mtpisgah
Posts: 3570
Joined: 6/7/2012
From: South Carolina
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Napa January 29-February 2, 2014
Three weeks ago my sweet little wife asked me if I wanted to go to Napa at the end of January or the end of March. I thought about it, for about 1/2 a second, and said yes. She had found cheap flights and so we started planning. To get the cheap flight we would have to fly out of Charlotte which is not ideal, and we have gotten spoiled flying out of GSP. It is just so much easier at the end of the trip to not have to drive two to three hours home. But that is the price you pay for being a world traveler. It would be a short trip, leaving only three full days for tastings and it was not likely we would get in a tasting the day we arrived due to the drive time from San Francisco to Napa.
I started my research on which wineries I wanted to visit, I knew some would be places we had bought from before and some would be new to us. As usual, I wanted to avoid the big wineries and just hit the ones that are usually only open by appointment. Since we would be driving ourselves, we would have to limit our tastings to one before lunch, and one to two after. We have done this a few times and it works for us, especially since I can get palate fatigue quickly and then it is all a waste. First on the list would be Myriad since we really enjoy Mike Smiths's wines. As it turns out, Mike hosts his tastings at Envy which was also on our list. Two down. I had heard a lot about Lewelling and was on the wait list so that was a done deal. I contacted Will at Rivers Marie and while he was able to add me to the mailing list rather than the wait list, he said a tasting would be tough since it was just him and Thomas. Combine that with their spring release a week before and Will's newborn, it would not look good. We talked a few days before the trip and he tried to work it out but we already had other tastings set and he did not think we could make it to him in time. The good news is that he said Lewelling was his favorite tasting in Napa so at least we knew we made a good choice with that one. Of course we would have to stop by and see Smig at Dacalier since we know him from the boards and have enjoyed a few bottles of his wine. Then came the question of doing one larger winery: Lewis or Pride. We have a friend here in Greenville who knows the owners at both wineries and he suggested we go to Pride and he was willing to set up a private tasting that would hopefully include barrel samples. We then decided that we should hit Sonoma for one day so we set up Copain and Williamson there. I think it will be a good lineup and while we would love to do more wineries, it is a short trip and we will want to hike in the mornings.
Then can the food choices. We usually go out a few times but also do some cooking on our own so we can eat a little healthier and have the convenience of sitting at our lodging and not have to drive at night. Caroline wanted to go to French Laundry if at all possible. I started calling and was finally able to get through after about 30 tries...really. They put us on the wait list and said they would call. Then I started looking at the reviews of the restaurant and realized the cost, holy cow batman! We started reviewing other restaurants for normal meals and found a few that had good recommendations. In Napa we would eat at Solbar and in Sonoma we would go to Cafe La Haye. For lunches we would go to the taco truck near Envy, Oakville Grocery or wherever we passed by that looked good.
Lodging is always a hard call, you want somewhere nice but hate to spend a lot because you should not be there that much of the day. The first place we booked was Euro Spa based on price and a few reviews. After reading a few more reviews and Caroline finding a Groupon for the Sunburst, we decided to make the change. In Sonoma we made reservations at the El Dorado which looks like it wll be a great place.
The trip is getting closer and work is busy, do we really have the time for a vacation? Of course, I can always work in Cali aferall.
On Sunday the weather service started calling for snow Tuesday night and into Wednesday. We started worrying that it would affect our trip but tried to stay positive. We decided to leave work at 4:00 on Tuesday since it had been snowing for a few hours and head to Charlotte. Caroline saw four wrecks from work to the house, it was not looking good and would only get worse. The two hour drive took almost four due to the road conditions and we saw at least 15 wrecks in SC. NC had put deicer on the roads Monday afternoon and the pavement there was in much better condition. We made it to the hotel safely but very tired. We checked in, made a reservation for the shuttle to the airport since we could leave the car at the hotel. After reaching the room we ate turkey sandwiches for dinner and went to sleep. Sleep being relative of course since Paul only slept about four hours and Caroline not much more.
Wednesday
We woke at 5:30 so we could make the 6:00 shuttle. After showering we headed downstairs to catch the shuttle. The roads were in pretty good condition but I was still glad we did not have to drive. When we checked in at the airport we learned there was a flight that would get us to San Francisco an hour early than originally planned so we jumped on it. The flights went well and we arrived in SF safely. When we went to pick up the rental, we asked about an upgrade to a convertible, $100 you say...done. So off we went in our Mustang.
We had lunch at the Triple Rock Brewery and then headed to Napa. Or first stop was the Napa Valley Wine and Cigar to meet Carrie and Randy who I have conversed with on Wine Berserkers. We picked up a bottle of Double Diamond and asked about suggested wineries to visit. Their top pick was Alpha Omega. While we didn't plan on a tasting for Wednesday because of being tired, we just happened to pass it on the way to the hotel so we stopped off to try it, we were not disappointed. The whites were fantastic and bought a couple of the unoaked Chardonnays to take home. The reds were also great but we passed for now, we may order some later though. 
When we arrived at the hotel we checked in and went to our room. The room looked clean but the bed had only been partially made. Caroline called the front desk and they offered to upgrade us to a suite for the hassle. Awesome! The room is recently renovated and very roomy. After having a light dinner in the room, we went to the heated mineral pool for a soak. We will definitely stay here again.
Thursday
We slept well and felt refreshed in the morning. We had breakfast at the hotel and then went for a six mike walk. We passed by Envy and even got to see Old Faithful. We headed back to the hotel to shower before going to the tastings of the day. As we left the hotel, we put the top down to enjoy the day more. It was a little cool but still comfy.
The first tasting was Myriad which was held at the Envy winery tasting room. We have had their wines before and have also bought Quivet which is made by the same winemaker, Mike Smith. We tasted through some of the Quivet, Myriad, Carter and Ancillary wines, including barrel samples of the Myriad including the 2012 Beckstoffer Dr Crane Reserve, they were all fantastic. The tasting lasted about an hour and a half, with eight wines total. It was a big way to start the day and the CC reflects it. Mike is a great guy and told us about his wine making, his past, and everything else under the sun. I would love to sit around talking to him for hours.
We walked to the taco truck down the street for lunch, I had the beef tongue burrito while Caroline had the beef tongue quesadilla. They were both out of this world, we are hoping our other meals in Napa will be this good.
We headed back to Envy for their tasting. I skipped the tasting this time since we did the Myriad tasting on an empty stomach. They had another couple there tasting so we did not get the personal attention that we did with Mike but Mark was able to spend some time with us so it was still enjoyable. Caroline enjoyed the tasting and we picked up a few bottles to take with us.
We then raced off to Pride up Spring Mountain Road. We arrived at Pride and checked in with Jason and learned that two other couples would be joining us for the tasting. We started with a chardonnay that was a bit too citrusy for me but not bad. We moved on to the cellar where we tasted a merlot from the bottle, a merlot from the barrel, and a cab from the barrell. They were all great wines but the cab was the best, still very tight and in need of some aging though. All of the barrel samples still need to be blended to the final wine that will be bottled.
We talked to Jason about the other wineries we had already been to and a few of the other wines we usually buy. He knew the other winemakers and we hit it off with him much more than the other tasters did. When we got back to the tasting room he opened a reserve cab and claret and told the other tasters that they were in luck because he had to open the top wines to compete against his friends we had already visited. It was a great visit and a very attractive winery. We ended our visit by driving through the winery for a few pictures.
One the way back from Pride. She drives a WRX at home so she was not impressed by the Mustang's power.
We arrived back at the hotel and jumped in the pool for a quick soak. We then got ready for dinner at Solbar which is a Michelin starred restaurant. While the food was good, it was a it too foo foo for us, and we don't mind foo foo food sometimes. The taco truck for lunch was better. The service was great and I can imagine it being a great place to eat during the summer when you can sit outside next to wone of the fires.
Friday
We got up this morning and had breakfast at the hotel. We then went out for a hike at Bathe State Park. We hiked about six miles and enjoyed the trail. It was very quite, strangely so in fact. We have spend a lot of time in the woods and are used to hearing the sounds of critters, but here there was notihing. Kind of nice, kind of weird.
After the hike we headed to Dacalier to see Dave Smigeleski. We have had a few of his wines before and they are a great QPR. He is also making the Napa CT custom crush wines which are fantastic. We tasted the Dacalier, Vin de Temps, and six of the custom crush wines. All were fantastic and we are now hoping to get on the wait list for the 2012 wines.
We went to the Oakville Grocery for lunch, it was fantastic. I had the chicken quesadilla and Caroline had the smoked turkey sandwhich. For desert we split a double carrot cake cookie. It was to kill for. It is farm to table food and the place was packed even in the off season, I cannot imagine how busy it would be during the summer. After lunch we headed to Lewelling for a tasting with Jill. The tasting is at a house on the property. She told us all about the history of the family and the winery, it was very intersing. We sat down to taste the one wine they made for 2011. They only make cabernets and they have a great reputation. Jill served us cheese and bread with the wine and it was great, very subtle with a pop and pour, much easier drinking than some of the other cabs we have had this week. Then she dropped the bomb, they don't have amy wine available for sale. We are on the waiting list but it could take years to get on it. Their production is very limited and they just don't have enough to go around. We inquired about why they still offer tastings, free at that, if they do not have wine available. Jill said that it is just how the owner likes to do it. Caroline asked if we could buy what was remaining of the bottle and she said no, but she would give it to us take back to the hotel. We very excited to see how it would evolve during the evening. We walked around the winery property to enjoy the beautiful weather before heading out to pick up dinner.
We went to Dean and Deluca to get something to take back to the hotel. Salads, mac and cheese, and some chocolate. It was all very good. We opened one of the Alpha Omega chardonnays and also had some of the Double Diamond, and finished off the Lewelling. We would have bought six of the Lewellings if they had them available, I hope we get on the list soon. It had evolved nicely over the few hours it had been opened
Saturday
We got up and had breakfast at the hotel again and then went to Robert Louis Stevenson Park to hike. It started with a nice single track trail and then we turned on to a gravel road. We continued to hike for a few miles on the road wondering if we had missed the trail. We later saw some other hikers and realized that we were going the right way, it just seems like a bummer to hike on a road all day. We put the top down on the car and headed back to the hotel to shower and pack the car so we could head to Sonoma. We went by the convenience store where the taco truck parks but they were not there so we continued on until we could find something to eat.
We pulled into Healdsburg and stopped at the Oakville Grocery for lunch. We ate in the park in downtown and then walked down to Williamson Wines for a tasting. This was an open tasting room and was a very different atmosphere than what we had experienced thus far. The wines were good even if a little over priced for a few of them. The tasting staff is apparently not used to people who know anything about wine and told us all kinds of things about the wine and cheese pairing. Unfortunately some of the things they said are not exactly true and did not endear themselves to us. Saying that they thin the clusters from the vines so the grapes get more nutrients is a good thing. Saying that most wineries do not do this is just wrong though. We did buy some of the truffle salt but passed on the wine, we can always have Dave Curran buy a few bottles since he is a member of the club.
We headed to UPS to ship the case we had collected over the past few days. Since we actually had 13 wines, we kept out one of the Envy's to drink with dinner tonight. UPS ran the total for the shipment and it was $108, I about had a heart attack. I told him we would just buy the styro shipper box and take the wine on the plane for $25 as a checked bag. This is the issue with buying just a few bottles at a winery I guess. We headed on down the road for our tasting at Copain. When we arrived we were given a glass of the chardonnay to sip on while the other tasters were gathered together. Bob, the tasting staff member who helped us, took us outside to talk about the winery and the property. It is a great property and has a wonderful view. I could sit in the Adirondack chairs all day and just gaze at the view. We then went back inside to do the rest of the tasting at a table. Caroline and I say down with the other five tasters and started off with two pinot noirs. They were both fantastic and much less fruit forward than the Williamson wines. We then moved on to the syrahs which were also fantastic. They reminded me a little of some WA syrahs but without as much fruit. All of the wines were very enjoyable and we bought a mixed case to have shipped home. After the tasting we say in the Adirondack chairs for a bit just to enjoy the view. I wish we had enough time to enjoy a glass of wine and lunch sitting there, we will on the next visit.
When we left Copain the temperature had gone down a little and we knew we had about an hour drive to Sonoma where we would stay for the night. We arrived at the El Dorado Inn and checked in. We had dinner reservations for Cafe La Haye but decided to have dinner at the Inn instead since it was so convenient and the menu looked great. After canceling the reservations at Cafe La Haye and unpacking the car, we took the half finished bottle of AO unoaked chardonnay and Envy Bee Bee's Blend down to the restaurant where they do not charge corkage if you are staying at the hotel. We both started with the tuna tartar which was splendid. I am not big on avocado but was on a bed of it and it did add something nice to it. The wasabi was mixed with flying fish roe which I do not usually like due to the saltiness but the wasabi cut it just enough so it was awesome. I then moved on to the beef carpaccio and Caroline had the pork belly with scallops. We both had the mixed greens salad which was very good. For desert I had the gooey chocolate cake and Caroline had the apple crisp. The cake definitely went better with red wine but the apple crisp may have been a little bit tastier. We retired to our room and we to bed. While the Sunburst beds were very comfy and the hotel was quite, the El Dorado beds were not at all comfy and the street noise was hard to deal with. Overall the stay was still good however and the restaurant made up for it.
Beef carpaccio is awesome.
We woke Sunday morning to rain which ruined our plans to drive to the airport with the top down. We headed straight there just in case we could get an earlier flight out but we had no luck. We got the case of wine checked in and headed into the bowels of the airport for breakfast. After eating we found our gate and eventually boarded the plane for the long flight home. The trip was fantastic and we are already starting to talk about when to go again and which wineries to hit. We will definitely return to Myriad, Dacalier, and Copain because the experience and wine are so fantastic. A return to Lewelling will also be likely although not being able to buy the wine is kind of a bummer. But I am a patient man.
< Message edited by mtpisgah -- 2/9/2014 6:28:47 PM >
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Paul
I read books to pass the time until the next bottle of wine.
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Our first trip to Napa - 
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