CALIFORNIA WINE CRUISING

I have been a lover of good wines for years. I have been to France, to Italy, to Australia and South America to taste the foods and drink the excellent wines from each of these places.

There is a name for people like me….. Oenophile. Most people who know oenophiles refer to them as "wine snobs". That, I am not! I just love to travel to vineyards the world over to taste the difference in the grapes and blends of each area.

When I received and invitation to join a wine cruise into the Napa Valley of Northern California, I was stunned! A cruise ship sailing into Napa? That area of California produces excellent wines, but I had never heard of rivers large enough to support a ship or a small yacht. Quite frankly when I think of rivers in California, I remember those cement aqueducts made famous by TV car chases. Little did I know that both the Sonoma Valley and the Napa Valley actually have rivers that are navigable by reasonably large yachts?

There are several departures a year during the harvest that take visitors to the Napa and Petaluma Rivers. Each yacht has a lounge with a library, a dining room, an outdoor cocktail deck and a recreation deck and usually racks of kayaks and bicycles all with enough cabins to actually call it a "cruise". Our cabins were amazingly spacious for a vessel this size, some with small balconies and sliding glass doors all with private baths and showers.

Sparkling wine in hand, we said farewell to the city of San Francisco, sailed around famed Alcatraz and then under the Bay Bridge for a last toast to a spectacular sunset and to the tiny lights of the city in the distance. The meals were home cooked and delicious utilizing all the best natural ingredients from this garden area of Northern California. Tables laden with local seafood, vegetables and fruits were accompanied by the wonderful vintages of the California wineries that we would visit.

A mixture of wine and art, the trip was divided between wine tastings and galleries and art centers in the area. Small buses greeted us at each stop to take us from vineyard to art gallery.

Rene di Rosa, a frustrated artist who made his living with the San Franciso Chronicle, purchased 200 acres in the Napa area to collect art. His passion for art and humor can be found throughout his house and the acreage. We saw collaged cars hanging from trees, purple & red cows in a field, and other works such as the ceramic hands jutting up from a field entitled “Field Hands”.

The next day began with a visit to the private villa of artist, Carlo Marchiori, whose wonderful murals adorn Belagio and the Venetian in Las Vegas. This eclectic Italian invited us into his home and gardens with such a robust sense of humor that it was hard to move on to the next stop.... lunch and wine at Clos Pegase, a vineyard with a wonderful sculpture collection. Art is everywhere....in the vineyard...in the winery...in the garden....in the exhibit rooms.

We walked and sipped wines through many vineyards in the Sonoma and Napa area for several days. Then we boarded our ship for the journey back to San Francisco.

Cruising into one of the most beautiful areas of California was a delight and to enjoy wonderful wine tastings at some of the finest vineyards of California was an added treat. To spend each night with a small group of new friends, great food and great wines aboard a great little cruise ship is something that I would gladly do at harvest time each year.

Pamela Walker is a Virtuoso travel consultant and can be reached at pliwalker@earthlink.net. You can follow her travels by visiting Pam's blog at http://pamwalkers.blogspot.com OR www.walkeradventuresltd.com