The Bubble Room Experience: Fun Food and Wine Pairing at J Vineyards

The bubbly from J Vineyards was a frequent celebration bottle that I became familiar with, even prior to my love for wine. I'm not sure why this was our first time here, but I can tell you that after this experience, it will definitely not be our last! My friend and budget travel writer for the SF Examiner,  Karen Lac, found an amazing deal for the food and wine pairing experience at the vineyard, through Google Offers. We bought it, booked it, and before we knew it, our reservation date had arrived!

We began our day trip in Healdsburg at our 11am appointment at J Vineyards. We sat down in a beautiful dining room with different seating arrangements ranging from a formal table to couches and lounge tables. The four of us were seated at a couch, and the wine pouring began. We started with a little bubbly and an amuse bouche. Throughout the 90 minute experience, we tasted 7 small dishes with their accompanying wines, the dishes ranging from a savory soup to short ribs, and ending with a duo of desserts. My boyfriend Alex, does not eat seafood, and special accommodations were made for him, to make sure he was able to try everything on his plate. We were very impressed by their care and service. The food was good, but the pairings are what really did the trick. We loved experiencing the ways that the wine changed when tasting it with the different dishes. Dana, our host, was full of great information of the wines and how the pairings should compliment each other. She also was extremely friendly and had a bubbly personality. The four of us really enjoyed hearing her perspectives.

I think that what made the biggest impact on me during this experience, was tasting several of their pinot noir offerings, and finding the Robert Thomas Vineyard, Block 2 Pinot Noir ($65). Without knowing very much about J Vineyard's portfolio of wines prior to attending this experience, made this amazing wine a very special find for me. I am a huge pinot noir fan, and this is a beautiful single vineyard, single varietal wine. If you are interested in booking this experience, check out the vineyard's website for their current menu, and call them in advance to make a reservation. This experience is $65/person, but you can find a discount for it using the DS Deals app on your iPhone. With the discount you can reserve this experience for $50/person. The experience was really fun, and I will definitely try it again when the menu changes.