Our second anniversary was July 3, 2011 and MJ told me we’d be going on a trip but didn’t tell me any of the details aside from “we won’t be going on a plane” so I could pack accordingly.
On the evening of Friday, July 1st, MJ came home early and we dressed up for a nice dinner out. We left the condo around 4:30 for my first surprise — we weren’t going down to the garage where the car is usually parked, we were headed out front where a stretch limousine was waiting to whisk us away!
Our destination was still a mystery as we headed north out of the city. We watched a couple shows he had queued up on his laptop as I frequently glanced out the window to guess at a destination. Presently we passed Jack London State Historic Park and toward the entrance to Benziger Family Winery.
We had been to Benziger just over 3 years earlier on a Sonoma Valley wine tour when MJ and I had our first romantic weekend together in San Francisco. It is a beautiful winery and their wine cave is exquisite, absolutely one of the highlights of that day. A visit there was a wonderful way to celebrate our anniversary! And it was a beautiful evening for a private tour.
We were greeted by Felicia, an event coordinator for the winery, and she gave us a tour of their biodynamic garden trail and told us about the history of the winery. A jackrabbit joined us for a few minutes on our tour, but unfortunately I had left my camera in the limo. We were treated to some delicious hors d’oeuvres as the tour continued. From there we met Linda who took us on a ride up to the vineyard where their mini Parthenon stands and we had a stunning view of the estate. Our tour guide excused herself for a few minutes to make some calls and left us to enjoy the view.
Now at this point you may be thinking that I had some idea what was coming. I didn’t. The first trip we took to Sonoma was chauffeured so while a limo ride was exceptional, it wasn’t completely unheard of for a romantic get-away for us. It wasn’t until MJ offered to take my wine glass to put it down that I realized something was up and within moments he had the beautiful engagement ring out! I was so excited that I nearly cried as I answered his proposal with a “yes!”
Wow!
It was then that I saw a photographer who had been in the vineyard above us and was taking pictures! The photographer, Melissa, quickly offered congratulations and we spent the next 45 minutes or so walking through the vineyard having photos taken.
Toward the end of our outdoor walk we were greeted by another employee of the winery who gave us a bottle of their Signaterra Benziger Three Blocks 2007 (a Bordeaux Blend) and offered more congratulations.
The tour led us into the familiar wine caves that we’d been in 3 years before, which were a wonderful respite from the warm weather outside in the vineyards. At the beginning of this walk through the caves I was under the impression that we’d be having dinner elsewhere.
Our walk through the wine caves ended in a long corridor dining area which I’d never seen before. We had some more photos taken and were finally led to a little table set for two. MJ had rented out the whole winery for the evening and we’d be having dinner there right in the cave!
The dinner was catered by the girl + the fig and had the following:
Mache Salad
Shaved Asparagus, Goat Cheese Crostini
Roasted Beet Vinaigrette
2009 Signaterra West Rows Chardonnay
* MAIN COURSE *
Seared Scallop
Leek & Fennel Ravioli
Saffron Lobster Cream
Crispy Leek, Tarragon
2008 Signaterra San Remo Pinot Noir
* DESSERT *
Vanilla Cheesecake
Macerated Strawberries
Strawberry Coulis
Whipped Crème Fraiche
Benziger Family Winery Muscat Canelli
The venue was perfect, our server, Gaia, did an amazing job throughout the evening, the food was exquisite and Linda made sure we had our fill of the choice selection of their amazing wines.
It was around 9:30 when we finished dinner and met up with the limo to take us home as I was led to believe that the “trip” was a ruse, but after a short ride we arrived at The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa. We weren’t going directly home after all! MJ had booked us a long weekend stay at the Inn.
Not only that, but earlier in the day when I thought he was going to work, he had actually driven up to Sonoma to get the hotel room ready, complete with rose petals! The room smelled and looked beautiful when we arrived.
What a night!
The professional photos taken can be viewed here:
http://www.mjandlyz.com/engagement.shtml#gallery
And yes, “mjandlyz.com” is a new domain, like good geeks we registered it when we got home from our engagement weekend ;)