Today, the plan was to visit our favorite vineyard in Glen Ellen – about 6 miles north of Sonoma. Knowing that it would be a short drive to Roseville, we got up late, packed the toy car and had a leisurely breakfast at the Black Bear Restaurant across the street from our hotel. During breakfast, we looked up the visiting hours for the Benziger Winery and discovered they are closed on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. BUMMER!!!

So, step 2 after planning to change the plan, we Googled wineries near Glen Ellen, CA and found a small winery/vineyard – Mayo Winery- not far from Benziger. When I say small, I mean very small. They apparently make most of their wines from grapes grown in small family owned vineyards nearby and the wines they make from each vineyard are not blended with those of any other vineyard. (Sort of like the appellation concept in France.) They do have their own vineyard of 25 acres, but the wine from their own vineyard is a small percentage of the wines they make.

We spent a couple of hours with the sommelier there who was a local but had a cousin who lived in Astoria, NY near where Peggy went to high school. We also sampled some of their wines and after much deliberation purchased a cabernet sauvignon, a zinfandel and a zinfandel port. A port made from zinfandel grapes was something I never heard of, but it was truly fantastic.

Before leaving, we made a short visit to Jack London State Park in Glen Ellen at the top of Jack London Drive just above the Benziger Winery.  We didn’t have much time so we didn’t stay long, but we wanted to check out the vineyard they maintain at the park. Checking the vines, we saw that the grapes were just beginning to form. At this stage, the grape clusters look like tiny green berries.

Leaving Sonoma on CA 12, the temperature was moderate but the sun was brutal. On top of that, the traffic was unbelievable and it took us 2 hours just to reach I 80. From there, the traffic was smooth until we approached Sacramento, but then getting on to US 99, it was clear sailing to Roseville.