Gray Line Wine Country Tour - Aged to Perfection

Visiting San Francisco and not doing a wine tour is almost sacrilege in my opinion. I was disappointed that we didn't get do one on our last visit. However, we just flat out didn't have the time. This trip I made damn sure we visited some wineries.

Lucky for us, included on the Go San Francisco Card is the SF Sightseeing/Gray Line Wine Country Tour. Regular price for this tour is $68, but we got it for free on the Go Card! I told you that card was a great deal!

The Gray Line office is located out at Fisherman's Wharf at Pier 43 1/2. The tour departs from the pier at around 9:15 a.m. daily, but people come earlier. I suggest you may make a morning of it by eating some clam chowder at Boudin Bakery or one of the other street vendors nearby. Most of the stores will be closed though so no souvenir shopping on this day.

We took the tour on a Wednesday and it was pretty empty. I don't know if it was the day of the week or the recession that was affecting attendance. Either way, it was good for us as it seemed more personal with only 20 or so people.

Our driver was Roberto from Portugal. He was actually filling in for someone that day. He normally does the European tours and can speak several languages. Roberto was the best driver ever! He was personable and charismatic. He was also very knowledgeable about wine and the SF area in general.

We weren't due to our first winery until 11:00 a.m. so he told us he'd take us on an informal tour of the city. I don't think this was really part of the tour, but he did it anyway. We saw Fisherman's Wharf, Marina, Cow Hollow, Crissy Field, the Presidio, Marin County and Sausalito. He also pointed out landmarks and mountains along the way to Napa. We all had such an enjoyable time and the wine tastings hadn't even started yet.

The first winery we arrived at was Madonna Estate in Napa. It was a small, independent winery and our hostess was very knowledgeable about the wine-making process. For someone like me who is completely ignorant, it was really interesting to see the vines up close and learn about the general process of wine making. We were taken inside where we saw barrels upon barrels of wine. It was amazing. After the tour, we were able to taste about 5-6 different types of wines.







Next we headed for Sonoma and had lunch at Sonoma Square. We grabbed a quick bite to eat at Murphy's Irish Pub (I'll write up a review later). After lunch we headed for the Jacuzzi Family Vineyards. Again we were lead on a tour of the facility. The architecture and view from this winery was amazing. It was almost like were in an Italian villa. The place was modeled after the family's home in Italy. How cool! The host at this winery wasn't too knowledgeable about wine making. She mostly told us about the family's history. We were led into a large tasting room and were able to try a selection of their wines (probably 4-5 total).











The last winery we visited was the Viansa Winery and Marketplace. The courtyard at this winery is really impressive. Again, it felt like a small villa. It was weird because I felt so far removed from the city. We did a tour of this winery and were then led upstairs for the tasting. Out of the three locations, I thought this was the least informative. It felt a little like we were a herd of cows being led from one place to the next. Still, our host was very amiable and seemed to enjoy his job. Again we were able to taste about 4-5 wines.









At this point, everyone was pretty much tuckered out. The drive back to the city was pretty quiet. Roberto asked for everyone's hotel and dropped us off at our doors. The tour ended around 7:00 p.m.

I would definitely recommend this tour, even if you have to pay for it yourself. (But why would you? Just get a Go Card.) It was an amazing experience. The landscape and scenery in Napa and Sonoma was so beautiful. It was very earthy but not really farm-like. Also, don't be discouraged if the weather in SF is completely dreadful. Once you get out to the vineyards, you're in a different microclimate and things are better. It was actually really hot out there when the city was fogged in and rainy. If possible, ask Gray Line who your driver will be. See if you can get Roberto because he was an excellent guide. It might even be worth it to take another tour if you can't get him on the winery tour. He made the time fly by so quickly and was pure entertainment.

Foodie Review - Sears Fine Foods Restaurant

A convenient place to have breakfast in San Francisco's Union Square area is at Sears Fine Foods Restaurant, which is located right on Powell Street. It was about a half block uphill from our hotel so we ended up eating here twice. It opens at 6:30 a.m. daily so you can grab a meal and head out for your day.

The first time we ate here, my BFF and I split an Sidney Amber Special. This came with two eggs, two link sausages, two pieces of bacon and two large pancakes. We washed it all down with apple juice and POG (I believe they called it orange passion guava juice or some crazy thing like that). We walked away totally full and satisfied.



The second time we ate breakfast here we split an Al's Special. This came with nine dollar-sized pancakes, two eggs, corned beef and a hash brown. To drink we had an iced tea and diet coke. I didn't really care for the corned beef and the hash brown was only lukewarm like it'd been sitting a while.


On both occasions, the food tasted pretty ok (not heavenly but not the worst either), especially the pancakes for which the restaurant is known. The atmosphere is quite charming and has a small-town diner feel to it. The chairs and tables are wooden and sturdy. There's old memorabilia on the wall.

However, the service can be a iffy. During our first visit, we arrived early and there weren't many people there. Still, the place is cozy enough that we could hear our neighbor's conversation, an interesting conversation for 7:00 in the morning.

Apparently, the two men sitting beside us hadn't seen each other for a while. One obviously had lost some weight because the other kept saying how good he looked. Then the Biggest Loser said, "Yeah, I lost about 65 pounds. Now my d!ck looks bigger!" Yes folks, at 7 a.m. people are just as infatuated with their junk as they are during the wee hours of the night. We definitely didn't need that bit of TMI served up to us by some graying, pudgy middle-aged men. (But, I guess that's a good tip for you guys trying to pump up the volume down there.)

On our second trip, the place was packed! It didn't help that it was a Saturday though. This time the service was pretty lousy. Our options were to either wait for God knows how long for a table or take a seat at the bar. We opted for the bar. The poor older woman who was working the bar seemed frazzled. She had at least 10-15 people seated at the bar who were all hungry waiting for their food. She was a little disorganized and didn't seem to be a good fit for that busy area.

One patron who sat next to us had to wait a long time before she even acknowledged him and gave him a menu and coffee. He sat there for another 15 minutes without her returning to take his order and got up and left. I don't blame him one bit.

I guess the lesson here is to a) come early on the weekdays to beat the crowds and b) ask to be sat away from other patrons. You never know what'll pop out of their mouths!

Total cost for our Sidney Amber Special with a side of d!ck at no extra charge (tax included): $19.54

Total cost for our Al's Special on a slow boat to China (tax included): $20.31

The List

Yesterday The A-Z Files on the The Advertiser asked the question, "What are/were your relationship deal breakers?" This got me thinking about how my List has changed over the years.

Oh, c'mon . . . don't tell me you've never heard of the List before. Alright, for those of you in denial, it's THE list of things that your ideal mate would and/or would not possess if all was right in this world.

I remember precisely putting my mental list of traits onto paper and, in essence, birthing this subconscience check list of boyfriend dos and don'ts. Man, I wish I could find that list. I bet it'd be a total trip to see some of the stuff on there. I'll have to set aside some time this Memorial Day weekend to look for it.

Anyway, what I do remember is that this list compiled by my 16- or 17-year-old self was quite complex and lengthy. In my mind, I had down to a tee what my perfect man would be. I wouldn't doubt that there were more than 100 things on this list. This is how specific I had been about my dream guy. Sadly, over time, I've had to let go of some of these things and be more flexible about this whole dating game thing.

Do you think that there's a correlation between getting older and letting go of your dreams? Is it just becoming wiser or is it settling?

Granted some of the things on my list were probably obnoxiously naive and superficial (hairstyle, how he wore a baseball cap, what cologne he wore, etc.), but I'm sure there were some good things on there as well (sense of humor, loyalty, honesty, possess a job, etc.).

Is it too much to hold on to most of the list or at some point do you just say to hell with it and scrap the list altogether? I think you still need to have some sort of standard or else why not date every Tom, Dick or Keoni, right?