What better distraction is there than to do something completely different, so this past weekend we decided to forget all about anything house/home/appliance/sick kitten-related and headed up to Wine Country for one of the annual barrel tasting events- this time it was the turn of the Russian River Wine Road. As I mentioned previously, ventures up to Napa and Sonoma are always some of my favourite daytrips. As if the winetasting itself isn’t enjoyable enough, it’s all within spectacular scenery too.

Plus we got to have a fun day out with our old roommate, WineChris (not to be confused with FilmChris), but then a trip to Wine Country isn’t a trip to Wine Country if he doesn’t come along too- he’s a walking wine encyclopaedia

(Note DrMr’s hair in this pic- post about that coming soon, I cut it the next day).

Joyce decided that she wanted to come with us too. Joyce likes to throw parties and entertain, so she was keen to find out what she could look forward to serving her guests in the seasons to come. It was a rather blue-skied day, so she was very careful to protect her fair skin from the sun.

Barrel tasting is when you get to sample the wine straight from the barrel, before it has even been bottled, and if something particularly takes your fancy you can buy ‘futures’ which are exactly as they sound- you can pre-order wines that are yet to be bottled and released. DON’T WORRY, I USED THE SPITOON. And DrMrNin, WineChris and Joyce were all delighted that they didn’t have to draw straws to be the designated driver on this occasion. Pfft, pregnancy.

It’s always very interesting to compare wines by the same winemaker that are the same vintage and the same grape varietal, but were grown in different vineyards. Most winemakers definitely have their signature stamp on the flavours to distinguish themselves from their neighbour wineries, but the terroir (the environment in which the grape was grown) can make an incredible difference and it is this which usually gives a particular wine its special quirks. What’s even more interesting is to also do a ‘vertical’ whereby you compare the exact same wines from the same winemaker, but taste the same wines of consecutive vintages- annual variations in climate can make an incredible difference too. Barrel tastings are an excellent chance to do this as most places invariably have their current reserves on offer for taste sale too- after all, what more of a captive market is there than one with carefree inhibitions?!

We didn’t buy any futures on this occasion, but did stock up on some of our other favourites as they usually have good discounts at these events too (plus extra discounts and free entry to the event if you know people at the wineries, hee hee!). We got a particularly good deal on some of my favourite 2001s that are ready to drink right now, woohoo.

So yes, I’m pregnant and went winetasting, but like I said, I DID NOT SWALLOW (ugh, *groan*). But although I didn’t get to fully appreciate each sip, at the same time my hormone-driven-super-heightened sense of smell and taste certainly made up for it and I had a lot of fun picking out the different flavours, often noticing them WELL before the people I was tasting with. I shall probably actually miss that part of the whole baby-growing process when it’s all over, but one thing I am very much NOT going to miss is not recognising myself when I look in the mirror. Here I am at six months….

I recognise my clothes, face and hair, BUT THAT IS ABOUT IT. Just look at my boobs, they’re ENORMOUS! I also can’t wait to eat blue cheese, and wear skinny jeans, and be able to sleep through the night without having to get up 20 times to pee.

But I digress….. all in all it was a lovely day, thoroughly enjoyed by each of us. And in just a few short months I’ll at last be able to enjoy some of the wines that we bought, hooray! (Yes, I’m planning to pump so that I may partake of the odd glass of adult beverage from time to time, but that’s probably more information than anyone really needs to know…)

Yay for Sonoma trips! I already can’t wait for the next one

© Originally published by Nin for |••• PeachyHollow •••| as A trip to Wine Country