Blogs from Napa Valley, California, United States, North America - page 6

I'm not going to lie; it felt wonderful to leave San Francisco. We headed north on the 101. After nearly taking out some pedestrians, we found ourselves on the Golden Gate Bridge. The bridge is, well, very long, which means my dad would hate it. It was also beautiful and covered in a thick, cool fog. From its streets, we could look back on the city. We didn't have to go too far from the bridge before the temperature started to finally rise. At 70 degrees, we put down the top of the convertible and cruised through the rolling hills of northern California. Soon, the ground turned golden, and it was spotted with funky looking trees that looked like something out of a photo of Africa. The temperature continued to climb, and soon we were ... read more

Lige nord for SF ligger Napa og Sonoma Valleys, som er to af Californiens helt store vinområder - alene Napa Valley kan mønstre over 400 vingårde. Christina og jeg besluttede os for en tur væk fra storbyen og ud i landskabet med en arrangeret bustur incl. wine tastings. Det viste sig at være en god idé. Dels betyder dét, at man har sin egen chauffør, at man ikke behøver spytte ud, når man smager på vinen og dels fik vi mulighed for at opleve mange amerikanere på nært hold, og det var ganske underholdende. Vindalene er meget smukke med de grønne vinmarker, der bugter sig mellem mere afsvedne gule marker, der ikke bliver vandet. Det regner ikke mellem maj og oktober, så uden kunstig vanding er der meget lidt, der kan gro. (Og her bliver vandet ... read more

With the best weather we'd experienced in over a week, we donned our sundresses and headed to Napa Valley for some wine tasting (again with Pete!) ! We started at V Sattui to get some food, and from there went to a few other vineyards (usually seeking out those with the most tastings for the least amount of money). We each purchased some wine, quantity increasing as the day went on (and bac's rose). Our favorite server of the day was Bob at Elizabeth Spencer whose infectious excitement and crude frankness got us pumped about WINE! Overall the day was great, but not much to say. check the pictures! Afterwards we headed to a hubbard household in Davis to spend the night. We had an amazing home-made meal, most of which came from their garden, and ... read more

Wine alternative in Wine Country Ok, this trip was supposed to be a surprise b'day gift for my fiancee, but the weather during the weekend closest to her birthday was so lousy that I had to postpone it. As it turns out, I couldn't be any happier that the trip is postponed till now. The day is a bit longer, the weather is very summer-like. Un-be-lief-able! whoo hoo. We start the trip early today, but we still don't get to Bale Grist Mill State Park until 11:30 am. The turn to the state park is off highway 29 after you pass St. Helena and the St. Helena outlet. We don't quite know what to expect, but when I planned for this trip, I am looking for something that is also outside of wine or winery. In ... read more

French Oak, Wine Caves, and a Rapping Wine Server. I've toured 4 amazing wine regions in Australia, traveled through the New Zealand Marlborough region, been on a Sideways tour in Santa Ynez Valley, tasted at some wineries in Temecula, and have even been to a wedding in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. With all of this cork popping, sniffing, pouring, and swirling, the one place I hadn't been to was the famous Napa Valley. My parents, being avid wine connoisseurs themselves, planned a trip up to Napa for 3 days. Needless to say, it didn't require much convincing and I agreed to pick them up at the San Francisco Airport to be their personal wine tasting chauffeur. I booked a very nice hotel called The Meritage Resort, which was right on the sout... read more