California Wine Country

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We arrived in Napa to an extreme heat wave of over 100 degrees for several days—very unusual for mid-May. Thankfully, the heat broke and we had lovely weather for the next two weeks.

The wineries beckoned, so we drove off in search of some fine, but reasonably priced wines. Alas, they were few and far between. Most wineries charge a tasting fee of $5 to $15, and many of the wines we sampled were OK but not worth the price, in our opinion.

But not to complain—two weeks in the lovely Napa and Sonoma Valleys were quite enjoyable. Alan set up a private tasting with a very small winemaker who produces award-winning pinot noir. We met Kent at his storage cellar and he gave us a barrel-tasting of his 2005 pinot, which we liked very much. We promptly bought half a case, since his wines are not readily available elsewhere.

Each of the wineries we encountered was a little different—Hess has a small eclectic art gallery, Ferrari-Carrano has gorgeous gardens, and V. Sattui has a picnic grove where we bought delectable deli goodies and washed them down with a nice bottle of light rose. For white wine lovers, Rombauer’s chardonnay is always a winner.

We didn’t just drink wine……..one day we hopped in the car and drove over to US1 on the California coast. A great lunch was served at a little out-of-the-way inn overlooking the water. The drive back was a little hairy, as we chose a remote road through a redwood forest to return inland. Once our stomachs settled after 25 miles of hairpin turns on Stewart-Skaggs Road, we headed toward Healdsburg, a really cute town north of the Sonoma Valley. We wished we had more time to explore the town, but the Ferrari-Carano winery beckoned and we still had a long drive back to Napa.

Another day trip took us to Muir Woods, a preserved redwood forest named after John Muir, who was instrumental in preserving parks such as Yosemite, Crater Lake, The Grand Canyon, the Petrified Forests of Arizona, Sequoia National Park, Mount Rainier, Glacier Bay in Alaska, Mammoth Caves in Kentucky and several others. Not too shabby for a guy who didn’t even move to the U.S. until 1849. He is thought of as one of the founding fathers of the National Park system, and he worked with President Theodore Roosevelt. Considering the modes of transportation in those days, he has a more than remarkable record of travel and conservation.

Next destination: Santa Fe, New Mexico

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Photos

Greystone
The Culinary Institute of America building in Napa Valley

Napa Valley View
View from one of the surrounding hillsides

Carneros Growing District
Domaine-Chandon winery in the distance

Buena Vista Winery Sign
Nice sign, but mediocre wines

Ferrari-Carrano Winery
Alan rubbing the boar's snout for good luck

Newly formed grapes
Grapes just forming from the spring blossoms