I love wine, and one of my favorite things in life is discovering new wines and sharing them with family and friends. Usually my wine discoveries take place at a local wine shop or at Trader Joe’s or World Market. But yesterday I was lucky enough to get to spend the day in Napa with my parents.
As part of my birthday gift, we decided to take a day trip up to Napa to experience the wine country on a weekday. As much as I love wine, I’ve only been to Napa two other times, which seems unreal to me, since it’s only about an hour and a half (2 hours with traffic) from where I live. My parents are experts on the Napa Valley, so I thought it would be fun to go with them.
We headed out and took the scenic route up to Napa, traveling along the Great Highway, crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, and then heading into Yontville. It was a leisurely, beautiful drive that took us almost two hours, because we did hit some traffic along the way. But it was worth it. We had a great time talking, joking, and laughing. The weather was gorgeous, and sometimes it’s the unexpected moments in a car during a road trip that are the ones we rembember the most.
We had decided to go to Mustard’s Grill for lunch. I had been to Mustard’s once before, but my parents hadn’t been, and since the owner/exective chef at Mustard’s was recently featured on Top Chef Masters, I thought it would be fun for them to experience her menu. There was a 35 minute wait, but we didn’t mind, especially after smelling the heavenly aromas coming from the kitchen. By the time we were seated, we were definitely hungry, and had no trouble figuring out what to order. Since it was 2pm, we decided to have lunch. My mom and I had the Grilled Ahi Tuna Sandwich, which had a basil aioli and housemade pickled ginger. It was devine! I always like ahi tuna, and this sandwich definitely didn’t disappoint. My dad had the BBQ pulled pork sandwich, which he said was delicious, as well. We opted for iced tea over wine, since we were hitting the wineries after lunch. I told my parents that I’d love to go back to Mustard’s for dinner, to truly experience the chef’s cuisine.
After lunch, we went to Cakebread Cellars, because I had been dying to go. My parents had never been to this winery, so it was a new experience for all of us. I’ve had Cakebread Chardonnay in restaurants before and loved it, and I knew their other wines would be just as good. When we pulled up to the winery, we saw a sign saying that wine tastings and tours were done by prior appointment only. Undeterred, we entered the winery and asked about making an appointment. Luckily, they had room for us at 3pm, so we only had to wait a few minutes. The really cool thing about this wine tasting was that they take you on a tour of the grounds (which were gorgeous). At each stop you make, you taste a different wine and get to learn a bit more about the winery. I really love this type of tasting because it seems much more fun and interesting than simply standing in a tasting room and sampling wines. (Don’t get me wrong, I love doing that, too, but when you’re in the Napa Valley, it seems a shame not to fully experience the winery).
They started us off in the gift shop with Sauvignon Blanc, which I didn’t enjoy. I don’t care for that variety at all, but my mom said she enjoyed it. Next, we really began the tour, and they took us into the garden to sample the Anderson Valley Chardonnay. This was absolutely delicious. I liked it so much that I splurged on the $37 bottle. The guide explained that this was made “in the French style,” and whatever they do to it, it is remarkable. Then we were led deeper into the grounds and got to sample the Reserve Chardonnay. I thought I would enjoy this wine even more than the Anderson Valley Chardonnay, but I didn’t. Don’t get me wrong, it was really rich and buttery, but I liked the crispness of the Anderson Valley Chardonnay better. Next we headed into the wine making area and sampled the Carneros Pinot Noir, which was really good. We watched them bottle wine as we tasted my favorite wine of the day, the Red Hills Lake Zinfindel. By far, this was the smoothest, richest Zin I have every had in my life, and I would have definitely purchased a bottle, except for the fact that payday isn’t until Friday. The nice thing is, I can order it online, and I definitely will, when I have some extra money. Finally, we headed back out to the garden, to the outdoor bbq, and sampled the Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.
It was so interesting to learn the history of the family, the winery, and the development of the wine from Barry, our guide. When we overhead the tour group behind us, we were even more glad that Barry was guiding us, because the girl on the next tour sounded like she should be at Disneyland rather than a winery. I’m all for having energy, but her fake enthusiasm was a bit much. I loved the relaxed nature of Barry’s presentation.
We left Cakebread hoping to hit another winery, but didn’t have enough time. This is the one problem I have with Napa – they close the wineries too early in the summer. Why not stay open until 7pm in the summer, since it’s lighter later? Most of the wineries close at 4 or 5, making it difficult to get to many, unless you start out really early in the day. Still, the visit to Cakebread was really worth it.
After the winery, we went to St. Helena to go to Michael Chiarello’s Napa Style store. It was nice, but didn’t really have much merchandise out. He has an amazing selection of spices and marinades, but other that that, I wasn’t very impressed with the wares. The website and catalogue are so much more visually appealing than the store itself, which I find odd. Also, we have a Napa Style locally, so I guess I wasn’t amazed because we can go to the store whenever we feel like it.
Then we went to Dean & Deluca, which was great. I loved looking at all of the exotic offerings, and my mom picked up a bottle of Moroccan marinade that we said we were going to use on some grilled ahi of our own.
After the gourmet food shop, we got back on the freeway and headed to the Outlets. What’s a trip to Napa without some outlet shopping on the way home, right? My dad and I both found shoes to purchase, and amazingly, my mom came away without anything. She’s usually the first one to find something to buy, but this time nothing struck her fancy. The shoes I got are simple flats from Clark’s (un)Structured line, but they are like walking on pillows. I think they’re going to become my daily wardrobe staple once school starts again and I’m on my feet all day.
Then we headed back home, but we ended up taking the scenic route by accident. There was so much fog on the Great Hwy that I told my dad to take the wrong exit, and we headed through Pacifica, through Half Moon Bay, along Hwy 1. It was absolutely gorgeous to see the ocean over the curves of the cliffs, but it definitely added to our driving time. We arrived back at my parents house at 9pm, tired, hungry, but very happy.
It was a truly fantastic day. Beyond the delicious food and the terrific wines, the best part of the day was being able to enjoy time spent with my parents. I am so very lucky to get along so well with them and have the type of relationship with them that makes us savor the moments we share together. They are two of my best friends, which is so special to me.
Here are a few photos of our time at Cakebread:
Bella's Bold, Brilliant Blog 