Trips I did

As much as I enjoy wine I couldn’t believe I had never been to Napa Valley so when Southwest had a flight into San Jose, it was time to go to Wine Country USA!  I rented a car and thanks to Google maps the ride was very easy.  Getting into Napa it was time to stop at the first winery I saw and do a tasting. That winery was Jamieson ranch and the drive into the place reminded me of Tuscany because of the trees and gorgeous landscape.  Walking in was a nice display of some of the awards and the Cabernet seemed to be the winner.  Perfect.  The flight was moderately priced and the selection I chose was a mix of reds and whites.  The whites proved to be good but not great and most of the reds seemed to be the same but the Cab was the winner out of the tastings.  Sitting outside trying out the wines is the way to go and the server was prompt at showing up just in time.  Overall, I was very glad to have stopped and tried it.

Once I got into Napa, the hotel I chose to stay at was the Embassy Suites Napa Valley.  Why?  Because I wanted the points of course and it was within walking distance to downtown (well about a mile), complementary breakfast, and manager’s reception of drinks.  So lucky for me I got there just in time for the reception.  After enjoying a pleasant social hour it was time to walk to Napa and discover downtown.  The walk proved to be ok but I have to say I was starting to doubt why I would want to keep doing this because I’ll jump ahead and say that walking back was a little on the dark side and not well lit.  Even though I never had any issues I wouldn’t recommend a single female doing this.

Downtown was nice but I actually was expecting more people and more overall bustling activity.  I will say this was a Thursday so I gave it the benefit of a doubt and I could tell that Napa seemed to be in a turn to the better because there were new shops coming in, a new hotel almost complete, and recently opened stores.  So walking down to the river was nice but just seemed to be less people than I would have thought.  If you notice from the river view, no one.  Well, ok it’s a Thursday and it’s March.

 

So there was a band playing at the Silo which is a bar/restaurant.  Since tomorrow happened to be St. Patrick’s Day they had an Irish band.  Perfect.  Well sorta.  After paying to get in, I found myself in a place of 60 year olds which would be the first time ever.  Well I found out why because the group playing were around the same age and they all knew each other.

So I got a menu, ordered wine, and began listening to the band.  The band was ok and apparently the lead singer had a cold so I can’t fully say how they really were.  Since I had walked past Morimoto’s restaurant one the walk to the Silo’s I decided I’d skip the bar food and bail on the band and enjoy an Iron Chef meal.  I’m sooooo glad I did.  Excellent and highly recommended while in Napa.

 

 

 

 

Friday, I had a ticket for Napa Valley Wine train so I decided to drive since I had seen it on the other side of the river.  The wine train was a blast.  I do recommend that you sign up for their emails because I was lucky enough to purchase a highly discounted ticket at the first of the year after deciding I wanted to go Napa and it saved me a lot of money.  So getting on the train started in the caboose with wine and snacks.  The only issue was it came with a single glass of wine.  So wine flight time.  The flight was very good and the train was rolling along.  Fun, fun because they allowed you to go outside the caboose and take pictures.

 

 

 

Once it got to the half way point, the engine unhooked and moved to the back.  Fine with me because this train trip came with lunch.  They relocated me to the dinner car and I ordered more wine.  Lunch was very good and overall the trip was worth the cost I had paid.

So once I got off the train it was time to discover another winery.  While waiting to board the wine train I saw a picture of a magnificent castle and the wine train bartender told me the name.  Castello di Amerosa and it was only 30 minutes away.  So driving up it was as impressive as I had imagined.  I did not do the tour and I wish I had because I missed some of the special things that you only get to see on the tour.  The tasting was in the basement cellar which was really cool and the wine was good.

Dinner that night was at Fume Bistro & Bar and it was excellent.  Since it was St Patrick’s Day I had the Irish Stew special and it was amazing.  That dish should be on their regular menu because it was one of the best Irish Stew’s I have ever eaten.  To drink, I had a Guinness of course. Perfect complete to the stew.

Saturday was shopping downtown and I hate to say it didn’t take too long.  A few antique stores, a few clothing stores, and souvenir shopping.  Then it was time to try a little more alcohol and I knew just the place since I get their magazine.  Bounty Hunter  was my pre-lunch destination and it almost became my lunch because the BBQ looked and smelled amazing.  Needless to say I held out because I had already planned my lunch.  Bounty Hunter bartender was nice, talkative, and was spot on. The bourbon was poured well and the wine was very good.  I can’t believe I made it out of there without that BBQ but I did manage to get a bottle of the wine.

Lunch was a short drive across the river and I was craving oysters.  Hog Island didn’t disappoint me either because I had several different selections and all were great.  Another highly recommended place to eat.  Just be prepared to stand in line for a bit because there isn’t a lot of seating.

 

So after lunch a few more vineyards were tried and the final stop was Hess Winery which also had an art gallery.  The gallery was good but the tour was better.  After feeling like I had missed out of the castle tour, this time it was decided to do the tour and I’m glad I did because it was a paring of cheeses, nuts, and fruits with the different wines.  Very nice wines and several were purchased and added to the collection.  I made it back to the hotel in time for the manager’s reception (a must at the Embassy Suites) and a light snack.  Dinner that night was a short drive (notice I didn’t walk this time) down to the river and the destination was Celadon and I was lucky enough to sit in front of the fireplace.  The ambiance was incredible and the food was excellent as well.  If you order the appetizer get ready for a meal to itself because it is easily a shareable dish for four.  The pork belly was amazing and it was resting on top of Asian noodles.  I should have stopped there because I was stuffed.  I chose the fish of the day which was cooked perfectly and the wine pairing complimented the meal as I had hoped.

Sunday I decided to try something totally different and chose Platypus Tours to take me to locations I wouldn’t normally have picked.  The great thing about the tour is someone else drives, they know some of the better, smaller wineries, and you get to meet other people along the way.  To keep it brief, the tour was exactly as I had hoped.  The driver was funny and gave tidbits of information about the different areas as we drove from winery to winery. I recommend everyone that is looking for something a bit different and don’t want to spend the money on a private tour, chose Platypus.

Dinner Sunday night was Angele Restaurant & Bar and it was very good also.  In fact, it was only a couple of doors down from Celadon.  I started with the French onion soup which I enjoyed and finished with the halibut which also was very good.  I usually don’t eat this much fish in a row but I did this trip and all were excellent.

Monday was driving back to San Jose day.

So in conclusion, there is no way to visit all the wineries there so count on 3 or 4 max in a day because most close at 5 pm.  The food is very good along both sides of the river and if I wasn’t so enjoying the manager’s reception and complimentary breakfast that the Embassy Suites provides, I would probably stay right in downtown at one of the many Bed and Breakfast or a hotel.