Tony is in Canada, so I am the guest blogger this week.

Last year, when finances required us to cut back, we canceled all of our wine club memberships. The one we were most sad to lose was Geyser Peak. Not only did they send us the coolest wines (Tannat, anyone?), but we were always treated so well in their tasting room. We recently joined their club once again and were pleased to receive an invitation to their September Wine Club Release Party. Pack up the Prius…we’re heading to Healdsburg.

As you may remember from a previous posting, we spent the 4th of July weekend in Healdsburg hitting the list of Visa Signature wineries for complimentary tastings. This trip we planned to visit any wineries we’d missed. We even decided to (gasp) make a reservation at Mutt Lynch Winery, which is open by appointment only.

Mutt Lynch Winery has the motto, “Apply Dog Logic to Life: Eat Well, Be Loved, Get Petted, Sleep A lot, Dream of a Leash-Free World.” With a Muttitage (their version of a Meritage) red blend and an Unleashed Chardonnay, the dog theme runs through their product list. They’ll even host a Bark Mitzvah for your puppy!

Our next stop was Vizlay Winery (T-Bone, the black lab pictured above, gave us a tour) to taste some Prosecco. John Vizlay has a row of Prosecco (or Glera) grapes in the vineyard and makes a version that is less sweet than many of the Proseccos you’ll find in a local store. Too bad that he’ll have to start labeling his Brut to avoid hearing from the Prosecco Police. (Champagne? Better make that Sparkling Wine.)

The previous evening was spent at Geyser Peak with two new friends, Bert and Yvonne. Bert retired from the real estate business in San Francisco and now lives in Healdsburg full time. He and Yvonne met when he represented her in a transaction. Yvonne was a woman of mystery, having lived in a million places. She kept whispering to Tony and me, “You should move to Healdsburg,” which later became, “You should buy my house,” and then, “You should buy my dump.” We parted company only when we realized that the Release Party had ended 30 minutes prior, and the oh-so-gracious Geyser Peak staff was starting to clean up the joint.

The best part of the entire trip, though, was Diavola Pizzeria and Salumeria. Oh. My. I do think that we found where everyone in Geyserville goes on a Saturday night. The line was almost out the door and yet we were seated within ten minutes. A nice carafe of local wine, a Cha Cha Cha pizza (mmmm, pork belly) and we were set. We slept well that night, let me tell you.