Every year, I get to go away for the weekend with three wonderful women! We typically go to Nevada City, but this year we decided to do Napa Valley! WOO HOO!
We left early afternoon Friday. DH loaned us his Jeep. First stop: Domaine Carneros. Since DH and I are members, we get to have a free tour for four once a year. I took the girls on the tour. It was Shanti’s first time trying sparking wine!
Going behind the scenes….
This is a neat vintage picture of men manually rotating the bottles. Now, it is all done automatically via computer (see the crate photo). The men wore lead aprons because the glass was thinner back then and corks would pop, causing them to fly HARD…
The tour tasting room…
We then drove to Cindy Pawlcyn’s Wood Grill and Wine Bar.
We shared appetizers: EGGPLANT FRIES (BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND) with thyme, sesame & spiced yoghurt, and SWEET CRISPY PORK BELLY with Thai chile jam & pickled garlic.
For my main course, Tina and I shared a dozen ‘Bonita’ oysters from Washington state. YUM!
I was thrilled to discover that the special dessert for the evening was Bananas Foster.
This is pretty much my favorite dessert of all time! We also had Affogato (vanilla ice cream with espresso poured over it. We made it decaf.) Perfect ending…
Drove up to Calistoga and checked into our room. Roman Spa Hot Springs Hotel is a decent property. It could use some updating, but the property was well maintained. It was perfect for our girls getaway because we were able to have four to a room and there was a little kitchen as well. They have a couple of hot spring pools and we spent our first night alternating between the sauna and the pools. I will say the whole staff was excellent; professional and courteous from beginning to end.
The next morning, we ran a 5k. It was not an organized fun run, just a nice run through Calistoga. Running is something we all enjoy doing together. It’s one of our many common bonds. We stopped for breakfast, then walked back to our room to get changed for a day of wine tasting.
I love this cute store sign in Calistoga…
First stop: Chateau Montelena
This is a property I have been wanting to visit for quite a while. I hadn’t yet because it was so far north. Since we were staying north, it made sense to stop here. Chateau Montelena has an incredible history. A movie was even made about it.
Check out Bottle Shock.
Chateau Montelena has a beautiful building, pond, and garden…
Next stop, a property I love to take friends to…Castello di Amorosa, AKA, “Disneyland for adults”.
Touring the grounds…
Shanti enjoyed tasting the grapeseed oil bar…
We had the best host for our tasting! Ecktor was funny, friendly, and engaging. He really made the tasting one of our highlights of the trip. If you visit, try to get him.
A late picnic lunch/dinner at Clos Pegase completed a wonderful day of wine tasting.
We went back to our room and watched ‘bottle Shock’. At first we watched it on Eun’s iPad, but it kept crashing. Ended up watching it on my iPhone! (Love the chocolate stash nearby!)
Next morning, we picked up coffee and breakfast at a terrific little coffee place, Calistoga Roastery.
These are olive trees that have cards that people write on and hang on the tree. Each tree has a different theme…
‘Past Loves’. ‘I am grateful for…’. ‘I am happiest when…’ etc. It was funny, touching, and poignant to read them.
Afterwards, we went to a little boutique called North Star. Shanti, Tina, and I all found dresses, and Eun found some jewelry. We are all wearing our new purchases in front of the store here:
Drove down to Napa for the Gourmet Walks Culinary Tour. We had the same wonderful guide I had before (Maria), and we were the only ones on the tour, making it was wonderful, personal, experience!
The tour begins at the Oxbow Market, one of my favorite stops in Napa. Our first bite was at C Casa for a breakfast taco.
Then, we moved to cheese tasting at the Oxbow Cheese & Wine Merchant
Olive oil tasting at The Olive Press
Charcuterie at The Fatted Calf
Crossing the bridge to downtown Napa…
Tuna ceviche, taro chips, and beer at Fish Story….
A few blocks to Anette’s Chocolates…
Cacao pods!
Group shot with our guide, Maria!
Eun, hugging a cork tree.
Last stop: wine tasting at the Vinter’s Collective. This is located in the oldest building in Napa. It started out as a saloon, then a brothel, then a laundry…
It was a fun, refueling weekend! I love my friends!
We love u too!!! The only thing you left to mention was how fortunate we were to have THE Leigh Arevalo as our personal travel planner, tour guide, and best girl friend!