We started Day 2, just like all the guidebooks recommend, at Napa's famous Oxbow Market for coffee from Ritual (too acidic for me but what do I know) and delicious crepes. I had tomato, mozzarella and prosciutto with pesto which was A-mazing. I don't even remember what Graham had because mine was certainly better!
Next we began our food "foraging" in pursuit of the world's best picnic which I'm pretty sure we achieved. We got a hard gouda from the fromagerie that was by far my favorite, surprising given that I didn't think I like gouda. As it turns out, I don't like SMOKED gouda. Big difference. We also got a local hard cheese (ha - it was white and that's all I remember!) and a bleu. Next stop was the Fatted Calf Charcuterie for an aged Spanish chorizo and duck pate. We also tried this cured (but uncooked) pork that at best I can describe as feeling like uncooked pork in your mouth. My recent food safety recertification didn't allow me to enjoy this one fully.
We grabbed some bread from the bakery and found food "foraging" and chatting it up with the locals to be quite fun. Walmart (yes they have them in Foodiville) provided the last components of our picnic: a dandy styrofoam ice chest and paper plates. With only a loose plan in mind, we headed out on the Silverado Trail past this awful looking Persian monstrasity (read: creepy!) called Darioush. It's a winery but welcoming would not be an adjective I'd choose to describe it's facade. We stopped only long enough to snap a picture.
The Napa countryside is GORGEOUS and we enjoyed our drive north to Duckhorn, one of the highlights of our trip. We had a 2 for 1 tasting coupon but still spent $30 (yes, that's $30 for ONE person - I'm telling ya, we are amongst high rollers!) It was well worth the money as we got to enjoy a seated tasting of 7 rather than the advertised 5 wines. Their cabs were the biggest hit for us and I would highly recommend this stop to anyone coming to Napa.
It's harvest so pretty much everywhere we go, grapes are being delivered and we get to peak at the process (in the background below) - so cool!
Next we moved on to Chateau Montelena just to see the chateau that was filmed in the movie Bottleshock.
The grounds were beautiful, with a pond (named Jade Lake) complete with a swan.
Grape delivery!
By this time it was getting late so we stopped at the Culinary Institute of America in St Helena to eat our picnic. Graham was determined to have wine accompany his food so he bought a $10 cab and a wine corkscrew because they refused to open the bottle for him.
After our picnic, he told me he'd give me 10 bucks to return the corkscrew but I refused so he did it himself while I hid in the car. Apparently the lady said something to the effect of "But you just bought this." He told her his wife told him we already had enough corkscrews and made him return it. Ha!
Last stop of the day: Beringer Winery but again just to admire the grounds and not taste. Pictured is the Rhine House which was incredibly ornate with the most beautiful stained glass I've ever seen in each room.
We made it back to the hotel for some pool time before we made our reservation at Redd up the road in Yountville, a high end but super cute town (home of the famous French Laundry). We were feeling a bit squeamish about money and so ordered 3 appetizers and called it a night. The Yellowfin tuna tartare, asian pear, avocado, chili oil, fried rice and cilantro was definitely our favorite but the Carnaroli risotto, maine lobster, meyer lemon confit and truffle oil was pretty good as well. And let's not forget the Lamb meatballs tomato curry, pinenuts and mint yogurt - yum. I'm sure we were our waiter's lowest bill on record as all the tables around us seemed to be going to town. But we left quite satisfied and thoroughly enjoyed our day!
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