Jacuzzi Family Vineyards

​We did not fly directly to Sonoma, avoiding the diminutive airport in Santa Rosa.  Instead, we flew into Sacramento then drove to Sonoma.  While it is not a particularly long drive, we were thirsty so naturally we stopped at a winery along the way:  Jacuzzi Family Vineyards.
It was not an entirely unplanned stop.  Well, ok, it was an entirely planned stop, having a friend that worked at there a few years ago, and it is located to the east side of Sonoma making it a perfect stop on the way from Sacramento.  And, yes, it is the same Jacuzzi family so famous for their spas that they are called Jacuzzis even if made by someone else (re:  Xerox).
As can be seen in the pictures below, it is quite a facility.  They set us up in an open courtyard, even though it was raining, but we managed to survive!  It helped that they had a covering over the courtyard keeping the rain off and, well, it really was pretty nice but doesn’t make for a great story so I’ll stick with claiming we were sitting in the rain….

​I am a great fan of Italian grapes, but not just because I get a kick out of people trying to pronounce Montepulciano or Aglianico.  Jacuzzi specializes in those two grapes, as well as other Italian favorites of mine, such as Sangiovese, Nero d’Avola and Sagrantino.  As tasting was expensive, we opted to buy bottles of wine.  I mean, we had travelled all the way from San Diego, after all.  How long can one go without wine?  We only consumed four bottles:  Prosecco, Nero d’Avola, Aglianico, and Sagrantino.
The Sagrantino was the best of the lot, a very nice rendition though it could have stood a bit more aging.  For those of you not familiar with Sagrantino, it is a grape with a very high tannin concentration, among the highest of any wine grapes – much like Tannat.
Having quenched our thirst, we resumed our trek to our hotel in Sonoma.  We were roughing it, as we always do, so dinner that night was at the Francis Ford Coppola Winery….