California Road Trip - Napa Valley!

Napa Valley is the most legendary wine producing area in the United States. The legend began in 1976 when a Napa Valley Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon beat out several French wines in a blind tasting at the Paris Wine Tasting that year. The rest is history as Napa Valley earned their place on the wine map. And as much as I enjoy wine tasting and wine countries - though I am certainly not a connoisseur - I had never been to Napa Valley.

Since Mr. UR and I were both Napa newbies, the first place we went was the Visitor Center. We had heard rumor that Napa was quite expensive so we were looking to find any special deals or goings-ons for the day.We needed to get the lay of the land, so to speak.  The nice lady there gave us a two-for-one tasting coupon for a winery - V. Sattui - and told us a few places right in Napa that offered Happy Hour deals. She mapped out a route for us - and we were off.

Our first stop was Oxbow Public Market. It's host to some twenty vendors selling food, beer, books, liquor and of course, wine. You can make your purchases and then meet in the middle to eat or drink or visit. I had one thing in mind to get at Oxbow - Three Twins Ice Cream. Known for it's "organic ice cream that is produced in a sustainable manner", Three Twins is one of the few certified organic ice cream shops in the country. As with most ice cream, it didn't disappoint. Fully satisfied, it was time for some wine.

We ambled off down the road to our first stop - Mumm Napa, home of sparkling wine. I happen to love sparkling wine and I loved Mumm. They offer 3 seated tastings in 3 different settings - on their patio or in the wine salon, reserved seating on their oak terrace or a tasting with a tour of the winery. Since we were getting a bit of a late start and hadn't made any prior reservations, I was very happy to go with the seated tasting on the patio. The tasting included table service and I enjoyed all the wines that I tasted. They also serve "still" wines and since Mr. UR isn't a fan of the sparkling, he went with the Chardonnay. The atmosphere was very chill - quiet and hushed with a view over the vineyard from the patio. I truly enjoyed Mumm and I would visit again and again. But it was time to venture off to our next stop...

Next up was V. Sattui and it was night and day different from Mumm. We were greeted by a full parking lot and an attendant who pointed us in the right direction for a tasting. Tastings are offered in their Marketplace and no reservations are required. You can also enjoy a Fireside tasting, a Terrace tasting, a Daily Tour that includes a tasting or  a Wine and Food Pairing - which all require reservations. The tasting room was packed but we managed to find our way through the Marketplace to the tasting bar. Our wine guide asked us our favorites and personalized our tasting for each of us. Visitors seemed to be truly enjoying themselves - and there was even some singing happening. We bought a bottle of Moscato to enjoy later but took a little break to enjoy the afternoon sunshine on the patio. Napa in the fall sunshine is pretty ok in my book!

Lunch seemed like it was days ago - and Happy Hour would be starting. The Visitor Center had recommended Napkins back in Napa proper so we found an outdoor table and enjoyed some of the early specials. There were chicken wings, macaroni & cheese and some zucchini bread. All were delicious. And after visiting only two wineries, I was done for the day. I guess you could tell I was a Napa newbie. It was time to get our beauty sleep so we could enjoy Sonoma the very next day (more on that later)

I've had many people tell me that they didn't enjoy Napa - that it's stuffy, wineries require reservations, there are high costs for tastings and dinners, that you must be a oenophile to visit. As someone who just came in off the street - literally - I didn't find that to be true. There were low-cost ways to enjoy a visit - you just had to dig a little deeper to find them. I'd definitely go back - and I know you've heard this before - but I'd stay a little longer. Cheers to next time!

How about you? Have you been to Napa? What did you think?


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