Picnicking is also encouraged, so visitors who take full advantage of the amenities can savor an Old World-style of relaxation that's being preserved in wine country. We do occasionally invite friends, members of the wine trade and restauranteurs for loosely organized tournaments. Over in the Russian River Valley, visitors gravitate to the bocce ball court at Armida Winery, a noted producer of Pinot Noir. They put in the court before we bought into the winery. Armida's bocce ball court is pleasantly situated and seems to be the center of outdoor life here.
People open a bottle of wine and hang out and whoop it up for hours.
The court sits between the vineyard and the pond, and is lined by roses on one side and has some nice benches on the other. And there's a big stone lion's head overseeing things. Visitors to Armida, which is open seven days a week, are welcome to use the court. The Chardonnay specialists at Sonoma Valley's Landmark Vineyards see bocce as one of the great wine-drinking games. We put in our court in the spring of 1997.