Blogging Wine Country

Vacations are part of life. Even a lawyer's life. (Sorry BigLaws)

So I'm on vacation.

Instead of coming home and enduring the "did you go here," I am blogging from my trip to Napa/Sonoma.

First, San Francisco International Airport, exactly how long does it take to bring luggage from the plane to baggage claim? Is this an ongoing legendary problem at SFO? I was starting to think UPS Ground may have worked better.

Anyway, oh, one more thing, when did rental car agencies think everyone who reserves a car, actually wants a different car when they arrive? Renting a car these days feels more like going to Jiffy Lube, where you go in for the $19.95 oil change and walk out with a $59.95 bill.

After one of the best lunches I've ever had (Willi's Seafood), the first and only Sunday appointment was at A. Rafanelli. Got to meet Dave Rafanelli. (That's him below working on his grapes).



His grandparents started the winery. They make Zin, Cab, and a little bit (400 cases) of Merlot that will make you forget you ever saw Sideways. Dave took us all around, showed us everything. His daughter is now the winemaker. The wines are unbelievable, and hard to get.

Then it was on to Yoakim Bridge, a nice tasting room with various wines, and a great couple that makes meatballs with a Zin reduction sauce that is for sale, and now sitting in my hotel room.

Bella is a fun "county fair" themed place with great Zin, including a dessert Zin that goes great with the free brownies they were handing out. The tasting room is a cave. They also sell a waiters corkscrew that has a foil cutter attached (this was the highlight of my day). Winos will understand.

We ended or first day at Copain. This is a place that if you didn't have GPS, you would turn around, sure that you would never get there. You must go. We arrived 10 minutes before closing, and drank stuff that wasn't on the tasting list. The wine is spectacular. Chris, the tasting room manager, is a great guy, and proved that when a couple hours later he remembered that we were having dinner at Dry Creek Kitchen, and showed up unannounced with my credit card I had left in the tasting room.

Off to Verite.

Located in Miami, Florida, Brian Tannebaum practices Bar Admission and Discipline and Criminal Defense. Read his free ebook The Truth About Hiring A Criminal Defense Lawyer. Please visit www.tannebaumweiss.com