Wine Country

Well the trip to Napa couldn't have been better! We left town Friday afternoon and flew into Oakland and took the shuttle into Napa, where Mr. & Mrs. Clancy were waiting to pick us up and take us to dinner! We ate a cute little bar/restaurant in Yountville, close by to the vineyard were Tedi and I were staying. Tedi and I stayed at Stags Leap in a cute little bungaloo right in the vineyard! It was absolutely amazing to wake up and go run in the vineyard, weaving up and down through the vines!

In the early morning there would be a heavy fog that would burn off by around 9am as it got warmer. We were blessed with perfect weather the whole time, and I could not get over the beautiful rolling hills and natural landscape in the valley! It was the perfect setting for patio sitting and wine sipping!

On our first day there, we started with breakfast back in Yountville on the patio before heading over to our first appointment at the Beaulieu Vineyard in Rutherford. In retrospect, I think this was my favorite vineyard and appointment, they patiently answered all my questions and gave a very informational tour of their facility and how it all works!

To finish it off, we got to try the exact same wine but aged in differnt types of oak barrels to see the different effect the oak's region has on the taste of the wine. With this experiment I learned that I prefer French Oak to American Oak! It makes for a smokey flavor, and just seemed smoother to me. So tip on buying Cabernet's, look on the label to see what kind of barrell the wine was aged in, and I recommend French Oak, or a French & American blend. Truely the complexity and variety that these wine makers put into their wine is overwhelming!

After our first appointment, we stopped in St. Helena for a quick lunch as we headed to our next appointment at St. Clement Vineyard. St. Helena was such a cute little shopping area! They had great boutiques and restaurants and I wouldn't have minded sticking around there a bit longer to do some more shopping! After our tasting at St. Clement, we stopped by one more vineyard where we got to ride a gondola up to the winery and tour and taste and enjoy the view!

Then we headed back to the Rutherford House, where the rest of the Clancy clan was staying, to rest up on the porch for dinner! The Rutherford House and property was gorgeous. I absolutely loved the kitchen there and the landscaping on the grounds! The view from the porch was phenomenal!

The next morning we got up and headed over to Artesa Winery in Sonoma. There we got to tour their facility and continue learning from our wonderful guide Ann. We finished the tour with a tasting out on the patio before heading off to lunch, and our next tour at Gloria Ferrer! We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon on the patio there, with a quick tour through the caves where they store their wine, and got to enjoy their sparkling wines they are famous for and to learn more about the Sonoma region.

It was such a great trip, and I cannot wait to get to go back again already! Next time I go, I want to take the wine train up and down the valley!