NAPA California!

8/13 We headed for Napa but we took our time. We decided to drive down the Avenue of the Giants. We pulled over to have a picnic in the forest and as we wondered around it felt like we were tiny little creatures in a great big world. Being with trees that are over a thousand years old is a humbling experience. The air was moist and smelled like pine. Moss covered every tree branches and clovers and ferns covered the forest floor like a soft carpet. Being there was like being in the Avatar movie. We found an old tree stump that was larger than most dining room tables. We clambered to the top and ate our lunch. We found trees that you can drive through and we found trees that were hollowed out on the inside creating a little room. We arrived in Napa and called it an early night because we knew that the next day was going to be a taxing one.

Yesterday 8/14 was one of the best days I’ve had in my life. The realization that I was in Napa Valley didn't really sink in until we left for our wine tour at 10:30 a.m. We met our bus driver (we don’t want to drink and drive) and we were off. Once we started driving through the winding roads that surrounded the wineries and the vineyards my excitement grew and grew. I love how the scenery in Napa is very bland. The burnt dry grass matches the burnt dry soil and the only bits of color that sweep over the landscape are the dark green grapevines and the silver leaves of olive trees. The topography is so simple yet one of the most beautiful places I've ever been.

We learned so much about the science of wine and the science of growing grapes while we were on our tour bus. Our driver Laurence explained how special the Napa and Sonoma valley's are. He also explained the different micro climates that make up the valley. He taught us about the different grape varieties that are grown there, the majority being the Cabernet grape. We traveled up and down the Napa Valley touring wineries. We toured 6 in all (which is nothing considering there are hundreds here).

The first winery we toured was VERY unique (http://www.castellodiamorosa.com/). Castello di Amorosa is a 13^th century 107 room castle. We entered into the dungeon area for our first tasting of the day. I enjoyed this winery because it was so different. Some of the wine was unlike any that I’ve drank before. One of the wines we tried was very sweet and dry but when paired with a dark chocolate the flavor immediately changed into a creamy spice.

The next winery was very unique as well. I really enjoyed the sculptures that surrounded the property. Clos Pegase (http://www.clospegase.com/aboutus.html) was a beautiful property. We spent most of our time here just wondering around admiring the art. We only sampled the summer wine but we weren't as impressed with their wine. We soon moved on. We were hungry so our bus driver took us to an amazing little deli for lunch. We bought our sandwiches and we headed for the next winery.

Our tour driver Laurence made special arrangements with the next winery. We had a private picnic table set up we enjoyed our lunch under a beautiful oak tree. The Dutch Henry Winery was by far my favorite winery of the day. (http://www.dutchhenry.com/) The wine maker came to our table with each bottle for the tasting. After our lunch and private wine tasting the wine maker took us over to the vines to explain the organic fertilization that is used in Napa as well as the pruning techniques that are used to keep the vines healthy. As if that weren't enough special treatment we then got a personal tour into the caves where the barrels of wine are stored. We learned about each part of the laborious task of making wine. Small microscopic changes make HUGE differences in the taste of wine. We learned about the different barrels that are used, the yeast, the nutrients, and the different temperatures that are required to process and preserve wine.

The Dutch Henry winery was such a small personal experience. The Zinfandel, the Cabernet and the people were amazing. We really enjoyed the fact that there was no snobbery, just good good wine. After spending over an hour there we boarded the bus and we were headed for the next winery.

Just down the road from Dutch Henry we arrived at Cuvaison to sample the world renowned Brandlin Cabernet. This wine has been raved about by wine critics (http://www.cuvaison.com/). This winery facility was beautiful, sleek and modern but I found that it wasn't quite as personal as Dutch Henry and the majority of their grapes are purchased from local growers instead of being cared for and grown there on the property. Anyhow, they have refined their craft and I must admit that the $1200 per case Brandlin was the best Cabernet that I've ever had. Our time was up and our heads were getting a little fuzzy and it was time to hop back on board for the next winery!

My second favorite winery from the trip was Laura Zahtila's winery (http://www.zahtilavineyards.com/). She purchased a small winery and she built her tasting room right behind her house. Her wines are award winning and her Chardonnay was spectacular! I personally have never really enjoyed a Chardonnay but I learned that the flavor I didn't enjoy was because of the barrels the wine was fermented in. I now know that I prefer a stainless barrel over the oak when it comes to white wines such as the chardonnay. Laura and her husband served us and their two wonderful pups were running around underfoot. We all felt so welcome and so fortunate to be there. It's so cool to see a woman taking part in a male dominated industry such as wine making. After setting on the porch petting the puppies for a while we all jumped on the bus for our last winery of the day.

Our last winery of the day was quite interesting. Alan and I loved it and hated it at the same time. The story of the winery is quite unique and we even got to catch a glimpse of the owner who was treating some friends to a private tasting. Frank Family Vineyards is owned by Richard Frank who right off hand may not seem like a special guy but he's quite popular in Hollywood. Richard worked for Disney for quite a while and he's also an agent for several big stars including Leonardo DiCaprio. When you walk up to his vineyard there are people everywhere and you must get on a waiting list to go in for a tasting. Once you walk into the tasting room small snapshots cover the walls. Frank stands with Oprah, Marilyn Monroe, Harrison Ford, George Clooney and several others. We had a chance to taste Napa Valley champagne and several of the wines that are supplied to the academy awards. This was the last winery of the day so we didn't have much time before it was time to head back.

Before we headed for our Callistoga mud bath we took a short detour. We decided that it was time for food and we were directed towards a hotel/ restaurant called Auberge du Soleil (http://www.aubergedusoleil.com/). As we listened to our GPS we winded up the Napa Valley roads onto the valley side. There on the hillside was a beautiful restaurant with a huge patio overlooking the vineyards below. As we walked in my excitement grew as I smelled the amazing food that was being prepared. We walked out onto the veranda and my breath was taken away by the amazing view and the beautiful music that was coming from below. We soon learned that Christina Aguilera was married at Auberge and there was in fact a wedding going on at that moment but unfortunately it wasn't anyone famous. We drank beautiful wine while eating duck confit pizza topped with baby arugula. The food was amazing, the view was breath taking and the temperature was perfect as the sun began to set. The orchestra below played songs that we knew like Coldplay's “Yellow” and the Black Eyed Peas “Tonight's Gonna be a Good Night”. I didn't want to leave that moment.

As if the day hadn't been amazing enough we left Augerge du Soleil and headed for Callistoga for a mineral spring mud bath. As we were driving towards Callistoga with our windows down admiring the beauty that surrounded us I couldn't help but feel like the luckiest person alive. I was so happy to be where I was right at that time that it was hard to fight back tears. Everything was so perfect; it was like a dream that I never wanted to wake up from.

So, we heard that a hot spring bath is one of the things that you must do while visiting the Napa valley. Alan and I had such a fun time at the spa. We were like little kids running through the halls in our oversized one size fits all robes. The experience was great. We had our own private room with our mud filled tubs, our hot spring shower and our bubbling hot tub. I've never been so dirty and felt so clean in all my life! We both giggled when we sat in our tubs and started burying ourselves in the super dense peat moss. The mud was amazing, squishy, and super duper hot. The combination of the compression and the heat of the mud along with the ice cold cloths that were placed on our faces were intoxicating. If I wasn't tipsy before the mud bath, and the mineral soak I was afterward. We headed back to our hotel for one of the best nights sleep I'd ever had. The next day (I say day because it wasn't an early morning) we headed down the road for San Fran.