NAPA VALLEY…PART 2….THE CHARM AND BEAUTY OF YOUNTVILLE AND BEYOND!!

THE EARLY  MORNING FOG IN YOUNTVILLE JUST BEFORE THE HARVEST

MICHAEL CHIARELLO'S PLACE

Welcome back to the second half of my Napa story..been out of commission with a kitchen makeover, so please pardon my dust!! As I said in my last post we moved on up the road from the town of Napa to the town of Yountville! Now this is a Disneyesque little hamlet that is perfectly situated in the valley.. I have watched over the last 30 years as this area has blossomed into an absolutely beautiful place, complete with celebrity-chef restaurants, elegant hotels, wine tasting rooms and lovely shops! We stayed at the very cool North Block Hotel, and I must say they couldn't have been more accommodating.. since we had to change hotels at the last minute, they were able to find a nice room for us and even threw in a wonderful breakfast each day on the house! The North Block houses the ever popular 'Italian" restaurant Redd Wood which has amazing food, wood burning oven Pizza and a fantastic staff plus it's reasonably priced! Now I was up there celebrating my anniversary with my husband as we've done so many times over the years, the first time being our honeymoon in 1985….we would take an early morning walk, with just a little fog caressing the grapes, getting them ready to harvest!  Walking by Thomas Keller's French Laundry and his amazing fresh herb and vegetable gardens across the street from his world renown  restaurant was a pleasure…On one night we headed to Michael Chiurello's Bottega restaurant, just wonderful and we had so much fun with the staff and some of the guests…nothing like great wine to loosen people up!

THOMAS KELLER'S AMAZING ORGANIC GARDENS….

THE ONE AND ONLY "FRENCH LAUNDRY"

Well now after all this great dining we must talk about what else, great WINE…One of my new favorites is HALL Winery, their Cab's are absolutely, positively some of the best I've ever had! They have an amazing new tasting room that's part art gallery, with beautiful outdoor sculptures as well as landscaping...

I want to give a shout out to Paul Dugoni@ HALL for his expertise! 

THE WINE CONTESSA HARD AT WORK

I quickly joined their wine club for fear of losing out…Talk about a hundred bottles of wine in the wall!

Now actually there's so much great wine in Napa that we chose to go to some of the tried and true with a few new ones thrown in for measure… Some of my personal favorites are Caymus, Miner, Silver Oak among others…the wines coming from the AVA'S of Oakville, Rutherford & Stags Leap districts are pretty amazing, especially the Cabs...  And don't forget to enjoy a picnic with wonderful provisions from Oakville Grocery or Dean & DeLuca both located on Highway 29…There are a number of great hotels and restaurants too,  for all tastes and price ranges. The Villagio is a lovely, Tuscan style hotel,  and the edgy modern Bardessono hotel, both are in the heart of Yountville! Now as we head up to St. Helena on Highway 29, we are passing beautiful vineyards and a canopy of oak trees that shade our way into the charming town…

IF I DRINK THIS WINE WILL IT MAKE ME A GIANT RABBIT...

A FEAST FOR THE EYES AT HALL WINERY, ME & MY CAMEL!

THE LOVELY TOWN OF ST. HELENA

St. Helena features great places to stay as well as wonderful eateries, there's my old personal favorite for years , Tra Vigne for Italian and Terra for California-Pacific rim…Now if you really want to indulge yourself stay at the fabulous and $$$$ Auberge du Soleil or the 5 star Meadowood Inn! I must say that no matter where you go in this lovely part of the Napa valley you are sure to have a fabulous and exciting time…wineries up in this part of town include, Provenance, Frank Family, Duckhorn & V.Sattui …Enjoy!

THE AMAZING WINES OF CAYMUS….

AN OLDIE BUT GOODY, MUSTARD'S HAS BEEN IN NAPA FOR AT LEAST 35 YEARS

I'M TAKING THIS HOME BECAUSE I'M FOREVER LOSING MY CORKSCREW!

WOW, FROM GRAPE TO GLASS

Well, I want to say at the end of my journey, there's still no place like Napa Valley, after all it was the original wine country in the U.S.! Often imitated but never duplicated……Until next time, do you know where your wine glass is??

                                                                                           SALUTE,  THE WINE CONTESSA