The Barlow / Sebastopol

It’s Day Two of our long weekend away from The City and we’ve accomplished exactly nothing beyond rehydrating from the night before and re-applying suntan lotion. We’ve been lying by the pool since brunch and now the natives are restless. Nothing too ambitious. Nothing that can’t be tackled in flip-flops.

Someone remembers passing by The Barlow on our way through Sebastopol although nobody seems to know what it is.

From the peanut gallery comes . . .

“Sounds like a finishing school.”

“Sounds like a strip club.” 

“Sounds like a gay bar.”

 “Is that that place by the Nuclear Free Zone sign?”

Okay, Nuclear Free Zone? Just how crunchy is Sebastopol? Maybe we ought to investigate. Everyone reaches for their iPad.

Wineries, restaurants, shops. So, it’s a mall?

Hang on a minute. There’s MacPhail, La Follette, Marimar, Wind Gap. All first-rate producers if you’re a Pinot fan. (I am.)  And here’s Zazu Kitchen . . . farm to table . . . snout to tail. I smell bacon. We’re in.

The Barlow is 10 minutes away and once you’re there nothing is more than a 10-minute walk. This is exactly what we need given the pandemic lethargy that’s beset the group. We taste our way through MacPhail and La Follette – terrific Pinots and Chards at both – and then find ourselves at Wind Gap. Grenache. Syrah. Trousseau Gris?  So much for sipping and spitting; dudes are asking for refills.

Before another lull sets in, we head to Taylor Made Farms for coffee and bacon donuts and then The Nectary for some fresh-pressed organic juices to take back to the house. All in all, a highly successful if completely unplanned afternoon.