Heather, Joe, Sean and I headed out on a day trip to Fresno. Since our destinations were on the north side of the city, it only took about 45 minutes to arrive at our first stop: Forestiere Underground Gardens. This spot is on the National Register of Historic Places. One man, when his dream of growing citrus became difficult due to the hardpan soil on the acreage he had purchased, decided to build a subterranean garden and living area. It was an interesting tour and well worth the trip. (As a bonus there is an In-N-Out Burger right across the street, so when the 11:00 tour ended at 12:00 we were set for lunch.)
After lunch we set off to Engelmann Cellars for a bit of wine tasting. The guy working the tasting room just started his bachelor's degree in Enology at Fresno State. When the group that arrived after us was done he sat out in the patio area with us and told us about the winery he plans to start on his family's grape growing farm when he finishes. We will definitely add his winery to our list when it opens up in a few years. It will be located in Lodi where there are many wineries to visit. We bought a few bottles of wine each (their 2009 Summer Quartet white was a particular favorite) and plan to return for one of their many outdoor events.
We only planned to visit the one winery, but our guide at Engelmann Cellars suggested we stop at LoMac Winery which is owned by the brother of the owner of Engelmann's. While the folks were nice and we enjoyed chatting with them, the wines were not our favorites (though I did like the label of their dessert wine). The LoMac folks recommended we stop at Milla Vineyards and we are very glad they did as these wines turned out to be some of our favorites! Plus they make an amazing vanilla limoncello that I fell madly in love with. Based on our purchases I would say we must schedule a party at our place soon.
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