During my three hour layover in Santa Rosa (STS) airport, Avelo Airlines invited me and other aviation writers to lunch at a local Sonoma County winery. The wine was fine, but I was particularly impressed by the food at J Vineyards in Healdsburg, California.
California Wine Tasting at J Vineyards In Healdsburg
The vineyard and winery is in a beautiful location less than 15 minutes from the airport by car. We were seated on an outdoor terrace for lunch and it was a beautiful day outside and beautiful setting with the vineyard around us.
Lunch began with a wine flight, featuring a white, red, and rosé. I may be a coffee snob, but I’m not a wine snob and cannot really identify the nodes that made this wine tasty…but it was very tasty and served in measured portions so as not to be too much.
Executive Chef Carl Shelton introduced himself and explained lunch, which would be paired with three more glasses of wine. I give Chef Shelton great credit, because each course was magnificent.
The first course was a sucrine (little gem) salad with grilled shrimp, avocado, and spring vegetables. Absolutely refreshing and a meal on its own. It was paired with a Pinot Gris.
The second course was lamb loin, cooked a perfect medium, with carrots, mushrooms, onions and fava leaves. Simply fabulous! It was paired with a Pinot Noir.
Finally, dessert was a phenomenal black apple chocolate bar with macadamia nuts and butterscotch mousse. W-O-W, this was delicious. It was served with a sweet Blanc de Noirs.
I don’t know if it is a cultural faux pax to ask for coffee at a winery, but I requested an espresso after lunch (and after the dessert wine) and was told there was none. I’m of the opinion that wine and coffee do mix and would have enjoyed a strong espresso or cappuccino after lunch.
But coffee aside, this was a lovely lunch and the staff were incredibly gracious and kind. Wine country in California has been hit hard during the pandemic, so it was good to see a terrace full of people.
CONCLUSION
What a lovely lunch. Ah, but that’s not all. There was conversations with Avelo executives at lunch as well. Stay tuned for one final post on what I learned about Avelo at lunch.
If you’re looking for a wine flight experience in Sonoma County, I strongly recommend J Vineyards; it was a wonderful treat.
Comping your flights, wine, and meal all seem like good ways for the airline to get you to write an objective review.
Indeed, which is why I disclose everything – you’ll have to take this review with a grain of salt until I can fly them again incognito. It’s why I usually turn down these sorts of events, but if I do get anything comped, I will readily disclose it.
“ The wine was fine, but I was particularly impressed by the food at J Vineyards in Healdsburg, California.” LOL!! It is a winery and if the wine was just “fine” it doesn’t work much in their favor.
In Italy, you always finish your meal paired with wine with an espresso and a grappa or even better a caffè corretto which is an espessso with grappa mixed on it. Fantastic!!!
The wine was very good, but I’m just not a wine connoisseur and we have no liquor at home, so about all I have to compare it to is my first class stuff on airplanes! 😉
@Santastico Agree, and would add that an espresso is fairly regularly served after a nice bottle of Malbec and a Bife de Chorizo in Argentina.
Nobody would want an espresso in the middle of their wine tasting, but it’s certainly not odd at the end of a meal if no more wine is to be served.
Well I’m glad I’m not crazy!
@Jerry: exactly. The coffee is a nice finish to any great meal. Usually you get it right after dessert to break down the sweetness in your mouth. Very common in Italy and many countries with huge Italian influence such as Argentina and Brazil.
@Matthew: you should definitely try a shot of grappa with an espresso. As for first class wines maybe what you are served on ME airlines and SIN. Most of the Europeans and of course the US airlines the wine served in premium class is not worth it. It is shameful that US airlines serve wines that cost around $10 in any mediocre liquor store. Better stick with San Pellegrino sparkling water.
Wow! The food looks absolutely fantabulous! On wine tasting im kind of like you. I can figure whether I like a wine or not, but cant describe why.
Of course, I also feel that a lot of wine critics make things up to sound smart. The funniest I can remember reading was a wine critic claiming that a robust red had “nuances of toast”.
Wine people can be very snooty about coffee: they believe it kills your taste buds/palate. I have no idea, but given a choice between wine and coffee, I’d take the latter ( not latte)
You are not crazy, especially if it was a high end dining experience.
That food looks really good, and this coming from someone who doesn’t like lamb. (Well, except the time my mother in law made me lamb curry, which I devoured, but I swear she can make shoe leather into a gourmet dish.)
You aren’t crazy, by the way. I’ve done a few of these wine tastings, and it’s not unusual for coffee to be offered at the very end. I’m actually surprised it wasn’t in a coffee haven like Northern California.
LOL Matthew, you’d ask the Queen for seconds!