Wine Country

Warm gusts push me left and I fight back, leaning right. The mile-wide Carquinez Strait not only funnels the Sacramento River's watershed to San Francisco Bay, but, so it seems, all of the San Joaquin Valley's winds. I've just another quarter mile of the Carquinez Bridge to brave before I can begin riding some of the incredible back roads leading into Wine Country and its exquisite vintages of Burgundy, Riesling, Zinfandel, and Chardonnay, where the hardest part for most is waiting until you're home to drink them.

My wife had followed me in our car as far as Oakland where we visited with friends and my return would have me crossing the Golden Gate Bridge to reunite for a night in San Francisco before returning home. In exchange for this time to roam, my wife, a first-rate negotiator, wrangled shopping rights in the city with a promise not to wear out the credit cards in my absence.

The northern leg of my route scrambles over the back roads of Napa County and it's the one often used by Fairfield Harley-Davidson for the charity run ridden each year for the benefit of dependents living nearby at Travis Air Force Base. Stereotypically scenic, it wanders past all sorts of wineries, from multi-million dollar conglomerates covering whole hillsides to little Mom & Pop vineyards scratched out on just a few acres. My return route, south through Sonoma County, is one Lorenzo Lamas traveled when riding from Vancouver, Canada, to Los Angeles. He'd recommended it recently when I casually interviewed him on a park bench at LoveRide, a charity event for muscular dystrophy research.

So here I am confronting the howling Carquinez Strait, but it's the most direct route and worth the wrestling. Even though my Road Warrior weighs almost 600 pounds, a few gusts had me feeling like I was saddled to a corrugated bronco. Signs posted at each end of the bridge warn trucks not to cross if it's too windy. Luckily, it was a relatively mild day.

Once on the northern side, the winds subsided the farther I rode into the hills and soon my cardboard bike began to feel stable enough to turn west off Hwy 80 and tackle the gentle curves of American Canyon Road. This less-direct route takes you through a far more interesting landscape and, as you might have guessed, I'm one to avoid freeway riding whenever I can.

After five miles spent twisting through apple orchards, I turned north again onto Hwy 29. A small penance to pay for only a couple of minutes of dull detour, it skirts the city of Napa until you can get onto the Silverado Trail. This is where the fun begins – as in passing so many vineyards you'll have the enviable task of choosing the right ones to visit, and more in the way of fun when swooping through the motorcycle-friendly Silverado Trail. My winery choices, frankly, were based upon recommendations from friends who had toured the area. Along with a copious list of the different types of vineyards, their major pieces of advice were: (1) Don't turn the ride into a fire drill and try to see more than four or five wineries in one day; and (2) Resist the temptation to taste your way from vineyard to vineyard. For obvious reasons, this second bit of advice is especially important if you're on a motorcycle.

One note of interest to the wandering bibliophiles among our readers: In 1880, the author of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson honeymooned up the road in the little town of St. Helena. This kernel of trivia seemed appropriately ironic considering I'm riding what many magazines have called the 'Mr. Hyde' of cruisers.

I overshot Saint Andrews Winery, the first on my list, and had to backtrack to enter its gates. Smaller than average and truly quaint in every sense of the word, it defines 'rustic.' If Ma and Pa Kettle had worked a winery instead of a farm, Saint Andrews is the template. Everything is downsized, laid back, with the old wooden wine presses strewn outside the main buildings accenting the fact. While looking them over, I met two other riders down from Santa Rosa for the afternoon. They'd ridden the area for years and endorsed the Lamas return route through Sonoma County as an excellent choice for my Road Warrior. They also confirmed my friends' recommendation to visit the nearby Signorello Winery. Known for its Zinfandel, these vintners were busy harvesting, something not every visitor gets to see.

On the eastern side of the Silverado Trail at the top of a small hill, Signorello overlooks the Napa Valley. You can see for miles and even the fog creeping down from San Francisco Bay is visible this far to the south.

All of the harvesting equipment is made of stainless steel that shines like mirrors, and every grape destined for the wine rack has to be touched by it. Tractors pulling wagons burdened with fat bunches of reds and whites came from all directions to be unloaded by industrious teams. But where, I wondered, were the Sophia Lorens with skirts hiked to their waists and grape-stained legs whirling in the harvest dance? Not here. In my dreams maybe, but not here. The Signorello crew produces wine using the latest in the enological arts, an act so efficient there's no more room for sprightly-stepping Sophias. Even so, I enjoyed the spectacle for about an hour until politely asked to help or leave.

The search for a large winery to contrast with Saint Andrews ended a few miles up the road from Signorello's entrance. Stag's Leap Winery, my third winery, is a huge, well-designed, modern facility that annually exports more than 100,000 cases and specializes in Merlot and Chardonnay. A textbook operation, copied, and constantly receiving awards, Stag's Leap is a must-visit if you want to see a modern winery. I was particularly impressed by its attention to order. Even its perfectly perfect rows of grapes are carefully groomed for the most minute of fallen leaves.

It's hard to believe all of these vineyards issued forth from Father Junipero Serra's decision to establish a chain of missions running northward from San Diego in the late 1700s. The last of these was built in Sonoma where the first grape cuttings in the region were planted. Together, the Napa and Sonoma Valleys now constitute one of the premier winemaking centers on the globe.

Leaving many more northern vineyards unseen, I turned off the Silverado Trail and took the Rutherford crossroad west to Francis Ford Coppola's winery. My fourth winery of the day, it's as different from the other three as they were from each other. It certainly belongs on your list if you're at all into movie memorabilia and/or turn-of-the-century (20th) buildings, and, of course, fine wines. Train buffs will enjoy the museum not far from the winery that displays original 1880s sleeping cars used by San Francisco elites visiting the valley. On my way out the winery door, imagining them bleeding out like horseless heads in a producer's bed, I carefully wrapped and packed the two bottles purchased from the guiding spirit of The Godfather.

A few miles south of the Coppola spread you'll turn west again onto Trinity Dry Creek Road. This little alpine ride goes up and over Sugarloaf Ridge into Sonoma Valley and marks the beginning of Lorenzo Lamas's route south. He'd remarked how smoothly his Harley-Davidson Softail 'Deuce' handled the twisties, and knowing how well my Warrior takes the twists and turns, I was excited by the prospect of following his trail.

Trinity Dry Creek Road starts a little above sea level and rises quickly to nearly 2,000 feet in elevation. The way proceeds upward, passing smaller and smaller wineries until there's nothing but private estates and Christmas-tree farms around every turn. The ridge crest descent immediately drops in on the little town of Glen Ellen. Though virtually the same ride in reverse, the landscape is a bit drier here. Sited as it is, on the lee side of the coastal range, Sonoma County doesn't receive the rainfall Napa does.

Once you've entered Glen Ellen, be sure to take in Jack London State Historical Park Road. You'll be able to visit the remains of the author's 'Wolf House,' and the Glen Ellen Winery is an added treat along the way. About halfway to the park and just off to the right, this particular winery, my fifth, and final, has vines rooted all over the steep hillsides. Get there, when the valley begins to lapse into evening shade and the grape leaves gleam like gold.

From the town of Glen Ellen, take Arnold Drive south. You can arrive wherever you're going faster by taking Hwy 12 but you'll miss seeing some real Wine Country highlights. Relax. Hereon your frequent stops for the views – gazing at vineyards – are more important than visiting the wineries themselves, and pretty much the real reason we choose the back roads in the first place. Arnold Drive after about 10 miles becomes Hwy 121, which points me west onto Hwy 37, which, in turn, intersects with Hwy 101. While on Hwy 37 you'll pass the entrance to the fabled Sears Point Raceway, home to many motorcycle and auto racing events. It's also the year-round base for Reg Pridmore's Riding School. Worth checking out, Pridmore's curriculum includes classes for all riding levels. And while you're at it, check out the houseboats in Sausalito. Their construction is an art form here, and all different shapes and sizes float peaceably in their berths. They're quite colorful and visible off to the left as you approach the Golden Gate Bridge.

Crossing can be eerie, especially when fog envelops the bridge from the sea. If that happens, stay alert and watch for gaps between the concrete. They have a nasty habit of ambushing the unwary. Too big a bump and you could well shatter more than those two bottles of Chardonnay carried home for dinner.

RIDE SAFE