Napa 2010 Day 3

We bought A LOT of wine today! For our first stop of the day we went to Robert Sinskey Winery for a four glass tasting (+ one extra). Since the winery is owned by a husband and wife who are a winemaker and chef respectively, they served each wine with a recommended one-bite food pairing. We bought a bottle each of their Pinot Gris and POV Bordeaux blend.

Our second stop took is to Chateau Montelena, whose chardonnay won the 1973 Paris Tasting and was featured in the 2008 movie Bottle Shock. Their chardonnay is still awesome and we got two bottles to bring home, along with a Riesling, and two bottles of their Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. The photo above I took at the Japanese garden at Montelena with multiple bridges and pagodas, turtles, ducks, and a swan.

Mom and Dad wanted to go into Calistoga se we could stop into the bike shop (who am I to argue with that), so we ate lunch at the Calistoga Inn and Brewery. Since the bar was stuffed with unhappy soccer fans, we ate in the restaurant area, and I had a grilled cheese which would make the Pop Shop jealous: monterey jack cheese, avocado, red onion, cilantro, and spicy chipotle sour cream paste. I paired it with a pint of their American Wheat Ale which cooled the hot valley day.

Right across the street from the Inn we found the store for Vermeil Wines (On the Edge Vineyard) co-owned by former Eagles head coach Dick Vermeil. Pop loved the Eagles memorabilia on display there, and he really enjoyed talking to former Eagles linebacker Frank LeMaster who was visiting the winery too. Since they only had red wines, Wifey and Mom skipped the tasting, and missed out on some really nice zinfandels which Dad bought a bottle of.

For our final winery of the day we went a winery everyone should recognize: Beringer. Fortunately we found coupons for two-for-one Reserve tastings. Beringer serves the regular tasting at a bar in the gift shop, but the reserve tasting featured their better wines and was held at private tables on the patio of the Rhine building, a German inspired building at the winery. Also fortunately the Reserve Chardonnay and Reserve Cabernet were on sale (got two chard and a cab) We also bought two bottles of the Alluvium Blanc, a great white blend which I can't seem to find in NJ anymore.

For dinner, we went to Tra Vinge in St. Helena, a great Italian restaurant which features fresh mozzarella made the moment you order it. Don't miss it if you get out here.

Places Visited:
Robert Sinskey
Chateau Montelena
Calistoga Inn
On the Edge (Vermeil Wines)
Beringer
Tra Vinge