My parents were out this past weekend, so we went up to wine country yet again. It's nice having another excuse to head up that way, as it is always fun. We started up at Ridge Vineyards in Dry Creek, it was pretty, but despite its reputation it didn't blow us away. In fact were more impressed by the nearby and much more affordable Trentadue Winery. The have a wonderful range of wines and ports in both the Tuscan and Bordeux styles. Finally we ended the first day at Murphy Goode, where sadly I was burnt out on wine before tasting. We spent the night in Sonoma and the next day enjoyed Imagery and Chateau Potelle. Chateau Potelle is a special place for us as it was the site of where I proposed to Amy, and we served their amazing wines at our wedding. Sadly they are closing. We will miss Tony, who works the tasting room, and all the resident dogs, and will have to find a new special winery that isn't crowded. We'll try, but no other winery could ever take their place in our hearts.

Click the photo of us with Tony and Casper at Chateau Potelle for more pics of the weekend

As Amy alluded to, I did have a bunch more photos from our last visit to wine country. Most of the images were taken at Chateau Potelle. To see the whole collection, click the photo below.

A couple of weekends ago was the annual How Berkeley Can You Be parade, and as always it highlighted the wonderful eccentricities of our town. I think the photos really speak for themselves, so click the photo link below and enjoy the parade!

Amy and I went up to wine country this past weekend to watch as the vines start to change color. Of course this is harvest season, so that means roads and tasting rooms alike are packed. Nonetheless, it is always beautiful up there and a fun weekend outing. Thanks to cooler weather in the valleys many wineries have been able to leave some of their grapes on a bit longer to finish developing, but by now 60-70% of the grapes have been harvested. Interestingly, you don't actually get to see any of that happening because it is all done at night. Not because they're hiding their migrant workers, but because after the grapes are off the vine they don't want them sitting in the hot sun. From what we've heard, the 2007 crop should be good, so look for it in your local wine shop in a couple of years.