The Wine Contessa: 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