A recent trip to Pinot’s promised land renewed my love for this bucolic wine country. Much of the region still retains the unhurried and blissful charm that it had in 1983 when it was declared an American Viticultural Area. While the Napa Valley exudes haute couture, the Russian River Valley is truly farm country where an old pair of worn sneakers fits in just fine.

The most distinguishing feature of the Russian River Valley is the “maritime incursions", Fog flows into the valley with regularity in the early evenings due to the confluence of cool Pacific Ocean air and the marine influence of San Pablo Bay. As a result, evening temperatures drop 35 to 40 degrees from the daytime high. The fog retreats in the early morning. The result of God’s air conditioning is that grapes can mature over an extended growing season. Sure enough, the first morning in the Russian River Valley, I awoke to fog hanging over the Olivet Grange Vineyard and took this photograph.

There are several high-end places to stay in the Russian River Valley including the Farmhouse Inn and Restaurant in Forestville, the Applewood Inn and Restaurant in Guerneville, and the Hotel Healdsburg, Duchamp Hotel, and Les Mars Hotel on or near the square in Healdsburg. In addition, there are numerous B&Bs, both close to Healdsburg and scattered throughout the valley. To really get a feeling for the countryside, we choice the Olivet Grange Farmhouse located at the intersection of Olivet Road and Piner Road in the heart of the valley’s many vineyards. This early 1900s craftsman-style farmhouse has been lovingly restored by Kathleen and Simon Inman and is akin to visiting your grandmother’s house. Homey and well-stocked with all the essentials, the house is surrounded on three sides by well-manicured vineyards of Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris. The farmhouse reminded me of the small home I grew up in which had three bedrooms, but only one bathroom. If you travel with three couples like we did, there will be a lot of good-natured competition for that one precious bathroom. Details for renting this farmhouse are at olivetgrange.com, 707-235-2071.

Kathleen and Simon Inman came out to the estate on a glorious Saturday morning to walk the vineyards with us. The interesting history of the vineyard and Inman Family Wines has been reported in a recent issue of the PinotFile (Issue 39). The 2003 Inman Family Olivet Grange Pinot Noir ($45) is the inaugural release from this new vineyard and is a fine example of Russian River Pinot Noir. Pinot Noir’s relative, Pinot Gris, also likes the cool Russian River Valley. The 2004 InmanFamilyRussianRiverValley Pinot Gris ($24) is a blend of grapes from the Olivet Grange Vineyard and Saralee’s Vineyard. It is a crisp wine with good acidity that makes it ideal as an aperitif or an accompaniment to Sonoma’s famous Hog Island oysters. It is bottled with a screwcap as Kathleen is quite a fan of this closure. In fact, she plans to bottle 600 cases of her next vintage of Pinot Noir with a Stelvin screwcap closure. Last year, the couple harvested their Olivet Grange Vineyard Pinot Noir on September 1st which was their 20th wedding anniversary. To celebrate and mark the occasion a rosé was produced, the 2004 Inman Family Endless Crush Olivet Grange Rosé of Pinot Noir ($20). The rosé was made intentionally rather than drawing off freerun juice. Only 50 cases were vinified and it is being offered to mailing list customers first. It is a dry, crisp thirst-quencher perfect for summer barbecues or to celebrate a summer anniversary. The winery’s website is at infmanfamilywines.com, or phone 707-393-0689.

To continue reading this article, click on the link below