The Diaz Family: January 2009

Monday, January 12, 2009

Napa Info...Add on #2

Okay, so to answer your questions about our trip;

Yes, we were able to choose our room - we stayed in the garden suites, the noble vineyard room and we just loved it.

Food, well we ate on the Nappa Valley Wine Train - the Vista Dome Car which was just such a fun experience and well here is a list of the other places we ate that we want to go again.

Bleaux Magnolia – great food, my favorite place http://www.yelp.com/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bleauxmagnolia.com&src_bizid=ARwPBwWDk4Rqn6Lw9wqZUQ
Elements – just opened, good food
Napa Valley Wine Train - you can make reservation on line so much fun, I would recommend you do the lunch time trip, it’s less expensive and a better view of Nappa plus you can stop for wine tasting on the trip.
Bottega – great Italian food - Chef Michael Chiarello from the food network - here is his blog http://www.michaelchiarello.com/blog/ and his restaurants website http://www.botteganapavalley.com/

As for the wine tasting, we were lucky enough to have Innkeepers that new their wine and food so we went with all their recommendations and both Jose and I are glad that we did.
Here is our list of wineries to try;
Black Stallion Winery -I loved this place, it has such a great history about the property and when you walk in its like wow I would have never guessed it would be like this. One thing is for sure for bring one of the newer wineries in the area they have a great selection of wines. Plus Jose and I tried their Cheese pairing and I love cheese but wow I had this cheese called TRAILHEAD and now I am on the hunt to find it here in socal. http://www.blackstallionwinery.com/
Coppala's Estate - We didn't do wine tasting but we toured the estate for fun and the estate is so beautiful, being one of the oldest estate in Napa it is really a grand place - http://www.rubiconestate.com/site.php
Peju – This place was so much fun, they have great wine, and a fun atmosphere. They have a great California Red & White Blend called Provence (we bought two bottles) that is a definite buy. Almost forgot if you go there you have to ask about the yodeler there, he can also rap...lol its great. http://www.peju.com/
Castello di Amorosa - Was just such a neat place to visit, it was such a blast from the past and yes, they have good wine. http://www.castellodiamorosa.com/
Goosecross Vineyard - Talk about fun, this place is a smaller operation but has so much personality that you can’t help love the people there and their wine. It is such a great place and as soon as you step on to the vineyard you get such a relaxing feeling over you and then you try the wine it is just a great time all around. http://www.goosecross.com/
Sterling Winery – This was the first place we went too, it’s in Calistoga which is far north in the Napa Valley. It’s a self guided tour and well you definitely learn a lot about how wine is made. It a great place to stop if it is your first time doing the wine tasting thing. It is up in the hills and you take a gondola ride up to the winery and when you get to the top once you get off you start your first station with a glass of wine and the tour begins, ending in the tasting rooms for more vine. http://www.sterlingvineyards.com/Default.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fhome.aspx

We also stoped at Mumm Winery which is mostly sparkling wine, Jessup Celler (in one of the smaller towns) and Wineries of Napa Valley you can try an assortment of wines from a bunch of different wineries throughout the Valley, plus its open later than the winers.

I hope if any of you decide to stay in Napa this helps you a bit.

CHEERS!!

Friday, January 9, 2009

Add on...

By the way I forgot to add to my last post that we stay at a great Bed & Breakfast for the first time ever and we loved it. We where there for a week and loved every day of it. If you ever go to Napa Valley and want to stay in down town Napa, stay at the Inn on First, Jim and Jamie the Innkeepers are great and pay so much attention to every detail. The breakfast’s are FANTASTIC!!! You will not go wrong staying there. Here is a link to their website.

http://www.theinnonfirst.com/

Please check them out, they are walking distances from a lot of the great gourmet restaurants highlighted in the San Francesco papers.

The End of a Great Year!!

Well it has been awhile since I have blogged...The 2008 year ended well. Jose and I enjoyed our first Christmas as a married couple with our families and friends. We went to some gift exchange parties and enjoyed time with the family. Then we left on our honeymoon which was so relaxing and something really different for us. We went to Napa Valley and just enjoyed having a relaxing and romantic honeymoon. We wanted to stir away from the tropical scene sense that is something we do every year and we did and loved every minute of it.

We meet a lot of great people that were on their honeymoon as well, had great wine and made a lot of new memories together. We went on a hot air balloon ride which was such a thrill, I hate heights but I was very proud of myself that I got in the basket and was able to handle being 2,000 ft in the air. The going up part was easy it was coming down that was difficult below are a few pictures of the landing and you will see what I mean…Jose loved it and thought it was fun, me on other hand was freaking out a little. We also went on the Napa Valley Wine Train for dinner which I would recommend to everyone, great food and such a romantic ride in the vista dome. I put a few pictures of our trip to Napa and a few of our stops along the way up the coast.