Napa Valley

In typical Hesselblogger fashion, it is now 3 weeks since our trip to Napa Valley and we are finally going to blog about it.  Much like the New York trip, this was quite a departure from our usual beach-style vacation.  This trip was all about exploring the area and enjoying all the great food and drinks this place had to offer.

We arrived Friday morning into a portion of Napa Valley called Yountville and checked into our hotel, the Napa Valley Lodge.  Our favorite part about this hotel was the fireplace in the room.  It was fun to unwind after the day and enjoy a crackling fire, especially when it was a little cold and rainy outside.  Our first stop on the food tour was a place called Bottega.  This was some very tasty Italian food, probably our second favorite restaurant of the trip.  On any other trip it might have been the best, but we would top it later that night.  After lunch we went to our first wine tour/tasting at Stags' Leap Winery.  We learned all about the history of the area and of this particular winery, which was used as a speak-easy during prohibition.

In the evening we had our much anticipated dinner outing at Redd.  This place was amazing.  Pamela's coworker, who made the reservation, pressured us into getting the 5-course tasting menu with wine pairing.  Sooo worth it.  It was actually more like a 10-course meal because they gave Pamela and I different courses each time, which we would trade and split.  Every dish was amazing and we thoroughly cleaned our plates of the delicious food.  I think we passed out as soon as we got back to the hotel, we were so stuffed after eating 10 courses, with wine.

Saturday we began with Lunch at Mustard's Grill.  Yes, we began with lunch.  It's our vacation, we're allowed to sleep in.  Mustard's was described as upscale truck stop food, or something similar.  Don't let that throw you off, it was yet another fancy restaurant.  We stuck with old favorites though; onion rings, a cheeseburger, and mac 'n cheese.  Next we decided to drive around to see the area and try a few more wineries.

We first stopped at a winery called Peju.  You can drive up the main highway and there are wineries and tasting rooms all along the road.  We looked a few up online that we wanted to stop at, but if you were so inclined you could just stop at one every mile and try some wine.  All the main houses were gorgeous with fountains and fun art, which was almost as fun as trying the wine.

Next, we drove toward Sonoma and went to a place called Artesa Vinyards & Winery.  This was a huge place on top of a hill, and if it wasn't so darn foggy that day the views would have been amazing.  All their neat fountains and water features did give us a few ideas for our next house though. 

Our dinner for the evening was at the Culinary Institute of America, Greystone Campus.  This was really cool because their kitchen is situated in the middle of the restaurant and completely open so you can watch all the food being prepared.  Sort of Like Buca di Bepo, but with way tastier food.  We were hoping to see some head instructor chefs yelling at the students like Gordon Ramsey on Hell's Kitchen but no such luck.  It was still a fun experience and the food was great again.

Before leaving on Sunday we got up early and tried one last tasty treat on our way out, the Bouchon Bakery.  This place had super pastries and I'd say it's a must try if you ever stay around Yountville.  Pamela had a classic French croissant with chocolate and almond filling, and I had a cream cheese danish.  We also snagged a caramel macaroon for the plane ride home which was my favorite.  Mmmm.

I think I gained a pound a day while we were on that trip, the food was just so good.  But I guess that's why I'm doing P90X, so I can enjoy some nice treats like that every once in a while.