Wine and Song Around the Plaza (Part Deux)

Just like the next Harry Potter movie, I know that you all have been sitting on the edge of your seats for this post. So, I finally present you the long overdue sequel to Wine and Song Around the Plaza.

Knowing that Day 2 was going to be a long day, Katie and I started out with a big breakfast at home before making our way to Sonoma. We started at water station sponsored by FIJI water. Since this was a charity event for kids, it made sense to have the music students this program benefitted participating as one of the jazz acts. It made even more sense to have them playing outside the water stop as I am sure I would not be the only one to find the irony had local elementary, middle, and high school students playing at a winery.

On Day 1 we sacrificed doing the tequila tasting in favor of visiting more wineries but on Day 2 we decided to begin our day at the Patron Tequila station. They were serving two different drinks and we both opted for the familiar margarita. Now I can taste the difference between Cuervo and a plastic bottle of Sauza, but I don’t think my tequila tastes are refined enough to fully appreciate a margarita made with Patron tequila. It had a great taste to it, but I wasn’t overly impressed. Although I feel this was more to do with my lack of tequila knowledge than anything else. I must say however that it felt very out of place to have a tequila station at Wine and Song. To my knowledge Patron tequila is not produced in Sonoma County and I was never able to ascertain why they were participating.

Since most of the participating vineyards were different from Day 1 (The one exception being Roche Winery), we had no problem accomplishing our mission of branching out and trying new wines. Perhaps the favorite and one that stood out the most was a sparkling wine from Gloria Ferrar Caves and Vineyards. Located in the Carneros region of Sonoma County, Gloria Ferrer was the first sparkling wine house in Carneros. They were pouring their newest release, Va de Vi, a sparkling wine blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and just a hint of Muscat. Crisp berries and savory pear are among the first notes detected and I found myself enjoying a lingering lemon note at the end. A dry sparkling wine that borders demi-sec, this sparkling would pair well with a spicy dinner or a fresh dessert.

Following another wonderful day of Wine and Song Katie and I headed up to the tent for the Elvis Costello concert. This was an experience all its own. We immediately noticed a more mixed age crowd than the previous night at Earth, Wind, and Fire. The of-age crowd definitely took advantage of the plethora of wine available for purchase and some let their hair down and tried to re-live their glory days. This was made no more clear than when I tried to pull out my handy dandy notebook to write down an observation and was immediately confronted by a not-so-sober gentlemen criticizing me for “analyzing everything.” After coming to the conclusion that the woman next to me was my wife and invading my personal space, this concert-goer (who did not have a wedding ring) began to share with us his wisdom for a happy and successful marriage. While I won’t post all of the details here, mostly because then you would be paying $24.95 a month and need a password to read this blog (The Oregon Wine Blog XXX), his recommendations included a daily routine of sleeping, drinking, and having sex....finishing it all off with a big egg breakfast....it was at this point that he fell over.

When all was said and done, this was a great event that allowed locals and visitors the chance to experience some of the best that Sonoma has to offer in a convenient way. Rather than driving from tasting room to tasting room, they came to us all around the gorgeous backdrop of the Sonoma Square. And even more of a reason, it all benefits music education in local schools, which we all know is incredibly valuable to a child’s education but one of the first things to get cut out of the budget. So we get to drink great wine and listen to great music and schools benefit from music programs, why wouldn’t you go?