Nelson Family Vineyards

We spent two days at an RV Park in Avenue of the Giants before driving to Nelson Family Vineyards. Our hikes around Avenue of the Giants were amazing even though most trails once again don’t allow dogs. We were resourceful and found trails that did even though we needed to drive to Eureka for one of them. The Elk River Trail in Eureka was everything you could want in a trail so we weren’t disappointed. Because the temps were chilly and windy, we were forced to eat our dinners inside. We were pretty impressed with ourselves that we could cook and serve dinner for four people and three dogs in a Sprinter Van. It definitely was like a game of Twister but we enjoyed ourselves and had good food and, of course, great wine!

We spent one lovely evening in Nelson Family Vineyards-the last night of our trip. Nelson Family Vineyards is south of Ukiah right off of 101. It’s a beautiful 2000 acre ranch that has been family owned and operated since 1951. Not only does it have 200 acres of vineyards but it also has 37 acres of Bartlett Pears, 7 acres of Christmas tree with a few donkeys, and 300 olive trees. We had a wine tasting outdoors in a lovely setting looking at Redwood Trees and acres of vines. Not only did we buy some Sauvignon Blanc but we also came home with Honey, Balsamic Vinegar Reduction, and some Olive Oil.

The best part of the visit was our RV site. We were in the middle of the hills and the vineyards in an extremely peaceful setting. The site can have up to 15 RV’s but we were lucky and only three RV’s showed up for the evening. We had a lovely charcuterie dinner and watched the sunset over the vines.

Not being natives of California, Brad and I are continually amazed at the beauty of this state and the many places we still have yet to see. Sometimes we pinch ourselves that we both were lucky to end up living in a place with so much natural beauty and diversity.

And once again, our Harvest Host visit reaffirmed why we enjoy them so much. We had a vineyard almost to ourselves and woke up (after 9 ½ hours sleep!) to only the sounds of birds and a few critters. It was a good way to end our week.