And, yes, they do taste previous vintages of Marlstone before blending. According to Erik, they normally go back five years to see how they’ve aged, and then 20 years every few years just to check it all out.

EATS

Cyrus — If you have the budget and can get a reservation, it is SO worth it. I’ve been meaning to do an “experiment” where we go and order a three course dinner and don’t go crazy on wine and see if it would end up being reasonable enough to do on a regular basis. But we always get carried away and go a million courses with nutty wines and caviar and then have to eat beans for three weeks to recoup our bank account ;-). Also, try Healdsburg Bar and Grill, which just changed ownership/management (fuzzy on the details there) to the Cyrus crew. I’m going for lunch on Thursday, so I’ll be able to report first-hand how it’s going. Bovolo, in Plaza Farms, is also worth a stop. Great breakfasts, lunch and gelato. Madrona Manor is another great dinner spot–in a Victorian up on a hillside. Jesse, the chef, is one of Sonoma’s unsung heros (and you can tell him I told you that ;-)). The Cheese Shop–one block north of the square in a strip-mall on Center–has FANTASTIC cheeses and all kinds of other goodies. Great place to put together a picnic. Ravenette (not Ravenous) is a tiny, six-table dinner spot next door to the Raven Theater (not movie theater, but around the corner). Great food, great atmosphere, great brunches too. Tough to get in though, there’s often a wait.

DRINKS
There are about a million tasting rooms around the Healdsburg Plaza nowadays, so you could probably spend a whole day just exploring there. In Dry Creek Valley, I’d recommend Preston (bring a picnic, bring a picnic, bring a picnic), Yoakim Bridge (great zins), Unti and Forth Vineyards (call ahead to see if they have time for a tasting/tour at their winery — tell Jann I’m sending you . . . ). In Alexander Valley, I’d stop by Clos du Bois (of course . . . you’ll get to taste their premium wines that you can’t find in stores. Including the Marlstone!), Alexander Valley Vineyards (historical place) and Hanna Winery. Unfortunately, bad me, I haven’t been along the Russian River route in a long time, so I’m not up on what to recommend.

Let me know how your trip goes!

Rosemary . . . It’s amazing, those guys have all those scents and flavors dialed into their psyche. It’s part of their education, and then just builds through experience. Me, not so much. I’d love to have “props” like vials on-hand–and, in fact, I’ve heard of that being the case at some wine sensory classes. Interesting question whether they have previous Marlstone vintages on hand to reference . . . I’ll check on that.