Tickets on sale for 24th annual Passport to Dry Creek Valley

Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. for the 24th annual wine event Passport to Dry Creek Valley. If you have a hankering to get up to Sonoma County this spring, this rollicking wine event could be the excuse.

It takes place this year Saturday and Sunday, April 27 and 28, throughout Dry Creek Valley (70 miles north of San Francisco) and Healdsburg. And get this, if you fly into Santa Rosa on Alaska Airlines, you can check a case of wine for free.

This is much more than a tasting in a tent: Events take place at more than 50 Dry Creek Valley member wineries. Find out which and where, download maps and more at www.wdcv.com. To get in the spirit of things, you can also watch a video about the event on YouTube. At Da Vero Farms & Winery, for example, taste their Italian varietal wines paired with spit-roasted spring lamb and bread from their woodburning oven. Mazzocco Sonoma will be pouring Zinfandels with Neapolitan-style pizzas, while Michel-Schlumberger will lay on Mexican dishes with their wines. Quivera Vineyards and Winery is channeling Provence, while Manzanita Creek is doing hardwood-grilled steak. And on and on.

I’ve been warned that tickets sell out fast, so get out those calendars, round up friends, and make those plane and lodging reservations. The cost is $120 for a two-day passport, $70 for a Sunday-only ticket (wine event only). The most convenient place to stay is Healdsburg, which can offer a hot restaurant scene right now, too. So best make your restaurant reservations along with everything else if you don’t want to end up dining in another part of the county for dinner. For more information on Healdsburg, check www.healdburg.com. And don’t forget to get a sticky bun at Downtown Bakery & Creamery.

Passport updates can be found at Facebook/drycreekvalley or on Twitter @drycreekvalley hashtag #DCVPassport.

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