NAPA VALLEY..SHAKEN BUT NOT STIRRED! Part 1

THE LOVELY OLD THEATER STILL STANDING!

As I start my post I want to mention that we booked a trip to Napa in August for our anniversary on Sept. 7th, never thinking about an earthquake! Well this has happened to us in the past, it's like we are chasing a disaster…thirteen years ago we planned a trip to go to NYC for Thanksgiving and booked everything on Sept 9th only to wake up on 9/11 to a disaster in New York of biblical proportion! Everybody said "Oh, you can't go to NY, what if this or that happens?" So glad I don't live in fear, of course we went that November and you know what, people were so thrilled that we came and spent money in their hotels and restaurants and there was a sense of unity for us Americans!  Now I've been accused of being crazy, especially two years ago when we slipped in and out of Egypt to fulfill a bucket wish list, most amazing trip of my life and I lived to tell it!  So when I was asked why I didn't cancel Napa, I said "Really…don't you know me better than that!" We had been watching this town go through a beautiful renaissance for the last 30 years and we wanted to stay in that part of the valley, enjoy there wonderful restaurants and shops..and wine!! As we toured around and took photos of some damaged buildings there was a sense of strength coming from the towns people, many businesses were open and there was a lot of optimism, don't forget these natives eat, drink and sleep wine…we are for sure kindred spirits!

SHAKEN NOT STIRRED…..

A FEW OF YOUR FAVORITE THINGS IN NAPA

WHAT A GREAT CAMPAIGN PROMISE

I for one have been through earthquakes before, Northridge,1994 yikes…that was 6.8 and we lived at the time very close to the epicenter, talk about a time when you need wine!
I know what it's like to shake, rattle and roll, believe me and there's no doubt that it's SCARYas hell!!
But the Napa Valley has sustained drought , pestilence, el nino and any number of the horrors that plague our dedicated grape growers…sounding a little Old Testament, ha ha..and it seemed that every bible story had it's share of wine, too!

BRICKS MAY FALL BUT YOU CAN'T SHAKE THE NAPA SPIRIT!

     

SUPERSTAR FOOD AND ATMOSPHERE

Some of Napa Valley's "best" restaurants are located in the town of Napa, especially Morimoto, which is headed up by the Celebrity Iron Chef and is an amazing culinary delight and a visual work of art…Next we have Celadon, which is lovely and the food is wonderful and also one of the first places to open there is French bistro inspired, Angele, inside the Old Napa Mill..There's the new Fish Story on the river side and the ever popular locals hangout the Bounty Hunter, mooseheads and all! I've got a few stories myself from that place over the years…ha ha!

Since our hotel was closed we had to look elsewhere for lodging so now we are heading up into the valley to Yountville maybe 12 miles away, it's a lovely village that we first stayed at on our honeymoon in 1985! But before we leave Napa I want to wish a speedy recovery to one of the great areas of our country and in the world…I'm sure within a few months everything will be back to normal!  I wanted to give the town of Napa it's own story so I decided to do a Part 2 on Napa Valley, coming soon... IN VINO VERITAS…in wine there is truth….Salute!
                                                                                           THE WINE CONTESSA

MAKE SURE YOU SIT ON THE PATIO WITH YOUR BOTTLE OF WINE!

A GREAT RESTAURANT ON EVERY CORNER

                                                                                                 

PLAN YOUR NEXT TRIP NOW!!

CHEERS FROM A LITTLE SLICE OF HEAVEN!

SANTA BARBARA--The "FUNK ZONE"…ART, FOOD & WINE!!

I'D DROWN IF I SAVED ALL MY CORKS!! 

A WALK AROUND THE URBAN TRAIL

SO MUGH FUN IN THE FUNK ZONE

I'M INSTALLING ONE NEXT WEEK!!!!

Now while the rest of the country is gearing up for fall, we Californians will be enjoying a few more months of sunny and dry weather…it's the perfect time to take a day or overnight jaunt to America's Riviera, Santa Barbara! This gorgeous seaside town is flush with beautiful resorts, the historical Four Seasons Biltmore, Bacara Resort or the recently renovated El Encanto! Santa Barbara also boasts smaller chic hotels, such as the newly opened Artsy, Hotel Indigo as well as the Canary & Hotel Milo! Also a wonderful selection of mouth watering restaurants.. from the Blue Tavern to Petros, both on State Street and one of my favorites, Tre Lune in Montecito! And now let's get to what's really important the " Urbane Trail"AKA the Funk Zone….there are 23 tasting rooms which are all in walking distance of each other….if you can visit all these tasting rooms and still walk, you're a better man then me or woman! You can actually see the ocean from several blocks away so you constantly have a breeze cooling off your wine soaked body..Ha…While I didn't taste every wine in this area, try as I may, there were a few that stood out above the rest! We met the lovely Magan Eng at her place, Kunin tasting room and sampled some of their terrific wines…then took a stroll to her other spot called The Valley Project which specializes in wines from all the different AVA(American Viticulture Areas) of Santa Barbara county! A very fun & interesting atmosphere and truly informative... Showcasing each distinctive wine district from the oldest to the newest…they even feature a great Mouvedre on tap, no kidding..I 'd like to hook one of those up in my kitchen!

PLEASE TELL ME MORE ABOUT THE AVA

Great wines to be had at Pali, with single vineyard Pinot's & Chardonnay and Jaffurs, which features Rhone style wines... But my favorite was the Pinots at Riverbench tasting room….these were perfectly balanced, from start to finish! They were so good I couldn't stop drinking them!!

DECISIONS, DECISIONS…...

  THANKS TO DREW FOR KEEPING MY GLASS FULL!

 We did manage to stumble into the most amazing shop with every conceivable guitar known to man, it was absolutely wonderful….LED ZEPPELIN WHERE ARE YOU…there are many art galleries and shops to keep you busy if you if you are done drinking wine…Really, does that ever happen??

JIMMY PAIGE'S CLOSET

And as we head on out of the Funk Zone I want to wish you all a happy weekend, and remember it's 5 o'clock somewhere…..Salute!
                                                 THE WINE CONTESSA