wine country with the wee one
Posted by laralynnian on 20 Aug 2007 at 08:43 am | Tagged as: Uncategorized
Before Melina was born I made reservations at the Irish Rose Inn, a family-friendly B&B just outside Healdsburg. Kai was going camping with his mom for the full weekend, so we figured what better time to get out of town on our own for the first time with the wee one. I was a little nervous about crying spells in such an “adult” venue but am happy to report that, outside of traffic on the way up (I also wanted to cry) and a little due to the heat, Jelly Bean was a super star!
Our B&B host, Kris, adored her. “What a good baby! I like them when they get to be three months. She must be advanced.” (Yup, like all proud parents we think the same of her mere 2.5 months.) Hosts and other guests at various wineries either ignored her (haha) or kept commenting on how cute she was. We seemed to make friends with any baby or parent we met.
For her part, Melina was fascinated by the downtown Healdsburg plaza, with its huge trees, slight breeze, and rustling leaves. She also got to watch dusk fall for the first time as we dined on an outdoor terrace around 8pm.
Highlights for the adults included the spectacular grounds of Ferrai-Carano (see photos), a visit to the new Francis Ford Coppola winery called “Rosso & Bianco,” and the mellow wine caves and picnic grounds at Bella.
The topper was dinner on Saturday night. Kris got us last-minute reservations at Dry Creek Kitchen, a spectacular dining experience right on the main square. 
I loved the arugula salad with peaches and goat cheese, and the chocolate croissant bread pudding with Guinness ice cream (yes, as in the stout) was unbelievably perfect in texture (firm but not too dense), taste (a soft bittersweet), and portion size (small but delightfully rich). Our bill was surprisingly reasonable, as we’d been advised to bring our own bottle of Sonoma county wine for free corkage. And Melina’s slight fussing didn’t matter, since we sat outside in the midst of the town’s 150 year celebration of its founding. When she started to squirm I just picked her up and danced to the music and merriment that pervaded the plaza.