The trip in short
San Francisco first, with oysters at the Ferry Building and a walk across the Golden Gate Bridge. North to Healdsburg in Sonoma: thirty tasting rooms around the plaza, and the pinot noir of the Russian River. Three days in Napa Valley: cabernet at the old estates, the Wine Train and dinner in Yountville. Then south to Monterey and along Big Sur to the zinfandel of Paso Robles, and Los Olivos in the hills behind Santa Barbara, the valley of Sideways. Grand Central Market and the tacos of Los Angeles to end. California at the table; with the redwoods and Lake Tahoe added: Wine country, the redwoods and Lake Tahoe.