A Dry Day in Napa

Ok, not totally dry, but our second day of the trip didn't involve much (good) wine. We did enjoy some great food and sights though. When you plan a trip to wine country, it can be overwhelming trying to decide which wineries to visit, when there are about 500 to choose from. In the past few years, new regulations have forced many wineries to require reservations. This makes it hard to plan out your day. We make a 10 am reservation for a place we really want to go, and then play it by ear for the rest of the day. Most places, you can call for a reservation without much notice if you are not doing a tour.

So . . . I spent weeks researching where to make a reservation and Pride came up on just about every review website as one of the best wineries in Napa to visit. Also, one of the hardest to get to, as it's at the top of Spring Mountain. After much debate, we decided on it. Unfortunately, the experience was disappointing. As we were headed north on the main route, we could see the mountain enveloped in a cloud. It looked similar to an island volcano, if you can picture that. The drive was steep and windy, as other reviewers had mentioned, but we didn't find it all that bad. Then again, we've driven the Moki Dugway on the Utah/Arizona border, so it's hard to scare us! It was actually a beautiful drive, past many redwoods and vineyards.

This was Pride, the destination. It's unusual, in that it straddles both the Napa and Sonoma County lines. There is actually a painted line at the facility and many tax and bottling rules regarding how the grapes are used from each county. Seemed like a big headache to me. We had a tour of the caves, tasted from some barrels and heard all about how Pride wines have been served in the White House for many years. My husband and I didn't care for any of the wines and ended up just dumping each taste. Either the White House sommeliers have bad taste or we do, not sure which!

We were more disappointed in the view, which everyone raves about. This was the extent of it that morning! Plus, we were freezing! Time to head down the mountain and back to the valley where the sun always shines.

We then went to Hall Wines to see their art work. The wines are very expensive, so we skipped the tasting and just walked around and enjoyed the view. That's me with Big Head.

 

As all the art is out in the open, they have clever signs about not touching anything.

We sat here for a while and enjoyed the view. Well, I enjoyed it while my husband answered work e-mails. There's never a true vacation, thanks to technology, is there?

Next stop was Raymond! They have a really good cabernet sauvignon at my grocer for $9.99 that I often buy. Plus, people online say the place is weird, in a 50 Shades of Grey way. I had to see it for myself! This was the Corridor of Senses. You squeeze the round perfume ball and an aroma (listed above) fills the air. All that you might find in wine, of course, if you have a really good palate and nose. There are multiple tasting rooms, some with red velvet walls and outlandish chandeliers. The main tasting room was packed, so we decided to just go outside to their Theatre of Nature.

 

 

Lots of fruit trees, vegetables, and these guys. Goats are always fun to watch. Then there was this:

It's called the Frenchie Winery. I guess you can leave your dog in one of the pens, give it a dish of water (or wine?) and then go do a tasting. Many wineries are dog friendly these days.

We were getting hungry, so we headed to Long Meadow Ranch, which is a general store, farm, winery, and restaurant (Farmstead) all in one.

 

 

We opted to eat outdoors on their patio, surrounded by apple tree fencing. How neat is that? I had a delicious pulled pork sandwich with potato salad and my husband proclaimed his roast beef sandwich to be the best one ever.

Peju Winery was on my list, just to see the gardens. Here's is a view from the second floor inside the tasting room.

Here's another view from the outside. The tasting was on the pricey side, so we just walked off our lunch. We had a reservation for Cakebread next. I didn't take any photos as they were remodeling. I see Cakebread (it's the family's last name) all the time at the store, but had never tried it. Let's just say, I won't be buying it. It was another place with bad wine IMO. It was becoming a disappointing day for wine. On a whim, my husband said we should try the place next door, which didn't require a reservation.

Sequoia Grove Winery. My first taste was like, "Ahhhhhhhh . . .  finally!" Their sauvignon blanc was amazing, and I don't even care for that wine. We ended up liking everything we tasted, so ordered a mixed case that was shipped home. Hooray!

We weren't that hungry for dinner, after the big lunch, so we walked to a rooftop restaurant called Protea that serves Latin food. Ordered some shrimp and pork carnita tacos and relaxed. Then we followed the town's art walk. This was my favorite piece, the rock mushrooms. One more day (sorry for those of you who aren't into wine) in Napa.