There is nothing like waking up in the morning to a wonderfully, home cooked breakfast. I’m not usually a bed and breakfast fan - typically the bed(room)s are too Victorian and the breakfast is an awkward event of eating in a common room with complete strangers. While I would say that eating with complete strangers is pretty much ineviable at a b&b, The Napa Inn really makes it worth your while. In preparation for our long day ahead of us, we enjoyed yogurt, fruit, granola, blueberry crumble and quiche. Yum! Breakfast is such an essential meal when visiting wine country.
To get to our first stop of the day we drove north, almost to Calistoga, to Sterling Vineyards. We were in pursuit of an aerial tram ride to experience, what we hoped would be, spectular views of Napa Valley. We were relieved that arriving early in the day meant that there were absolutely no lines for the tram and that the self-guided tour and the overlook balcony were scarcely occupied by other view-seeking tourists. What a way to start the day…standing high above the vineyards with the sun shining overhead…it’s truly lovely. While the tram is definitely worth the visit, my overall assessment of Sterling is that I highly recommend the tram ride and the self-guided tour, but the wines were just ‘okay’.
We had intended to head south to our next winery directly after leaving Sterling, but while we were enjoying the view from the overlook balcony we had noticed a huge castle just across the road. Honestly…it has turrets and everything…a true castle. Our curiousity got the best of us, so we immediately headed over to the castle to get the scoop. It turned out to a castle built by the Sattui family for their winery, Castello di Amarosa. Although we were interested in touring the castle the next public tour wasn’t scheduled for quite awhile, so we settled for a wine tasting. Interestingly, while I’m not usually a big fan of rose or dessert wine, I really enjoyed both at this winery. While this was not a planned stop, I do think it was fun to visit the castle and have some tasty wines. Oh, and also, there were rumors that Adam Sandler was there filming a movie. While we did see the trailers and other equipment, we didn’t see Adam himself…darn!
Lunch was on our minds as we left the castle and headed south. We aborted plans to go to V. Sattui to the picnic area, as even the overflow parking was overflowed, and headed into Yountville to see what restaurants were there. Lucky us, there was a father’s day car show in Yountville so it was completely crowded and there was quite a wait for any restaurant in the area. Despite this, we were hungry so we decided to wait it out. My crispy fish ‘n chips and beer were worth the wait.
Our plan was to end the trip at Artesa, a winery at the very southern end of the Napa area, in the Carneros Valley. We had visited Artesa on our last trip as well, and thought it was the most spectular building and view. Truly it is amazing to drive through the winding roads, not seeing a winery in sight, when suddenly you come upon Artesa. Parking in the lot, you’re still left wondering a bit about what you are about to see. But, climbing the steps lined with a trickling fountain and beautiful stainless sculptures, your imagination is put to ease and your breath is taken away. At the top are pools of water, shining in the sunlight. Abstract sculptures rise from the water, watching over the fruits of the valleys below. Simply beautiful.
We went inside, eager with anticipation, to taste a flight and then enjoy a glass of wine on the balcony. Despite this, we were sorely disappointed. The servers were unfriendly and hardly uttered a word to us beyond those necessary to ensure we kept on track with our flight. We quickly finished and asked to purchase a glass to head outside but were told that if you had drank a flight that they would not sell you any further alcohol. Huh? We did go outside on the balcony but left shortly after in search of a winery that stayed open passed the normal 5 o’clock.
We hit the jackpot in discovering the Domaine Carneros, a winery that specialized in sparkling wine, was both open late and located just across the highway from Artesa. Score! Ending the day with a flight of sparkling wine was simply perfect. I highly recommend Domaine Carneros for a truly relaxing wine experience with beautiful views.
The summary of our trip? Great friends, great food and good wines. I honestly can’t ask for more than that.
Posted on June 30th, 2008 by katiejocannon
Filed under: Entertainment, Food
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