The day was spent entirely in the Sonoma Valley. Our friend at Wilson (Linda) has a son (Matt) who's the crushpad manager at Chateau St Jean, so we looked him up as soon as we arrived there, and he gave us a private 'back-lot tour'. When he finished showing us around the production facility, he took us back to the tasting room and asked the manager there to comp all of our tastings. We went through the regular tasting room first, then the reserve. High on the list for me was the Pinot Blanc, which was one of my first ventures into 'real' wine some 10 years ago. Also very good was the Robert Young Vineyard chard. In the reserve room, we had an opportunity to try the not-yet-released 01 Cinq Cepages, which was WAY better than its 00 counterpart. We also liked the 99 Reserve Merlot, but the $90 pricetag was a bit much. We coaxed our host there into opening a Durell syrah, and we were glad we did, as it turned out to be excellent. We left CSJ with 3 bottles.

Next stop was Arrowood, which on Thursday (today) was a total contrast to Saturday. It was virtually empty there. On Saturday, we couldn't get in the door (literally). Only one or two tasters strolled in during the hour or so we spent there. Highlights were the 02 Sonoma County chard, which (to our palates) was significantly better than their reserve offerings. The 03 Viognier was excellent, as were the 00 and 01 Saralee Vineyard syrahs. We left there with three bottles as well.

Our final stop was to the construction site that doubles as Deerfield Ranch Vineyards. We took up Michael Browne on his offer to stop by, and, once we found him amongst all the construction equipment, he gave us the cook's tour of the unfinished caves (which currently contain a number of Kosta Browne in barrels) and explained to us how the new winery will function, with its gravity flow system. As the caves, tasting area, and winery are pretty much all under construction, Michael's 'winery' is 100% outdoors! Michael had us poking our noses into several newly picked Kosta Browne grape lots which were still undergoing cold soak prior to fermentation. Here's a hint - one of the lots ISN'T pinot!!! Once again, Michael took the time and effort to show us all there is to his other operation on the other side of the county. We owe him a debt of gratitude for all the time he took with us. Saying goodbye to Michael and his 3 million yellowjacket companions, we headed home.

Thanks again, Michael.

Dinner was in Windsor at Restaurant Mirepoix, which was recommended to us by Pete Marsh. Good recommendation!!! The service and food were first rate, and they waive corkage if you bring a Sonoma wine that's not on their list (we did). The wait staff even changed our stemware to Riedel burgundies for the pinot we brought with us. The presentation as well as the quality of our selections was impressive. We left there completely satisfied! Thanks for the reco, Pete. We'll be going back there on our next trip.