Journeys›Photograph

A Valentine's Day Trip Out to Wine Country

·Mendocino County, California·#winter#travel#food#valentines-day#wine country#wine tasting
Dormant vineyards with yellow flowers in the foreground, against green rolling hills, small wind turbines, and a blue sky.

We spent Valentine's Day out in the countryside back in 2016. It was a clear, bright February day, and the rolling hills were that vivid green you only get in late winter before the summer heat arrives. The vineyards themselves were still dormant, just rows of gnarled, leafless vines against the green and yellow wildflowers covering the ground.

The air was crisp and the sun was out. It felt good to just be outside after a lot of gray days. We took a quick photo to remember the day, with the hills stretching out behind us.

Eventually we headed inside somewhere for lunch and a tasting. They had a flight of white wines set up, with little handwritten tags around the stems to identify each one. We sat at the table for a while, just tasting and talking.

I remember having a beet salad that was surprisingly good. It was just a simple, quiet day spent enjoying some good food and wine, and a bit of sun.

Bare grapevines, yellow flowers, green fields, and two white structures lead to rolling treed hills under a blue sky.Two people stand outdoors with a backdrop of green hills and blue sky.Three white wine glasses with 'Lambert', 'Roth', and 'Blackbird' name tags, with red wine and water.A partially eaten beet salad on a white plate, a bowl of beets, and a glass of wine on a Blackbird coaster.

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