Here we are already at the end of day two on my 2nd
trek into the Napa Valley Wine Country!
Today we awoke after a pretty decent night sleep –
I tossed and turned a bit due to the unfamiliar environment and it’s hot and
stuffy in our room but otherwise all good.
We sort of laid out a tentative outline of a plan
for the next few days and today would include some wineries based on the
coupons the lobby had for us and Lisa re-visiting some of her old college
stomping grounds in St. Helena.
As we awoke and enjoyed our cup of coffee we
decided to start the morning off with a walk around the area. It’s so beautiful around here! So many tree lined streets, so quiet, not
much sidewalk and just lovely.
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| I have hot friends |
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| Yup, that's a bike on a stick |
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| Could be fun? |
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| Seriously these streets!!! |
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| Come on! |
We walked
along the silent morning, came across a community park where some elderly folk
were doing a swim aerobics class. We
joked that was our future and moseyed on down the way taking in the serene
neighborhood.
Back at the motel we showered and gussied up and
headed out. We defiantly wanted to hit a
winery so our 1st stop was V. Sattui. Very pretty grounds.
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| This is a wine press from way back in the day! |
Our pour guy was awesome. Super friendly and extremely knowledgeable
about the wines and how they are made.
Lisa drilled him with questions all throughout our tasting. I loved listening to the questions she asked
and I learned a lot more just from our guy Lucas! I’m finding this round super fun doing the
Napa Valley Wine tasting with a newbie.
Halfway through the tasting I think I already have her sold. "I love Napa!" she shrieked. She’s a fan.
Lucas poured our 6 (yes 6) tastes with a few extras and I ended up
buying the Sauvignon Blanc and a delectable Zin. We headed out onto the grounds and wandered
around a bit taking some shots and off we were again.
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| What is this ancient contraption? |
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| My 1st purchases! |
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| Yup |
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| I'm excited |
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| Adorbs |
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| Self timer! |
We headed into downtown St. Helena and wandered
the shops and restaurant.
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| They have so much cooler buildings up here! |
This was a place Lisa remembered well from her college days and we had to wander in. Her eyes lit up with nostalgia and I found myself wondering what it would have been like being a college student up in these parts.
We settled on Market.
The staff was super
friendly and awesome and we each ordered a glass of red. Lisa got a lovely veggie salad and I some
yummy fish tacos. We also split an
appetizer of some amazing sauteed spinach.
Yummy yummy lunch!!!
Afterward we wandered the area some more, roaming
in and out of shops joking about the over priced goodies and finally decided to
hit the road. Again we ran into some
brutal traffic and decided to just spin around and head over to the other side which was Silverardo Trail. Libby and I had hit a bunch of the wineries over here last year. We had a voucher for Rutherford Ranch
so we headed off that way.
As we pulled in I realized I had been here! This was one of the stops Libby and I hit on
our Old Faithful Fail day! We decided to
sit outside and do a tasting with “Bistro Bites” which was a platter of some
meats, cheese and nuts. Our fella was
super cool we drank, chatted, etc over 4 more flights. I ended up heading out with a Cabernet.
We figured we had time for 1 more winery before
they started closing up and opted for Tedeschi Family Winery since it
had the same name as one of my favorite blues singers. That’s right…that’s how we based it. As we drove along I was worried we weren’t
going to make before closing time at 5pm.
I was hauling ass down Silverado Trail and as we pulled off the beaten
path we started to wonder if this was a good idea. We pulled into the winery and it looked like
we were pulling into someone’s backyard.
After some hesitation we found the door (That had those plastic flaps hanging down and for moment I thought we were walking into a freezer) and Lisa waltzed in and was
immediately smitten by Trigger the old Labrador that was chilling on the
floor.
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| Trigger |
Lexi greeted us and led us over
to the little tiny bar and started in.
I was thrilled and surprised how cool she was and
how tiny this winery is. About now I started to think that this may be the coolest
tasting yet. Um it was. So we tasted a Viognier and a Rose’ then
she said “So you want to take a walk and I’ll show you the grapes?” Um Yes!!!
She put the other 3 wines we were going to taste into a little carry on
then led us out into the vineyards. She
proceeded to tell us all about the family and how Mario and his brother had a
hand in everything and how the grapes were grown and raised and basically the whole process! It was so rad! She then had me pluck a grape off the vine and
showed me how they measure the sugar with this fancy little contraption. Rad!
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| My heaven - wandering through a vineyard with wine and a dog |
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| Wine lessons |
We headed back over and tasted some more wine then
she gave us the tour around the little winery showing us all the tools and how
the wine is made and on and on. It was
fucking awesome.
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| The perfect day! |
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| More wine lessons |
Mario then pulled up
and said hello and we hear a horrid screech.
“Oh that’s Eddie” she said. Eddie
is their peacock apparently that took up residence at the winery. She brought us over to meet him and he
promptly showed us his feathers and was so happy to listen and spin and
model. So rad.
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| Eddie |
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| He would then vibrate his feathers as if to say "LOOK AT MAH FEATHERS!!!!" |
Back into the bar we went and tasted a few more
of our faves and hers. Lisa ended up
buying a bottle and I bought two. Marios
Blend and the Rose. Lexi gave us some
recommendations of places to hit up in Calistoga and told us to come visit her
tomorrow night for happy hour at the place we had dinner last night! We just may do that! This turned out to be a fucking awesome
experience!!! It was so personal and rad
and fun and laid back, I mean there was a dog and a peacock and Lexi was so
chill! Loooooovvvveeeeee!!!!!
We headed back to our motel to freshen a bit then
back out to downtown again for dinner.
We just walked over (Which I love by the way!) and we opted for a
cheaper option tonight and hit up Puerto Vallarta Mexican Restaurant. It was awesome!
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| I'm not as drunk as I look... |
We got some yummy guacamole then I had some
awesome carnitas. I got a glass of the
house red that was decent and we stuffed our faces. So good!!!
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| Dive Bar Conversations |
Perfect. We chatted over our drinks and decided to head out in time to hit the Jacuzzi.
When we headed out we noticed some cool paintings that were painted straight onto the side of some buildings. Well we of course then took pictures!
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| Hi puppy |
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| America's Next Top Model |
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| I have no idea what I'm trying to say here... |
Now I’m here typing this blog and totally jealous
that Lisa has passed the fuck out…ha! (Because she ate too much fucking food...her words...)
Having a blast so far! Exhausted but happy! I love vacay!
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