“Taste of Sonoma” is a highlight of annual Sonoma County Weekend

Some of the wildest, most gorgeous back roads in America are jammed with cars and buses this weekend. Foodies and oenophiles come from all over the world to sample the work of 100 chefs and a similar number of wineries. A big barn on the former estate of the late movie star, Fred MacMurray, was jammed this morning with tables already set with five tasting glasses on individual placemats, awaiting the first of a long day’s offerings of flights of wines that couldn’t possibly be experienced–much less, purchased–by most people any time, anywhere.

Judy loves to volunteer at the MacMurray Ranch event. It’s part of a lavish array of wine and food offerings, very well publicized and well worth some big ticket prices even before scalping kicks in. She’s clearing placemats and glasses and replacing them for the next tasting seminar.

She can’t do any tasting herself “while wearing the volunteer tee shirt,” of course; but she’ll find time to wander the grounds and stuff her face and wait, woozy and content, while I drive over to get her.

Yes, we live nearby, in this county that’s home to the second-best soil and climate for producing world class pinot noir, chardonnay, and pinot gris. (Burgundy, France, is the first, as Jean-Charles Boisset personally confirmed when we met a number of months ago. Boisset makes wines in Burgundy, northern California and a lot of other places in the world.)