March 2, 2011
It is hard to schedule appointments on travel days, so for our final stop I took all the franchises to visit Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, the legendary retail store in Berkeley, California. Kermit Lynch is not only the grandfather of modern wine importers, but also a brilliant retailer who embodies the spirit we try hard to emulate; the most amazing wines are made by passionate people from special vineyard sites. The store only sells wines that Kermit imports from France and Italy, with no shelving but over 400 stacks of wine in the building. Their neighbors are Acme Bread and Cafe Fanny, the casual concept of Chez Panisse named for Alice Water’s daughter.Our plan was to visit Cesar, a tapas bar owned by Chez Panisse alums. Sadly they don’t open until noon, which would not work with our 3 pm flight. We instead chose Saul’s Deli, a 25 year old establishment that produces some of the yummiest food, Kosher or otherwise, this side of Brooklyn. After a fantastic Rueben (they were out of brisket) and a fantastic latke, we headed for airport.
Sonoma Trip – Day 4
March 5, 2011
