The long weekend in Napa

**Warning~ this is a long one so go ahead and pour yourself an extra cup-a-joe first**

I'm just now getting around to the full post on our long weekend getaway to Napa in mid July. I ran {post here}, and we did the spa thing {post here}, but the true highlight of our weekend was the wining and dining that took place.

First stop is always CornerStone in Sonoma where I pick up my race bib.
Alsina Grill:

Artefact Design & Salvage:
The foggy drive up from San Fran. We fly in late Friday evening and stay near SFO (major money saver), then get up early and drive up North to Sonoma / Napa.
Such a scenic drive.

OK~ back to CornerStone.

Messing around in the gardens after getting my racing paraphernalia.

The race always begins at the Domain Carneros Winery. Funny, we still haven't visited this winery but someday...

After last year's trip {post here}, we learned that our bodies just can't handle too many wineries in one day, so this year we planned differently. We made reservations at one winery per day, but we made those 3-4 wineries really count and went for the big guns this year.

SHAFER:
Oooh la la, Shafer.

The Shafer visit starts with a short tour of the grounds and the Stags Leap region.
If only I could have bottled up the smell of all the lavender. It was intoxicating.

This was a group tasting in the large dining room. It was very informative and by far my favorite wines of the trip. No cave tour and no frills {other than some crackers and a tasting book to take home}, but some damn fine wine!



Nothing like a wine buzz at 11am on a Sunday morning. ☺

REVANA:
We were headed up to Calistoga from Shafer and our guide at Shafer recommended we stop for a quick tasting at Revana, located in St. Helena.

Another opportunity to bring out the fruit, cheese and crackers that we toted around with us to each winery.

As you can see the grounds were impeccable, but the wine was a pleasant surprise, especially coming straight from a Shafer tasting. Revana is a very small production and complex wine, the speciality of consultant Heidi Barrett. Like most wines she touches, this is said to move to a 'cult' wine status soon. I loved this wine and am looking forward to receiving our shipment in November (when the temps are cool enough in Houston for wine to be shipped).

QUINTESSA:
Our first day in Napa we had a reservation here as it's one of our favorites. Another hard to find and complex Napa wine. The tastings at Quintessa are always informative and personal but this was our first time taking the full tour.

Each winery has a different story behind their French Oak barrels. Some only keep the barrels for 1 year while others keep them for years. Some are hesitant to open the barrels at all while others allow tastings straight out of the barrel. Some barrels costing upwards of $1200 each....very interesting.

You start with a tasting in the dining room area, complete with cheese and crackers. Then you move down to the production area and the caves, then up to the hill overlooking the valley and the vines.

PRIDE:
After the race we had a reservation here {thanks to our friend Stephen, mentioned below} The winding mountain road up to Pride Mountain Winery had me a bit green, but after stepping out of the car and taking in the view and the fresh mountain air I was just fine.

The tasting at Pride was quite thorough starting upstairs in the wine tasting room, then heading down into the wine cave for tastings right out of the barrels.

Then on to a large patio to finish our wine.

The ruins from the Summit Ranch winery dating back to the 1890s.

We brought some cheeses up with us and sat on a picnic bench overlooking the mountain tops before our drive back into Napa.


Restaurants:
Rutherford Grill:

We stopped in for a late lunch at Rutherford on our first day in Napa and the place was packed! Luckily we found 4 seats at the bar. Although we didn't have a true meal here, this was one of our food favorites of the trip. Amazing how just salad and sandwiches can make such an impression. We'll make a reservation next year and have the full experience.
Oenetri Restaurant, Napa:
Oenetri was recommended to us by a Napa local and it didn't disappoint. Casual atmosphere and somewhat unusual menu. Delicious!

Angele, Napa:
Another recommendation by a local. This was my favorite meal. We sat outside, brought our own bottle of wine, and ate the best hamburgers in this world (off the menu).

Strolling around Napa before dinner.

CELLAR COLLECTIONS:
If you're ever in the market for smaller production and hard to find wines at much better prices than what you'll find at the winery, shops, or even on the internet, Stephen at Cellar Collections is your man! He'll ship it to you or pack it up so you can check it in with your luggage for your flight home. We bought most of our wine from Stephen on this trip rather than buying directly from the vineyards~ which was a huge savings for us.

He and his wife Janice had a small wine tasting for us one evening and we ended up leaving with a few cases of wine to take home on our flights. They are the sweetest people and great wine afficienados. They hooked us up with many of our dinner reservations and (some hard to get into) winery reservations.

Finally, the run. The Napa to Sonoma half marathon is such an incredible experience that I hope I'm able to return for years to come. Just when I get burned out on running and training for more events I look back at pictures of this event and can instantly recall the smell in the cool and dry Napa Valley air and the feeling of crossing that finishing line and it keeps me getting up at 5am to train, train, train.

I am blessed with a committed hubby who travels with me on running trips and great friends who do the same.

Love to Rob and Tara for making the long trek with us!

Overall, this was the trip of the year for us. We really had a phenomenal time {even though we missed our little bug} and Rob and Tara were great travel companions. Everything was easy and relaxing, no fuss, no rush. We stayed at the Marriott Hotel and Spa in Napa which was a good location and comfy rooms. Love those beds.

Cheers~
Tricia