This past weekend, Kara invited the girls and I out for a afternoon wine getaway. When we first spoke about the trip she had mentioned a hosted picnic in a vineyard and I was all in! When the day finally arrived we were disappointed to find that the weather wasn’t ideal (gloomy with a chance of rain). But since it’s so hard to schedule a day where every one of us are available, we decided to go despite the conditions.
The girls and I drove up to Forestville, a small town just a little over one hour north of the Golden Gate Bridge. There, we met Adrian Jewell Manspeaker, co-founder and winemaker of Joseph Jewell Wines. Adrian led us to a small vineyard in the Russian River Valley called Floodgate Vineyard. Prepared for us at the top of the hill was a gourmet picnic (equipped with a canopy!) ready for us to devour while overlooking the vineyard.
But, of course, no meal is served without a little obstacle to endure. Much to my surprise, Adrian had us park our cars at the fork of the road and we had to trek our way up the hill! The vineyard (which is also known to get flooded from time to time, hence the name) was embedded in mud from the rain. Silly me, who wasn’t prepared for such a task, wore a floor length jumpsuit and wedges! After playing “slip and slide” through the muddy road, I made it to the top of the hill with three inches of mud stuck to my shoe. (See the hilarious photos below!)
But all of that was the least of my concerns when we finally got to sit down, pop a few bottles of wine, and catch up over some amazing picnic food prepared by Odd Couple Catering. Adrian was an amazing and informative host. He told us about the wine company’s humble beginnings. Him and his co-founder, with no winery affiliation, first started making wine as a hobby out of their garage. Now they’re making 2500 cases sourced from six different vineyards. How amazing is that?!
After a rough week, this girls’ getaway was much needed. The picnic was quaint and intimate. The wine was delicious (the Rose was my fav!). And the views was perfectly serene. Kara booked this activity through IfOnly, an online marketplace that sells incredible experiences such as in-home cooking lessons and seaplane tours over GG bridge. I strongly suggest grabbing a group of friends and picking out a memorable activity to experience (one that caught my eye was a Napa Valley hot-air balloon ride). Book it HERE and use the code WHIMSYSOUL for $50 off your first experience! To book an experience just like ours, GO HERE.
After the picnic, we headed to their wine tasting room where we lounged out and tried flights of their Pinot Noir. Regardless of the rain, the trip was well worth it. As long as you’re optimistic and have an awesome group of girls who are open to shenanigans, anything can be enjoyable.
“Without girlfriends and wine,
life as we know it would totally suck balls.”
– says some random meme I found on Pinterest
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