Day 34 – Sun, July 6, 2008 - Anderson Valley Wineries Trip - 171.4 km/107.1 mi – Total 10418.1 km/6511.3 mi

Planned a trip to wineries along Hwy 128, southeast of Mendocino.

Since Sunday is Paul's day to roast coffee at their Mendocino Bakery, we stopped by and he showed us how a dark roast is done.

Paul suggested that we stop off at Indian Creek Park to see some redwoods on the way to wine country in Anderson Valley. Took the short wal along a path to see some of the large old-growth redwoods. This was a preview of what we expect to see up north later in the week.

Visited 3 small wineries on our ride:

1. 1. Handley Cellars was our first stop and we tasted a few wines and bought 2007 Gewurztraminer, Anderson Valley New Release and 2005 Syrah, Redwood Valley, Kazmet Vineyard

1. 2. Husch Vineyards where we tasted a few wines and relaxed outside at a picnic table in the shade. This is the oldest winery in the Anderson Valley.

3. Maple Creek Winery was our last stop. Shortly after we arrived the winemaker. owner and artist, Tom Rodrigues, arrived at the tasting room and poured our wines and described them for us. His wines are called Artevino after his passions of art and wine. Among his paintings are a series called Legends at The Stick and some of his paintings are exhibited at Baseball's Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. We decided to purchase a few wines and received the 4th one free: 2007 Estate Symphony made from a hybrid of Muscat and Grenache Gris grapes (Purchased 2 bottles);
2003 Artevino Montage, a Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot Blend; 2005 Artevino Cowboy Red, a blend of Merlot, Zinfandel and Carignane.

Photos: Master Roaster; Wine Tasting at Handley Cellars; Tree Hugger; Not Clover or Shamrocks but Oxalis.