Day 3: Rain, Mountains and Sunshine

We started off Day 3 of our Napa trip with a quick breakfast at the house of yogurt (goldfish for me) before heading to Pride Mountain for the sole tour of the trip. It was a cold, grey and drizzly day and winding in circles up the mountain did nothing to stave the woozy in my stomach. I have mild motion sickness that usually appears on metro train rides, on boats or with lots of stopping and starting in traffic when I'm sitting in the back seat of the car. So this particular morning, I was miserable.

But upon reaching the top of this mountain, the views helped level out my upset stomach. We headed indoors quickly, as I was also severely under dressed. We began the tour sipping Pride Mountain's current release Viognier. It was pretty good, but it wasn't as memorable for me due to my current state. Our tour guide learned us on soil types, explained how the grapes on the top of the mountain are smaller due to the fact the rain water runs down the mountain into the valley and how this means the juice flavor is much more concentrated as a result. After that, we headed over to the caves where they stored their wine barrels.

This is where we did some barrel tasting and learned more about the wine-making process. We learned that the Obama's order Pride Wines for all of their state dinners. We also learned that if the wine tastes bitter, our palates are not as refined yet. Friend Christine was already annoyed with our tour guide at this point and this comment sent her on a rampage through the rest of the cave tour. Luckily, she and our pompous tour guide made nice at the end of the tour and we left the place without taking any bad juju with us.

After more picture taking, we set off for some much needed grub. I didn't buy any wine at Pride since it was pricier and my palate didn't particularly take well to it. Our next food stop was a match made in heaven for my palate.

We pulled over at Gott's Roadside for some comfort food. I ordered the "Wisconsin Sourdough" burger that had griddled mushrooms, bacon, cheddar, mayo and bbq sauce on toasted sourdough bread. Wow. Christine and Susan ordered juicy chicken sandwiches and Sheri ordered a classic burger. Then Christine and I washed our meals down with a pumpkin milkshake. WOWWOW!

Happy again, we piled back into the car and headed to Chateau Montelena. Famous for it's blind taste test years win years ago against storied French wines, Chateau Montelena was a sight to see. Despite the continued cold temps and dreary rain, we still managed to keep good spirits.

The wine tasting was fine, but nothing struck my fancy. Somewhere between the parking lot and the tasting room we had lost our spark for exploring the compound and snapping a million pictures. Instead, we headed back to the car and pondered our next move. Our last winery of the day was to be Cakebread, but our tasting appointment wasn't for another couple hours.

So we drove to the famous Napa sign and took more pictures.

We then headed to Cakebread for our tasting, which to our surprise was comped! Victory. While I didn't take any pictures at this visit, it was the one winery whose wines I loved the most. After a day full of rain, frigid temps, motion sickness and overall blah, the Cakebread visit was the sunshine we had all so desired. The tour and tasting dude was great. The winery was also unique since they had bookmark-size cards for each of their wines describing the wine and on the back pairing it with a recipe. Fun, great idea. I particularly loved the vintage Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon and of course, the Pinot Noir.

After sweating out my decision, I came away with a bottle of the Zinfandel. After this purchase, I only had one more spot left in my 6-pack wine carrier to be checked as baggage on the flight home. Sunday was surely going to be a gamble. Of the three wineries to visit, when do I buy my last bottle? At the first stop? Or wait to see if the last two are better? Stressful.

But before the day ended, we browsed through Dean and Deluca and a Napa soap shop before heading back to our house to change for dinner at Mustard's Grill. Bad decisions about, we indulged in hummus, cheese, crackers and more before heading out the door again. I was angry with myself at this point, because I was full heading to dinner. I still managed to shovel food down the gullet, but know I would've appreciated it more had I come with an empty stomach.

My meal? Baby back ribs, apple and golden raisin slaw, cornbread sticks and butter.

Sheri and Susan ordered their roast chicken breast with garlic mashed potatoes, roasted artichokes and this special sauce.

Christine ordered yet another chicken sandwich, but her side was my pick for the winning item of the meal. Roasted and grilled sweet potatoes (yellow, not orange) with an avocado tomatillo sauce topped with creme fraiche. The combination there was unbelievable. I hope to attempt to duplicate it sometime soon.

Sadly, no one had room for dessert, so we paid the bill and trolled home for some rest before another big day.

Ad Hoc!

Time to wrap 2011 up before 2012 makes its appearance! And that means finishing my recap of the Napa trip. I left off at the end of day two in Sonoma County with our dinner at Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc restaurant in ritzy, yet quaint, Yountville. Knowing the popularity of this place, we called to make a reservations exactly two months in advance. The intrigue of this restaurant centered not only around the famously amazing chef behind its menu, but also the fact that the pre fix menu changed daily. I had subscribed to Ad Hoc's daily email of its menu and had been drooling over the offerings the past two months.

Anyways, enough filler, let's get to the important things. First up on the menu was an autum salad with frissee, Belgian endive, roasted pistachios, bing cherries, olives, roasted squash and a vinaigrette of sorts. The combination of everything was spectacular.

The main course was a roasted pork rack tenderloin with plums, brussell sprouts, cipolini onions, romesco sauce and polenta. The pork was SO tender and fraught with flavor. Perhaps they had brined it? I don't know, but whatever they did was on point.

Next up was a fantastic cheese course! We dove head first into some Truffle Tremor goat cheese, quince jam and breadsticks. Perfect way to prepare for dessert.

Last up to bat was a chocolate cake of sorts, coffee ice cream and candied hazelnuts. While I found the hazelnuts to be over powering, the rest of the dish was the perfect balance of creamy and rich. With that, we waddled back to the car and somehow found our way home before the coma set in. Perfect way to end a long productive day of wine tasting in Sonoma County.

Pastitsio

Patricio? No. Pastitsio. While I still plan to finish up reporting on the trip to Napa before the year ends, I figured I'd report on something similar in caliber. Pastitsio is commonly referred to the Greek version of lasagna. I made it for my work potluck today and it turned out deliciously. Here's the tried and true recipe of Ina Garten's that I used. I suggest you try it out sometime.

The recipe calls for ground lamb and ground beef that you cook with onion, garlic, red wine, cinnamon, thyme, oregano and cayenne pepper. The meat sauce is simmered for almost an hour before adding it to some baby shells. Then the best part? The bechamel topping made with oodles of freshly grated parmesan cheese. It's then baked with more fresh cheese on top. Definitely not waistline friendly, but it's definitely a mood lifter.

Day 2: Sonoma Razzle Dazzle

Day two started off on a good note: sunshine, good company and a newly burned CD of guilty pleasure boy band music mixed in with some Britney and a few other gems. We had planned an ambitious day in Sonoma County with four wineries, one big breakfast and a hundred miles of driving ahead of us.

First stop was dive-breakfast place Hank's Creekside Restaurant in Santa Rosa. It was definitely a greasy spoon typa place, and the perfect way to fortify our stomachs for oodles of wine tasting. I ordered my version of the Grand Slam with every bit of salty and sweet that breakfast has to offer: eggs, home fries, onions, buttered pancakes with syrup and last but not least, sausage links. Upon ordering, I swear I heard my sweatpants perk up back at the house knowing the attention they would get later.

The homefries and onions aren't pictured (sorry). Upon finishing, the sing-along continued on the road to Preston Vineyards of the Dry Creek Valley.

 

An organic farm and winery, Preston was not originally on our list of picks. We had intended to go to Bella after recommendations from friends, but our Artesa wine dude said they were a young winery and not as fine-tuned as its neighbor, Preston. So, Preston it was. Preston also makes its own olive oils and has a number of feral cats roaming the premises.

No comped tasting, but a very friendly wine chick who let us pick four wines to taste each. I picked two whites and two reds. Let me take a step back and make note of my preferences as a wine drinker. I became a red wine enthusiast  several years ago after being poisoned by waaaaaay too much Chardonnay way back when at a work reception. And of all the red wine varieties, I am a Pinot Noir lover. Hands down. Many of the places we had on our itinerary featured Pinot Noirs and Savignon Blancs (my favorite white). 

Now back to Preston. Many of their wines had names with which I was not familiar. Many were blends and given names like Madame Preston which didn't lend itself to explaining the type of wine. But the wine lady was informative enough to clear up any confusion. She said they grow a lot of grapes common to the Rhone Valley in France. Also, their labels were fun...different variations on each bottle. While I liked the Mouvedre (red), I decided to buy a bottle of their Viognier as it was heavenly and delicious. After getting free samples of their fresh-baked breads and dipping it in their homemade oil (another WOW moment) we wandered the grounds.

Onto Matrix. 

Known for their Pinot Noirs, Sheri and I were especially excited about this visit. We ended up tasting several pinots and some zins (and other blends). The server poured us vintage's of each wine so we could compare. After our teeth turned black, we surprisingly all purchased one of the Zinfandels. 

Next we headed to Lynmar Estate in Sebastopol per the recommendation of our Artesa friend. Lynmar was absolutely gorgeous. The patio was huge and had several places to sit down with a glass of wine, some cheese and soak in the gorgeous vineyard backdrop. They also had a lush garden full of vegetables and greens.

While I marveled at the pristine Candian Tuxedo donned by our pourer, Sheri made friends with an odd fellow with a unique fashion sense. He told us we should continue on to Merry Edwards (originally on our list, but nixed after talking to our Artesa friend) as he said it was worth the trip...and literally located around the corner from Lynmar.

Onto Merry Edwards we went. More feral cats. More of Sheri's boyfriend and his fedora.

They don't make shirts like that much anymore. At this point, we decided to hit the road for our long journey home. Thankfully, Christine had abstained from some of the tastings so was perfectly capable no navigate the black-teeth crew home safely. Upon our return to downtown Napa, we headed into town to check out the Oxbow Market. After wandering and admiring their robust food selection, we each bought a mini cupcake and headed back to the house to rest up before our 9pm dinner reservation at Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc.

I think Ad Hoc deserves a post of its own, so look for that later.

Day 1: Napa Glory

After learning firsthand what 430am looks like and seeing a glorious sunrise over Cincinnati, friends Sheri, Susan (who also happens to be Sheri's sister) and I touched down in San Francisco. After picking up our rental car, we swung back to SFO to pick up our fourth--Christine from Chicago (though she had flown in earlier from a work meeting in Anaheim). First stop of the trip?

Yes, my first-ever trip to In-N-Out Burger. No better way to kick off the eat-fest than here. While I did enjoy my burger and 'nilla shake, I wasn't blown away. But, still, pretty solid. After that, we hit the road to Napa hoping the sun would somehow break through the thick grey skies.

We made great time on the roads and soon checked into our ADORABLE 2BR/2BA rental cottage in downtown Napa. Then, it was off to the lone winery visit of the day: Artesa in the Carneros region of Napa.

The scenery from this winery was the first of many breathtaking views. From a lucky hook up from the Wine Institute, we were welcomed upon entry with a sign bearing my name and the staff wishing us all a happy birthday. An added bonus? Our tasting was comped, and our wine guy had us taste everything from both tasting menus in addition to giving us a full glass of champagne after! Even better was getting some great input on the rest of our winery visit picks, tips on a great dive breakfast spot and advice on the best restaurant to dine at in downtown Sonoma on our last night in town. After wrapping up the tasting, I bought a bottle of their current release Merlot.

The sisters!

Sistas from anotha mista!

The main Artesa sculpture...and the clouds moving on out!

After carefully navigating back to the house, we freshened up and drove the quick few blocks to the central part of downtown Napa to scope out our dinner options. After wandering past some big name restaurants (Morimoto Sushi, Tyler Florence's rotisserie, and more) we decided we wanted Italian. To our good fortune, a local parking her car steered us to what she said was the best Italian in town: Uva Trattoria

Everything there was a culinary triumph! From the bread, to the risotto ball appetizer, to the special gnocchi with braised short rib ragu, we were blown away. I ordered a ravioli in a brown butter/sage sauce with parmesan just to throw some variety in there since two people ordered the short rib special. While it was delicious, I wish I had gone with the special. The ragu was the best thing I've ever had in a long time. Layers of flavor, hints of wine, tender and silky meat, light velvety gnocchi. Wow. WOW!

Then it was time for dessert. With no room left in our stomachs, we powered through and ordered two desserts. Not realizing our waiter was within earshot, I joked to Sheri how it was her birthday and he quickly reappeared with a complimentary tiramisu for us (in addition to our other desserts!). I tend to not like tiramisu, since I find that they're over-saturated with the coffee syrup (or whatever is in them), but this one was perfection.

Also a winner? The sweet potato tart. I ordered a bread pudding, which was fine, but not earth-shatteringly novel by any means. Great restaurant, and a great way to cap off night one of our birthday trip for sure!

And then we returned to our car to find this note below.

Gah...oops. Angry notes! But at least we didn't get towed...and at least we have a firmer grasp of English grammar than the fool who wrote the note. Yay passive aggression!

VOLT

I had the distinct pleasure last night of experiencing Top Chef Bryan Voltaggio's restaurant in Frederick called Volt. My friend Phill (fellow foodie) decided to have his birthday dinner there and he couldn't have picked a better place. Thirteen of us piled into a private alcove and dove into a four-course culinary adventure.

First course: tuna tartare with avocado paste, roe and soy foam

Second course: goat cheese ravioli with Bartlett pear sauce, slice of pear, cipollini onions and fried sage

Entree course: farm chicken, gnochetti, mushrooms, bacon lardon and some sort of sauce

Dessert course: platter of glorious cheese

Second dessert, compliments of the restaurant: Variety of too much more food.

 Parting gift: housemade granola

There were also two bread "courses" before course one and course two. For that I chose a chive cheddar biscuit and a brioche with rosemary and kalamata (sp?) olives. I washed all this down with a cab sav from Napa Valley. I also noticed a massive markup on a bottle of Sav Blanc I had purchased in Napa for $30. It was being sold there for $60 for a half bottle. Goodness.

I left the restaurant, nearly four hours after sitting down, beyond satisfied and giddy from the decadent feast. I also had to undo the top button of my jeans about midway through. Well worth the cost to my waistline and wallet!

Treasure Trove

Besides several extra pounds, and a few hunny dollars down the tube, here are my prize spoils from the trip! As a Pinot Noir lover, oddly enough I did not purchase any of that type of wine. Instead, I shelled out my hard earnings for the following:

• Preston - Viognier (Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma)
• Merry Edwards - Sauvignon Blanc (Russian River Valley, Sonoma)
• Matrix - Zinfandel (Russian River Valley, Sonoma)
• Cakebread - Zinfandel (Rutherford, Napa)
• Artesa - Merlot (Carneros region, Napa)
• Plumpjack - Syrah (Oakville, Napa)

Beauty times ten

I am now officially back in the saddle at work after my amazing whirlwind girls trip to Napa Valley, Sonoma and San Francisco. The hundreds of pictures taken cannot adequately capture the beauty of the Valley in the fall. Every meal we had was perfection on the palate. Every winery we visited had something different to offer from the surrounding landscape all the way down to decor and feral cats. And most of all, sharing this experience with three amazing girlfriends made this trip a memorable one.

I hope to add entries for each day of the trip soon as it will help me relive one of the best experiences in recent memory. It was indeed the best way to ring in the start of a new decade!

Wedding Weekend

 My brother got married this weekend! I now have a new sister in Mollie, and her parents and brother are now part of my family as well. After a year and a half of planning on everyone's part, the weekend could not have gone better! The fall weather was crisp (and luckily dry!), Mollie looked stunning in her dress and Jeff tidied up well. Both looked very happy and all of us were very happy to have been a part of their big day. 

It was also great to see my entire extended family who traveled from up and down the east coast to be here for the big day. Was fun to visit with close family friends who have been a part of my life since I was a wee kid and having our pastor from our childhood (who remains close to us this day) preside over the ceremony. I loved being able to spend more time this weekend with Jeff's close friends Jonny and Patrick (who served as groomsmen) and are also close friends of mine. My little brother delivered a great Best Man speech and it was good to get to know Mollie's younger brother Wes and her other bridesmaids much better.

All in all, I wish I had more siblings getting married so I could enjoy more weekends like this! I guess it's just up to me and my little brother Jimbo to make this happen. But we're not holding our breath :-)