Love the wine you are with! I visited the Carneros wine region with my girlfriends in February 2020. Many wineries in California recently reopened with outdoor tastings and social distancing requirements. It is finally time to share my wine tasting adventures through Carneros with you! We started at Truchard, continued at Hyde and then finished at Domaine Carneros.
WINE TASTING IN CARNEROS
Carneros is conveniently located 60 minutes from San Francisco. It lies on the crossroads of two major wine regions, Napa and Sonoma. Carneros became an official American Viticultural Areas in 1983. The terroir and grapes derive their unique characteristics from the region’s climate and geographic location, which includes the Pacific Ocean, the Coast Mountain Ranges and the San Francisco Bay. Carneros is known for producing quality Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
WINE TASTING AT TRUCHARD VINEYARDS
We started our wine tasting adventures at Truchard Vineyards. Proprietors, Tony and Jo Ann Truchard, run this small, family-owned winery. The couple began growing grapes over 45 years ago. The Truchards established a winery and started producing wines using only their estate-grown fruit in 1989.
Suzanne Truchard kicked off our tour in the vineyard. She shared the history of the Truchard family and the vineyard with us. We started our tasting with the 2017 “Old Block” Pinot Noir. This wine is made from grapes, which are grown on some of the oldest vines in Carneros. The wine was delicious and I brought back a bottle with me.
After the vineyard tour, Suzzane moved us into the cave room. We enjoyed a cheese plate and tasted the Roussanne, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.
- Roussanne (2017) is a crisp wine with flavors of fresh pear, honeydew melon and apricot. I snagged myself a bottle of this wine too!
- Cabernet Franc (2017) is a medium bodied red wine with notes of plum, berry, and spice
- Cabernet Sauvignon (2017) is a heavy red wine with flavors of ripe cherries, red currants and berry jam
Tastings cost $40/person and require reservations. Thanks Suzanne for the wonderful wine tasting experience.
LUNCH AT BASALT
After our first tasting, we stopped by Basalt for a scrumptious lunch. The restaurant serves local seasonal cuisine and draws influences from around California.
I ordered the Eggs Benedict. The poached eggs were decadent and delicious with the creamy hollandaise sauce.
WINE TASTING AT HYDE ESTATE WINERY
After our leisurely lunch, we visited Hyde Estate Winery. Larry Hyde founded this family owned vineyard in 1979. We collaborated with Hyde on our 2018 Friendsgiving. I was excited to visit the vineyard, which consists of 192 acres!
Rakhi Chandra led our wine tasting in a private tasting room.
We enjoyed the Estate Tasting, which featured four estate-grown wines.
- Chardonnay (2016) is a white wine with rich pear and honeydew melon flavors. I snagged a bottle of the 2012 Chardonnay, which we enjoyed at our Friendsgiving
- Pinot Noir (2014) is a flavorful red wine with layers of dark fruit and spice
- Pinot Noir (2012) is even better than its 2014 version. This vintage has generous flavors of wild berries and finishes with anise, vanilla and dried sage. I brought one of these back with me
- Viognier (2016) is an intense white wine with exotic apricot, nectarine and honeysuckle flavors
Tastings cost $50/person and require reservations. The 50 minute tasting can be enjoyed in a private room, at the casual tasting bar or on the quaint vineyard terrace. Thanks Rakhi for the wonderful tasting experience.
WINE TASTING AT DOMAINE CARNEROS
We concluded our wine tasting adventures at Domaine Carneros. I visited this winery in 2010 and was excited to return. Domaine Carneros was founded by the family behind Champagne Taittinger. In 1987, Claude Taittinger selected a 138-acre parcel in the heart of Carneros. Domaine Carneros produces wines in the traditional champagne method. The winery is housed in an incredible French inspired château.
We selected the Sparkling Wine Sampler, which included
- Ultra Brut (2014) is a refreshing wine with notes of lemon zest, passion fruit and wild flower
- Estate Brut Cuvée (2014) is a rich and complex wine with flavors of juicy pear, honey dew melon and lemon zest
- Brut Rosé (2016) is a balanced sparkling wine with flavors of peaches, mandarin, and pink grapefruit
- Vermeil Demi-Sec (2016) has luscious flavors that evoke lychee, ripe pear, marzipan and apple cobbler
Domaine Carneros offers seated table service in their salon or on the terrace. The wines can be enjoyed by the glass or served in flights. You can add a paired caviar and artisan cheese plate to your tasting. The wine tasting experiences range in price from $40 to $50/person. Reservations are required.
If you are visiting San Francisco, then I highly recommend a wine tasting day trip to Carneros. Special thanks to Michelle and Elaine for making the time to explore Carneros wine country with me.
xoxo Kanchana
Age appears to be best in four things; old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read.
Francis Bacon
Wow! I’ve always dreamed of visiting the wineries in California – this looks amazing! Thanks for sharing.
OMG this is a great town! I’m wine person and it’s truly interesting to taste wine right from the source. I can imagine how great the food here is too.
Oh how lovely, this looks delicious and like it was so much fun. Thanks for sharing this!
I love how everything still seems so normal on your end of the world while here we have lockdowns left and right.
Author
Kathy – this trip took place in Feb 2020. Wine tasting is now only outdoors and with social distancing requirements.
I love love love wine tasting and especially the food, looks amazing!!! I would love to go to carneros, that would be awesome…
That’s a beautiful place to visit and experience with your friends. So many new memories you’ve made!
Ahhh I love napa its the best!!! last time i went I wasnt drinking age it was so sad. Can’t wait to go back one day
This looks like such a fun time! Looks gorgeous there!
It seems like you really had a great time doing wine tasting in such a nice place! Thanks for sharing your experience with us!
I bet you’re glad you got this trip in before the world shut down!!! It looks like it was an amazing day. I would love to do that sometime soon.
This looks like an incredible adventure! I can’t wait til we can travel that way again!
it seems like you really had great time there…well it truly sounds an amazing trip and looks so amazing and lovely..glad you shared this with us
Looks like a fun wine tasting adventure and beautiful scenery
Looks like a lovely day spent wine tasting! I was just over there in January btw and loved it…still dreaming of it too.
What a beautiful wine tasting trip. I was just telling my friends today we need to find a winery in Georgia to visit soon.