It had been awhile since we went to Somoma for wine tasting and I was pleasantly surprised by the prices. Unlike Napa where you can pay from $10-25 bucks the places we went to here were $5-$10. Anytime I go to a place for the first time I usually don't try the reserve tasting which is the higher priced. I want to test their average wines first. If I find that these are pretty good then I'll give the reserve tasting a try next time. For this trip we hit the following places.
Viansa (25200 Arnold Dr): This Italian winery is very large and on beautiful grounds. There is a lovely shop with food tastings of mustard's and jams, kitchen items like pottery and serving pieces, they have two tasting bars so it is a bit easier to get a spot and they had their wood fireplace going outside on the patio cooking pizzas which I was told were great. We did the $5 tasting of the 5 reds. They were OK but then we tried the Sangiovese reserve and that is the one we bought. A bit pricey ($30-50+). Best of all with our Visa Signature card we got free tastings and 10% off of our wine, great surprise. Next time I must try the pizza, sit out on the patio and relax with a glass of wine.
Gloria Ferrer (23555 Carneros Hwy. 121): What I liked about this place was the atmosphere. We ordered our glass of champagne and headed outside to sit on the patio and enjoy the view. I printed a coupon on line which gave us a free glass of Va Da Vi when we purchased another glass. I would rather purchase a glass and enjoy a relaxing conversation on the patio than do a tasting inside at the bar. When they delivered our champagne we also got a small tasting of spicy almonds. The Va Da Vi was better than the Royal Cuvee. Both were sweet champagnes where as I like a dry champagne, like a Brut. The Carneros Cuvee was the best for me (the most expensive taste at $10) but worth it especially when we got the Va Da Vi free.
Anaba (21692 8th Street East, suite 200): We did a red wine tasting here, for $5 and they were all pretty good. We purchased the Somoma Valley Red Wine, a table wine for $28. The tasting room is fairly small, an old house converted into a tasting room, a small bar and a couple of tables. What we didn't realize was that there were also a few tables outside, this is where I suggest you sit. They had a pretty outdoor garden off of the patio. The server in the tasting room was very friendly. Per the website it says that reservations are required. We didn't have them and it was OK. If you have a large party then I suggest you give them a heads up.
Finally we ended our day in Somoma Town Square. We parked against the park and walked the parameter looking for a place for lunch. During our walk we stopped at a few shops, did one final free wine tasting at Highway 12, a couple of free cheese tastings one at the Somoma Cheese Factory and finally lunch at the Swiss Hotel. We were in between lunch and dinner so we only had the bar menu but it was very good. We tried the fried calamari, the burger and one of the pizza's. All was tasty and I would go back.
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