Sonoma drive-by.

A few years ago we made a memorable visit to Napa. This time it was the turn of the much larger and more diverse region of Sonoma. A dull, cold and rainy day was not very conducive to getting out of the car so we carried out what we call a drive-by, clocking some famous names sich as Mumm and Cline, leaving visits to cellar doors and tastings for another journey.

yes, there is a Napa Street in Sonoma. City Hall is in the background.

the historic Sebastiani Theatre is also in the City Plaza

Instead we stopped at the town of Sonoma itself which was quite impressive even in these circumstances. There is a cute City Hall, the old Sebastiani Theatre and a plethora of estate tasting rooms which are no doubt heaving on weekends. Indeed we saw somewhere that winetasting is second in popularity to whatever activity is first (Basketball?) in the state of California.

Pangloss Cellars tasting room in City Plaza is one of the most prominent

Sbragia is also on the Plaza

No doubt the wines on tasting here were admirable examples of what Sonoma has to offer. For the purposes of this blog however the characteristic grape varieties of CabS S and F, Syrah, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Petite Sirah, Carignane, Grenache and Co. are not what we are about.

One doorway aptly named 'Passaggio' however drew us into a more diverse world which included wines from Chenin, Grenache Blanc, Roussanne and even Teroldego.

The charming people running 'Passaggio' consist of Cindy Cosco (winemaker) and Frank Romaguera (Tasting room Manager and Wine Club Ambassador) among others.

Cindy is a 'Garageiste' buying in grapes and making all her various wines from her facility without a vineyard. In the case of the Teroldego, she buys from a lady who farms only a very small quantity of this grape.

The wines were all beautifully made, exhibiting varietal flavours. From the whites we thought the Grenache Blanc was particularly fine, having a restrained touch of wood in its background.

sign outside Irish pub in Sonoma