Valley of the Moon Winery - Glen Ellen, CA

Valley of the Moon Winery
777 Madrone Rd.
Glen Ellen, CA 95442
(707) 939-4500
valleyofthemoonwinery.com

We began this weekend's "Sonoma Valley Crush! A Harvest Celebration" at Valley of the Moon Winery in Glen Ellen...what a beautiful winery with an amazing old vine zinfandel vineyard!





They were out of "Crush" wine glasses for the event when we arrived (Valley of the Moon Winery must have been a popular starting point!) but we started the tasting while they went to get more. They have friendly wine pourers and a large and inviting tasting room with a wine bar on one half of the room and retail displays on the other. Here is a video clip of the wine bar:



We proceeded to taste each of our 5 different selections from their tasting menu:



I started out trying their 2003 Sparkling Wine, then their 2006 So Co Barbera, 2006 Saini Farms Old Vine Zinfandel, 2006 Cuvee de la Luna and finished off with their 205 So Co (Sonoma County) Port. Both of us absolutely fell in love with that Port and purchased the 4 bottle maximum...plus we bought 2 bottles of their Cuvee de la Luna, our favorite Valley of the Moon wine!

Livermore Valley Cellars - Livermore, CA

Livermore Valley Cellars
1508 Wetmore Rd
Livermore, CA 94550
(925) 447-1751
lvcwines.com

This was the second winery we visited during Livermore's First Barrel Tasting Weekend. My favorite barrel taste between the Mourvedre, Merlot, Syrah, Petite Syrah and Zinfandel was the Petite Syrah. LVC is pretty much a Livermore icon, it's been around for so long. They're a family-run winery and everyone was very friendly...even the dog greets you...he just doesn't let you pet him, that's all.

Here's a story on Day 1 of the Livermore Barrel Tasting Weekend:

http://whrrl.com/story/show/711

Valley BMW - Modesto, CA

Valley BMW
4369 McHenry Avenue
Modesto, CA 95356
(209) 575-0269
valley-bmw.com

I dealt with Stephen Rynne, the internet saleperson at Valley BMW. Things did not start off well, as I had asked him to reply to my questions via e-mail (I had contacted multiple BMW dealerships, so e-mail communications helped me keep things organized!) but he kept calling me instead. I asked him to send me the window sticker info on a particular car, but he never did...so finally I asked him point-blank if it was a difficult request I had made because the other BMW dealerships sent me their window sticker info without hesitation. He finally admitted that the reason he didn't e-mail was because their system was having problems!

Anyway, they did have a car I was somewhat interested in, but did not have all the options I was looking for...and he offered it to me at 10% under MSRP so I did seriously consider it. However, since I planned on keeping my next car long-term, I decided it wasn't worth settling for anything less so I didn't buy that one.

Viking Pools of the Greater Valley - Lathrop, CA

Viking Pools of the Greater Valley
16349 S. Harlan Rd
Lathrop, CA 95330
(209) 982-9800
vikingpoolsgreatervalley.com

On 8/11/08 I gave Gabe Young of Viking Pools of the Greater Valley a check for $200.00 (towards a $45,000.00 installation of an "Acapulco" pool at my home in Livermore). Now that my check cleared, Gabe refuses to return my phone calls and will not come back out to the site. He also refuses to give out his cell phone number and his office assistants are no help. It's been two weeks and I just filed a complaint with the BBB...I doubt he can complete a pool installation if he cannot even return a phone call.

My advice: STAY AWAY FROM VIKING POOLS OF THE GREATER VALLEY AND GABRIEL NOLAN YOUNG!

Update as of 9/11/08: It has been one month since we signed the contract and I gave the $200 deposit. Gabe Young of Viking Pools of the Greater Valley has not done ANYTHING to install my pool (no permit was applied for, no pool was ordered, he has never even returned to my home) and has not refunded my $200. I've also filed a complaint against him with the CSLB (Contractors State Licensing Board) for non-performance.

Update as of 9/25/08: I still have not received a refund of my $200 deposit (for absolutely NOTHING done on their part except cashing my check). Haven't had time to file in small claims yet, but I will soon.

Speaking of which, Gabe Young of Viking Pools GV has hired an attorney who sent me a letter demanding $900.00 by 9/23/08 or they will take me to small claims court saying I owe them this additional money because now they are accusing me of canceling the contract.

I'd love the opportunity to obtain justice in a court of law, so I am anxiously awaiting notice of a hearing date since of course, I have not given them the $900 they asked for. We'll see what happens next, I'll either be filing suit or a countersuit!