Napa Valley Vacation: Day 2

I'm excited to share part II of our Napa adventure, especially because it was such a fun, busy day on our trip! Click here for Part I.

Here we go!

Warning: This post may have more photos in it than any I've ever posted before.
Can't say that I didn't warn ya!

Since Keith drove our rental car on the first day (serving as our wonderful designated driver) I wanted to give him a break so he could fully enjoy the vineyards and taste the wines without worry. There were several options to accomplish this. One route was to pay a driver to drive our rental car all day, but our convertible had no space for a 5th person. The second choice was to use a driving service. I read a great review here on Napa Valley Wine Excursions and decided to work with Paul to set up our agenda.

Paul was great to work with! Part of the service is that he can plan your day for you. I had a list of a couple places that I wanted to try, but I put the rest of the schedule in his hands. In hindsight, we should have given our entire agenda over to him, because our favorite spots were the ones he selected! They were small and off-the-beaten-path.

Paul was unable to drive us that day, so his associate Gary spent the day with us. He was fantastic! He is single and retired, so showing tourists a great time in the Valley is one of his passions. We really enjoyed his company. He was great to step aside and let us spend time just the four of us, but we liked having Gary around so much that we talked to him just as much as we did to each other and to the winemakers.

Another big bonus - they take pictures of you all day! We were pretty good to snap pictures, but it was hard to get group shots and candids, so this is where Gary came in. I received the pictures within a few days, which was even better! To check out the type of photos they shoot, check out their Facebook page.

I will admit, it wasn't cheap, but well worth it for one day. I would highly recommend Paul, Gary and Napa Valley Wine Excursions.

Alright, on to the vineyards... First stop, sparkling wines!

DOMAINE CARNEROS

{Ashley snapping pics of the view}

McMillans

Joneses

Yes, there was a little color coordination going on between the couples! I may be a planner, but I did not plan for this to work out so well. I put on my purple dress and noticed Keith packed his pretty linen shirt, so I asked him to please kindly wear it. When we came down for breakfast, the McMillan's complimented us on our coordinating style and realized that Jaycob had a shirt that matched Ashley's dress, too, so she made him switch. Even though it's a little cheesy, our pictures turned out great! Hah! 

The Domaine Carneros estate was....stately. There are only a few sparkling wine vineyards in the Valley, and we thought starting the morning off with a little bubbly was a good way to begin the day.

The view was pretty gorgeous from the front veranda. It was too big for me to call it a porch :)

We got there just a few minutes before 10:00 and we were the first ones there. We were quickly seated and ordered 2 sparkling samplers - one for each couple to share. The staff was friendly, and offered us a complimentary 4th sparkling wine to sample. The sun was shining and it was nice and warm outside (a far cry from the weather in nearby San Fran).

We really enjoyed tasting the different varieties. I enjoy champagne, but haven't had enough of it to pay much attention to the taste or the differences in tastes across types. So, it was a little educational for me.

And, bubbly is just fun. Period.

We were only there about 20 minutes when the crowds started to show up. Literally, tour buses. You can see a large group behind me. While the champagne was nice and the view was great, we were happy to be in and out of there in 25 minutes.

I would recommend visiting a sparkling winery, and enjoyed Domaine Carneros, but it was because we had the place to ourselves for most of the time we were there! The other sparkling establishments like Domaine Chandon, Mumm and Shcramsberg are on my list for future visits so that I can compare the experience.

Aaaaaand, done. No purchases were made because this is a brand we could actually get at home.


On to the next spot! Gary knows all of the back roads around the Valley so he took us on a very scenic route to our next stop:

FONTANELLA WINERY

Fontanella was the smallest winery we visited, and we loved it. It was completely tucked away on Mt Veeder and we were the only ones there for most of our visit. The winery is also fairly new (Jeff and Kim Fontanella began the brand in 2003 and the land was purchased in 2005), so you can see a few grapes that are newly planted behind us in the photo. It takes a long time for wine to grow, be harvested, barreled and mature to good wine. And, Fontanella has damn good wine.

{proof of consumption}

I'm not a big Chardonnay person, but Fontanella's Chardonnay pretty much changed my mind about not liking them and I immediately decided I would be taking a bottle home. TASTY.

We tried several yummy, yummy wines out on the patio and then moved inside for a few tastings straight from the barrel.

The facility of this boutique winery is small and intimate, and the staff is very friendly. Jackie toured us around and we loved her. We felt totally comfortable to ask questions and chat about what we'd learned on our trip so far, where we'd been, what we liked and didn't like.

We got to do a soil sample comparison, which meant that the same Cab grape was grown in different types of soil and we got to taste both kinds to compare. I was amazed at what a difference something like the soil makes!

Fontanella also sells a blending kit (above) that you can use at home. It comes with several varieties and you can mix and bottle your own blend. If you like your recipe, send it to the folks at Fontanella and they can send you a case of your signature blend! This would be a fantastic gift, so I'm hoping Keith keeps that in mind for a special occasion later :)

We loved Fontanella and would highly recommend it to anyone!

At this point, it's time for lunch. We trusted Gary's advice and we visited Brown's Valley Market, which was basically a grocery store, but with a fabulous deli with all kinds of goodies. We assembled our picnic items and headed to our next winery:

O'BRIEN ESTATE WINERY

We pulled up to O'Brien 30-40 minutes before our tasting appointment. The grounds there are lovely. You're right by the owner's home and the winemaking facility, and once again, we were the only ones around. We were able to use this picnic area for our lunch. It was a beautiful setting right beside the vines. Heaven.

Lunch? Here? Yes, please.

A sampling of our spread. This is how you do lunch in the valley.

The market also sold this adorable and delicious mini blackberry cake. So cute! It was my kind of picnic.

While we were eating, Brandon (I think that was his name) got us started on some great wines. Gary was also thoughtful to have us walk around and take photos on the lovely property.

We moved around the winery a bit for our tastings and really enjoyed everything we experienced.

I'll be honest, at this point in the day, we were all so giddy happy with our wine and full tummies that Brandon could have talked about anything with us and we would have enjoyed it. But, he was fun to be around and interested in being a winemaker himself one day, so we picked his brain on his experiences and plans.

They also had a hammock in the perfect spot, so we all took turns stretching out, but Keith hogged it the most. We felt totally at ease here, like we could have stayed for hours.

Most vineyards have a dog, and Ashley and Jaycob were allowed to take this one for a walk. I love that Jaycob has Ashley's purse over his shoulder with wine (and purchased bottle) in hand.

Inside, they were in the process of labeling some bottles, which was fun to see. This particular one, Flirtation, was our favorite Rose of the trip and we all bought some.

The O'Briens are romantics, and they tell the story of romance through their wines. They sell several Romance kits, and each bottle has some poetry on the back. The wine is named similar to the progression in a relationship and is designed to be consumed in that order (like you would at a dinner party - lights to darks). With names like Fascination, Attraction, Flirtation, Romance of the Heart, Seduction, Passion of the Soul, Devotion, Reflection....There's a wine for every stage in life! :)

We each happily purchased a few bottles at O'Brien and were sad to say goodbye to our time frolicking in the vineyard. A large group was coming in behind us...and we had another appointment to make!

Fourth stop:

CAKEBREAD CELLARS

Cakebread had been recommended to me over, and over, and over again. I also read plenty of good reviews on Cakebread. So, this is one stop I insisted we make when planning our day with Paul.

But, we were disappointed. I don't know what the big deal is. The wine was fine as far as I recall, but the experience just lacked personality to us.

It was right off the main highway, so it's a busy/touristy place, so I should have known better. The grounds were lovely though.

My least favorite part of Cakebread? We had to pay for our tasting as soon as we got there, which wasn't the case at any other place. Then we were herded to a tasting counter where a group was already underway (even though we had an appointment). It felt so transactional.

Don't get me wrong, we weren't miserable. Hello! We were in Napa drinking delicious wine with friends. If this is our low point of the day, it's hardly worth complaining over!

But, for all of the hoopla, I wasn't blown away.

My guess is that so many people visit large, widely-recognized places like Mondavi that are huge with people everywhere, and they come to Cakebread and find it to be so intimate. Again, it was fine and not overly crowded, but we did not love it and couldn't understand why there were so many recommendations. Maybe our experience was not like most? If you've been, I'd love to hear how it went for you!

No purchases made...but great pictures were snapped on our way out!

Those shots are some of my favorite from the whole trip!

Ok, ONE MORE STOP. Yes, we went to 5 places in one day. It seems like a crazy amount, but we never felt rushed and defintely felt like we had one more in us after leaving Cakebread. We didn't want to end on that note!

MA(i)SONRY

 

Ok, this place was seriously cool, y'all. This was an add-on to our agenda since we had time, so I had not heard of it and had not researched a thing. And I quickly realized how nice it is to let someone else do the planning.

It's a tasting room/art gallery in the charming Downtown Yountville. They are not a winery or vineyard, rather a collection of local artisinal wines. They also stay open later, so it was a perfect spot to end the day.

The collection of art was really, really interesting. The prices were one-of-a-kind...and priced accordingly, as you can imagine.

This was where we lounged for an hour or so and felt oh so posh.

Everything about it was charming and quirky. We had a very nice host who took great care of us. We got to try to some awesome wines and enjoyed a tasty cheese plate.

The McMillan's look like such celebrities here! I can envision that their conversation would be something like this:  "Jaycob, I'm really eying that Einstein sculpture. So chic. I really think 50 grand isn't too much to ask for such a stunning centerpiece."

Except, none of us talk - or think - like that. 

Hello, reality! But, pretending we were super luxurious was fun for a while!

It was an awesome day. We relaxed under the shade, sipped some great vino and recapped the highlights from our day with Gary.

Just as it was all coming to an end, Gary asked what we had planned for dinner, and we said Celadon! The restaurant was within walking distance of our hotel, and he said his house was halfway in between. He graciously invited us over for a cocktail of the non-wine variety (which we were all sort-of craving after all the grapes) and we obliged!

After a quick refresh, we strolled down to Gary's to enjoy a Basil martini. We didn't think twice about it until we turned onto his street and had that moment of:

"Are we crazy?"
"I know we spent all day with the sweet man, but we don't really know him and we're about to go into his house."
"Does anyone else know we're doing this? Quick, someone text his address to a parent, just in case."
"We need a code word."
"We're going to see the Redwoods tomorrow. Code word is Redwood."
"Ok, y'all, try not to accidentally say Redwood, or I'll assume we need to grab our purses and run."
"He's safe. He's totally safe. I just know it."
"Too late now. We're here."

Sweet Gary made the best Basil martinis, which was so refreshing. He had some nice music playing and we visited for about 30 or 40 minutes before it was time to head to dinner. We truly enjoyed his company and laughed later about our unnecessary code word, Redwood.

{walking to dinner, the boys carrying our purses.}

Dinner was at Celadon, and it was AMAZING. Per some advice from my friend, Whitney, we requested to sit in their covered patio area by the fireplace. It was such a fun night! No pictures were taken here. We were all photographed out! If you come to Napa, Celadon must go on your list.

As you can see, it was a very full day, but we loved every second. That concludes our wine portion of the trip, but I plan to make one more post about Napa vacation planning. I spent so much time researching that I have a spreadsheet with all kinds of notes in it. There are tons of places we didn't go and that I'm sad we didn't have time for, so I want to share all of that, too. Then, it'll be on the San Fran part of our trip!

Thanks for reading this novel! I hope it's inspired you to plan a vacation, too!

*Update: Here's the post with my Napa planning tips*