I’d like to say that we woke up super early because we were so excited for what the day held, but it was really because of the time difference. I think we got out of bed at 6:30 am PST, which technically was 9:30 am EST but we went to bed rather early.
Our first vineyard was Chappallet, with a tour scheduled for 11:00 am. We ate breakfast in the hotel restaurant and were off! Now, the person I spoke with made sure that I knew that once we got close to the mountain where the vineyard was located atop, that we would not be able to use GPS. She didn’t specify “phone GPS” which lead us on this crazy drive through the mountains – up and down, some roads not having side guard rails (there were many times I caught myself holding my breath with white knuckles grabbing onto the door handle). Finally, R told me to enter the address for the vineyard into the NeverLost (we rented our car from Hertz). After a bit of “it’s not going to work, the lady said it wasn’t going to work”, I finally gave in – and it worked! AND we were way out of the way LOL.
So we were fifteen minutes late, that’s not bad right? We blamed it on the cement trucks that were coming down the mountain as we were trying to inch up it (it was a one lane road and very scary when you see someone coming right at you). The tour guide at Chappallet turned out to be the owners’ daughter-in-law, Amy. (Read about the Chappallet family HERE) She was very cool…very informative, witty, and down to earth. She kidded that when she ran the tours she would open any bottles she wanted (for the tastings along the tour) because she wasn’t going to get fired.
The main building that we were in was amazing! It was massive and housed hundreds and hundreds of oak barrels filled with deliciousness. We then walked along the actual grape plants, learning about the different species that they grow there; about the family and their history, and met some nice people along the way. We didn’t leave empty-handed! We purchased our first bottle of wine in Napa – yay!
After many different recommendations for lunch, we chose to stop at the Rutherford Grill. Great choice! (For you Zagat followers, it was rated a 24 out of 30) I ordered their infamous French dip and R ordered this amazing seared tuna salad.
With filled tummies, we decided to skip the Opus One tour that we had originally scheduled and drove down 29 for a while, finally deciding to go to the Acacia vineyard. Acacia is a wine that we frequent at home (their pinot noir is a fave), recommended to us by a friend. We had to go there! The wine tasting itself was OK, we bought a few bottles to ship home, but I think Chappallet spoiled us and set the bar for the rest of the vineyards.
Dinner was at Bouchon with my aunt, uncle and cousin who happened to be in Napa at the same exact time. I haven’t seen them in AGES and to see them across the US was funny and nice. The food was delicious, as expected! (Zagat – 26/30).
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