Project 365 - Napa Valley Winery Tour

What a Day!

When in Wine Country what else do you do but take a tour of the wineries!  In my head it was going to be like a day in the movie "Sideways.' Nothing was further from that image!!

The day started out with a simple breakfast of yogurt and fruit while we read our emails and uploaded photos.  By 10 a.m. we left for the train station.  Sitting in the train station was an experience as we listened to Mike Grgich, a local winery owner and Napa pioneer.  The man is about 86 and his daughter is now running Grgich Hills Winery.  He was charming and spoke lovingly about making wine.  His daughter also spoke about the different wines and especially about the two that we were tasting today.  One was a Fume Blanc and the other was a Cabernet Sauvignon.  The white wine was "spice" a very interesting taste.  One I wouldn't normally choose, but I really did like it.  The other was very dark and rich and smooth on the tongue.

Then we got onto the train.  Oh, I forgot to mention that I am visiting my cousin Rebecca.  Our parents were siblings and since she grew up in Brooklyn, we spent a LOT of time together as kids but as adults, we only see each other occasionally, but thanks to Facebook, we talk quite a bit.  So Rebecca took a few days off to spend with me and she is treating me to two days of wineries!

So the train took off, headed north and we talked and drank, caught up and then we walked out on the platform of the back of the train and I shot lots of images of this pristine countryside.  The colors are so rich.  This time of year is after what they call the "crush" but there are still a few grapes still on the vines here and there.

Then we moved to the dining car where we shared our lunches . . . I had chicken with baby carrots and polenta and Rebecca had salmon with baby red potatoes and spinach with a curry avocado sauce.  Are you hungry yet?  We topped that off with Tiaramisu and Creme Brulee.

Needless to say, we were both so full that we really never ate dinner tonight, but after a trip to downtown Napa and a walk through the Oxbow Public Market, we both selected something extremely simple and continued to talk well into the evening.