On Friday we started our wine tours late. I worked through the close of trade which was noon at home, so 10:00 a.m. here. We grabbed lunch at the Oxbow Marketplace, which is a public market they have here in Napa. After that we had a reservation at Trefethen Vineyards. We are members at Trefethen and we got to try 4 of their wines for free. We joined Trefethen when we were there last year and we have loved their wines ever since. We had a great taster full of knowledge about the property and the wines. The best part about the tastings is not just the wine, it is learning more about the history of Napa and how that particular vineyard fits into that history. There are a lot of great "success" stories and many of the vineyards are family businesses passed on from generation to generation.
After Trefethen we made our way to Etude, which was very nice, a brand new tasting room. The wines were just ok, we had a few good Pinot Noir's, but nothing really memorable. After Etude we made our way to Artesa, which is a beautiful site, but it was closed for the holidays.
We had dinner reservations at 5:15 p.m. on New Year's Eve (Blue Hair Reservation). We sat next to an old couple and the guy was on oxygen and he was GRUMPY as hell. He didn't like the table they were seated at, he didn't like his steak, and he didn't like his wife. :) It was kinda sad, and he was very rude to the waitstaff. We planned an early dinner so we could catch some of the New Year's Parties that were going on around Napa, but what we found out was that all the parties were sold out and we procrastinated too long to participate in any of them. So we enjoyed a great dinner, I had Ribeye, Nicole had Sole stuffed with crab. She had a great bottle of wine (she didn't drink it all, we took the rest home) and I had some cocktails to celebrate the New Year. After dinner we got some cheeses from the Oxbow Marketplace and we had a couple bottles of wine from our winery visits the past few days. We kept it pretty low key to ring in 2011. Our room is a suite so we have a couch and table with a flat screen in one area and then the king bed with another flat screen in another area so we just relaxed and watched the New Year ring in around the world.
On Saturday we didn't have any vineyard appointments so we slept in and then went to breakfast. We went to The Carneros Inn for breakfast, a place called Boon Fly Cafe. The food was very good and we enjoyed a nice breakfast. We had the whole day free today (Saturday) so we decided to drive around the Napa Valley. The towns that make up the Napa Valley from South to North are as follows:
San Francisco is about 57 miles south of Napa, CA. From Napa, you take Hwy 29 to the North and you go through Yountville, then Oakville, then Rutherford (home of Rubicon Estates), then St. Helena, and finally Calistoga. All along this Hwy are wineries, too many to count and too many to see in a month's time. Then, on the same parallel there is a road called Silverado Trail that has more wineries on it running the same distance South to North as Hwy 29. So, today we drove north up the Silverado Trail and saw all new wineries. The structures at these wineries are just beautiful. Some are brand new state of the art buildings and some are century old Chateau's, all interesting architecture. When we were driving on this Silverado Trail it felt like we were driving through rural France or rural Italy on a rainy day. We stopped for latte's and pastries and had a great day. Tonight we are dining at one of Napa's finest restaurants called Mustards. In a lot of pictures between the vines you will see yellow amongst the grass. This is mustard seeds that are planted and they are beautiful. There is also a world famous restaurant in the Napa Valley called The French Laundry. It is located in Yountville and the chef is Thomas Keller. You won't even believe some of things about this restaurant.
1. You need a reservation 6 months in advance (the only other way to get in is to call that day and hope for a cancellation)
2. Each day they create a new 9-course tasting menu
3. Lunch is $250 for 2-people
4. Dinner will cost over $500
5. WE ARE NOT EATING THERE!!
Napa Valley is home of some of the best restaurants in the US and the French Laundry is lauded as one of the best in the world. Maybe someday when Nicole's school loans are paid back!
As I write this we are sitting in front of the fireplace in the lobby bar enjoying a bottle of wine from Rubicon. Nicole is searching away on her Ipad (can't get that out of her hands when we are in the room or at home). We want to wish everyone a Happy New Year! We wish you all the happiness and success of 2010 and we love you!
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