DESTINATION: WINE COUNTRY

During the holiday season, one pleasure that might come to mind is sniffing a glass of finely crafted wine.   Even if you’re not a wine expert, a great way to indulge in an educational and taste bud-altering experience is to take a six-hour plane ride from the shores of Hawai‘i to the wine country of California.  Sonoma Valley is home to some of the best wine making in the world. You can spend a day, a week, or get lost there for the rest of your life, exploring the hidden secrets of the wine making, tasting, and judging culture.  One thing that is catching on, or maybe has always been around, is the “greening” of wineries. A couple of places we recommend, where you can see the greening process in action (although many great vineyards exist), are Benziger Family Winery and St. Francis Winery.

Benziger Family Winery (benziger.com): 

With the trademarked concept “Farming for Flavors,“ the Benziger Family Winery is by far the most unique winery in the valley.  The bowl-shaped landscape creates unique microclimates for growing several varieties of grapes. Utilizing biodynamic practices, the vineyards are scattered with other vegetation and edibles to encourage the flourishing of beneficial insects and overall ecosystem diversity. "There's an incredible moment when people get the idea of how grapes and wine are connected to a local area," says Mike Benziger, winery founder.  “It’s both the family tradition and the Farming for Flavors concept that make the wine from the Benziger property some of the best tasting in the world. When you visit, make sure you ask to see the cellars, which are about twenty-seven thousand square feet of real caves.

St. Francis Winery (stfranciswine.com):

With the working philosophy of “maximum extraction, minimal intervention,” St. Francis Winery is another great place to visit during your Sonoma Valley tour.  With a mission-style building housing the tasting rooms and a statue of St. Francis of Assisi at the entryway, the winery is welcoming and picturesque.  “We continue to enjoy tremendous success by focusing on Sonoma County, where we grow 100 percent of our grapes.  With success comes responsibility to future generations who will live and work here as well. Engaging in green practices is the right thing to do, which makes it the right way to run a business,” notes Christopher Silva, President and CEO. The “greening” of St. Francis Winery is also helping to create amazing-tasting wine.  With a staff that is eager to share the details of the wine-tasting process, you too can experience the subtle flavors of a complex wine.  Make sure you pick up a bottle of the port, as it’s not available in stores.

Hawaii Vineyards

Although Hawai‘i is not know as a wine mecca (and rightly so), there are a couple of opportunities for wine tasting on the islands.  You can visit Tedeschi Vineyards (mauiwine.com) on Maui and Volcano Winery (volcanowinery.com) on the Big Island.