Oh you sweet, lovely day.  Last Friday Lea and I cashed in a day of PTO and went to Napa.  But we weren’t alone – our friends Ryan and Kelly came to town from Minneapolis two nights before, and already had a day under their belts before we got there!  I was a little surprised that they were looking so bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when we met them at our first stop of the day.

 

St. Supery. I’ll say it now; not my favorite of the day.  In fact, probably my least favorite of the day and running with a lonely pack of contenders for places I wouldn’t recommend.  On a tasting list of about 10 different wines, you can choose 4 that you’d like to try.  We were only told this after we’d been poured 2 that would not have been in my first 4 choices.  That’s strike 1.  The wines were fine, but the guy pouring them talked too much about how cool he was, and poured too little in the glass.  Strike 2 and 3, you’re out!  I’ll say that one saving grace of this place may have been the wine labels.  I thought these were pretty unique.

 

My boy, Ryan, who from here on may be referred to as Lampe (his last name and the only thing I’ve ever called him besides **** for brains and  ****stick) is a tall dude, so this bottle he’s holding would normally look the size of a baby hippo.

 

Peju. This is strike 4 for St. Supery because the guy told us specifically not to come here, which is why I knew it would be so good.  And it was.  Not only is it one of the most beautiful wineries I’ve seen (in a grand, manicured, Napa kind of way), but for $10 – nearly the cheapest in the valley anymore – we were served more excellent wines than we could even keep up with.  Literally.  They wait until there are enough people in the tasting room, and then present the wine tastings in large groups, as opposed to individual parties.  He skipped us a couple of times because the group was moving quickly, but the pours were so big, and the wine was so good, that I didn’t want to rush it.  And I totally don’t feel jipped even one iota.  This experience is recommended!  Gold star, Peju!

This is the view looking down at the barrel room from the tasting bar.

By this point in the day, it’s about 12:30 and I’m two sips from drunk.  The prudent move would be to get some food in our bellies.  There’s no better place to do that than in Yountville.  It’s a tiny town in the center of Napa Valley whose Main Street is lined with world-class restaurants.  While driving by Hurley’s we saw two empty parking spaces, paired with the smell of grill smoke, and our minds were made up.

Chandon. After lunch we noticed that we were just around the corner from Chandon and thought some bubbles might be in order.  This place takes the trophy for Disney World of Wine Country.  I’ve never seen anything like it; it’s just huge.  It even has a theater room in the lobby.

Despite the impersonal tasting room experience, the sparkling wine is great.  These are some happy campers.

Silverado Vineyards. This is a winery I hear about a lot and see on the shelf, but never had the urge to visit.  I checked the website earlier in the week and saw that it was set atop a hill along Silverado Trail.  If nothing else, it should have a good view of the valley, right?  Indeed it does.

The wine was fine, but the views were spectacular. These pictures really can’t do it justice.

We made our way out to the patio and found a spot we could’ve spent all afternoon.

Alas, by this time of the day, the tasting rooms have closed and it’s time to move on. While the girls rested in the hotel rooms, Lampe and I sat by the pool and opened a bottle of Archery Summit Pinot Noir.  This bottle comes from a winery in Oregon, which is a sister winery to Pine Ridge, located in Napa.  She was perfect.  Smooth, characteristic Pinot qualities, with just a hint of spicy.

 

Once it was time for dinner, we all got gussied up and hit downtown Napa.  We scoped our options and inevitably ended-up at an old favorite, Bounty Hunter Wine Bar, Smokin’ BBQ & Retail Shop.  This place was created with people like me in mind.  BBQ and great wine?  Oh yeah, baby!  Not only that, but because they also sell retail, they cut us a deal and didn’t charge us the normal restaurant mark-up on the wine we ordered.  I LOVE this place.

It’s been a while since Lea and I have had a chance to hang-out with Ryan and Kelly, and I have to say that today, we did it right.  I can’t wait to see what comes tomorrow!

 

Cheers!