Thank you .. ‘Dirt du Jour’

for the glowing review! "Go ask Alice ... where all the best vineyard gardens are. She's an erudite charmer; you'll have fun!"

Wine Tasting

Sonoma Valley .. St. Francis Winery

St. Francis Winery kinetic sculptures Photo © Alice Joyce

It’s not always an easy task when selecting a winery for touring and tasting. As many of the excellent wines you’ll taste at St. Francis Winery & Vineyards are only available on-site, it’s a particularly enjoyable aspect to experience rigorously crafted wines such as the ‘Wild Oak’ label: I tasted a Syrah and Zinfandel, and was enamored by the Cabernet Sauvignon, its notes of chestnut, licorice, and dry tobacco adding to the wine’s classic blend of concentrated aromatic fruit. You’ll enjoy strolling the gardens. Consider ordering a Charcuterie on the Patio, with a stunning view of the Mayacamas, Sonoma Valley.

Continue reading Summer in Sonoma .. St. Francis Winery

California Wine Country

Gleaming Golden Dome in Stags Leap: Quixote Winery

Quixote Winery Hundertwasser Design Photo © Alice Joyce

Uniquely set apart by buoyant architecture – created by the ecologically-oriented, Viennese artist Hundertwasser (1928-2000), with an interior richly embellished by art works and furnishings collected by owner Carl Doumani, Quixote is a Napa Valley destination that must be experienced; in a breathtaking landscape backed by the distinctive, rugged outcropping of the Stags Leap palisades.

Continue reading A Golden Dome Gleams in Stags Leap: Quixote Winery

California Wine Country

Kendall-Jackson Winery Gardens

K-J Blooms of Bressingham Borders  (Alice Joyce photo)

Kendall-Jackson winery features perennial borders designed by British horticulturist Adrian Bloom: The son of famed plantsman, Alan Bloom, and the author of numerous gardening books featuring Foggy Bottom, Adrian Bloom’s personal garden in Norfolk. There is also a 2 1/2 acre culinary garden, with herbs and produce are used for the winery’s Wine & Food Pairings; and a Viticultural Demonstration Garden. Wine Tasting can be enjoyed year-round at Kendall -Jackson in Sonoma County, located near Santa Rosa in Northern California Wine Country.

Continue reading Blooming Borders Conjure the Scene at Kendall-Jackson Winery