Sonoma

Unveiling General

By: Charles Giuliano - Jun 24, 2017

Sonoma

From the balcony
The square below
Statue under wraps
Guarded last night
Until dawn
Against rowdy revelers
This sweet town
About 10,000 souls
Winemakers and pensioners
Tipsy tourists
Staggering from tasting rooms
Some thirty or so
Within walking distance
Where once were
Groceries and hardware stores
Now gentrified
Daze of wine and roses
Tasted some 24 other day
Mostly spat
Except for high end ones
Forty bucks on up
Exotic vintages
Just a hundred cases
Me who never drinks
Before supper
Never friggin Chardonnay
Too buttery and oaked up
Tried the new ones
Fermented in steel
Fresh and cleaner
Evenings a half bottle
Mostly French
Set down a few years
Vineyards far as the eye can see
Here to Napa
Unveiling this afternoon
Celebrating General Vellajo
Founder of Sonoma
Last mission of Franciscans
Bringing Jesus to California
Swiss Hotel
Where I scribble this
1850s adobe home
Of esteemed general's brother
Later expanded
Cozy and charming
Just five rooms
Local legends
We never knew
Before being there