Wine club memberships are an increasingly popular way to experience California wine country. This comprehensive guide includes details on more than ninety wine clubs located in Sonoma County, California. The clubs that have been profiled were chosen because of their easy access to newcomers and their unique benefits. Details include: annual cost of membership, discounts, lists of specialty wines, club events, number of members, contact information, and club Web sites

While the benefits of such memberships can be enjoyed from the comfort of homes nationwide, vacations to the wine country are popular for good reason. Visitors can meet the staff and learn the winemaker’s secrets as well as attend exclusive events. Participate in a grape stomp contest, work the vines, take a tour in a gondola, or attend seminars on winemaking, cooking classes, and fencing tournaments. Find out which winery is located in an historic bank structure, complete with a vault and teller windows. Explore a world-famous antique rose garden. Visit a Civil War- era farmhouse where cowboys play boccie ball on a regulation size court.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Jim Arnold combines a good-humored enthusiasm for wine with a lifetime of experience in areas ranging from lumber to computer technology to philosophy. His own experience as first a novice and then a frequent visitor to wine clubs brought about the idea for the collaboration. He has published numerous technical articles and manuals, marketing articles, short pieces in magazines and newspapers, a play, two poems, and a short story.

Ingrid Larnis spent the 1970s and early 1980s as a model, photographer, and costume designer. Looking for a change of pace, she moved out west to study at the University of California at Berkeley, where she earned a certificate in garden design. Larnis works in Camp Meeker, California, as a photographer and graphic artist. She has served as assistant editor of the San Francisco Rose Society’s newsletter and designed gardens for local schools and churches.

WINE CLUBS OF SONOMA COUNTY
A Guide to the Pleasures and Perks of Belonging
By Jim Arnold and Ingrid Larnis
272 pp. 8 x 8
320 color photos 16 color maps Appendix Index
ISBN: 1-58980-432-5
EAN: 978-1-58980-432-6 pb