California Wine Country

Brooke and I are foodies. We love it all – finding a good recipe, picking out produce, cooking, food photographs, the smells and the tastes. This past July, we spent a few days in California with family for a little foodie vacation. We have some great food in the Midwest, but the food in California can just be unreal. Even dive restaurants are amazing.

During out little trip, I simply brought one camera and a box of film. Over a few days, we toured Sonoma and Napa valleys from our base in Santa Rosa. Included below are a few photos from our exciting vacation, with notes where it makes sense.

Personal photos from our vacation to California wine country

We flew into San Francisco and had a brief layover for lunch. We practically picked a place at random and it was excellent. Note – they had clam pie on the menu 😉

Personal photos from our vacation to California wine country

Personal photos from our vacation to California wine country

Above – a little stop in Muir Woods on the way north. Below, Brooke is planning our daily stops the old school way – a map on the hood of a car.

Personal photos from our vacation to California wine country

Personal photos from our vacation to California wine country

I must admit, I really wanted to buy the chicken during some shopping. Alas, it would not fit in our backyard. Below is our favorite winery – Littorai. It is not open to the public, but gave us a personal tour of their bio-dynamically farmed vineyard. I also wanted a duck.

Personal photos from our vacation to California wine country

Personal photos from our vacation to California wine country

Stag’s leap was one of the best “public” tasting we went to. Also, Stag’s Leap Artemis Cab is a favorite of ours.

Personal photos from our vacation to California wine country

If you recognize the building above-left, then two points. If you can name the chef, then 5 marks. If you were lucky enough to eat there, then 10 points. Best.restaurant.experience.EVAR!

Personal photos from our vacation to California wine country

We spent a good 30 minutes waiting to get into Bouchon Bakery one morning. It was totally worth it. We then walked across the street to a Yountville park to eat our bounty.

Personal photos from our vacation to California wine country

Above left – scenes from Yountville. At right is Elyse Winery. We discovered them at the French Laundry. They make the only Zinfandel wine I love. Their Howell Mountain Zin is a peppery heaven.

For those interested in the technical details, the above was all photographed on my Mamiya 645 AFD-II with mostly Fuji Pro 400h film. No digital at all.

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