Napa.

After we left Lake Berryessa, it was time for the fun portion of our trip.  Enough with nature, bring on the wine!

Baby grapes.  One day, I might drink them!

First, we met my parents at our hotel in Napa, the Avia.  It was a really great property with beautiful rooms, fantastic location, and very helpful staff.  The concierge had set us up with therapeutic massages at a nearby spa.  After that, it was nap time until dinner.  We went to a place called the Rutherford Grill, which you could smell from down the road, and had a great dinner.  Because M and I never really adjusted to being on Pacific Time, we were in bed by 8:30.

On Monday, it was time for some wine touring.  My parents had arranged for a driver to take us to four vineyards.  It is a little tough to start tasting at 10:00 am but you gotta do what you gotta do.  Our first stop was Castello di Amorosa.

Castello di Amorosa -- moat and all, if you count pond scum as a moat.

It was completed only about five years ago by a man named Darryl.  We learned from our driver that once the castle was built, Darryl changed his name to Dario.  Unfortunately for him, he sounds like a Darryl and almost no one seems to want to call him Dario.  Everyone we talked to about it just laughed, shook their head, and concluded that he is an odd man.  You can conclude that on your own by realizing what an obsessive personality it must take to build your own replica castle with Italian-esque frescos.  We skipped the guided tour -- no need to hear about faux history -- and went straight to the tasting.  The wines there were overall delicious.

South tower of the castle, overlooking the vineyards

Family picture on the South Tower of the Castle

From there, we went to V. Sattui, which is another Darryl/Dario vineyard.  The tasting was much more crowded and less enjoyable but the grounds were fantastic with a deli on site.  Several people recommended that we have a picnic lunch there and that is just what we did.  Just beautiful . . . and delicious.

Because we were so efficient in our tastings, we had time to kill before the only scheduled tour we booked.  We ended up going to a place called Frank Family Vineyard where we did a tasting and then just enjoyed sitting out on their porch.

From there, it was on to Schramsberg.  This vineyard was the one that all of us were most anticipating -- it is a bubbly maker!  They store their wine in caves built into the mountain.  Wandering the caves was part of the tour as was a tasting in the caves.  Our tour guide was really great.  Interesting information and a very subtle saleswoman.  We bought everything she was selling -- including things she wasn't specifically trying to sell like her husband's restaurant (great little local chain of burger roadside diners called Gott's -- we liked it so much we went there for dinner and came back for breakfast) and therapeutic yoga -- including wine and a membership in their wine club.  For the next year at least, M and I will each being receiving four shipments of bubbles from the caves outside of Calistoga.

Bad picture of the tasting in the caves

On Tuesday, we considered driving over to the coast to a small national park called Point Reyes but I really just could not get in the car again.  This trip was the most I have driven in a very long time.  I don't put in this kind of mileage if you combine six months together normally.  Instead, we just strolled around downtown Napa, shopping, had lunch, did a wine and chocolate pairing at the place next door, got pedicures and read.  Just a very chill relaxing day.

On Wednesday, it was back to SFO and back to reality.