Wednesday, August 22, 2018

Napa Valley: Part Two


Our second day I was up early with the time difference but not complaining - I had fun laying in bed slowly waking up then going out to our patio to read - it was in the 50's and got me so excited for fall. We went over to the restaurant at the hotel for a little breakfast before our day got started.


Our first winery tour of the day was Stags' Leap Winery - I think our favorite of the whole trip! The estate was gorgeous - the tour took us all throughout the house and down to the vineyards - we'd taste wine along the way at different stops - they even greeted us with one to taste before the tour started and they offered extra for any that you liked.

Throughout the tour we tried a viognier, chardonnay, rose, red wine blend, and a few cabernet sauvignons. 


I loved being down in the vineyards - you could taste the grapes if you wanted and take in the nice views.  At the end we went back into the dining room to taste a handful of wines and enjoy a cheese plate.  The only downside (which wasn't really that bad because we were having fun!) is that the tour went about 45 minutes extra - luckily we didn't have any other specific plans for the day, we just cut lunch short to try to make up for it. 


There was a small winery down the street called Pine Ridge Vineyard - we were doing mostly bigger wineries so thought it would be fun to pop in a smaller one - my Stepdad also grew up on Pine Ridge Drive so we thought it would be fun to get him a bottle.  Their tasting is mainly reds but they put together a white/rose tasting for me.

We skipped over our lunch plans to save time and stopped in St. Helena at Cook's Tavern to split a couple appetizers quickly before continuing on.


Our last stop of the day was Sterling Vineyards.  It was pretty far up through the valley but the views were great.  We had to take a little cable car up (I was terrified!) and then we began our self guided tasting - we tried seven wines while touring through the property.


We finished with just enough time to get our ride back down to the hotel - late in the day the traffic builds with everyone coming back down so we took the Silverado Trail route and got to see a little bit more.


We made it to the spa with not a minute to spare but enjoyed wonderful massages and an hour of relaxing, peace and quiet.


We finished up at the spa around 6pm and enjoyed almost two hours reading, napping and lounging by the pool before we had to get ready for dinner - we pushed our dinner reservation back to get a little more pool time.


Our dinner that night was at Brix - everything was fresh farm to table and it was a very cozy setting - we opted to sit on the patio and the weather was already starting to get chilly.  To finish up the night we each had a cocktail by the fireplace at the hotel before calling it a night.


7 comments:

  1. This looks like the perfect day in Napa! I'm impressed that y'all squeezed in three wineries, spa time, pool time, and a nice dinner all in one day.

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  2. ok I feel relaxed just looking at these photos and reading along! the views and the cool mornings, you just can't beat it. now I want to be by that pool immediately :)

    xoxo cheshire kat

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  3. viognier! i've only discovered that wine out in napa/sonoma, and i looooved it. during our tasting at ledson, there was a snooty british couple that turned down their nose on whites until we got to talking and they tried that wine...and promptly added a few bottles to their order to ship home. how fun was sterling?! where else can you take that route to the vineyard!?

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  4. For as many times as I've been to Napa I still haven't made it to Stags winery!! Your pictures are making me so relaxed!! xo, Biana - BlovedBoston

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  5. Pine Ridge Chennin Blanc is my all time favorite white wine and it's sold in most grocery stores here in OH. We took a trip to Napa two years ago and I was so excited to visit their winery. I had no idea they are actually known for their Cabs! Wish I could go back

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  6. Napa looks AMAZING! The Stag winery is gorgeous - and that a fun little stop to get a bottle for your stepdad. And your hotel...goodness it looks perfect!

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  7. We visited Stag's Leap when we were in Napa a couple of years ago, and it was such a great tour! It's still so crazy to think about how old some of those vines are! And Sterling really does have amazing views! I need to write about our trip, but I know that it's going to make me want to go back!

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