First Time in the Wine Country

A view from Rubicon Estates.

I've been wanting to post about our trip to the wine country and I keep thinking I don't have the time to do it justice. We had such a fantastic, relaxing time I'm not sure any writing will actually do it justice, but I'll try.

We started off early Thursday morning making the drive from Berkeley to Napa. Along the hour drive there were some nice little towns and some very run down towns, but all around were hills and trees and water. We knew we were in Napa when the trees were no longer just trees, but rows and rows of grapevines.

We stayed at a little place called Napa River Inn. It was a boutique hotel that overlooked the river. The rooms were really nice sized with fireplaces and balconies. They greeted us with chilled champagne and chocolate covered strawberries. Each night before bed we would fill out a card and hang it on our door. This card held our requests for breakfast the next morning and what time we wanted it delivered to our room.

After checking in we visited our first vineyard, Cliff Lede. This was a more formal vineyard and the people weren't overly friendly. We did taste two wines there for $15 and found a great Sauvignon Blanc. Across the street is where the fun really began. At Goosecross we found a very relaxed atmosphere, a very outgoing and friendly employee and about 10 wines to taste for $8. We tasted wines that had been in a decanter for 2 hours, wine poured directly from a newly opened bottle, wine with chocolate, wine with crackers, etc. It was lovely and we had a big time favorite of a 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon.

Along with the vineyards visited over the course of our 2 days we found a great place to sample cheeses and crackers and other goodies at V. Sattui. The cheese chef had a special the first day of a cream cheese based spread with habenero peppers and pineapple and it was so good we could have eaten it alone for our lunch.

A small glimpse of V. Sattui's grounds

There is another place called the Oakville Grocery where you can sample many items and buy everything you need for a fantastic picnic. We enjoyed a picnic on day two (complete with the blanket and straw picnic basket) with olives and salami and many cheeses and crackers and chocolate that went perfectly with our merlot (which had a nice toasty oak finish, I might add) . Yes, I did learn a few things along the way as well. After our lunch we even had a little nap under a big oak tree. I've always thought picnics were romantic, but I have to say its even more romantic in Napa Valley.

No. We are not good at taking our own pictures like Katy and John.

We got to walk the streets of Napa during a Thursday night Chef's Market, where all the locals bring their veggies and fruits and wines for the local Chef's to buy. There were also little crafts and fresh lavender, etc while the live band was the center of it all. We ate on the patio of a restaurant called The Allegrio where we could hear the band and be warmed by the patio heaters. We had the best crab cakes here that I've had in quite a long time. This was all in walking distance from our "Inn".

We had a very relaxing massage in Calistoga one evening at 7:00 before we drove back to Yountville for a wonderful dinner.

We drove all the way up Hwy 29 from Napa to Calistoga and back down the Silverado Trail during our two days and I would suggest you go if you are looking for a relaxing time...and you like a little wine once in a while.

Oh...and on your way in our out of San Fransisco you'll minimally want to hit Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf and Lombard Street.

Yes, you too should go!