A long overdue post on our trip to Napa....After SFO Ben and I drove up to Napa for the rest of the weekend and the week to follow. Lucy Ben has a new client that is in the wine business and was working at one of the wineries for the week. I was lucky enough to not have any jobs in the field and was able to tag along and work remotely. We arrived in Napa late Saturday night and checked into the hotel. Nothing fancy, just a Hilton Garden Inn, but the rooms had just been redone and they had a nice pool area too. Sunday Ben and I headed out to visit some of the wineries. Through the day we hit 3 wineries for tastings and one for a tour and tasting. The weather was perfect, 75 and sunny and we had a great time learning about the wine making process and trying the different types. I won't do a true review on the places we visited but here are a few thoughts.
- Castello di Amorosa - huge castle recently built, but made to mirror historical Italian castles and completed with all materials brought over from Italy. Did a tour that allowed us to go through the caves and taste out of a barrel. Wine wasn't great but the info from the tour and access to the caves and the barrel tasting made it a great way to start the day.
- Summers - small (I mean really small) family owned winery. The wines were really good and they make a specific wine called a Charbono that goes perfect with tomato and or garlic based foods. We really enjoyed this place and actually ended up buying 6 bottles.
- Chateau Montelena - great grounds with a lake and Chinese gardens. Perfect place to take lunch and eat outside before heading in to taste some wines. This winery is the one that is featured in the movie Bottle Shock which tells the story of how the winery beat 4 french white wines and 5 other California whites when the French judges were convinced that the top white wine they tasted was a French wine. Wine was very good - we took a bottle home with us.
- Chandon - huge operation but with great sparkling wine and a cool atmosphere. They do have other wines (Ben tried a Pinot flight) but I love their sparkling wines. The other great thing about this place is you can sit outside, inside, wherever and drink your flights. You don't need to just belly up at the bar and toss back 3 glasses and leave. The other bonus - their pours are basically full glasses. Well worth the $16 tasting fee!
After our 4 visits on Sunday we headed to dinner at Mustard's. A great place for laid back, good food. But keep in mind you will need reservations or risk a long wait.
Monday night we headed to a Giant's game and froze our butt's off. With the stadium right on the water and the coolness of SFO in general we were all under dressed for the night game. But even through we couldn't feel our toes we had a great time sitting right in front of the visiting pitchers throwing area and harassing them.
Tuesday night Ben and I headed to Auberge du Soleil for dinner. We had considered going to the French Laundry but when I compared the menu examples I thought for the price we would enjoy Auberge more. Now don't get me wrong, this wasn't a cheap meal (plan for $500 for two, with wines), but for the money we thought this would be a better choice than the French Laundry and it didn't dissapoint. We were seated on the back balcony overlooking the Auberge property and the valley. The evening cooled down and the restaurant was ready with heaters. The temp dropped to the mid-fifties and I was wearing a sundress and didn't even need to put a wrap on. Ben and I decided to do the 6 course tasting menu with wine pairings and had a great meal. I would highly recommend visiting if you are planning a visit to Napa. If you are interested in dining at Auberge but the price scares you away, consider eating at the less expensive Bistro for lunch. You can still enjoy the scenery and the wonderful food but not the huge price tag.
Wednesday Ben was able to get out of work a little early and scored us a private tour of Chimney Rock. Chimney Rock is one of the wineries owned by Ben's client. Tom gave us a great tour of the grounds the manufacturing area and then lead us through a customized tasting that was some of the best wine of the trip. We couldn't resist sending another 6 bottles home. :)
After a great week in Napa I headed home on Thursday morning to meet my Mom at the airport. She was coming in for the weekend. Ben headed home on Friday. Overall a great trip to SFO and Napa. Can't wait to return!
