cali adventures {napa valley}

Carrie: If you're tired of New York you take a nap-a, you don't move to Napa.

This quote is all I kept thinking of while in Napa.  I did, surprisingly, refrain from sharing those thoughts because that wouldn't get old or anything.

Being as the only request made by KDKA, Thursday was spent in Napa Valley.  We started our morning around 7, showered and we were out the door by 815 to meet Debra, our DD for the day, outside our hotel we were staying that night not far from wine country.  None of us had done really any research as to where we wanted to go so we asked Debra for some suggestions.  Being that this is a job for her, she knew of some great places.

Her first recommendation and our first stop was Robery Sinesky Family Winery.  As we pulled into the parking lot, it was just like everything I'd imagined.  Just Beautiful.  Everyone was uber friendly and seemed extremely knowledgeable of each wine they poured.  Not hard to impress the girl who buys bottles of wine solely based on the label/bottle design (or whatever is on sale).  As nice as it was, it was a little pricier than any of us wanted.  I mean we got to taste 5 wines (already chosen) with a small side of crackers, cheese and olives for $25.  But since it was our first stop, and because we are all family, husband and I shared as did KDKA and M.  While I think we all enjoyed the wines we tasted no one bought any.  I think the cheapest was $40 which seemed like a lot since the most I pay for a bottle these days  is $15 (and that's the big bottle). 

Sorry for the grain in some of these photos.  Drinking and using the DSLR are not always a safe combination so I relied heavily on the iPhone. 

Sisters.

Look at the view!  Seriously, everything thing I imagined. 

Even though our DD had quite the route mapped out for us, our next scheduled winery stop wasn't going to be for a while, so since we had no clue we asked the employees at Sinesky for places to go.  They recommended Miner Family Winery, which happened to be just a quick 5 minutes down the road.  And we all agreed we could have stayed there the rest of the day and been completely satisfied.  The staff there were so fun.  And you could really tell they know there stuff.  Apparently they are the only winery in Napa that use the Reidel stemless wineglasses for wine tasting and use a different glass-type for each tasting.  You can even buy your own set of the glasses with the Miner logo at the bottom.  Now that I think about it, that would have been an excellent gift for Father's Day.  Oh well, Christmas?

I think what we all loved the most about Miner was that we were able to go outside and enjoy our wine on the deck while taking in the fresh Cali air and amazing view.  I mean, I could sit and drink wine and look out at that all day.  

One of the workers, I so wish I knew his name, took us on a surprise tour of the caves where they store all of their wine.  

Again, sorry for the noisy photo but doesn't this look like a scene from The Tudors or Game of Thrones? 

This guy pouring wine straight from the barrel into M's mouth was our awesome tour guide and I think had a crush on M and KDKA.  Not surprising.  

Next stop was V. Sattui.  Our DD really pushed for this place since it has a nice deli and it was quite clear that she was hungry because as soon as we arrived she rushed inside for lunch.  V. Sattui was much larger and a little more crowded but it was much more cheap with it only being $10-$15 for wine tasting depending on which package you chose as opposed to $25 at the first two places.  While it was much cheaper we were not overly impressed by the guy pouring our wine.  He didn't seem to have much of a personality and seemed a little annoyed by us.  Although he did compare the 4 of us to the cast of FRIENDS which we all thought was strange.  Of course we discussed who would be  who.  Everyone agreed I would be Monica.  I promptly said, "I am NOT Monica" which according to everyone, would be a very Monica thing to say.  

Sent this to husband's family.  MIL responded with "you both look like very refined winos."  I couldn't agree more:)

I finally busted out the DSLR for some photos of the grounds of V. Sattui.  And I am really happy I did.  Our DD's second job is a portrait photographer so she gave me a little tour and suggestions places to get some good photos. 

Chowing down. 

Our 4th and final stop was at Menage a Trois Winery.  I was pretty excited about this once since I have actually purchased a few bottles of their wine before.  It was really neat to see where it comes from.  Tasting here was also cheaper, $10-$15 depending on the tasting package you wanted, and was open until 6.  We were also able to enjoy our wine while sitting outside as well in between tastings among the vineyards.  

Silly pictures for Mom

This is another favorite of mine.  I hope to have this available in my Etsy shop soon. 

Like I said, we got a hotel room so no one had to worry about driving back after a day of drinking.  While I do think anyone of us could have driven home after our day, I am still glad we got the room.  For $90, it was not bad.  

View after leaving the awful pizza restaurant across the lot from our hotel. 

This day and the day before were my favorites from our trip.  If you ever head out to Cali and are in the Napa area, I highly recommend hiring a DD, I think we found her on craigslist, which was so much cheaper than renting a limo.  Also, do make a point to stop at Miner.  The staff were so friendly and accommodating.

linking up with Lisette and Amanda. 

Until next time