A Few More Wineries

As promised, I will share with you our wine and food tourings from the Napa and Sonoma Valley today. Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful day and so we decided to head out to Sonoma. We walked around town and visited a couple of our favorite shops and had lunch at Murphy's Irish Pub. We ate lunch there last September when we were in town and it was really good so had to go back. As we ventured around the square we also found a shop that had all kinds of Fair Trade items so I purchased a few of their hand made wrapping paper from India. The kitchen shop is a lot of fun to walk through also.

For our wine venture we decided to hit up one of our favorites which is Imagery. They have a wonderful art gallery of original pieces that have been featured on their wine labels. All of the art pieces must have the Parthenon located somewhere on it. It is always fun to see if you can find the images in each piece of art. Here is DH in the Gallery, and yes that is a glass of wine he is holding.

Our surprising stop was on the way home but just a couple of miles from Imagery and that was the BR Cohn Winery. It was there, so I had to stop... didn't know anything about it. We were very surprised to find out that Bruce Cohn, the Manager of the Doobie Brothers Band is the owner. Who knew? There are so many famous people spread out all over the valley here that you just never know who you will run into. The wine was pretty good but the find of the day was their small olive oil and vinegar tasting room next door. They had the best 25 year old Balsamic vinegar... wow is all I can say.

Photo courtesy of http://brcohn.com

As you can tell some of the photos are not very good and I'm sure you guessed it that I am still using my phone camera. DH has the Nikon and hasn't downloaded all the photos yet for me to swipe a few and post out here.

The weather today was a bit iffy but we had a tasting and tour planned with Jarvis Winery. It was recommended to us as they have a nifty wine cave with mineral specimens. This tour is not for the budget conscious as it does cost a pretty penny. It is worth it but you know the saying, if you have to ask then you can't afford it.

Photo courtesy of http://www.jarviswines.com

All their production of wine is done in the caves. The above photo is just a small portion of the cave and barrels they have stored there.

Here we are next to a natural spring that flows through the cave.

It was a wonderful tour and the wines were out of this world. So smooth and drinkable. If you ever have the chance to taste these wines, do so, it will be worth it.

After that lovely experience it was time for lunch. I had already decided that I wanted to go back into Yountville to pick up another bottle of port so we decided to have lunch at Bottega. Bottega is owned by the famous Food Network Chef Michael Chiarello. Yes, I am throwing names around now but I did actually get to see him. He was in the restaurant visiting with some of the diners in his cute little chef's apron.  I'm pretty sure he wasn't cooking but the food was pretty darn good. We split the Caramelized Brussels Sprout Salad and DH had the Halibut over risotto as his entree and I had the Butternut Squash pasta something. All I know is that it was very good. Here is a picture of it.

As you can see, I had already started eating when I decided to take this photo. Oh so yummy. We didn't have a reservation but since it was before noon we were able to get a table. I do recommend making a reservation if you plan to visit just to be on the safe side.

Next stop was to taste a little more wine at Hope and Grace winery. I just love their Chardonnay and can't help myself from buying a bottle whenever we are in town. Since we just happened to be near we stopped to get some dessert for tonight from Bouchon bakery. I'm still trying to hold myself back from digging into that Chocolate Eclair.

Well tomorrow is another day and one to look forward to. I'm not entirely sure what exciting things we will find but I'll be sure to let you know.

Wine, Olives and Olive Oil

I don't know, can you guess where we are? Yep, Napa, CA. Here we headed South for some warmer weather and a bit of sunshine and what did we find but rain and overcast days. I do have to admit that the days are about 10 degrees warmer but still no sun. On the trip down we stopped in Corning at the Olive Pit to try some of their tasty olives. Lots of good choices there plus they have all kinds of other food items as well. I found a Fig Balsamic Vinegar that was to die for.... so yummy I just want to drink it straight out of the bottle.

The last time we came to Napa, I posted several reviews on the winery's we visited, my plan is to do the same thing just in case you are ever in the area. We visited Rutherford Ranch on Sunday and Jessup Cellars on Monday, both were extremely good this time as well as in previous visits. Today we tried an Olive Oil Tasting at Round Pond.

This was very different than what I expected. You get 4 little shot type glasses with about a tablespoon of olive oil in each one, then you are to pour one in your mouth, swish it around and then let it slide down your throat while you cough. Yes, cough. They did bring out fresh veggies to try along with the oils which was a good thing. They also let us try the vinegars and simple syrups. By far the vinegars were our favorite. They are considered a Boutique Olive Oil producer, so they make in small quantities right on the farm with their own mill. Interesting tour but once we had swigged oil, we really needed some wine, so off to Peju we went.

So this is the outside of the winery. They have wonderful grounds with lots of sculptures. I snapped a few photos with my cell phone while DH went around with the big camera.

We haven't quite decided what we are doing tomorrow but if it is interesting, I'll be sure to let you know.

Cheers

Where has Summer Gone?

I can't believe it has been so long since my last post. It has been a busy end of Summer for us. We did make it back from our vacation in Napa and it was so wonderful as always. Bought way too much wine, did a little shopping, relaxed a lot and even had a few interesting day trips out in the wine country. But boy did all the stuff hit us when we got home. I had a jewelry show two days after we returned so I frantically got organized and everything priced before the show. The Puyallup Fair started just a couple days later and we volunteered to work 3 shifts at our Gem and Mineral Club's booth so we have worked two shifts so far, one on Saturday and one on Monday ...more to follow on this. I taught a gem tree class at Shipwreck Beads on Sunday, then I realized that all the Art and Mixed Media Retreat proposals were due this week ....ugg. So, I quickly made some additional trees, took photos, wrote tutorials and got the proposals completed and e-mailed yesterday. I'm feeling a little less stress now... just a little through.

So a little bit more about the Fair. It is a standing joke with our family that we always purchase something at the Fair so this year was no different. Each year it seems we find something expensive to purchase, a few years ago it was a Gas Fireplace then 2 years ago it was a Sleep Number bed, last year was a Silk Comforter, which we loved so much we purchased another one this year for the motor home. We always purchase some smaller items such as aroma fans,dog brush (helps with shedding), those rubber clogs that were and still are popular, sheet set, faucet sprayers and shower heads, wham shammies, squishy pillows, dehydrated ice packets where you soak them in water and freeze then you can use them in coolers, pepper jelly, pickled garlic, honey and kettle corn. All that plus food that we ate there such as krusty pups (corn dogs), scones, Earthquake burgers, scones, Perogies, hot dogs, curly fries, scones, BBQ ribs and sandwiches, scones, ice cream cones and oh did I mention the scones. It is so much fun going to the fair and as much as I hate to admit it, the vendors hawking all their wares is some of my favorites as well as the artwork that has been entered for competition.

We do complain every year that the scones get smaller and the price seems to get larger but we buy them and eat them anyway. Hubby said that this scone booth was the first one at the fair and he should know as he has been going since the 50's. It is always fun to go early in the morning, sit down with coffee and a couple of hot scones with raspberry jam....yum. So glad we have one more volunteer day at the fair.

Here is one of my new trees. It is called Painted Leaves. Yes, I know the name is a little simple but I couldn't think of anything more appropriate. Definitely a mixed media tree vs. a gem tree.

A few new bracelets that I still need to get listed on ArtFire. These were inspired by some that I saw on vacation. Stretchy with sterling silver and gemstones or crystals with dangles. A little bit out of the norm for me but oh so much fun.

Don't forget about the Bead Soup Party Blog Hop. We will be hopping all over the blogosphere on Saturday visiting blogs and seeing all the beautiful creations people made from their Bead Soup. So don't forget to come back on Saturday as I will be revealing the jewelry pieces made from my soup.

A Little Wine or Maybe a Lot

This week is our sojourn to Napa, CA. We are always on the quest for new and interesting wines and different wineries. We like the small family owned wineries as they have a little bit more personal feel. First stop on our list was Jessup Cellars. Oh my, what wonderful wines. I recommend making a reservation for a tasting as you get personalized treatment but you can just walk in also. I think the tasting fee is $20.00 but if you buy then it is waived. They are very liberal in their pourings and in fact will pour more wines than what is on the tasting list. We've been wine club members for over a year and love all the wines we have received but my favorite is called Jewel which is a red wine blend. Of course that would be the name of my favorite wine. They don't have any for sale right now but they do have the other red wine blend called Table for Four which is really good also.

Yesterday we ventured out again after doing a little grocery shopping. We cook our dinners at the condo vs. eating out each night as we do have a full kitchen. First stop was Hope and Grace. We found this little boutique winery last year and I just love their Chardonnay. They also just released a new Malbec which hubby liked. Then onto to Peju. We visited them about 4 years ago and haven't been back as we were trying others out but decided to go back this year. What a change in the winery. They have made some beautiful changes in their tasting room. We had our tasting in the marble room. Floors, countertops, everything was made of this wonderful green, brown marble. They have some wonderful sculptures outside also.

Today was an interesting day. My turn to drive us around and I thought I would take the Silveraldo Trail and hit some of the wineries up to St. Helena but I took a little detour. Yes, it was planned the moment I knew I made a mistake, I decided that this was the new plan. We went into the hills, around corners, up and down until we finally came to a lake. Don't know the name but took a few pictures anyway and then headed back toward Rutherford and came upon another lake...took more photos and continued on until we found a winery that looked interesting. It became our first winery stop of the day.

Rutherford Ranch was a pleasing surprise. We tasted several of their wines and then decided to join their wine club. They had the best Old Vine Zin that we have tasted in a while. So we had to buy a few. Knowing that we were going to get our first club shipment later in September that's all we purchased but the wines are very drinkable and affordable.

Walking around St. Helena was fun. We had lunch at a sidewalk Italian cafe and did a little shopping. Found a cool toss pillow all embroidered with California regions, hit up another shop called Findings that had some funky jewelry (yes I bought something) and then headed back down Hwy 29 towards home.

We just couldn't stop with one winery so found another one on the list that was along the way and recognized it as a sister winery of the Frances Ford Coppola winery that we are members of called Rubicon Estate. The Coppola's  purchased it in '75 from Inglenook Estate which was world renowned. I was so disappointed in the Rubicon wines since we love the Coppola wines. The people at the winery are very nice, the grounds are gorgeous but the wine was very pretentious. Heavy, dry and not drinkable unless you had some really heavy food which we did not. Tastings are $25.00 and you get to try 5 wines. I really don't recommend this winery if you are just out having a good time and wanting to try some good drinkable wines.

Tomorrow is another day so hopefully we will find some fantastic wineries and if not I'm sure we will have a good time trying.

Napa Style

Well my creativity break involved hubby and I taking a road trip to the Napa Valley. Yes, we are still drinking wine and enjoying the sunshine. It was a nice break but we are missing the dogs now after being gone for a week. We will be home in a couple of days and back to the daily grind so we will enjoy our remaining days. This trip we invited my brother and his girlfriend along and we rented a two bedroom condo vs. the 1 bed we usually get. It's been a fun trip having others along to enjoy it with you. If you have never been to Napa, California, then it is worth a trip, rolling green hills and tons of grape vines. We usually come in March for our anniversary so the vines aren't leafed out yet, but we love it anyway. It doesn't hurt that there is an abundance of wineries to visit.

Here are a few pics from our trip to enjoy and I hope you have a great weekend.

Lavender and grape vines at Frances Ford Coppola Winery in Geyserville.

Barrel room at Sterling Winery.

Elaine and I shopping in Yountville.