Napaaaaaaaaahhhh

Disclaimer: Minneapolites, we know that you were the victims of a snownami this weekend so if you don't want to read about a glorious, sunny day in Napa, you may not want to continue reading. 

This weekend was Aaron's virgin trip to California wine country. And, it was good.

Two things happen when one visits Napa. It is, afterall, the happiest place on earth, according to Mara.

1. You believe you are independently wealthy.
2. You believe you are invincible and that you can drink copious amounts of wine while retaining both your intelligent conversational skills and your very refined palate.

We rented a car and drove up early Saturday morning. The fog was just lifting off of the hills and the clouds were splitting to reveal a gorgeous blue sky. It was warm, still, and absolutely beautiful. The fantastic thing about going to Napa during the off season is that there is NO TRAFFIC. We made it from Berkeley to St. Helena in under an hour. During the high season, this trip can easily take up to 2 hours.

We started at Freemark Abbey, my favorite winery (in my limited experience). They have been around forever (since way before Prohibition) and were the first winery to be owned and operated by a woman, Josephine Tychson. They have had the same winemaker for almost 30 years, making wines in the old world style, blending the reds in the French tradition, and making truly amazing wines. 

Picnic grounds beside tasting room at Freemark Abbey

It is a pretty fantastic place to begin. We were the only ones there for the first hour so we had Diane's undivided attention. We also decided to join their wine club so we were offered everything - library wines, their signature red blend, their dessert wine...the list goes on. In any case, go there. You will not be disappointed. The only problem is that you don't want to dump anything because it is all so fine. It probably should have been our only stop for the day... ;) 

Incidentally, today I learned that my co-worker's father was a famous winemaker for over 30 years in Napa and Sonoma AND...he was a partner at Freemark in the 60's. Too crazy. Also, the current winemaker at Freemark was my co-worker's TA for her viticulture class at UC Davis many moons ago!!! What a small world. She told me story upon story about her father's amazing farming and scientific skills. She was so proud of him; it was awesome. Again, crazy serendipity.

Next, our friend Diane from Freemark sent us down the road to St. Clement winery. The tasting room is up a very steep hill in a late 19th-century estate with spectacular views. Their specialty is cabernet sauvignon, but they had just released a chardonnay that knocked both of our socks off. I'm not a chardonnay drinker AT ALL but this one was so soft and floral, it tasted like it was blended with muscat.

St. Clement estate

And, here's the view from the top of the hill. Pretty nice, huh? They also have several picnic tables and a fire pit and are very encouraging of hillside picnics...

I won't detail every single stop but the last winery we went to was Hope & Grace in Yountville, the home of the famous French Laundry, Bouchon, Bottega, etc. etc. And every. street. looks. like. this. It really is the happiest place on earth.

Hope & Grace is known for its lush, delicious pinots and Malbecs. And, one of the tasting room attendants brings his dog, Romeo, to work with him so that's an added bonus. Romeo is going to be featured in the next Winery Dogs of Napa Valley. We also met a chef there this weekend who was Welsh so, OF COURSE, we had to ask him the most obvious question. Do you know Bryn Terfel? And, of course, he did. Seriously. He told us a couple of stories and made our night with that hilarious accent.

And with that, we were off...back to the farmer's market, Christmas parties, and the realities of Monday morning. Well, at least for one of us :)