We just returned from a wonderful 9 days touring Northern California with Globus Tours, and while it’s always sad to return home from a trip, we had such a memorable time, that we are still smiling about all that we saw, did, and learned! While I shared some info and photos on my Facebook page last week, I wanted to take the next several weeks to explore some of the places we visited a bit more in depth.
So today, we are headed to California’s wine country!
You may already know (or perhaps you don’t) that California is the fourth largest wine-producing region in the world (after Spain, Italy and France) and produces 90% of the USA’s wine. In fact, there are vineyards in 48 of California’s 58 counties, so visitors can easily sample world-class wines on any trip.
Still, while there are 3,500 wineries across the state, it’s the Napa and Sonoma Valleys that are considered the heartland of California wine country. These two regions, north of San Francisco, account for nearly 1000 wineries. And while there is quite a bit of good-natured competition between the wineries of Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley, both areas are filled with grape vineyards as far as the eye can see and are home to some of the best wines in the world.
Best of all, most wineries are open to visitors for tours and tastings.
On our tour, Globus arranged a leisurely few hours at Kunde Family Winery, a delightfully lovely, family-owned winery that’s been producing wine for over a century. Five generations of the Kunde family have farmed their 1,850-acre estate in the Sonoma Valley – a truly remarkable legacy in the modern age of California winemaking. While the vineyards on this land were first planted in 1879 with imported cuttings from Chateaux Margaux and Lafite Rothschild, the family has always maintained a vision of land stewardship and sustainability, which is something that Kunde Family Winery continues to this day.
Our stop here had two parts. First, we were treated to a wine-tasting (of course) of 5 of the winery’s most popular vintages, along with a history and explanation of each. We then had the chance to visit their “wine caves”, a unique half-mile area of tunnels carved into a steep hillside that was created from five-million-year-old volcanic lava flows. This provides the perfect natural wine-aging location – and an incredibly cool (in more ways than one!) experience.
This was such a lovely and peaceful way to spend a few hours as part of our northern California adventure. For anyone who enjoys wine, there are thousands of wineries where you can sip and savor – but if you’re in Sonoma, look up Kunde Family Winery, I guarantee you’ll love your time there! Cheers!
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