room is open only by appointment only, but phone and it usually is possible to visit the tasting room. De La Montanya Winery, 999 Foreman Lane, Healdsburg, CA 95448, Phone: (707) 433-3711.  If you are a member of their Wine Club you can visit without an appointment Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 11 am to 4:30 pm. without an appointment.)

Arrowood Winery has red wines that receive high point scores (at high per bottle prices), that make their beautiful tasting room building (from the veranda enjoy a sweeping view of the valley below) a worthwhile stop for something other than the scenery.  Our tastebuds like their unfined and unfiltered Le Beau Melange.  Arrowood Winery & Vineyards, 14347 Sonoma Hyw, Glen Ellen, CA 800/938-5170.

Off the beaten path is Paraduxx.  It is the latest of the separate wineries of the large Duckhorn Wine Company which focuses on Bordeaux varietals. In contrast, Paraduxx focuses on Zinfandel, and their wines are blends using combinations of Merlot, and Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon in the basic Zinfandel core. Paraduxx winery is located in the center of the Napa Valley along the less traveled Silverado Trail. Their wine tastings are served in a contemporary tableside service setting.  Tastings are by reservation only, but stop by, and they may be able to fit you in. Paraduxx Winery. 7257 Silverado Trail, Napa Valley, CA 94558, 866-367-9943 or 707-945-0890

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