Caravan Phase 3 complete

September 26, 2009
Napa, CA

As always, click on pictures to enlarge and links for more info.

We had a great time in Napa/Sonoma this week, and have concluded the caravan as of this evening. What a great time! We had a fantastic groups of folks and a neat set of activities.

Things got off to a quick start shortly after our arrival in Napa. We carpooled off to the Napa Valley Museum to get a historical perspective on the area and the relationship to wine. Although relatively small, this museum was very nicely done. After the museum, we carpooled off to the CIA. No, not Langley, but the Culinary Institute of America. We had time to shop in the kitchen store (who doesn't need new tools?) and then had a cooking demonstration. We learned how to make an interesting tomato soup, and got interesting pointers on techniques and ingredients (Did you ever hear of "manufactured cream? I hadn't.) Since the schedule called for a lasagna dinner (with fabulous bread pudding for dessert) back at the RV Park, Geri and I decided to host a little wine tasting at "happy hour". We all had a good time blind tasting five of Costco's finest. The evening was capped off with another Space Station fly-over.

Tuesday was an interesting day, with less than the usual amount of travel. We carpooled to Beringer Vineyards, where we had a very informative tour, followed by a fantastic lunch at Greystone Restaurant, back at the CIA, which is right next door to Beringer. Both are located in some of the most historic buildings in the Napa Valley. Beringer dates back to 1877 and is the valley's oldest continuously-producing winery (even during prohibition - "for medicinal purposes only"). Greystone was built in 1888, and once housed the Christian Brothers Winery. We followed this up with a nice dinner at Tra Vigne with Stan & Barbara Jones.

Wednesday was a very busy day, with three wineries and a lunch stuffed in. We started the day with a trip all the way north in Napa Valley to Calistoga, where we toured Castello di Amaroso, a real-life European castle that was hand-assembled and built around a state-of-the -art winery. It was a fascinating tour, ending with a nice tasting. It's owned by the same person as our second stop, V. Sattui Winery in St. Helena. Here, we had lunch followed by a tour and tasting. We capped the day off with a tour and tasting at The Hess Collection, where the tour focused on the owner's extensive art collection as well as the very good wines.

On Thursday, we had a complete change of pace. We headed to Sonoma and the coast. Our first stop was Muir Woods, where we had a nice walk among the Redwoods and Sequoia, even though the day started out a bit overcast and foggy. We got into the sun as we headed north to Olema and lunch at the Olema Farmhouse Restaurant. From there, we were on our own for the carpool trip back to Napa. The big treat for the day was that we were able to bring the pups with us. We traveled with Bud & Suzie Walsh, who have two beautiful Goldens. We headed for the beach in Point Reyes, and the big dogs and the small dogs all got a chance to play in the surf. They wore themselves out, we dried them off, and a good time was had by all. We finished the day with a trip back to Taylor's Automatic Refresher in St. Helena for burgers and wine (a Turley Zin, which you can't hardly find anywhere, much less at a burger joint). And the burgers were good as well!

Friday, we were back to the wineries, this time in Sonoma. We visited two wineries, and got a lesson in the business side of the wine world at the same time. Many long-term wineries started as family businesses, and succession planning is always a tricky thing when strong personalities are involved. Over time, family feuds lead to splits, and many times to corporate consolidation. These wineries had it all. Our first stop was at Viansa, started by part of the Sebastiani clan ("VIcki ANd SAm") ousted from the family business. A few years and a messy divorce later, and whoops, you're a unit of Fosters, one of the biggest drinks companies in the world. No matter - lunch and the tasting were fun. Next we were off to Sebastiani Winery in downtown Sonoma. After the family split, another feud resulted in the bulk of the business being sold off, and the continued problems made the premium wine business a good candidate for another sale, this one to the Foley Wine Group. The tour and tasting were quite informative.

Saturday was our free day, and we put it to good use. I was off to Sacramento early to pick up the Range Rover from the body shop. It's looking good, although two minor issues were identified that we'll have to address, probably when we get to AZ in a few weeks. We also did some shopping (who can resist Dean & DeLuca?), had a porcetta sandwich for lunch, and had a chance to relax a bit. We closed out the caravan with a wonderful dinner at Estate Restaurant in Sonoma (carpaccio, veal ravioli, cheese plate, and a neat Barbaresco - woo-hoo).

This was our first caravan, and we had a great time. It was a very compatible group, and everyone had a good time. We'll definitely do this again...