If I Go to Sonoma

If only! A few days ago I was given an open invitation from a friend who will be staying in the old Pueblo, on The Plaza in a pueblo with a porch, that is now known as Sonoma which is also within the county and wine region that is known as Sonoma. Her time there also happens to coincide with a time that my sister will be in the Bay area for a vertical tasting of the Ridge wine Monte Bello. Big breath in and long bigger breath out. That is a big sigh in case you didn’t get my drift. I have two kids who are in school and a husband who is in the midst of the 90-day legislative session. It would be a hardship for my family and a luxury that I would have a hard time enjoying for their sake.

But if I could go, this is what I would like to do.  I am a lover of Pinot Noir who is particularly fond of Willamette Valley pinots, but recently I read a short piece about a presentation that the wine writer Matt Kramer gave at the 2011 New York Wine Experience. He touted the qualities of three Sonoma Pinot Noirs while crediting the terrain on which they were grown for their inherent traits. The three wines and vineyards were Littorai’s Hirsh Vineyard 2009, Peay’s Pomarium 2009, and Flowers Camp Meeting Ridge 2010. Kramer described the area the wines are grown in as “Sonoma Coast Extreme” and “without question one of the most thrilling geographical vineyard locations in the world.” Matt Kramer’s column in Wine Spectator magazine is consistently my favorite part of the publication. He always produces a nugget worth pondering and what he had to say about these wines compels me to visit their wineries or at least seek out the wines, if I go to Sonoma.

Otherwise, Kaki, I am in your hands, and Elaine, do you think you can swing a comp for me?

Mel