Wine, Food, and People: Napa Valley
I spent 4 days in the beautiful Napa Valley, California. This has been on my list of places to visit for years and let me tell you, it was worth the hype and exceeded my expectations. It is a wine lover’s dream destination. I intentionally chose to be in the moment for this trip. Unfortunately, I didn’t take many tasting notes on the wines I tried, nor did I take as many pictures or videos. I was completely engulfed in the culture of Napa. From the friendly and helpful people, the farm to table fresh food, the wine, the weather (50-60 degrees in the morning and night and during the day 80-degree sunshiny weather) made our stay perfect, it stole my heart. Napa felt like home, I did not want to leave! Many more trips will be planned and will include a few girls’ trips. Eventually, we want to own a property in Napa to make our visits more frequent. Add Napa to your bucket list now, you will not regret it!
So, let’s dive in a lil bit!
Premier wine country Napa Valley, CA is home to over 400 wineries and over 90 tasting rooms. A wine lover and fine dining paradise. Whether staying for a weekend or a week you’ll find top-of-the-line accommodations and dining options in this lavish region. There aren’t any large airports in Napa so depending on where you’re flying from you may not directly fly in. From St. Louis we had options to fly into Sacramento, San Francisco, or Oakland. We chose Oakland, which is only an hour from Napa. The short drive is scenic. You’ll see the mountains and miles of grass and vineyards with perfect 80-degree weather with a breeze. Napa isn’t a big city but has a lot to offer. We stayed at the luxurious Grand Reserve at the Meritage, the sister resort of the Meritage which we had access to as well. The resort sits on a nine-acre vineyard “Trinitas Cellars.” The resort includes several tasting rooms, farm to table restaurants, a lounge, grocery store, and the award-winning Spa Terra.
Day 1
On arrival we pulled into the drive where we met with complimentary valet. We were greeted with a glass of JP. Chenet Blanc De Blancs Brut in the living room aka the lobby with stunning light fixtures and a burgundy, green, and beige color scheme. After checking in we’re escorted to our room by the concierge. On the way we passed by the pool and cabanas. We entered our room to see the lights dim with rose petals, small tea light candles, a bottle of prosecco, Trinitas Red Blend, a charcuterie, and cheese board along with macaroons from “Madeleine’s Macarons.” Our room came with a balcony overlooking the resort and vineyard.
After settling into our room, we went to Brown Estate tasting room in downtown Napa. Brown Estate is the first and only Black Owned Winery Estate in Napa. The winery itself is currently closed to the public. Walking up the steps to the tasting room I hear “Big Pimpin” by Jay Z playing, one of my favorite summertime songs so I knew this was my kind of place. There is art along the walls and a table of books by Black authors. The overall vibe of the tasting room was classy and hip. I highly recommend making reservations to avoid being placed on the waitlist. Two tasting experiences are available to choose from, a flight of four wines to try and a paired tasting experience that includes five wines and small bites. The flight I selected featured their 2020 Zinfandel and 2021 Merlot. During our tasting, the specialist gave us a brief history of each wine and how Brown Estate came to be. If you want to read more on the rich history, please visit https://www.brownestate.com/. Later that evening we enjoyed dinner on the resort at the Olive & Hay restaurant.
Day 2
On day two we did the Napa Valley Wine Train experience (https://www.winetrain.com/). Yep, probably the top Instagram and Tik Tok experience most have seen in Napa. The railcars are over 100 years old, and it travels 36 miles to St. Helena. On the way, you’ll see some of the most well-known and prestigious wineries in the world.
On the train there are several experiences from daytime to full day tours. We chose the Gourmet Lunch Express, a 3-hour journey that includes a 3-course meal. We checked in and took a few pictures with the backdrops and explored the gift shop. A tip from the clerk was to purchase a bottle of wine prior to boarding the train due to the price increase and that it is best to pay the corkage fee once on the train. When your group is called, you’re led outside to a photographer to snap your picture before boarding. You’re then greeted and led to your table with a welcome glass of sparkling wine. On the ride, as our courses arrive our guide lets us know about the wineries we’re passing. When dinner is over, we’re led to the dessert cart to enjoy something sweet after lunch along with your choice of coffee or tea.
After the wine train we drove to downtown Napa to visit the California Brandy House for the hubby to try their signature California brandies offered in Argonaut and Germain-Robin. Then after only a ten-minute walk we visited the Housley Tasting room by the Housley Family, which includes Tamara Mowry-Housley and Adam Housley. Y’all this place is a vibe! Inside their tasting room, referred to as the living room, has an at home feel. We walked in to “Can’t get enough” by Tamia and a group of ladies along with the staff trying to learn the shuffle. I haven’t learned the dance in full yet, but I will! On the wall are pictures of the family and career highlights of the owners. I chose to do a flight of reds and I loved each glass. Especially the 2017 Vintage Cabernet Sauvignon. You felt the love, passion, and positivity in that space.
Day 3
Day two in Napa was our anniversary so we didn’t want to jam pack our day with activities. We put on our hotel white robes and waited for our breakfast to be delivered and enjoyed a bottle of Veuve Clicquot. We sat on our balcony and reflected on our first year. Later that evening, we dined at the Charlie Palmer Steakhouse in downtown Napa located in the Archer hotel. After dinner we returned to our resort, changed our clothes, and took a walk while enjoying an Ashton cigar.
Day 4
Chateau Montelena is the winery estate that put Napa on the map (https://montelena.com). Their 1973 Chardonnay won the 1976 Judgement of Paris during a blind tasting. This is one of the most beautiful wineries I’ve ever seen. It sits on over 200 acres near Mount St. Helena. We chose the “Explore Ageability” tasting which features a comparative of current releases and vintages:
-2020 Chardonnay Cool Vintage
-2014 Chardonnay Warm Vintage
-2019 Zinfandel Temperate Vintage
-2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Temperate Vintage
-2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Temperate Vintage
Each gave a unique story as told by our specialist. We also had the pleasure of trying a 1994 Chardonnay. The last winery we visited was Conn Creek in the Rutherford appellation on the Silverado Trail. This winery caters to Bordeaux-styled red wine. For this winery we did the “Barreling Blending Experience” We tried different Cabernet Sauvignon barrel samples from various regions in Napa and learned a blending technique from our wine specialist all to create our very own custom wine blend to take home. This was the perfect way to cap off our vacation. After trying each wine, we created two sample blends for our potential finished product. We received a tasting wheel and a recipe card to jot notes on our blends. Once we selected our preferred blend, we began filling our beaker from each barrel of our favorite combination, then bottled and corked our wine. After 3 months we’ll be able to open our wine to ensure our blend, blends well. Later that evening we enjoyed our final dinner at the popular, and aesthetically pleasing RH Yountville Restaurant.
Just a few tips:
1. Make reservations for everything: Every restaurant, activity, and tasting we made reservations to avoid a wait. Also, most places in Napa require reservations.
2. If you plan to bring wine home, be sure to purchase wine sleeves. I purchased sleeves from Amazon to protect the bottles while traveling. I’m happy to say our bottles of wine survived the flights. View the wine sleeves here.
3. Pace yourself: You’re in wine country, everywhere you go will offer wine tastings and if you’re anything like me you’ll want to try everything. Drink plenty of water, eat well, and pack a liquid IV for extra hydration.
4. Go with a plan: We took months to plan this trip because we knew going, it would be overwhelming. It’s best to have a list of places you want to go and leave room for free time so that it is not too “planned.” You never know what you can discover when traveling. Plus, I love a good itinerary. However, when on vacation I don’t like my days to be too planned and filled every hour.
5. Be open: Whenever traveling, I’m a little more extroverted. I love casual conversations with people. Asking questions like where a person is from, what brings them to wherever the vacation is. You never know the connections you’ll make. Have great conversations, eat good food, and simply enjoy.
Do you have a bucket list vacation? If so, what is the next place on your bucket list? Have you been to a bucket list place more than once? I would love to know!
Follow the links to find more information on our experiences and some history. Also, follow my Instagram stories @shift2thirty for more peeks of our Napa Valley trip!
Links:
https://www.meritageresort.com/suites-napa-valley-ca/napa-valley-hotel-grand-reserve
https://www.housleynapavalley.com/living-room
https://www.californiabrandyhouse.com/
Beautifully written. This could easily appear in a travel guide and a Wine Country magazine. This entices me to want to travel to Napa Valley and experience this!