Category

Visit WineCountry

Oct 19
0

Art Trails – Real life in Sonoma County

By | RE Investing, Sonoma County info, Visit WineCountry | No Comments

at-2007-cover-web.jpg Coming weekend is the second weekend of Art Trials in Sonoma County. It’s the 22nd year and voted “Sonoma County’s Best Outdoor Art Event”. It provides a rare opportunity for the public to meet local artists in their studios and learn about what they are doing. And of course enjoy the art.

pb152043.jpg

It’s going to be gorgeous again this weekend, the colors are beautiful, it’s life the wine county at it’s best, my husband calls the best place on earth to life (he’s done quite a bit of traveling). So when your visiting or live locally: get out and enjoy life!

The Sonoma County Economic Development Board came out with the employment report for September for Sonoma County: Local unemployment dropped slightly in Sonoma County to 4. 5 %. Employment is up slightly in September for two primary factors: Farm jobs are up 16% a month over; extra help must have been hired for the harvest. Also, government is up 11% after a 28% increase in local government education hiring a month over. Teachers have gone back to schools. Other sectors mostly had minor dips or rises within a few percentages.

All reasons to life and invest in living in Sonoma County. Investors have started to buy Real Estate for investment, it’s a great time to buy property, and an even better time to move up. Contact me for more info.

Have a great weekend!

mirjamnew.jpgMirjam

Oct 13
0

Soggy weekend

By | Buyers, Press Democrat, RE Investing, Sonoma County info, Visit WineCountry, Wine, Wine Tasting, Winery with picnic place | One Comment

This weekend is going to be a soggy weekend in Sonoma County. The unseasonable rain has the grape growers running to harvest the grapes before they rot (see PD article)and the rain will not boost buyers confidence to go shopping for homes. Most people don’t realize but investors have started to pick up good opportunities. This week we did put an offer in on a fixer on Montgomery drive. Interesting to see that there were 5 competing offers… Yes it was a good deal.

Recently I have seen quite a few properties with a price per SqFt around $260, great opportunities in great neighborhoods.

So the best thing to do this weekend is go, enjoy the drive through beautiful Sonoma County, visit a small winery and get a feel for the hustling and bustling of the winegrowers. A great small winery of the beaten path is Sunce on Olivet road, great wines, a lovely place to enjoy a pinic -should the sun decide to show up- with a lovely bocce bal court.

Their 2005 Zinfandel won double gold at the Harvest Fair and rightfully so…

Have a great weekend!

mirjamnew.jpg Mirjam

Oct 04
0

Grape Crush in Wine Country

By | Sonoma County info, Visit WineCountry, Wine, Wine Tasting, Winery with picnic place | No Comments

There is a reason life is good in Sonoma County. It’s harvest time and the grape crush is in progress. Prime time to go wine tasting and get a feel how the expectations are for this year’s harvest. So far I only hear good things.

Last weekend we had some friends visiting from Cupertino, which was the perfect reason to go wine tasting. One of the wineries we visited was Kenwood vineyards in Kenwood, a great winery to visit with a perfect spot for a picnic lunch. We had made arrangements for a tour of the winery and were we lucky when saw a new truckload of grapes come in. We did learn a lot about grapes and the process of crushing the grapes. It’s hard work, but the result is what counts… The wines!

grape-crush.jpg

Personally I do like the Sonoma County label the best. It is different from the Yulupa label which you will find in restaurants. The Sonoma County Zinfandel of 2004 is our favorite besides the Vintage Red, a great affordable every day wine, this year totally different from last year, I did like last year a little better. 2005 promises to be an excellent year, I can hardly wait.

Kenwood is also a great place to live and currently there are some great properties for sale. One that caught my attention, it’s on Los Guilicos Ave, a great house in a remarkable peaceful setting. Should you be interested in a showing, please let me know.

It’s a good life,

Mirjam

Aug 23
0

Oldest Church Building in Calistoga for Sale

By | Buyers, Visit WineCountry, Wine Tasting | No Comments

This week I had the honor to put a very interesting building on the market. It’s the oldest church building in Calistoga.

Calistoga has an interesting and rich history and is a beautiful town to visit. You won’t be the only one visiting, it is a great destination year round. Should you decide to go, please don’t forget to visit the Sharpsteen museum, it is a lovely museum with a beautiful display on the old Calistoga. Should you like to stay for a few days, you won’t regret this, there are quite a few beautiful places to stay. Calistoga is in the middle of Wine County and besides the many wineries, it is known for their hot springs, make sure you pamper yourself with a spa treatment.

historicalmls.jpgThis is a picture I found in the Sharpsteen Museum, it was taken in 1908. It is the oldest church building in Calistoga. Built in 1869 as a one room frame church and extensively remodeled by C.J.B. Moore in 1902, which gave it its Victorian Gothic appearance, this is the first church that was built in Calistoga. There are two attached one bedroom apartments each having their own entrance. The city of Calistoga has put this building on the preliminary list of historical buildings and it is their intention to have the building maintain its current look. More information is available at the property’s website: www.1323cedarstreet.com.

The zoning is residential, please check with the city of Calistoga for other uses, possibly a B&B.

Asking price $ 749,000. Please feel free to contact me for more information.

Have a great day!

 Mirjam de Rijk Mirjam