Tag Archives: napa

164.365.2013 Relaxing

Posted on by dtsphoto365

Today might have been one of the better days… We woke up, ate some breakfast and then headed to the spa for massages. The nice thing about the spa is that you have access to the whirlpool, showers and sauna all day. Amazing!

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We relaxed before and after the massages. Then we headed back to our room, packed up and headed out. The drive back was gorgeous… 80 degrees, windows down, flowers or vineyards at every pass. It was also nice and relaxing because we left so early and gave ourselves plenty of time.

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On the way, we stopped for lunch at In & Out Burger, Dave’s first time. Delicious! He loved it too… Then we went to the Golden Gate Bridge for some quick photos.

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Now we are sitting at the airport where my balsamic jelly was confiscated by TSA. Bastards.

But I’m excited to go home and see this boy!

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163.365.2013 Driving Mr. Wino

Posted on by dtsphoto365

We splurged a bit today (yes, more than we have so far) and rented a town car/driver. Kevin was great! I would highly recommend it to anyone.

The experience allowed us to go a bit further to go to some of our favorite locations that are a bit north of Napa. BUT, before all that, we hit Schramsberg, a champagne house that’s the second oldest winery in Napa. The tour was fantastic with a ton of history and then a tasting in their caves. Yum! We ended up joining the wine club — the only one all week! (If you don’t know me, that’s a HUGE accomplishment.)

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Afterwards, we drove to Geyersville and visited my #1 favorite place Meeker Vineyards. Julia is ever the hostess with great conversation and delicious wines. She even opened a special bottle for us since we are members and it was my birthday!

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Heraldsburg was our next stop… They have a ton of tasting rooms in a small walking distance. We hit 3 of them… Murphy Goode (a Minnesota based family and we’re members), Williamson Winery (great food pairings!) and then ParTake by KJ. The food experience at KJ was ridiculous! I was in awe at how much the wine and food change when combined.

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That was the end of our touring. We came back to the hotel and relaxed in the hot tub for awhile before enjoying dinner. And we did a little check in on our pooch’s vacation! Looks like he’s having fun…

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162.365.2013 Birthday Wines

Posted on by dtsphoto365

Well, I guess I couldn’t not have a birthday… And turn 29 (the sequel, part 6). But if I am going to, I’m going to do it right! I had a fantastic day…

It started with numerous texts, emails and Facebook posts. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO MADE ME FEEL SO LOVED!

I did miss my pooch and his kisses today. 😦

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Now on to the day… Our first appointment was at Conn Creek where we had a blending experience. It was amazing! The vineyard took us into the AVA room with 4 others. We all could taste from 15 Cabernet Savg barrels, each from a different vineyard in the valley. Then there 4 others of Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cab Franc and Malbec.

Our job was to find our favorites and then start blending them together to make the perfect Cab. Once we did that, we would add in some of the other 4 to change the flavor. It was magical… I had our educator taste mine and he said it would pair perfectly with a cigar or porterhouse steak. He said Dave’s smelled the best and was nice and smooth. It was a really fun experience.

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Next we headed to Mumm to try some champagne. We sat on the patio and the view was gorgeous.

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Afterwards, we scooted over to Grgich Hills based on the recommendation of some good friends. It was yummy and we saw the 90 yr old owner just working away. Oh, and they were established in 1977! Like me!

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Our next location was Louis Martini which we are members of the club. So we enjoyed a lunch on the patio and then a custom tasting. Here’s a photo of all of our locations!

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For dinner, we went to Tra Vigne. While it looked delicious, it wasn’t what we expected. So we went to their sister location and had some amazing pizza and pasta. YUM!

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Good night to all!

161.365.2013

Posted on by dtsphoto365

First, a quick shout out… I miss my pups!

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Today was fantastic! It was very scheduled, but with a ton of fun places. After having an amazing breakfast at the hotel, we headed to our first stop: Domaine Chandon. When we were here last time, we took off for a hot air balloon in their field, but didn’t get a chance to taste. We fixed that!

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Then we headed over to Dean & Deluca’s to pick up some lunch for later. I love that store and had some fun playing around.

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Our next stop was my most anticipated and favorite of the day… Far Niente! It’s a gorgeous property that’s by appointment only. They didn’t disappoint.

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We then went over to their sister winery Nickel and Nickel. It was fun to taste there because we have several of their bottles at home, but hasn’t tried them. Now we know what’s good! The photo is of soil because this winery only produces single vineyard and each area is extremely different.

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Our last wine stop was to Robert Mondavi. A great tour… Fun to learn that he grew up in Minnesota!!

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And to cap off the day, we had a great dinner at Cole’s Chop House… Steaks!

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160.365.2013

Posted on by dtsphoto365

Day 2 of vacation, Day 1 of travel!! We woke up today to the pooch needing to play right away. I think it was his ploy to have us not leave.

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We dropped him off at our friends house (thanks Ladies!) and then headed to the airport. We stopped for a quick lunch at Ike’s where I enjoyed an amazing Bloody Mary. I mean, come on!!

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Once we boarded the plane, the excitement over came me! It started to rain so I’m not sure we’ll miss the MSP.

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We landed in San Fran and started the drive to Napa. It’s gorgeous here! Amazing weather at 8 pm at night. We’re currently enjoying a BBQ dinner at the hotel before retiring to watch the season finale of GOT.

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A fantastic start to the week!!