Napa Valley on the 4th
by Sang Luu
Feeling the need for a quick getaway out of town, Tina and I took a short day trip to wine country to enjoy the sun, food and drink. We stopped at a few fine wineries (thanks to Stacey for the recos) and had lunch at Bouchon. Of course we goofed off in between tastings and have the pictures to prove it! So sad that I have to go back to work on Monday :-(.
We started early, around 1030am at the Hope & Grace Winery -- thanks to Stacey for the awesome reco, the wine was delicious!
A nice 2007 Hope & Grace Chard.
Outside a fancy spa/resort.
Young grapes - Tina rips one of these grapes off the vine only to find that they're really, really sour when they're young. Duh!
Bouchon - When the French Laundry is out of reach, you reach for Bouchon...
Bouchon - Fantastic bread. In my haste, I broke off the piece below before grabbing a shot of it...
Bouchon - We start our lunch with a dozen mussels at Bouchon.
Bouchon - Tina prepares to enjoy the Thon Peole (tuna), which is light and flavorful.
Bouchon - I ordered the Croque Madame and I must say, it was totally worth the wait. Thomas Keller, you is the man.
Castillo de Amorosa - Interesting winery in Calistoga...replica castle?
Castillo de Amorosa - We start the tasting here with a chilled Pino Grigio.
Tina picks out our next selection - By now, I am getting quite tipsy (thanks to starting early at 1030am) but Tina continues to make our next wine selection at Castillo de Amorosa.
Mr. Grumpy - I get testy because I thought wine tastings came with food and stuff :-). Just kidding Em...
Tina and I - Outside the Castillo de Amorosa Winery.
Modeling - We pretend to be in a photo shoot! Beautiful vineyards of Castillo de Amorosa as the backdrop.
Modeling - We pretend to be in a photo shoot!
Budding lily - Somewhere on Washington, we discovered a nice row of budding lillies.