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Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Bella Vineyards in Sonoma County


Not far from our weekend home in Sonoma County, is a wonderful winery called Bella Vineyards. We decided to check it out as we heard they had wine caves!

Sure enough! They had a cave carved right into the hill. Notice the vines up above.

Upon entering, there is a long room with the tasting table at the end. To the right is a small dining room--see below.

I can imagine how magical it would be to have a special birthday or a wedding here.

photo from website

The temperature inside is 60 degrees. Perfect for storing wine. It felt nice and cool, compared to the 80 degrees outside.

Outside, is a nice picnic area planted with 150 year old olive trees. It's the perfect setting for the music events and entertainment the winery hosts during the summer.

photo from website

How gorgeous is this setting? It couldn't be lovelier, nestled in the upper Dry Creek Valley of Sonoma County.

Bella Vineyards are known for their zinfandel wines. Here is an old vine sprouting brand new leaves. Beautiful!

Of course, we bought a couple bottles of zinfandel to age!

For more information about Bella Vineyards, visit their beautiful website here.
I plan on featuring various Sonoma wineries throughout the spring and summer months for those who haven't yet been to the California Wine Country, and for those who need a little reminder of how beautiful it is here.

I'm joining Susan at A Southern Daydreamer for "Outdoor Wednesday."
Be sure to visit her blog for more outdoor photography inspiration.

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24 comments:

  1. maría ceciliaApril 20, 2010 at 4:58 PM

    Hola Delores, there`s so much beauty around vineyards everywhere in the world, this one is very beautiful too. Here in Chile so many wine warehouses and old houses related to them have been put down by the earthquake, one of the biggest in the history, and now best wines of Chile are pooring down the roads in many cities... how sad.
    Thank you for your interest in my blog, yours is truely gorgeous!!
    Cariños,
    Maria Cecilia

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  2. UnknownApril 20, 2010 at 5:05 PM

    OH, I love wine country. We traveled through there 8 years ago and I fell in love!

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  3. Glenda/MidSouthApril 20, 2010 at 5:19 PM

    Thanks for the tour. Would love to visit there someday.

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  4. SarahApril 20, 2010 at 5:35 PM

    How wonderful to have a weekend home in the wine country! Thanks for sharing photos of your visit to this beautiful vineyard.

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  5. Pam - @diy Design FanaticApril 20, 2010 at 5:44 PM

    How cool is that wine cave! Would love to have a party there!

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  6. Kathy's Red Door WelcomeApril 20, 2010 at 5:58 PM

    I love Sonoma. My daughter went to school at Sonoma State. The vineyard is beautiful and I can definitely envision a first class event at a place like this! Thanks for sharing!

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  7. Ceekay-THINKIN of HOMEApril 20, 2010 at 6:32 PM

    I want to do this soooo bad. We are fairly close too, so maybe someday! Looks wonderful!

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  8. Blondie's JournalApril 20, 2010 at 6:55 PM

    Delores~~~

    Thank you so much for the tour of Bella Vineyards. The cave is amazing!! Would love to visit. Thanks for sharing the information and fantastic photos!

    Happy Outdoor Wednesday!

    xoxo
    Jane

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  9. From the Old InkWellApril 20, 2010 at 7:00 PM

    What a wonderful place to visit! Looks so romantic and dreamy. Thanks for the tour!

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  10. a quiet lifeApril 20, 2010 at 7:18 PM

    that was delightful~

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  11. aneyefordetailApril 20, 2010 at 7:49 PM

    One of my best friends lives in Glen Ellen: oh what a treat to visit her! Coming from the East, I love the dry air...
    I'm visiting, this time, from Outdoor Wednesday!

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  12. g.suzieApril 20, 2010 at 9:36 PM

    How interesting, I've always wanted to visit a vineyard!
    Thanks for the wonderful tour!

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  13. A 2 ZApril 20, 2010 at 10:31 PM

    Hi,

    I have been to Sonoma but never this place. I love Zinfandel! You are a lucky girl! I remember visiting a vineyard in Cape Town SA and it also was partly in a cave. From the outside all you could see was a little bump in a hill. It reminded me of the Teletubbies! LOL

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  14. JanApril 20, 2010 at 11:56 PM

    What wonderful photos, and I haven't heard of a wine cave before. You have some special places to visit there!

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  15. Sharing with SherriApril 21, 2010 at 12:02 AM

    Oh what a nice post... I haven't been over in the Napa/Sonoma area in about 15 years or so...

    I have visited several of the wineries in the area though, but not "Bella". I need to put a making a visit there on my "to do" list!! The wine country is so beautiful!

    Sherri:)

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  16. Cindy (Applestone Cottage)April 21, 2010 at 4:47 AM

    Hubby and I were there visiting about 5 summers ago. We loved Napa and the wonderful tours but we were shocked at the prices of homes in the area compared to where we live. Our home, that we purchased for about 160,000 would be close to a million there. Those caves are just awesome, what a neat place to have a party.
    Thanks for sharing this neat tour.
    Cindy

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  17. pamelaApril 21, 2010 at 8:37 AM

    What gorgeous photos. My husband is out there this week on business. I wish I had gone too. I hope he brings back some samples. :)
    Pamela

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  18. AnonymousApril 21, 2010 at 10:54 AM

    How lovely to see all this. My sisters son went to USA last year and visited Sonoma County too. ( we are from The Netherlands you know ) and I bet my son will come up there once as a chef...
    Thank you.
    Lieve groeten
    Godeliva van Ariadone

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  19. Elizabeth and Gary April 21, 2010 at 1:52 PM

    Hi Delores,
    My husband and I will be in Napa next month for a party, I think we will tour over to the winery. It looks like a lovely (Bella) place.
    Keep dry and warm, it sure has been a raining day in the Bay Area.
    Elizabeth

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  20. xinexApril 21, 2010 at 4:10 PM

    What a neat place to visit, Delores. Thanks for taking us there....Christine

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  21. joannaApril 21, 2010 at 5:57 PM

    Yes you are so right -- it is a beautiful place -- love touring the wineries in California and in Oregon.

    Looking forward to more of your Outdoor Wednesdays,
    Joanny
    http://thedowsersdaughter.blogspot.com

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  22. MaryApril 21, 2010 at 6:24 PM

    I've visited the California wine country, Sonoma and Napa, and it is lovely. The cave reminded me of the vineyards we visited in Southwest France where my family live.............I could easily live in either place - beautiful scenery, wine, olives, cheese and good bread, what more does one require to be happy!!

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  23. Low Tide High StyleApril 21, 2010 at 6:39 PM

    Really lovely, and your wonderful post reminds me that I need to make a trip out West sometime soon!

    Kat :)

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  24. Bargain Decorating with LaurieApril 22, 2010 at 8:31 PM

    How neat is that? What a wonderful wedding venue that would be! laurie

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