Weekend Update: Napa!

Saturday was our group of friends’ 6th Annual Wine trip. Due to some technical difficulties and scheduling conflicts, only 4 couples were able to go. Definitely on the smaller side for this yearly festivity, but fun all the same. This year’s destination was our first return to Napa since the first ever trip for Cameron and Pat’s 30th!

Cameron, Amy & Jason

Of course, this trip also meant no sleeping in for London, Cameron and I. By 8 AM we were dropping London off in her PJs at Lauren’s for a day of spoiling and on the road to American Canyon where we were meeting the Stephens (Matt & Lynde), Johnsons (Kenny & Amy), Millers (Jason & Jess) and the limo.

Lynde & Kenny - they were goofing around too much to notice the camera

I apologize now for the lack of pictures. You would think the sober, pregnant lady of the group could remember to take pictures, but I failed. The only pics we took were in the limo between stops one and two.

Jess, Me & Matt (who was also unaware of the camera)

Over the years we have learned that 3 stops is our limit. Four just ends in disaster. The Millers planned this year’s outing, and the first stop was at Beaulieu Vineyards, better known as BV. We were served in the beautiful club room and everyone sampled 4 reds. First up was the Reserve Pinot Noir, followed by the Reserve Tapestry. The Tapestry was a big hit – enough so that Cameron let me have a sip. Our agreement was that I could have A sip of anything he deemed worthy. And it was – a spicey, full bodied red that would taste delicious on a cool winter’s night (I prefer red in the cold, winter months). That was followed up by a 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon and its 1998 counterpart. I did sample the 1998, but I liked the Tapestry best of the two I sampled.

The cool thing about BV was that when Lynde asked about white wines and a possible white wine-only wine club offering, our server was more than happy to bring her a sample of the 3 whites he could offer her and then created a special wine club to suit her likes only. Both Lynde and Jess walked away as new club members, which resulted in all of our tastings being compted and for hose of us who purchased a bottle, receiving 30 percent off the retail price. All in all, we had a lovely time at BV and the service was fantastic.

Before we knew it we had to head off to our next stop, which was at Trefethen. Had it not been for the slow service I might have better things to say about this stop, but unfortunately, that was not the case. On top of it, at the beginning I had said I was pregnant and therefore not tasting, even though there was a glass sitting in front of me – we definitely didn’t pay to have me taste so this was a mistake on their part all around.

My being pregnant did not stop the server from pouring wine in said glass, which was a bit of tease for me, considering I didn’t have much morning sickness this time around to curb my desire for wine and beer. Oh how I miss a glass of wine at the end of the day.

I ended up taking A small sip and hand the rest off to Cameron or Lynde – well, except for the Harmony Chardonnay, which was a very delicious chardonnay. I did have a few more sips off of that one with Cameron’s permission. We would have considered buying a bottle had the service not taken us the entire time we had at the winery – we almost left without tasting the last of the 5 wines we were there to taste – and that was after the server had tried to skip over one! The one he tried to skip over actually got the best reviews from the table – Dragon’s Tooth.

But, we had a 2:30 appointment at Bouchaine, where a fraternity brother of Cameron, Kenny and Jason’s is tasting manager. Troy was waiting to greet us upon our arrival and had one of the picnic benches out in the beautiful garden waiting for our tasting. Troy basically asked each of us which wines we were interested in trying and would pour us a glass. And he brought out some chilled water for me! Cameron (and I with my few sips) stuck with the whites, trying the Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc. I think all of us walked away wine club members, Cameron and I selecting the whites-only option. We figured we could stock up a little before I can start enjoying wine again on a more regular basis. Plus my mom will be visiting at the end of the month, so I’m sure she’ll like a cold glass of wine or bottle of beer after her flight in.

Since we had to get back to the hotel before our time with the limo was up, Troy volunteered to bring our first delivery from the wine club to us at the hotel and would then join the crew for dinner. Back at the hotel, everyone checked in and got settled into their rooms, before congregating in Kenny & Amy’s.

Cameron and I weren’t staying the night so we had just gone to hang out with them until Troy delivered our wine and we could head home. As all wine trips do, it got a little crazy, and being the pregnant, sober lady that I am these days I was beat from the day and ready to go home when Troy arrived with our wine. I felt bad that we had to leave so quickly after he and his girlfriend had arrived but we’d told Lauren we’d be home between 7 and 8 PM. As it was, we were going to be lucky if we made it back by 8. We were on her doorstep at about 8:10 PM – but that did include a stop to buy Lauren a gift certificate to a nail salon for a pedicure as a thank you for watching London all day.

As soon as we walked through our own door, Cameron put London down, while I put myself down. I was out by 9 PM I think. London wouldn’t wake up until 9 AM Sunday morning, which was a bonus! 12 hours of sleep was blissful.

We spent Sunday at home, working on cleaning the house more, me doing laundry and Cameron started on the framing of the office. Basically, we successfully got the framing that connects to the ceiling up, after Cameron came up with a bracing solution on the side that didn’t have built in studs. We should have almost the whole frame up soon, at least by the end of next weekend when we are home for 3 days.

~ Sarah

Hopland Wine Passport

Over the weekend of May 1 & 2, we headed to Mendocino county with our friends Matt, Lynde, Alyssa, Jeremy, Kim and Pat, to part take in the Hopland Wine Passport, and our 4th annual wine tasting trip.

The Parents-to-be

Jeremy & Alyssa

Matt & Lynde

Kim & Pat


Friday night started with Matt, Lynde, Alyssa, Jeremy, Cameron and I piling into the Yukon for the long drive. Of course, there was a stop at Granzella's for dinner along the way. We finally arrived at our hotel around 11 PM, just in time to get some much needed rest for the day ahead of us.

Saturday we all got up and headed to Denny's for breakfast while we waited for Kim & Pat to arrive. Before we knew it we were on our way to the first winery, Jaxon Keys. I have to say this was a very well organized event. For $35, your ticket got you a Hopland Wine Passport wine glass, a reusable wine tote that can hold up to 6 wine bottles and entrance into 15 winery tasting rooms over a two day period. The tour also provided shuttle services between the wineries and a few hotels in Ukiah, including the Holiday Inn where we stayed. This would have been great, had I not been the pregnant DD. Did I mention that DDs got into these places for free, and could enjoy the live music and delicious food? The other cool thing about this wine passport? It's held twice a year! So any one interested should go in October!

As mentioned, our first stop was Jaxon Keys. The tasting room was a beautiful Victorian-era home up on the hill over looking the little valley the vineyards claimed. Cameron's favorite wine there was a Sauvignon Blanc, produced in a steel barrel. Upon smelling it, I can only imagine how good it tasted - of course, we forgot to buy a bottle of it. Oh well, we'll just have to go back.

The Gang at Jaxon Keys

From there we headed to Brutocao Cellars. Their tasting room is actually located in the old Hopland Highschool in downtown Hopland. Boy, could I have spend money in their gift shop as it contained all kinds of items I could decorate the house with. This tasting room also had a nice picnic area and Bocce Ball courts. Matt & Cameron didn't turn down a chance to pick up a game while the rest of us lounged in the sun.

Brutocao Cellars

Bocce Ball

Many other tasting rooms were located in Downtown Hopland as well, so we did some walking while took in McDowell (another great gift store attached to this one), McNab Ridge Winery (where I saw this great end table made out of a wine barrel), McFadden Farm and Graziano Family of Wines (where they gave me a $5.99 magazine, called Touring and Tasting, for free - will be great for ideas for next year's annual wine trip.)

I want to make end tables just like this one for our loft!

This set up was also nice for the pregnant DD. I could walk to each winery with everyone and while they partook in their tasting, I'd wander the nearby shops. I even found a shop that sold old wine barrels for $15! The whole wine barrel. Too bad we had so many people in the car, otherwise I would have bought two so Cameron could make me my end tables!

We ended the day at Weibel Family Wine Group, which was located on the winery. Driving up to it I noticed we were passing many of the wineries we had been introduced to in Downtown Hopland. Can't complain when driving through vineyards - its just so beautiful around them this time of year. Turns out Weibel makes a non-alcoholic Champagnette, so I got to do a little tasting myself. It was a little sweet, but not pure grape juice like every other non-alcoholic wine I've tasted during this pregnancy. Matt & Lynde even bought me a bottle to enjoy later.

From there, we ended our day having dinner at the Ukiah Brewing Co. where the cuisine is all organic. Have to say the day did take a toll on my poor feet from the walking and warm weather. By the time we got back to the hotel, I was ready to soak my feet, which I did in the bathtub, full of cool water. Cameron and I went down to the spa later where I soaked the feet some more, but ended up making them worse. When we got back to the room, Cameron got a bucket of ice and folded the ice in cool, damp washcloths and laid them over my feet. The ice melted pretty quickly. Luckily my next doctor's appointment was Monday, and by then my feet were back to normal and my blood pressure was great so we knew it was strictly from being on my feet in warm weather.

And that was our last weekend away. Now we sit and wait for London to arrive.

Tootles,
Sarah