2007-11-23
Ferrari-Carano Winery’s
Winter Wonderland
Walking in a winter wonderland … if that thought appeals to you, what better way to treat your senses than to spend a day at Ferrari-Carano Vineyards and Winery? Festively decorated for the holidays, Ferrari-Carano, nestled in Dry Creek Valley, is known for their world-class wines, as well as their magnificent gardens, and winter is the perfect time to visit.
Villa Fiore (“House of Flowers”) is the winery’s magnificent hospitality center. Upon entering, guests immediately feel the warm Italian ambiance of this elegant tasting room. Visitors may enjoy a sampling of Classic Collection and Villa Fiore wines in the wine shop, or head downstairs to the Enoteca to sample selections from Ferrari-Carano’s new single-vineyard Russian River Valley white wines, collector red wines including PreVail, the winery’s newest red wine brand, and dessert late-harvest wines.
For a more in-depth wine tasting experience, personalized private tasting programs are available by appointment that highlight the many nuances of wine in a fun and informative style. Programs are hosted by an experienced wine educator and include The Enthusiast, which walks guests through an in-depth tasting of five wines of their choice and is tailored to cover any wine-related topics about which participants have always wanted to know; Scentiments provides an opportunity for participants to test their “smell memory” and identifying particular aromas in wines; The King of Reds and Chardonnay Lovers includes four or five wines each paired with local artisan cheeses and/or dried fruit and chocolates and an in-depth look into the winemaking process, growing regions and oak aging; and the PreVail Tasting gives guests a glimpse of the history and creation of Ferrari-Carano’s newest brand served up with a array of appetizers, fruit and cheeses.
Just in time for the holidays, Ferrari-Carano’s Wine Shop offers a selection of Wine Gift Sets for your shopping list, as well as a diverse selection of tableware, linens, wine accessories, logo clothing and unique Wine Country gift items. There are a variety of Wine Gift Sets to choose from, including the King of Reds, Chardonnay Lovers or the Vineyard Select.
In the tasting room, guests will enjoy the dramatic, curved mahogany and black granite tasting bar with its backdrop of large, arched windows overlooks Ferrari-Carano’s estate vineyard, the surrounding mountains and the villa fountain pavilion.
A limestone staircase descends to the Enoteca wine tasting bar and to the stunning, underground double-vaulted wine cellar filled with resting wine. The Enoteca, designed by Rhonda Carano, features a 37-foot, barrel-shaped tasting bar with a black Galaxy granite top, a dramatic, glass enclosed wine bottle cellar running the length of the bar and tasting tables with chairs for guests to relax and indulge in Ferrari-Carano’s reserve wines.
After tasting top-rated wines, guests may head outside to stroll through Ferrari-Carano’s spectacular five acres of gardens designed by gardener extraordinaire Rhonda Carano and Head Gardener Pat Patin. Beautiful at any time of year, a self-guided tour takes visitors down a meandering path and foot bridges along a rippling stream captured at both ends by waterfalls that flow into fish-filled ponds. Bronze sculptures by world-renowned artists and two rare Portuguese cork trees dot the landscape. The over 2000 species of trees and shrubs are marked with identification tags, making this self-guided tour informative as well as breathtaking.
Ferrari-Carano is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Winery tours are offered daily at 10 a.m., by appointment only, and reservations may be made by calling the Hospitality Department, (707) 433-6700. Private tasting programs are by appointment only, and reservations may be made by calling the winery. Visit www.ferrari-carano.com for additional information.
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