Hot Fun in the Summertime at Martorana Family Winery!

On a very toasty Sunday August 4th, 56 Redwood members in their 30 lovely Porsches came out for a day of fun in the sun with our club. We started at a new location in the Novato Vintage Oaks shopping center (by Target) so that people could come early and see the monthly “Cars & Coffee” exhibition without a parking hassle. Everyone, including 11 folks who had never driven with us before, came ready for the drivers meeting and we split into two groups ready for the drive ahead.

With maybe a little confusion early on in the drive getting off of Highway 101, we settled into the gorgeous scenery that is the back roads of Marin and Sonoma counties. Sections of Hicks Valley, Wilson Hill, and Chileno Valley roads were great fun and we were able to stay together pretty well. We were slowed in the first run group by a small group of motorcyclists, which was a first for me; they usually are jackrabbits. The second run group, deftly led by Tom and Wendy Strobel, had a partial blockade by a giant milk truck, which just goes to show that you can expect to see EVERYTHING on one of our tours! However, great communication with our mid-group cars (Don Nohai with Ann Marie Trione in my group, and David Bunch with Sharon Neidel in Tom’s) and sweeps (Jeff Hall with Kurt Fischer in Group 1 and Don Magdanz herding the final cats of group 2) meant that it all worked out fine in the end.

At the midpoint we had no overlap at our “biobreak” site in Monte Rio, so I knew it would be a great drive the rest of way through Guerneville and then up onto Westside and West Dry Creek Valley Roads. I will never get tired of looking out over the glorious vines of Dry Creek, snaking along the edge of the valley, which is best enjoyed from the comfort of a cabriolet.

At the winery, we once again assorted the wonderful color palette of Porsches around Martorana’s outdoor picnic area, while our wine-pourers par excellence Christine and Ellen were ready with lots of water as well as chilled Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and my personal favorite, Rosé of Zinfandel. Box lunches from Big John’s market were again outstanding and nimbly handed out by Lisa Davoren and Ann Marie Trione. Zinfandel and Merlot rounded out our tastings and a number of people took home a variety of wines to enjoy in the future.

After lunch, six teams of bocce players braved the heat (we did hand out some Redwood-branded squirt bottles to help beat the 95 degree temps) with fierce competition for the winners’ prizes: souvenir Matchbox Porsches (Targa 4S and 918 Spyder for those who need to know).

This event is a great reminder of how lucky we are to live – and drive – in a place like this. It was inspiring to see the number of new drivers (and passengers) who came out to see what all the fuss is about in our club. I hope you will join us on a fuElectronic driving routes on your phone – for free!ture tour, it’s a good time!