My dad and I are planning a trip to Napa next month for his birthday. Does anyone have any suggestions?

We are going to try to get reservations at the French Laundry and were thinking about doing the "wine train" or some other tour unless there's a better way to get around. The only vineyard I really have planned to see is Chateau Montelena.

Open to Sonoma, Russian River Valley, etc. too - might try to hit up Russian River Brewing either way.

Not sure whether to fly into San Francisco or Sacramento. This is all pretty last minute

9/1/2016 2:23:08 PM

A tour is a convenient way to see several wineries. They give you some background on the different wineries, sometimes coordinate for tours through winery so you see more than just the tasting room, and it's nice not having to drive after drinking (or having to plan for lunch). Our tour picked us up in San Francisco and we took the ferry back to see the city from a different angle. I visited many many wine regions in Australia when I lived there and generally enjoyed the tours more than when I planned my own trips (just since it was easier to relax on the tour and I didn't care too much where we went).

There are apps that get you discounts on tastings if you are trying to save some $$$ (like buy one get one free type deals).

9/1/2016 2:35:11 PM

To be perfectly honest, I would suggest Sonoma for wine tasting instead of Napa- much, much cheaper and more of a variety of wines. Napa tastings are pretty outrageous these days and unless you like third tier Cabs, that's what you'll mostly be paying for. It's pretty sad what has happened to Napa Valley. Not too long ago tastings were free or somewhat reasonable, but now a lot of places charge upwards of $50-$60 for a tasting for two, and a fair number of them won't comp the tasting unless you either join their wine club or buy a certain number of bottles (usually at least two). Sonoma isn't as flashy and it's more spread out, but it's also a lot more laid back and reasonable. I have friends who work in the wine industry in Napa and they don't even taste their and opt for Sonoma instead.

I wouldn't do a tour either. Unless you're with a huge group, they're generally a rip off. Don't fly into Sac, stick to SFO or Oakland. Apps or wine passes def help, but be sure to read the fine print.

I've been wine tasting all over CA and I've been here 12 years, so shoot me a PM if you want specific recommendations.

Oh, and French Laundry is fantastic, but getting a reservation might prove very difficult in October when the weather is so nice. St Helena and Yountville have better food than Napa proper in my opinion.

Healdsburg and the Russian River are nice, but pretty far from Napa. If you're out that way, the Korbel tour (of all places) is actually kinda fun and it's totally free. The champagne isn't all that great, but if you enjoy history and learning about the process, you might like it.



[Edited on September 1, 2016 at 3:01 PM. Reason : .]

9/1/2016 2:52:20 PM

^we haven't inked anything yet. Do you know anything about Washington or Oregon? I've never been to the Pacific Northwest at all. I know of Walla Walla Valley but not sure how difficult it is to get there, or if there are better options near Seattle / Portland.

French Laundry says they start taking reservations 1 month out from the date you want. Granted, I'm sure since it's the harvest season they probably have a lot of tables reserved for VIPs or whatnot.

9/1/2016 3:27:03 PM

It's nice to keep things open and flexible- there's so much to do. While Napa is nice and worth exploring, it comes down to personal preference, which is why I like Sonoma better. It's cheaper and less touristy/limos/bachelorette parties. With that said, if you can, I would recommend seeing both so you can compare and get a better of what type of experience you prefer. I was up in St Helena/Calistoga two weeks ago for a friend's 40th bday, and they rented an awesome house and we had a nice chef's table dinner at Farmstead, but I was up in Sonoma last weekend tasting with some friends and come home with 13 bottles and I actually joined a winery in downtown Sonoma right next to the square. If you're serious about wine, either place is going to be pretty awesome.

As for Oregon/Washington I've done some wineries along the Columbia River Gorge and I just thought they were OK. Better than anything I've had back east, but definitely not as good as anything I've had in CA. I love Seattle, but Portland is sorta meh to me, although if you get outside of the city proper it's pretty damn scenic. One thing you haven't mentioned is the Central Coast of CA. I did Paso Robles and did an AirBnb in Pismo Beach a few years ago and really enjoyed it. If you like good Pinot Noir, the region is famous for it. I think Pismo Beach is pretty awesome and you could combine wine tasting with a classic CA beach town. Temecula in SoCal is alright, but I would skip it in favor of Ojai/Solvang which is pretty close to Santa Barbara. SB is beautiful and the beaches are nice, but I vastly prefer Pismo, San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles.

As for French Laundry, they do it by tickets now. Expect to spend about $600 per head and significantly more (probably closer to a grand) if you want to do the wine pairings. You can always bring your own and just pay for corkage though.

9/1/2016 4:32:12 PM

[Edited on September 1, 2016 at 4:42 PM. Reason : nevermind]

9/1/2016 4:42:29 PM

The movie sideways sucked

9/1/2016 7:47:05 PM

I remember you telling me you enjoyed it.

9/1/2016 7:57:00 PM

I kind of enjoy it. The characters are such losers/despicable people that it's actually pretty funny. Drinking lots of wine helps. And I hate merlot too.

9/1/2016 8:56:36 PM

I'll second the Sonoma>Napa sentiment. Napa is way overrated these days and much much more $$$ for shittier wine.

9/1/2016 9:06:07 PM

I'm definitely going to hit up Napa just to say I've been, etc. but if Sonoma is where it's at I'll try to plan on more time there.

I like Sideways for all of its cringey-ness and faults. Also liked Alan Rickman in Bottleshock (hence Chateau Montelena - although I've had their Chard a couple of times already and do really enjoy it). Somm and Red Obsession were good too.

I like dry wines. Typically, I drink Marlboro Valley NZ Sauvignon Blanc at home and I also like oaked Chardonnay. In whites I like citrus fruit flavors, grassy flavors, etc. and am not usually a fan of the buttery ones.

My stomach is a bit sensitive to acids to drink reds on a daily basis so I try to save them for food pairings but I like pretty much anything dry - Austalian Shiraz, Bourdeaux, Cotes du Rhone, Southern Italian wines (especially Aglianico), etc. I don't drink a lot of Zins but I'm not against them either. I think in general I like very heavy berry tastes, along with tobacco and chocolate. I'm also a fan of the tar/petroleum tastes you get in Southern Italy (like the Aglianico). I'm trying to get out of my old world bubble and try more stuff from South America, Africa, etc. with regard to red.

I usually don't go sweeter than Cab or Chardonnay with reds and whites, respectively but I'll try anything.

9/1/2016 11:22:09 PM

I agree wth the Sonoma suggestion. It's more relaxed and better wines IMO. There's just something to be said about driving down a dirt road that leads to an awesome, secluded winery.

Check out Dutchers Crossing if you can. My wife and I swore we would never be the type to join a wine club. We now get biannual deliveries from Dutchers Crossing (it's that good).

We also found this place called Cast that had one of the best views out there. It's a really really small place with a small patio that overlooks their vineyard.

Finally Lagunitas Brewing Co is pretty close. It's a pretty fun place and a good change if you get tired of wines.

9/2/2016 9:07:55 AM

If you're into whites, either region is probably fine. I can PM you some suggestions of places I've been to regularly (friend's memberships or my own) if you want. Expect really bold Cabs in Napa and expect them to be expensive. I'm not a huge white drinker myself, but you're going to find oaky, buttery Chardonnay in Napa. Sonoma imo has a much wider variety. You might have to do some research and drive a while, but when I think Napa, I think bold, high alcohol and not a huge variety. It's more catered to tourists who are there the spend money, while Sonoma is more for locals or those looking for specific styles/varietals.

9/3/2016 2:01:49 AM

^specific suggestions would be appreciated!

I'm definitely looking for more of the Asheville of wine if that makes sense, rather than the Myrtle Beach. I talked it over with my dad and we're thinking of just renting a car and driving through Napa just so I can say I've been, etc. but focusing most of our time in Sonoma.

9/5/2016 12:49:13 AM

sonoma >> napa

My wine preferences steer towards Dry Creek and Russian River so it's a definitely just a better fit(on top of all the reasons mentioned above). Healdsburg is a great little town and Hotel Healdsburg has bicycles you can borrow to get around to local wineries and tasting rooms. If you go to Healdsburg make sure you visit: Ridge, Unti and Seghesio and obviously Bear Republic. Worth visiting; Quivira, Lambert Bridge, Rodney Strong, Simi, Arista has amazing grounds and Iron Horse for bubbles. Personally I think Santa Rosa is worth the stop for Russian River Brewing alone.

9/8/2016 10:28:13 PM

^ I will second Unti and Ridge (although I like their Monte Bello/Santa Cruz mountains winery way better). If you're in Santa Rosa, Mantanzas Creek is a solid choice too.

9/9/2016 12:35:13 AM

Thanks again for the suggestions - we've got a little more booked.

Flying into San Francisco late on Thursday October 6th and heading to Napa. Staying at Best Western at the Vines. We are thinking we'll stay there Friday night as well and then leave for Sonoma county for Saturday and Sunday night. We fly out of San Francisco Monday at like 11:30am though. Could possibly come back Tuesday if we change the flights soon enough.

Should we stay in Napa proper Friday night or try to go further north? What's the best town in Sonoma? My dad seems to think Napa/Sonoma proper but to me it looks like the good stuff is further north?

We were gonna use Apex Transportation ($450/day) to drive us around and they have offices in Napa and Sonoma so that may be where it's coming from.

We've been calling French Laundry every day at 10am with no luck but the waitlist.

There's also something for lunch/dinner called the Napa Wine Train (1950's train that goes along the ridge I think) do y'all recommend that?

Also had a friend tell me not to do any wine tours (or just one maybe) and only do tastings - is that good advice?

Thanks again - there's way more to this than I had imagined.

[Edited on September 9, 2016 at 10:29 AM. Reason : .]

9/9/2016 10:29:00 AM

lol, unless you have a time machine to take you back a year you ain't getting a reservation at french laundry

wine tours are good if you don't want to drive and don't mind annoying people, otherwise yes just coordinate your own tastings

[Edited on September 9, 2016 at 10:48 AM. Reason : .]

9/9/2016 10:48:08 AM

^We have a private driver - definitely not trying to do tours like that. I think my friend meant Winery/Cellar/Estate tours but maybe I misinterpreted and she did in fact mean those wine bus things.

Per policy French Laundry opens up reservations one month ahead of the date but I'm sure in practice the tables go to well connected people - there are only 17. It's a pipe dream but we're gonna keep trying anyway.

[Edited on September 9, 2016 at 10:51 AM. Reason : .]

9/9/2016 10:50:28 AM

it's definitely longer than a month and more about knowing someone

if you are talking about winery/estate/vineyard tours its worth doing one to learn about the process but after that they are pretty much all the same. yelp will tell you where the tours are worth it.



[Edited on September 9, 2016 at 10:59 AM. Reason : .]

9/9/2016 10:57:12 AM

How late does your flight arrive? Depending on the time of day, it could take up to two hours from SFO to the northern part of the Valley- regardless if you take 101 and the Golden Gate bridge to 121/12/29 OR the Bay Bridge to 80/37/29. If it'll be past 8 or 9 PM, it's going to be dark regardless, and you won't see much, so do whichever is fastest/cheapest. Tbh, Napa proper and the Silverado Trail aren't that big- it's maybe a 45-60 min drive from Napa to Calistoga and the drive through the valley is scenic; in my opinion it gets better as you head north, culminating in Calistoga. I think Calistoga and St. Helena are probably the 'nicest', but after the wineries all close around 5PM or so, they're pretty dead other than a few restaurants which might stay open until 10 or 11. Personally, I would stay south in either Napa or in American Canyon or something to save money and get an early start the next morning. Hotels in St Helena or Calistoga will likely be a lot pricier.

For Sonoma, I would either stay in Santa Rosa or near the Square in Sonoma. Either makes a good base, depending on the wineries you want to hit. Overall, I would NOT stay in Napa and drive back and forth between there and Sonoma each day. It's an hour long drive through windy roads and it sucks in the dark.

As for having a designated driver, it's obviously a wise decision, but tbh, hitting up more than 3-4 wineries in a day is a waste of time and money in my experience. Your palate will be ruined and everything is going to taste the same if you do a blitz and hit up as many as you can in a day- you will also be drunk and possibly hungover the next day if you overdo it. I don't get drunk off or much of a buzz off a single tasting (typically 5 ounces of wine total) and if you space tastings and hour or two apart, it's usually not a problem for most people- although it's always better to be safe than sorry. Typically when I taste, I will do no more than 3-4 places in a day, and I will have a nice breakfast in the morning and a solid lunch after the second winery, and dinner after I'm finished with the third one or fourth one. Most wineries open at 10 and close by 4 or 5.

My problem with tours is that a lot of them are just about getting people drunk and getting them to spend tons of money. Wineries also treat tour groups differently than locals or people who are on their own. It all depends on what type of experience you are looking for. If I'd have to pick a tour between Sonoma and Napa, I would also go with Napa- might as well get the full on touristy experience since everyone else is- and do the wine train.

*EDIT- I see you mean a cave or winery tour, not a prepackaged group tour. As dtownral said, use Yelp to figure out which wineries have the best ones. They can take a while and be boring, or be short and sweet.

[Edited on September 9, 2016 at 11:20 AM. Reason : .]

[Edited on September 9, 2016 at 11:24 AM. Reason : .]

9/9/2016 11:14:11 AM

Our flight gets in at like 10pm PST so we won't be checked into our hotel until after midnight.

Did not know the wineries closed at 5 and this would be a morning thing. I was also wondering how many tastings were common to do in a day. I definitely don't want to be hungover if we're dropping all of this money on food, etc.

I really want to get over to Russian River Brewing somehow but my dad isn't very adventurous when it comes to beer so he pretty much wants nothing to do with it. I've had Pliny before so it's not the end of the world if I miss out on it.

Chateau Montelena is the main winery I want to tour just because of the fame/history/bottleshock. I do really enjoy their chardonnay too. Ridge seems to be widely recommended so I'll try to hit that up if we can get over there. I should know more exactly where we'll be when the Sonoma hotel.

9/9/2016 11:53:19 AM

4 tastings if you don't sleep in too long, 3 if you take your time in the morning or have more than a couple people (everything takes longer if you have a group)

9/9/2016 12:48:02 PM

if you stay in sonoma/santa rosa i would hit up russian river brewing for casual dinner one night after a day of wine tasting, the pizza there is pretty good and it's a nice change of pace after all the wine

getting the driver is a good call -- i've never done napa but have been wine tasting in sonoma many times, and we've almost always hired a driver for groups of 3 up to ~30 (this past june after a wedding), we just pick where we want to go (usually plan on 4 places) and organize the route with the driver to plan for lunch somewhere along the way (also sometimes the drivers have suggestions as well if you need an extra spot or two)

i did a mini bar crawl this past trip going from rr to lagunitas to moylans (been to rr many many times but first at the other two for me; have done bear republic on other trips), really enjoyed moylans (and rr has turned into a bit of a zoo but i guess that's to be expected, they manage the crowds well though)

hit a lot of traffic getting back over the bridge to SFO on this last trip, just keep that in mind with your planning

9/9/2016 1:14:30 PM

^^^ since he doesn't sound into it, I would skip trying to do RRB- it's out of the way (unless you're planning on staying in Santa Rosa) and he's not going to appreciate it as much as you will. Focus on food and wine. You can always come back to CA for a coastal brewery tour from SD up to the Bay or Eureka if you want. It will be impossible to see/do everything you want in a 3.5 day trip. There are hundreds of wineries and restaurants and you'll never get to visit all of them- even if you moved here. Focus on taking your time and keeping things laid back- you and your dad will enjoy it much more than trying to check off a huge list/itinerary.



[Edited on September 9, 2016 at 1:20 PM. Reason : .]

9/9/2016 1:17:03 PM

This is actually for our birthdays, including my 30th (his birthday is exactly a month apart) so we're just excited to be there!

9/9/2016 1:25:18 PM

So I made this shitty map (MS paint ftw) to try to get a feel for everything and we ended up changing everything around. Added another day to the trip (coming on Wednesday the 5th now) and flying into Santa Rosa. We'll be staying there and using that as our base.



http://imgur.com/a/JOrx0


[Edited on September 9, 2016 at 4:35 PM. Reason : size]

9/9/2016 4:29:59 PM

Google Maps can give you predictive traffic, you enter the day and time and it will tell you what to expect

9/10/2016 5:45:09 PM

leaving tomorrow!

flying into Santa Rosa. so far have reservations at Behringer, Ridge, Unti, Montelena, and wait listed at Stag's Leap. also doing the sunset/dinner wine train. going to hit up Russian River Brewing and Bear Republic. wait listed at French Laundry each night (long shot, I know) but otherwise playing it by ear.

also picking up my iPhone 7+ in Santa Rosa so I'll be testing out the camera feature as much as possible.

[Edited on October 4, 2016 at 1:58 PM. Reason : .]

10/4/2016 1:57:35 PM

hope the weather warms up. have a great time.

10/4/2016 2:47:16 PM

Shout out to UJustWait84 your recommendations have been spot on. Benzinger was gorgeous and we did Imagery and are currently at VJB enjoying charcuterie and some interesting varietals.

Has been a great way to celebrate my 30th

10/6/2016 6:55:59 PM

No problem. Hope you enjoyed your 30th with your dad. How was the rest of your trip?

10/11/2016 6:40:02 PM

It was an amazing trip and the weather couldn't have been nicer along with the harvest and autumn colors -

here's what we did:

Thursday

- Benzinger - this may have been my favorite all around experience. I liked their pinot and chardonnay a lot. The caves were cool, and the views/pictures I got were some of the best.

- Imagery - right across from Benzinger and we got the tasting for free since they're sister wineries. they did pour really heavy so we got a nice buzz there and ate some nice wood-fired pizza outside.

- VBJ - you were right - this was great. had some really interesting Italian varietals we didn't see anywhere else. their chardonnay was really unique - super heavy with green apple flavors it stood out against everything else we tasted. we had a bunch of charcuterie and actually ended up at a table with some old ladies that were locals and had some interesting conversations. their pizza and Italian dishes looked amazing.

- Russian River Brewing - I literally had every beer that was available - ended up being like 18 of them (via flights). Got to watch some football too. Everything was very good - I especially liked their sours (I love sour beer anyway) that were barrel fermented (pinot/chardonnay). I'd had Pliny before and while it's a good IPA, I just don't see why everyone goes so nuts over it. The barrel sours were the only things I bought and ended up drinking them at the room while smoking a cigar later that night. I didn't want to go through the hassle of trying to ship anything home - plus it was expensive. Honestly, I think there are better bears in North Carolina (Haw River, Fonta Flora, Wicked Weed, Trophy) but I give them a lot of credit for having good representations of such a wide variety of styles.

Friday

- Breakfast in Calistoga at Johnny's, which was incredible

- Castello di Amorosa - this was a bit gimmicky since it's a $40m castle that was built in the 2000s but it was a really entertaining tour. we ended up getting lucky since people were sick and got their VP of marketing who's also a master sommelier to do ours and he was fantastic. I can't remember a particular wine standing out. Got a pretty cool map of the Napa viticulture regions for my kitchen.

- Chateau Montelena - one of the main things I went to see. I'm a big fan of Bottle Shock and I was surprised it looked nothing like I pictured from the movie. Very small and set on a hill above an Asian themed lake / garden. ended up leaving with a bunch of merchandise, a bottle of chardonnay, and a $165 of their reserve Cab that I'll drink when I finish my doctorate.

- ate dinner at Santa Rosa Seafood, which was outstanding

Saturday

- Watched the first half of the State game while we ate breakfast - what a shit show. Good way to start the day.

- Sterling - saw them across the way from Castello since they're up on the ridge. this was my least favorite place. basically, you pay for a short gondola ride and it has some nice views up there but the wine was wayyyy overpriced grocery store quality at best but it was also the largest production winery we went to.

- Charles Krug - stopped here on a whim. got it confused with Krug Champagne (France) but actually really enjoyed their stuff. they're the oldest vineyard in Napa and owned by Mondavi now but they had an outstanding Malbec and serveral other wines that were very good. my dad ended up signing up for their wine club so we'll be getting 3 bottles per quarter for the rest of the year and we plan to get together and cook / drink the bottle once a month. talked to some other people at the tasting bar and asked where we could find a boutique winery and they recommended Reynold's

- Reynold's Family Winery - I'd definitely recommend checking this out. It's on the Silverado Trail and was situated pretty much in the middle of their wine field and had these old growth oaks all around it. The wines were excellent, especially the chardonnay, which I ended up buying a bottle of. I'm not sure it's going to stay unopened very long. I may try to order a case of it and kind of regret not getting more while I was there.

- Stag's Leap - Stag's was booked for like a month but we were near by so I decided to just give it a shot and see if we could get in anyway and they said if we could get there in 10 minutes we could at least get a tasting. Very high end - people were noticeably dressed better and it was much more expensive, even for Napa prices. The wines were definitely worth the hype and they had a really modern/clean tasting room that's situated in this kind of half dome that overlooks the vineyards. Very nice. Got some random souvenirs from there too but the bottles were just too out of my range.

- Then we did the Napa Wine Train for dinner. Unfortunately, it was dark most of the trip - we thought it would have been during the sunset (which it may well be in other times of the year) but we were barely out of the Town of Napa before it got dark. The food was good and the wine was decent. I'm not sure I'd do it again but it was fun. My dad loved it.

Sunday

- We went down to Bodega Bay and got lunch at this little seafood shack by the marina. Really cool working fishing village and the seafood we got was some of the best I've ever had - especially the oysters. We also went and hiked around the bay head and saw some wild deer. Then we drove along the Pacific Coast Trail up to Healdsburg.

- Ridge - I'm mixed on Ridge. First off, I'll admit that I had some stomach acid the night before and wasn't feeling super hot (not hungover but GERD stuff) but didn't want to miss this tasting. We did the tour out into their vineyard and learned a lot more about the agricultural aspects of wine making. That 45 minutes or so was nice. Then the tasting was in a private room at a dining table with place settings and like 3 other couples. The guy just kept talking and talking and it took an hour and 15 minutes to pour our wines. I thought it was way too formal and with my stomach already bothering me it was kind of torture. I still drank my wines (all reds) and I'm a big fan of dry wine, but these were some of the highest tannin wines I've ever had - almost too much. Their flagship wine was $185 a bottle and I really don't think it's worth it. If there was one winery that was more hype than delivery, it was Ridge.

- Bear Republic - originally we had planned to go to Unti but I was done with wine so we went to Bear and watched football and had lunch and I did a flight. Wasn't blown away by anything but I did try their Racer 5 and some of their sours. The most interesting thing was a stout that was also hoppy.

Then that's pretty much it. Our flight was at 6:00am the next day so we went back early Sunday night. Next time I'd stay in Calistoga or St. Helena rather than Santa Rosa and focus more on a particular area. I'm glad we got to get a good feel for the whole area. My dad was blown away. We'll probably try to make this an annual thing and bring my mom along. Neither of us had any idea what it's like - we both thought it was like dirt roads and just grape fields but instead it was like a bunch of tiny Asheville's scattered throughout this mountainous Blue Ridge Parkway type of area with wine fields in the valleys (should have known). The towns were all very charming. I don't think you'd need to be really into wine to enjoy the area, and next time we'll know to plan ahead with restaurants, etc. I'd also stick to the smallest vineyards possible because I really think smaller=better there.

10/13/2016 3:47:09 PM

Forgot to mention that I picked up my iPhone 7+ Thursday morning so here's my albums just from the phone camera. No editing / filtering whatsoever and I just uploaded through Imgur app so bear with me if it's out of order.

Thursday - https://imgur.com/a/hTo2j

Friday - https://imgur.com/a/JFZRO

Saturday - https://imgur.com/a/SSDEb

Sunday - https://imgur.com/a/mOgZa

10/13/2016 4:26:07 PM

I'm with you on RRB. I've had way better craft beer in Denver, Boise, and Portland tbh, and I can walk around the corner from my apartment in Oakland and have an amazing section of beer at Beer Revolution without having to drive all the way out to SR. I like Pliny and IPA in general, but I don't get the big fuss either. It's very good, but I would never wait in line for hours to buy some.

Sorry you had a bad experience at Ridge. Mine have always been super casual and laid back, but I've never made an appointment, so that's probably why.

I've had Stagg's bottles before and I got to taste at Opus One for free last year, but I am pretty laid back and don't like the bullshit and attitude at places like that. I do agree that I like smaller family owned vineyards way better than the big commercial ones. If you come back, don't ever waste your time at Robert Mondavi or anything similar.

While we have pretty opposite tastes, I'm glad you were able to find wines and beers you like and that you got to experience NorCal wine country this time of year. I try to get up there once a month or so, but I am pretty spoiled. The Bay Area is beyond being ridiculously expensive, but wine country being so close is definitely a plus.

10/13/2016 6:20:43 PM

I wish we had just done the tasting bar at Ridge but it was also a product of my stomach acid over the trip - I'd give them another shot. Seems like their Montebello location in Santa Cruz is the original.

It was gorgeous there - I've only been to San Francisco when I was 13 and have only been to Southern California as an adult so I'm definitely a fan of that area - really changed my mind about the state to be honest. The food was just stellar - it makes me wonder why we can't get food like that in Raleigh but I think it's the flexibility that price point allows the restaurants to achieve maybe? Or the competition? We really didn't go anywhere fancy and the food was just so good. Hell, I had a fish burrito at the airport that blew my mind.

The trip definitely really opened me up to California wines and the variety of grapes that can be planted there and the types of soil, etc. I really erred toward French and New Zealand (SV) wines before but I'll try to patronize American wines as much as I can. I guess that's the whole point of the show out there haha.

Thanks again for all of your advice - wouldn't have found some of these gems without it. I'm honestly just amazed we pulled the trip off at all with our schedules and the amount of planning/timing that went into it.

10/14/2016 9:14:46 AM