Photoessay #1438 - Barn Wine

I did not post yesterday, just never had a chance. But I'm going to skip a bunch of really great material (which I will use later) to get to one of the highlights of today. We are now in Arcata, having driven here from Marin County. We will leave California tomorrow. Dennis says that we have seen the best of California. Not really, this state is so rich. I did some picking and choosing but I can't say we've seen all of the best.

Today we drove up Hwy 101 specifically to stop at J Rickards Winery. Owned by Dennis' aunt and uncle. We've heard about this place for a long time and know that they've just become a winery, rather than just a vineyard. They own 60 acres in the Alexander Valley north of Geyserville. The first shot shows the view from their small parking lot. Drop dead gorgeous, love the place. Actually you are actually looking over Hwy 101. Uncle Jim bought this land very inexpensively after serving in Vietnam. They told him that the land would not support a vineyard because there was no water. But he found water and has several varieties of wine grape. They've also developing a reputation as a winery with a winemaker, a small facility and a legit tasting room. All of it so attractive.

Second shot shows Dennis talking with Aunt Eliza (who's actually the same age). We actually just saw them at the cabin at Harstene not two weeks ago. She showed us around including the dog Shelby (a cattle dog mix), who shared ball fetching duties with Teddy. Shelby was in her element here and practically conducted the tour herself.

I left a letterbox there behind the counter and will write it up when I get home.

I had never heard of the Alexander Valley and was stunned to see how many wineries there (approx 80). We have been shocked to see how many vineyards there are now in California. Grapes everywhere, not just in the Napa Valley, we saw them up near Chico in the Sacramento Valley, by Jackson, in the Sat Joaquin Valley near Lodi. Everywhere we looked, more grapes. Is there really that much market for wine? I understand that they could e table grapes....

Oh, a Teddy update. Naomi took him for his followup appt and he's doing fine. He has to be kept quiet to allow the blood vessels to grow back in his eye. He had a BIG piece of plant material in his eye. Naomi has been getting up at midnight to give him his medicine.