The first day started on the wrong foot with our flight being delayed 3 hours due to mandatory flight crew rest and it really threw a wrench in my plans for that afternoon (I am VERY serious about my schedule and can get a little worked up by changes, but Krista kept me relatively calm). Suzie ended up in San Fran way earlier than us which allowed her to pick up the car- I splurged for a Mustang convertible and when we finally arrived in CA I can say it was definitely worth it. That car was FUN to drive! Which is good because the drive to Napa was beautiful but looooooong. We got to Napa too late for wine bar hopping downtown, but in time for dinner at Morimoto. The sushi was amazing and the waitress recommended a fabulous (and not too expensive) bottle of wine that was just the ticket after the long day of travel. We did walk over to Oxbow Market for dessert and got a little taste of it but I think it would have been nice to get there for lunch (it came highly recommended on many sites).
Day 2 after my morning in the conference we went to Tacos Garcia- the taco truck in Yountville- for lunch. I had the Tacos De Alambre which were chock full of meat and VERY delicious. Unfortunately it took a LONG time to get our meals (despite not seeming that busy) and you're standing in a dusty sun filled lot with no seating. I ate my whole meal waiting for Suzie's quesadilla and we finished eating at the bus stop bench. They also only take cash which thankfully we knew ahead of time but be forewarned. After that was our first winery Domain Chandon just down the street and known for their sparkling wines (my personal favorite type of wine). This was hands down my favorite winery- very pretty inside and outside with lots of shade on the property. Also a GREAT value for the tasting- $20 for 4 very large pours. Additionally you can wander the property between pours and it turns out that they don't keep great track of which wine you're on (which certainly isn't our fault- how're we supposed to keep track, we're drinking?). Needless to say we had several tastings of each of the wines thus making it even more of a bargain. Then it was back to the hotel for a conference wine and cheese tasting- not the best wines but certainly the freest wines. And Krista won another bottle during the trivia contest.
Day 3 also known as Alaina's Folly. The plan was a quick lunch followed by a bike tour of several wineries. There are several bike tour companies, but I found out that our hotel has bikes and helmets that you can take out for free so I came up with my own itinerary based on location (close), price (low), reservations (not needed), and presence of a 2 for 1 deal. Lunch was a walk to the fish taco place near the hotel- La Taquiza Fish Tacos which had delicious tacos and ceviche (I recommend the fish or octopus over the shrimp). Then we got on our bikes and headed out- or to the left if you were me. I was pedaling as hard as I could and basically going right off the sidewalk to the left. I thought maybe I forgot how to ride a bike but I didn't think that was possible since there's an expression "It's like riding a bike". Finally I had Krista try it out and it turns out it WAS actually the bike and I did much better when we switched. That was, until 1 mile into our 10 mile trek when I realized that my butt was not conditioned to bike riding. Monticello Winery was only 3.5 miles in and I was able to make it there without dying at the hands of a drunk driver or removing all my skin by bailing into the ditch on the side of the narrow bike-lane-free country roads. I wish I could say something nice about Monticello Winery, but the only good thing was that we were able to get a 2 for 1 tasting by using the WineryFinderApp that I downloaded prior to the trip. The tasting was $35, the pours were tiny, and the wines not that good. This is the point when I should have listened to Krista and turned around, but I really wanted to go to Hagafen another 2 miles away and she was game. Hagafen turned out to be Krista's favorite winery and I really enjoyed it as well. We got another 2 for 1, it was only $20 with great pours of 5 different wines- by sharing we each got to taste all 10 wines that they had and they were all delicious. Krista realized that if we bought a $24 bottle of wine they would refund our (2 for 1) tasting thus netting us 2 tastings and a bottle for $24. Definitely a win on the wine front unless you were the person carrying it back in a backpack while pressure ulcers were eating away at your backside (aka me). Guys- I nearly died on the way home and I spent the last mile in tears due to my painful backside. It was bad. Overall we had a fun time and some good wines but the pain was real. We did assuage our (butt) pain with burgers, fries, and onion rings from Gott's Roadside whose good reputation is well deserved.
Day 4 had us all over the Valley since I got out of conference early. First stop was Castello di Amorosa an actual medeival style castle on a hill which was gorgeous. Wine tasting was in the cellar and it was SUPER crowded and a little crazy. Once we finally got to our pourer though he gave great pours and we had a fun time. This, though, was the winery where I realized that there was not a lot of picnicing and hanging out drinking a bottle of wine in Napa. That's my favorite part of wine tasting in Charlottesville and eating a sandwich in the hot car sans wine just doesn't cut it. Winery 2 was Robert Mondavi which I highly enjoyed- we were able to buy a bottle to enjoy while sitting near the grape wines and they had some stunning art that we all enjoyed and Krista is going to try to imitate. Last but not least was Grgich Hills Estate where we had a manic pre-pubescent leprechaun as our pourer. Honestly I don't remember the wines as much as his incessant well meaning intrusions into our conversation. I wish that we had all assumed different identities to have some more fun. The highlight of the day was the Wine Train for dinner- 1915 Pullman cars that travel the length of the valley. We brought a bottle of our free wine to open and enjoyed a delicious 3 course meal while watching the sun set over the mountains. It was lovely and a highlight of the trip if I do say so myself.
Ahhhhh the finale. Our last day. It was hot- very very hot. Stop 1 was Frog's Leap which had more reds than whites- not the best on such a hot day. They do have a very pretty garden but it was hard to enjoy on such a hot day. Then we hit up Mumm for more sparkling wine. They don't require reservations- but that just means you have to wait in line for a table and given that it was a weekend there was a sizable wait. The pours were a decent size and the sparkling wine was decent but I didn't love it as much as Domain Chandon. They do have a nice art gallery (bonus- air conditioning) that had some lovely Ansel Adams' but you can't really walk around drinking your wine because they you give up your table. I think we all needed a little break at this point and luckily Krista and I were headed to Mass at St. Helena Catholic Church. On the way in I said "I hope they have air conditioning" (it looked like an older church) to which Krista responded (disdainfully if I do say so myself) "Of course they'll have AC". They technically do, but it wasn't working that day which was disappointing. They also have the heaviest wine chalice either one of us have ever held-FYI. Dinner was at Archetype- paid for by Suzie's work due to a little snafu that caused her to be absent for the bike riding day (in case you were wondering why she mysteriously disappeared like she was the youngest child in an 80s sitcom). It was lovely and cool inside- very farm to table inspired and with delicious food and mixed drinks (we were a little wined out). I had the duck and it was fabulous- oh and the dessert donuts- yum.
Normally that would be it since we left early in the morning for the airport, but a funny thing happened as we were packing up. I took my suitcase out to the car and on the way back up I noticed that there was a woman asleep (?) in the passenger side of an SUV with a large purse on the hood of the car. I told the girls about it and we debated what to do. I thought she could be sick (aka drunk or overdosed) and that I needed to make sure she was okay, but we were also on a deadline to get to the airport and we've all seen Law & Order and know what happens if you discover a dead body. Krista proposed telling the front desk and I settled on knocking on the window and if she didn't respond then I'd go into the hotel. I don't know what was wrong with her but she was arousable (quite comically in fact since she was staring directly into the sun) so I felt safe to leave the scene.
And that's how it ended. I think overall we had a good time on the dime of my practice. I personally prefer the wine culture in Charlottesville (bonus- it's much closer) but I'm really happy that I got to experience Napa and hang out with my lady friends.
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