Napa Valley

It's interesting how much stone is used in the architecture here--I understand why--but all the differences in doorways and the details make the streets look so pretty. I was just looking at the buildings as we drove through the city towards that big bridge. Then across the Golden Gate bridge and stopped at the vista point. It was quite windy and cold--and Tim had decided he would be fine without his jacket. I have learned that I should just bring something because I'm always cold when I don't have a jacket with me!

So we start with the northern most spot to start our wine country tour. We started the day at Joseph Phelps. The guidebook had said the tastings here were intimate and quite educational. Well, our "host" for this didn't really do much education. We were outside on a patio and the view of the vineyard was beautiful and I was surprised that the one I probably liked best was the white wine because I usually like the sweet reds better. Most of the wines we tasted were in the $40 a bottle range (five out of the six). The last one was their signature wine, which sold for $165 a bottle. I have to say I wasn't really impressed. I have a couple of $10 bottles at home I bought in Indiana that I like better. Maybe I just don't have the discriminating taste of a true wine lover.

We left there and headed to Robert Mondavi winery. Here we were able to take a tour of the winery, taste some grapes in the field and see some of the production line and learn how the process of how the grapes are picked and processed. Then we went to a tasting room and tasted three wines. Again--nothing here that made me say "Oh, that's really good. I want to buy some of that for home." I did pick up a book that has lovely pictures of some of the various winerys and descripti--ons of each that looks to be very interesting. Also, an autobiography of Robert Mondavi and how he started the winery in the 1960's (if I remember what the guide said correctly). Then it was time for lunch.

We were going for just a light lunch and Tim saw a place that was called Napa Valley Grill. We went in and it was a bit more upscale than I expected. However, the menu had some nice choices, including some combinations that were named after some of the towns in the Napa Valley. I had the St. Helena, which was carrot soup, wedge Ceasar salad, and dungeness crab with cheese. It was quite delicious. Tim had the Calistoga which had carrot soup, butter lettuce salad, and a leg of lamb sandwich, which he also enjoyed, but said was quite messy!

After a couple of wrong turns (don't let me navigate--I will make the wrong turn every time!)--we arrived at the Gloria Ferrer champagne caves. However, there were no public tours today and I really didn't feel like tasting more wine/champagne--so after a brief pit stop, we got back in the car and headed back to the motel for a night of relaxation, TV(Survivor was on!), and pizza in the room. The pizza was quite good--wish we could get something like this in Illinois--spinach pesto with feta cheese.

After a good night's sleep--we off to Monterey!