The Days of Wine & Roses

Haven't blogged the last couple of days...   What can I say other than I caught the Napa Flu.

We've tasted wine, we've ate good food, we've tasted more wine and eaten more good food.

We've met some really interesting characters along the way too.

At Sterling Vineyards we rode a tram up to the winery

I tried to figure out how to fit one of these babies in my wine room but they were just too big.

The view from the top is really reminiscent of Tuscany.

At Berringer Vineyards we did our wine tasting in the historic Rhine House.  It was a re-creation of thier old family home on the Rhine River in Germany.  Over 25% of the construction cost was for the extensive stain glass windows found throughout the residence.

We even visited a Tuscan Castle nestled on the top of a hill, the  The Castello Di Amorosa.

Also the scene of todays self portrait.

An alfresco picnic in the parking lot.  Fresh baguettes, charcuterie, and fromage.

 A peaceful scene that could be Bordeaux or Tuscany.  The vineyards at Opus One.

Tonight we capped of the visit with dinner at La Toque, one of the premier French Restaurants in Napa Valley.   Each of the courses was expertly matched with a wine to accompany that meal.  We had about 10 people servicing our table, bringing dishes and wines, explaining each course that we had chosen and the wine that was being served with that course and why.

It was an exceptional dining experience.

Tomorrow we drive into San Francisco and will enjoy Gregs San Francisco Tour Service.  

Later we will drop our friends Matt & Julie off at their hotel at the end of the day and return to Napa for our last night before we continue our odyssey and head 6 hours north to our next port of call - Redwoods National Park and Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park - both in northern California along the Pacific Coast.