Sassy Radish

A month after the trip and I’ve been laboring over a long post about wine. What we drank, how much we liked it, down to the most minute detail. Well, after I read it and then read it again, I threw in a few yawns. I mean really, who am I kidding? I’m no Robert Parker! I am simply someone who really likes wine. And besides, if I have to read any more about a hint of tobacco or caramel or violet in the finishing touches of my wine, I swear I’m going to have to throw the damn bottle at the offending party(once I finish the wine, of course, I wouldn’t want to waste any).

That said, I’ve been barred from drinking until I get better from being sick this past month – thanks to that medium rare steak.

I decided to rework this post into a shorter and hopefully more fun “reduction”.

So here are the three wineries that I must recommend and a quick explanation as to why:

Etude
Aside from the fact that Pinot Noir is my favorite grape, this was just lovely all around. The Riedel glasses, our tour guide with a wry sense of humor, and the small-scale focus on the grapes, made a lasting impression. “Now that we have all the tools at our disposal, there should be no such thing as a bad vintage,” our guide said, “We simply know how to make a good harvest out of a year that might need a little help.” The winery also produces an heirloom Pinot that’s delicious and worth trying.

Frog’s Leap
By far the most fun we had on a winery tour. We started out sampling wine, then got a little tour of the garden where we sampled organic produce, then a tour of the winery where we drank some more wine. In between, I got to play with a cat, listened to some stories and at the end, we all shot some hoops. The winery has a good story to tell, but more importantly, they make a tasty wine. I particularly enjoyed the Zinfandel – perfect for barbeques and outdoor meals. They also make a Leapfrogsmilch – a blend of Riesling and sauvignon blanc with the funniest label I’ve ever seen on a wine bottle. The wine’s yummy too!!

Duckhorn
There is nothing campy about this winery. They’re as serious about wine as they get. A tad more serious and they’d be downright stuffy. But, they don’t push it too much and the result is a serene estate, impeccably maintained, with glorious, idyllic landscapes. Their wine is constantly in demand by the White House banquets (and I doubt they drink crap). Their main focus is on Cabernets, but they also a stunning Merlot. Their wines are the most expensive, approaching $100 a bottle, but well-worth the splurge for a special occasion.

We also visited Grgich Hills, Clos du Val and Sterling. The first made excellent Chardonnay, but I wasn’t charmed by the experience. The second made good wine, but nothing I’d get incredibly misty about. Sterling’s wine didn’t make an impression, but the ski-lift tour was breathtakingly beautiful. I’m sure if we stayed for their Reserve tasting, the wine would have been superb, but we only drank the regular stuff.

I realized that I’m far more interested in boutique wineries than larger scale productions. I think the wines tend to be better, I think the wineries are more in tune with their neighbors, the environment, utilizing the most environmentally sound practices. And I firmly believe that if you do sustainable, chemical-free farming, you will produce a better quality product that will take on the personality of its winery.

I can definitely see myself doing another wine tasting trip within a year. There’s upstate New York region, there is Long Island, if I want to stay local. There are wine countries in France, Spain, Italy, Germany and others. There’s more Napa, Sonoma, Washington State, Oregon to explore. Each wine has its own story – and it’s the stories that make your wine experience truly memorable, imparting a unique print onto each wine tasted and savored.

On our last day in Napa, we had reservations to a very posh, very yummy looking Auberge du Soleil. After drooling over their menu every day and offering up half of my worldly possessions, I was ready to taste the legend. I called a few days before leaving for California and double-checked the reservation. I noted the time. And given how punctual each one of the girls is (including myself) there was no way we were going to be late for this lunch. Our wallets might have groaned, but our bellies were all anticipation.

After the valet parking services took our car, we proceeded towards the restaurant. There, the hostess rudely told us we had missed our reservation, that it was for an earlier time. I, very politely, tried to insist that our reservation was for the time we arrived. The hostess, a tall, tan, athletic woman in her forties, vaguely resembling Suze Orman, glared at us.

“I don’t make mistakes,” she hissed, “This is an omission on your part.”

Even if we were irresponsible and screwed up the reservation, this was no way to speak to customers. We politely excused ourselves and left.

Lunchess and a bit deflated, we decided upon going to a nearby little grocery store, stocked with yummy gourmet food, and indulge in a picnic fit for kings. We bought three different kinds of cheeses, made locally in Napa as well as Hudson Valley of New York: a sheep’s camembert, a goat cheese, and a hard, cow-milk cheese; soppresata, perfectly cured; duck liver pate, decadently rich; a freshly-baked baguette, and some yummy beverages.

We sat outside, savoring our makeshift lunch, admiring the acres of grape vines all around us. We agreed that this picnic was far superior to any gourmet lunch we could have had and how great it was that everything turned out this way.

Having been given lemons, we made lemonade. And I dare say it was better than the feast we were promised.

Well, there will be a longer post, many more posts on the trip to San Francisco and Napa. Loads more. With pictures. And reviews. And write-ups on the wineries. I’ll give you my favorites and my blahs. But be patient with me, as I’m recovering from a bout of an e-coli. I know, I know, it sounds horrific and odd, and believe me, it was. Quite possibly the most painful thing I’ve ever experienced. Next time I’m in that much pain, I better be having a baby!!

I’ll have no report of the lovely New England because I ruined it with getting sick, and my boyfriend and parents saved the day by tending to my sick and sorry self. I owe them big time for their care and patience, especially the boy because instead of a vacation he got a girlfriend writhing in agony.

So give me a few days to recoup, get home to New York, load up some pictures. In the meantime, I’ll write some reviews so they’re ready to post once I’m back in the saddle, sort of.