Chris Driving Through the Vineyards
(Contributed by Christopher Harrison) – Look at how happy that guy looks! That picture was taken on my 1 year Dating Anniversary to the woman that 7 months ago became my wife. I planned a romantic getaway in the heart of the California Wine Country and she never had a clue it was coming.
At this point in my life I was much more a lover of beer. I had just started working for Pyramid Breweries and had become a full on Hop-Head. I wanted the biggest, baddest, hoppiest beers possible and I thought that wine was for snobs! Little did I know that this weekend would open my eyes to the world of wine and I have been hooked ever since. The drive up from the East Bay alone was worth the trip and when we pulled into the West Sonoma Inn & Spa in Guerneville her eyes lit up. After check in we headed to the room and we couldn’t believe our eyes! Our room had a private hot tub on a balcony overlooking a vineyard, tucked into a little valley. They had a bottle of sparkling wine on ice waiting for us and we couldn’t wait to do a toast to our first year together.
For dinner that first night we went to a nice little restaurant that the front desk recommended to us and had a wonderful romantic dinner with some great Napa Valley wines (I wish I had paid more attention to details like the name of the restaurant and the wines that we had, but I was young and distracted!). Dinner was fantastic and really gave me an appreciation for the power that wine and good food can have on you.
The next day we spent the whole day wine tasting for the first time for both of us. We went to Harvest Moon where she loved the Late Harvest Zin, Hook & Ladder where I became enamored with their nice spicy, tannic Cab, and DeLoach where we found a common love for their beautiful Pinot Noir. It was an incredible weekend and we both have developed a shared love for wine in the years that have passed. Since then we have joined wine clubs together and gone on trips centered solely on winery destinations. Wine has been a big part of our growth together and will continue to be a major part of the good times ahead.
NOTE: This blog posting was written as part of the Millennial series on “How I Fell in Love With Wine.”