Mmmm, Merlot

When I moved to California in 1997, I was strictly a naive, young, white zinfandel girl from the Midwest. I moved to Sonoma County in 1998, and my world changed! Russian River, Alexander Valley, Sonoma County - it's all so wonderful. Gosh, I miss the wine tours, especially the tourist-trap ones that included food pairings at most of the wineries. Not a fan of Napa, though - much more expensive and a bit pretentious. Stick with the town of Sonoma, Santa Rosa, anywhere in the Russian River area, and northward, if you want to experience it first-hand.