California Wine Country - Day 3

Goodbye Sonoma County, Hello Napa Valley!

Destination 2: Yountville, CA

On our third trip to Napa Valley, we stayed in Yountville and fell in love with the area and thus planned to return for our five year anniversary - http://www.yountville.com/. Yountville offers visitors hotels or B&B's, amazing restaurants (French Laundry, Ad Hoc, Redd, Bistro Jeanty, Bouchon, Brix, etc.), wine tasting and shopping. Yountville is located towards the southern end of the Napa Valley between Route 29 and the Silverado Trail. It provides easy access to either main route through the Napa Valley area.

If you wish to stay in northern Napa Valley, you may want to check out Calistoga or St. Helena. While we have never stayed in Calistoga, we would consider it in the future. For now, we opt to stay in Yountville over St. Helena.

We left Belle de Jour B&B after a wonderful breakfast, decidedly our favorite, and drove to Napa Valley to start a new day of touring and to celebrate our anniversary. We decided that we wanted to have a fun day and not rush from winery to winery, but take our time to enjoy each visit.

Our first stop involved a tour and tasting at Cakebread Cellars - http://www.cakebread.com/.

I selected Cakebread because I wanted to try their Chardonnay based on reputation. It's a little pricey in the stores, so I wanted to take advantage of it while on vacation (and bring a bottle home).

We found out that Cakebread offers cooking classes as well - http://www.cakebread.com/calendar/cooking_classes.cfm. Hopefully we'll catch one next time around!

This is a snapshot of the outdoor kitchen at Cakebread. It was awesome with a work area at least 20' long. The cottage is for visiting chefs and the cooking classes I believe.

They have a nice portfolio of wines - white and red. If you reserve a spot on the tour and tasting, they walk you around the property and take you to a nice, private tasting room with a great view of the vineyard. We recommend stopping for a visit at Cakebread Cellars.

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After the tour and tasting at Cakebread, we decided to stop for lunch at Taylor's Refresher off of highway 29 - http://www.taylorsrefresher.com/. It is well known for it's burgers and shakes/malts. Yes, it is fast food, but it's worth a stop. You walk up to the windows, place your order, and eat outside at the picnic tables. Plus, what's better than a little grease to help soak up the wine. :-)

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Our second stop was at Freemark Abbey - http://www.freemarkabbey.com/index.cfm. It was undergoing renovations, so we tasted the wine in the temporary location. Even though we didn't purchase any wine, we left thinking it would be fun to visit again once the renovations were complete.

Our third stop was to Duckhorn Vineyards for a tour and tasting - http://www.duckhorn.com/. You need to make reservations in advance, but the main building for visitors is quite nice and offers a tasting room full of windows with a wonderfully big porch reminiscent of a plantation front porch. The tasting room for individuals participating on the tour was also very nice.

The tour concluded with a tasting of five red wines and five cheeses. Here is a list of the cheeses and wines that we enjoyed:

• Petite Agour with an estate grown Merlot 2005


• Ros with an estate grown Merlot 2005


• GranQueso with Three Palms Merlot 2005 - the GranQueso was our favorite!


• Midnight Moon with Howell Mountain Red Wine 2004


• Silver Mountain Cheddar with Estate Grown Cabernet 2004


• Decoy & Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 - in tasting room (we bought these two)

We enjoyed this visit in part because we were paired up with a fellow wolverine and a party of 10 who provided some entertainment and laughter for the rest of us in the group.

After our tour and tasting at Duckhorn, we headed down to Yountville to check into our B&B - The Bordeaux House - http://bordeauxhouse.reachlocal.net/. This is a nice, quaint B&B. It has several rooms to choose from with different amenities and is walking distance from restaurants and shopping. It is next door to Thomas Keller's famous restaurant, The French Laundry.

While The French Laundry has an amazing reputation, it is quite pricey and offers food for the seasoned palate (my opinion), so Dave and I opted to eat at Thomas Keller's more affordable version called Ad Hoc - http://www.adhocrestaurant.com/story.php.

The folks at Ad Hoc set the menu each day and serve it family style to guests. Given that it is a set menu, Dave and I were a little leery when we saw the menu for the evening we were dining there because it had prosciutto (not a favorite of Dave's) and bay scallops (not of favorite of mine).




However, the food was AMAZING!! If I lived in Yountville, I would go broke eating at Ad Hoc on a routine basis. They serve a four course meal, which includes an appetizer, main dish, cheese dish and dessert. This is what we ate:

• Appetizer: Melon and Prosciutto Salad - combined with cucumbers, balsamic vinegar and olive. The dish was amazing and light. The balsamic vinegar was not overly tart, but added a subtle sweetness that complimented the melon and prosciutto. We cleaned the plate, which says something since we aren't huge prosciutto fans.
• Main Course: Fulton Valley Chicken Cutlets with Seafood Pasta - cutlets served with squash, onions, tomato sauce and pasta with shrimp, scallops, and mussels. The seafood pasta was an adventure for me as I tend to stay away from this type of dish. However, I tried it and enjoyed it tremendously. The flavor combination is indescribable, but delicious and not heavy. I will admit, I let Dave have the majority of mussels - just couldn't handle more than two.
• Cheese Course: Sierra Mt. Tomme with peach jam and toasted palladin - excellent! The palladin had a sweetness to it that combined so well with the peach jam and the cheese. All three were tasty on their own, but wonderful together.
• Dessert: Pecan tarts - yum!!! I love dessert and this just put Dave and I over the edge. It was had a wonderful balance of sweetness and nuttiness. Dave isn't a huge pecan fan, but his plate was clean in not time at all.
• Wine selection: Schramsberg Rose Sparkling Wine

If it isn't obvious, we would highly recommend eating at Ad Hoc, especially since it is much more affordable than the French Laundry and delicious. The service was friendly and laid back too. This was one of the best meals I've had and I look forward to eating there again one day.

After dinner, we leisurely strolled back to our B&B as we were so pleasantly full. A great end to our first full day in Napa Valley.

California Wine Country - Day 2

Tour and Tasting of Wineries in Dry Creek Valley

plus an unscheduled move to B&B #2

We had one day to spend in Sonoma wine country, so we decided to hire a tour guide since Sonoma county is not as easy to navigate around as the Napa Valley. We opted to tour with Gene Warren of Healdsburg Area Winery Tours - http://www.healdsburgareawinerytours.com/.

We enjoy our tours (this is our second one) with Gene as he is very friendly, knows the Sonoma area, the vintners and wine makers, and will accommodate a group as small as two or as large as seven for a very reasonable price. Since Gene provides tours in several of the Sonoma County Appellations (wine growing regions), we opted to tour Dry Creek Valley.

Two friends of ours who live in Livermore, California joined us for the tour and dinner later that evening. You will see them in the photos.

Our first stop on the tour was the Michel-Schlumberger Winery - http://www.michelschlumberger.com/index.cfm?method=storeproducts.showList&productcategoryid=9aeab8c2-cd71-ef08-a2eb-a6dbb5b64853

M-S focuses on red, mainly Bordeaux varieties, but offers visitors the chance to taste a couple of white wines as well. I believe they use organic methods in growing the grapes and maintaining the property.
The winery, grounds and views at M-S are very nice. The tour guide was friendly and took us out into the vineyards and around the property.
We enjoyed the visit, but did purchase any of the wines since they didn't stand out the four of us. While the wines did not strike our fancy, it is a nice winery with a good reputation.

Our second stop on the tour was at Ferrari-Carano - http://www.ferrari-carano.com/.

This estate in Dry Creek Valley is gorgeous. The 'chateau' is surrounded by vineyards in the distance and beautiful gardens leading up to the entrance. If you have ever been fortunate enough to visit the gardens at Versaille, visiting this winery will make you nostalgic for them. It is not nearly as grand as Versaille, but beautiful nonetheless. Gene told us that in the spring they plant around 10,000 tulips - can you imagine the view!

Below this text is a photo of a cork tree. It was interesting to touch as it felt just like cork. You could feel it 'give' as you pushed on the bark.

We asked Gene to stop at Ferrari-Carano because I was interested in trying their Chardonnay's. I have heard and read very positive things about the Chard's and wanted to check it out for myself. Here's the group before we went to the tasting room.

Great views from the estate as well!
We enjoyed the regular tasting upstairs with a view of the vineyards outside and then ventured downstairs for the reserve tasting. Both tastings were great and did not dissappoint. Dave and I bought F-C's Sauvignon Blanc and two Chardonnay's (Tres Terre and Emilia's Cuvee) while our friends bought a very unique and tasty Black Muscadet. F-C has a nice red selection as well.


You had to pay for the reserve tasting and one thing we appreciated was that if you bought a bottle of wine, they refunded the tasting fee. We recommend visiting this winery if you are in the area.

Our third destination was Bella where we ate lunch and tasted their wines in the caves. http://www.bellawinery.com/all_vineyards.asp

Prior to arriving at Bella, Gene took us to the Dry Creek General Store Deli. They had a nice selection of sandwiches and pre-made salads. We picked up our sandwiches prior to visiting Michel-Schlumberger, which turned out to be a genius plan on Gene's part because when we drove by at noon and the place was packed. Bella had a beautiful view, probably the best of the day, of the various Dry Creek Valley vineyards. We ate outside at picnic tables at the winery and people watched. A very relaxing and pleasant setting.

The photo above shows the cave where we tasted the Bella wines. Bella focuses on Zinfandel, so while I am not a huge Zin fan, we have friends who are Zin people and highly recommend this winery. It's also fun to taste wines in the caves - not as grande as Del Dotto or Schramsberg, but still fun.

Our fourth winery visited was at Ridge, another Zinfandel house. http://www.ridgewine.com/#home

Ridge has history with the 1976 Paris-American tasting. The new movie Bottle Shock focuses on this tasting that moved California, primarily Napa Valley, wines onto the forefront of the wine scene as the Chateau Montelena Chardonnay and the Stag's Leap Cabernet Sauvignon beat out it's French competitors. Back to Ridge, it has a nice tasting room, simple setting, but again if you enjoy Zin's it is worth a stop. We purchased one of their Zin's and shared it with some friends later on in the weekend.

The last winery we visited was J. http://www.jwine.com/inside/.

The first time we toured with Gene, he took us to J, which Dave and I really enjoyed. We regularly purchase their sparkling wine. They produce very nice Pinot Gris, Pinotage and Pinot Noir's as well. We definitely recommend J as a stop if you are in the Russian River Valley. This was the only winery not in Dry Creek, but Gene stopped since he knew we enjoyed it so much the last time. Also, I believe they do a food and wine pairing if you make advance reservations.

Our new Bed and Breakfast in Healdsburg was called Belle de Jour Inn outside of Healdsburg square. http://www.belledejourinn.com/index.html. It is about 2 miles from the square. However, upon checking in, Tom and Brenda provided us with a card for a cab company that could transport us for a reasonable fee to and from the square.

We stayed in this cottage behind the foliage at the Inn. It was a wonderful cottage - spacious, clean, nicely decorated, etc.

The breakfast Tom and Brenda provided was perfect and really got us ready for a day of tasting. Below is a photo of their property. If you don't mind taking a cab to the Healdsburg square, this B&B is one we would recommend.

California Wine Country - Day 1

Day 1

Travel to California, Drive to Wine Country and Settle In (or so we thought)

Destination 1: Healdsburg, California

Healdsburg is located in Sonoma County surrounded by Dry Creek Valley, Alexander Valley, Sonoma Valley, Russian River Valley, etc.. Healdsburg has a great town square with hotels, restaurants, shops, grocery store, tasting rooms, and more. Check it out at http://www.healdsburg.org/ or http://www.ci.healdsburg.ca.us/.

• Fly to California and drive to Healdsburg, CA where we stayed at two B&B's (explanation to follow).
• Budget car rental - reserved a Mustang Convertible five months prior to the trip; arrived and was given an Eclipse Spyder because Budget ran out of Mustang's. The Eclipse is significantly smaller than the Mustang and not nearly as fun to drive. I'm not trying to sound snobby or like a cry baby, but given that this trip was to celebrate our five year wedding anniversary, we decided to save up and splurge on the rental car. So, beware if you reserve a fun car, because you may not get what you reserve and still have to pay for a 'similar' car even if it isn't 'similar' at all. Update - after sending an e-mail to Budget, they did send us a $50 voucher in the hope we will give them our business again.
• Arrive at first B&B - we will not provide the name b/c despite confirming our reservation the week prior to the trip, they forgot our reservation and gave our room away on the second night. They booked us at another B&B and paid the difference, but the new B&B was not walking distance to restaurants, which was a key deciding factor in selecting where we wanted to stay.

Despite these bumps in the road, we were determined to enjoy our vacation since it was our first time away from Kaitlyn and to celebrate our five year anniversary. So, now let the FUN begin...

• Dinner at the Healdsburg Bar & Grill - http://www.hbg4fun.com/. This simple restaurant provided us with great ambiance with the outdoor seating and good food. We weren't expecting a five star dining experience, but it was certainly better than your typical 'bar and grill' food. We enjoyed a salad, margherita pizza, homemade mac-n-cheese, and a homemade ice cream sandwich (excellent). Another bonus is that they have an area to play bocci ball, which Dave appreciated. Unfortunately, we couldn't use it because there was a big party in the area.
• Finished the evening by walking around the square.

California Wine Country

Coming soon... Go Blue Mom and Dad's visit to Sonoma County and Napa Valley.

Food, wine, friends and fun - doesn't get better than that! Well, except returning home for a hug from Kaitlyn.

Preview of Wine Country Get Away
Day 1: Travel from airport to Healdsburg, California in Sonoma County
Day 2: Tour Dry Creek Valley with lodging in Healdsburg
Day 3: Travel to and tour Napa Valley with lodging in Yountville
Day 4: Tour Napa Valley with lodging in Yountville
Day 5: Travel back home

Aren't These Cute!

Football season has arrived and it's a big deal in our household, so we have lots of clothes to support our team. Check out these cute little leg warmers for kids by Dittany Baby. I found out about them in the American Baby magazine. Can't wait to order some for Kaitlyn!

http://www.dittanybaby.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=66

She's wearing her daddy's socks in this photo. Lately, she sees daddy wearing socks and makes him take them off so she can put them on. It's quite cute. I can see her loving the leg warmers.

A fun gift idea since the holiday's will soon be upon us.

I Can't Believe I Made a Buckeye Cake

So, given my and Dave' s love of chocolate and peanut butter (Reese's peanut butter cups don't last long in this house), I found a recipe for a Buckeye Cake on this web site: http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/detail.aspx?ID=130540 and decided to give it a try despite the name.

If you haven't figured out, Dave and I are Wolverine fans, not Buckeyes.

The recipe is easy to follow, but takes a little time to make because of cooling and setting times. I added a little bittersweet chocolate to the ganache recipe, which turned out nicely.

I recommend refrigerating it before slicing to allow the ganache to set and not run all over the peanut butter. The top photo shows a slice after sitting for 15 minutes verses overnight.

Reading Program - Check It Out

Kaitlyn's grandma, who heard from a TN cousin, told me about a program sponsored by Dolly Parton and various state and local governments that supplies children (up to age 5) with a book a month. It is called Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. This is available to all children in TN and then based on community involvement outside of TN.

I just signed Kaitlyn up for it and will report on how it turns out. After reading information on the web site, it sounds very promising and is a great opportunity for kids. If you live in TN and have a little one, check it out!

Here is the link: http://www.dollysimaginationlibrary.com/firsttime.php

If you would like to see this program in your community, e-mail your council people, mayor, governor, state representative, etc. to suggest research and potential participation.

Happy Reading!