ROSEN: Wine tour: eat, drink and be skinny

By Jennifer Rosen, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published April 8, 2008 at 3 p.m.
Updated April 9, 2008 at 2:03 a.m.

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I go on a lot of wine press trips - usually a bus full of journalists, taken to endless tasting rooms, where press agents and winemakers explain barrel aging and demonstrate the marvels of the fermentation tank and bottling line.

When we're not doing this, we are treated to large, fancy meals featuring animal products with high butterfat content made by chefs eager to stuff every one of their innovations down our throats.

It sounds rude to complain about force-fed luxury, but I'm proud to say I'm up to the task. There's always a jerk in the group, and if you don't know who it is, they say, it must be you. I've been voted off more than one bus for refusing to settle down and debauch; a wine geek who is not a gourmand is a suspect creature. As an athlete, health nut and Olympic-level fidgeter, I find these trips almost unbearable. But I soldier on, mostly for the sake of the trans-Atlantic ticket.

But now, for the first time, I'm on a wine trip where I can't wipe the grin off my face. I've hiked up a hill, my feet are filthy, my hair sweaty and my stomach is rumbling in anticipation of lunch. I have discovered Zephyr Adventure Trips.

Along with other sport-laden itineraries, Zephyr runs wine trips in Chile, Argentina, Burgundy, Oregon, Spain, Italy and South Africa as well as Sonoma County, where I caught up with them. In place of the usual hip-expanding schedule, their trips feature biking, kayaking, in-line skating and other ways to work off the foie gras. At last, you can eat and drink like Henry VIII without looking like him.

Through Dry Creek, Alexander Valley, Rock Pile and Russian River appellations, we hike miles of famous, contiguous vineyards, the likes of Rodney Strong, Silver Oak and Alexander Valley. We stride past trout-stocked ponds, up rolling hills and through tree-dotted pasture and vineyards of gnarled 150-year-old Zinfandel vines. We're accompanied by managers and proprietors happy to tell us as much or as little as we want about their vineyards and wines, as well as how to tell cabernet sauvignon from pinot noir by the color of the leaves and texture of the bark.

Every hour or so comes an oasis: a tasting of the very wines we're strolling through, set up under a tree, on a mountain top or in a winery. We don hard hats and walk through a vast network of caves under construction. We taste grenache from the barrel and test our nerves on a 40-foot-high swing.

While some meals are at the area's best restaurants, others are lower-key, like vineyard picnics and even a night of beer and pizza.

It's always fun to meet other wine and food journalists from all over. But if camaraderie develops at all, it's usually the result of rallying in shared hatred for and rebellion against our tour leaders, with their Nazi-like insistence that we stick to their inane schedule, even when it has nothing to do with what we need for a story.

In contrast, Alan and Reno, the shaggy-blond, low-key outdoorsmen who lead the Zephyr trip manage to keep the group happy, relaxed and mostly laughing uproariously, not at all the usual wine-trip demeanor. They never herd us into group activities we don't like. The hard-core REI junkies among us opt for extra mountain climbing, the guy with the cane and back brace rides in the van, and the rest put in serious if not grueling miles through the vineyards. The whole thing feels very personal, even culminating in final-night awards including the "Reverse Spitter," the "Glassy-eyed Sharpshooter" and mine, the "Swinger" award. Don't ask.

There still are people, including me, who just aren't made for the group experience, no matter how well it's done. For them, Zephyr offers a self-guided GPS tour. You get a car, route and tasting appointments plus a portable media player and videos of their guide explaining the high points of where you've ended up. They'll even shuttle your luggage while you bike or skate. If you'd like to experience all the fun of wine with none of the guilt, check them out at zephyradventures.com.

Jennifer Rosen On Wine appears the second Wednesday of the month. Jester@corkjester.com

Recommended Sonoma Valley wines

* Sausal Family Alexander Valley Zinfandel 2004 $20

* Joseph Swan Saralee's Vineyard Pinot Noir 2005 $35

* Joseph Swan Pinot Gris 2006 $20

* Alexander Valley Vineyards Rose of Sangiovese 2006 $12

* Alexander Valley Estate Syrah 2005 $20

* Sebastiani Russian River Pinot Noir 2005 $30

* Sebastiani Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 $30

* Ehret "The Beginning" Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 $39

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