This may not be the most well-known maxim in the general population, but among folks in the wine making world, it is an accepted fact.  After a long hard day picking grapes, or working on the sorting crew, or pressing tons of grapes into juice, or doing god-only-knows how many punch-downs, there’s nothing that you […]

One of our amazingly generous neighbors, Russian River Brewing , knows this very well.  They are fans of the wines made here in Sonoma County.  Knowing how important great beer is to the production of great wine, they set out to make a beer just for this purpose.  This is a beer you can’t find in a store.  You can’t wait in line for 12 hours to buy it at their tasting room.  You just can’t buy it, period.  You have to be a winemaker.  In fact, you have to be a winemaker they know and respect and like.  Then they’ll drop it off for you during harvest and crush time.

We are lucky (in oh so many ways!) to have Greg La Follette as our winemaker.  As you might suspect, Greg is one of the winemakers on Russian River Brewing’s list.  Greg – generous soul that he is – shared some of this precious beer with us.  Ken and I drank it while lifting our bottles in a grateful salute to the folks at Russian River Brewing.

Here’s to great beer, and great wine.  Two things that go hand-in-hand here in Sonoma County.  We are lucky enough to have the Russian River Brewing tasting room 456 feet from our tasting room, so come enjoy both next time you’re around.