Visit Napa Valley

Kenzo Estate

My trip to my 39th city of 40 cities was to check off a couple of bucket list items: biking the Golden Gate Bridge and dining at Chef Thomas Keller's famous The French Laundry - where reservations seemed nearly impossible to make.

It was my first trip to Napa Valley and I was excited to visit wineries and local restaurants.  We stayed at the gorgeous Hotel Yountville where we had our own private patio and service was top notch.    

The fun weekend was filled with amazing food, excellent wine, girl talk and laughter!  I had the best time and I already can't wait to go back.   

Foggy San Francisco.

The Ferry Building.

We loved staying in Yountville!

I loved the room, especially the fireplace.

Our tasting menu dinner at the 3 Michelin star Restaurant at the Meadowood.  We had a really fun time. 

Our first winery tour was at the Castello di Amorosa.

The guided tour was very informative, but it would fun to explore on your own too.

We really enjoyed the tour at Schramsberg and would recommend it. 

The Duckhorn tasting gave us a place to sit and enjoy some wine with conversation. 

Decisions, decisions!  It was tough to not to buy one of each at Bouchon Bakery.

Day 2:  Kenzo Estate, my favorite.

Jarvis Estate was another fabulous wine tour.  Another favorite.

Early lunch at Oxbow.  

Oxbow Public Market is a great place to explore.  You'll love everything!

Finally, at The French Laundry.

My unforgettable meal was the highlight of an amazing trip! 

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Visit Napa Valley: Hotel Yountville

When I was researching hotels for my recent Napa trip, a friend had recommended staying in Yountville, known as the culinary capital of Napa Valley.  There are several great hotels in the town, but we ended up choosing Hotel Yountville based on its cozy rooms, proximity to restaurants and wineries, and that it offers complimentary use of bicycles.  Okay, that last one was all me.   

I loved staying at Hotel Yountville.  The room and the service were both amazing.  Our room had two beds, a patio, a small fridge, and my favorite - the fireplace.  The bathroom was large enough for three girls to get ready simultaneously.

Two Queen beds.

Loved my bed and the extra space at the foot of the bed.

Huge bathroom.

We kept this fieplace roaring!

When we checked in, the bell hop did a wonderful job explaining all the amenities that come with staying at the hotel.  For instance, there is a house car that you can sign up for and will drive you to your destination in the evening.  If you call within the driver's working hours, they will pick you up and return you to the hotel too.  This was so convenient for us as we didn't want to worry about driving after having wine at dinner. 

As a guest of the hotel, you also have access to several of the tasting rooms in town and also complimentary tastings at specific wineries.  On the weekends, the hotel offers it's own wine tasting in the evening. 

It rained pretty much our whole stay, but there was a morning when it stopped and we took the opportunity to walk to Bouchon Bakery which was awesome.  If it wasn't so rainy, I would have loved to take one of the hotel's bicycles for a ride on the 3 mile trail near the hotel. 

The rates are high, but we found a deal on a travel website for 15% off when we stayed three nights.  

Thank you Hotel Yountville for the delicious welcome gift!

Hotel Yountville, A Napa Valley Resort and Spa
6462 Washington Street, Yountville, California
1(888)944-2885

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Visit Napa Valley: My Top Three Wineries

Kenzo Estate Winery

I was so excited for my very first trip to Napa Valley, California that I polled my friends on Facebook for their must-visit wineries.  My friends were gracious with their responses and recommended a number of wineries.  But because we only had two full days in Napa and found out (the hard way) you really should only visit 2 wineries a day, we fit 5 on our itinerary: Castello di Amorosa, Schramsberg Vineyards, Duckhorn Vineyards, Kenzo Estate Winery, and Jarvis Winery.  We really did not do ourselves a favor by booking them back to back so that was another lesson learned.

I honestly had a great time and exponentially expanded my knowledge of wine on all the tours, but here are my top three of the five.

1.  Kenzo Estate Winery - 3200 Monticello Road, Napa

We arrived early to our Flight of Four ($40 -flight of 4 one ounce tastings) and our guide was super accommodating and prepared to start right away.  He was so knowledgeable and his passion and love for wine really made our experience excellent.  

I fell in love with the asatsuyu, the only white wine from Kenzo Estate, and the Murasaki -  a merlot-influenced Bordeaux blend.  For the Murasaki, I wasn't prepared to spend $250 on a bottle of wine so I took home the half bottle to savor for a special occasion.  Currently, they don't have any retail outlets besides their online store.  The wines are served in restaurants in Hawaii so I am looking forward to ordering a glass at my next dinner.

If we weren't already late to our next tour, I would have loved to stay much longer and walk the grounds.  On our way down, we spotted two deer!  Tours are by appointment only and minors are not allowed.    

2.  Schramsberg Vineyards - 1400 Schramsberg Road, Calistoga

I love bubbly so naturally I was very excited to visit Schramsberg Vineyards known for their sparkling wines.  My friends and I took their $60 appointment-only tour through the 125 year old caves.  We learned about their classic method of producing sparkling wine and tasted four of their wines.

The Blanc de Blancs (white from white) made from Chardonnay grapes was my favorite and I enjoyed the story about how it was the first wine Schramsberg produced in 1965 and gained international recognition in 1972 when then President Nixon served the wine at the historic "Toast to Peace" in Beijing, China.  The picture of the toast is up on the wall in the reception area.  Very cool!

We left so impressed that my friend joined their wine club and I ordered a glass of the blanc de blancs at dinner the next night.

3.  Jarvis Winery - 2970 Monticello Road, Napa

The Jarvis Estate winemaking facility is entirely contained within 45,000 square feet of cave tunneled into the Vaca Mountains and includes a waterfall!  Pretty amazing!  Our tour guide Cora was awesome!  She was extremely friendly and knowledgeable.  These tour guides really can make or break your experience so cross your fingers you get a good one!  

After the tour, we headed to the Tasting Chamber where tasted six of the Jarvis Estate and Reserve Collection wines.  The Chardonnay and the Reserve were my most favorite.  The tour was a little pricey at $80, but I had a wonderful time.  The Tour and Tasting is available daily by appointment and minors are not allowed.

Quite a few people recommended a visit to Castello di Amorosa so we signed up for the $60 cheese and wine pairing guided tour.  In hindsight, the self guided tour which also includes a tasting would have been just as good. 

After two back to back wine tours and tastings, I was glad to have a seated tasting at the beautiful Duckhorn Vineyards Estate House.  By this tasting, we were pretty much wined out and just wanted to chat.  The $30 portfolio tasting featured five current release wines.  I was thankful for a place to rest and have good conversation, but a little underwhelmed by the wine selection.

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Visit Napa: Oxbow Public Market

After visiting a couple of outstanding wineries, my friend suggested to get a light lunch at Oxbow Public Market, located in downtown Napa.  The 40,000 square foot marketplace runs along the Napa River and features local food vendors, artisan cafes and organic produce. 

We made a beeline to Hog Island Oyster Co. where they serve fresh shellfish direct from their farm on Tomales Bay.  I absolutely loved it.  I'm not a huge oyster fan, but all of their oysters were so fresh and so delicious!  The wait line was pretty daunting, but it moved quickly.  After downing half a dozen oysters each, we all had the rustic seafood stew which was out of this world.  I loved the tomato based broth and the fish inside was soooooo good!  Their other popular dish is their clam chowder.  Highly recommend a stop here!

While my friends picked up some truffle salt, I stood in line to Kara's Cupcakes and got myself a mini carrot cupcake for dessert.  Yum! 

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Visit Napa Valley: Bouchon Bakery

It had been raining two of the three nights we stayed in Yountville, a town in Napa Valley.  Tired of all the rain, I was super excited to be woken by sunshine on the last day.  Although it was 46 degrees out, I had to take advantage of the sun.  I quickly got dressed and took off to explore the town.  My first stop was Bouchon Bakery.  

Bouchon Bakery was opened in 2003 by Chef Thomas Keller of The French Laundry fame.  The intent of the bakery was to provide his restaurants with one of a kind breads.  The classic French bakery features a wide selection of artisenal breads and classic desserts.

I was like a kid in a candy store!  Once I got in the bakery (people were not kidding about that line), I was overwhelmed by the amount of pastries. They all looked amazing!  I was planning to get a savory sandwich so I wanted to also get something sweet.  I decided on a cinnamon roll to go with my  ham and egg croissant. 

If you are visiting and need to bring back souvenirs, the bakery has prepackaged items for sale.  For my kids, I bought the Bouchon brownies, a box of the oatmeal raisin caramel cookies dipped in chocolate, and a couple of chocolate covered macarons.  Of course, I couldn't leave without a raspberry macaron for myself.  The last thing I ordered was a vanilla latte.  Everything was delicious. 

Bouchon Bakery is a  must stop if you are in Yountville and possess a sweet tooth.  The bakery is open daily from 7am to 7pm.

Bouchon Bakery
6528 Washington Street
Yountville, California

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