Napa Valley is everything that I imagined and more...it also doesn't hurt that the weather is close to 80 with blue skies and no humidity. And everyone is in a good mood because they have a permanent buzz going on...my first stop was
Silverado Vineyards which is right on the
Silverado Trail, one of the main roads leading you to the countless vineyards. The best route to take in my opinion, more scenic and organic in feeling.
This is the view as you approach the vineyard, not too shabby.
The stairs lead you up and inside; this was one of the best ones as it sits up high.
If you go here, be sure to take your wine out to the back patio where you can take in a lot of the Valley.
Another great spot was
Mumm, for those of you who like champagne. Its owned by Pernod Ricard, the company who bought Absolut Vodka.
There are grapes that are grown on site but they are actually not used for their champagne, they belong to another vineyard. Its too warm up here, and their grapes need to be grown in a cooler area.
Got to take a tour of the winery, there are over 100 stainless barrels mixing and chilling and concocting.
The freeze.
That white robotic machine in the upper left hand corner is called 'Bob' and he is a one man show; he picks up the bottles and lays them on their sides into big crates.
The crates are then stored in these aging rooms awaiting the sediment to settle.
This is a
riddling rack, which is not just a decorative piece that some of you have in your home. It was invented by
Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, a widow (
veuve), who is most know for
Veuve Clicquot champagne and inventing this rack which positions the bottles in such a way that the sediments can be gathered and then released by systematic turning.
Napa Valley is everything that I imagined and more...it also doesn't hurt that the weather is close to 80 with blue skies and no humidity. And everyone is in a good mood because they have a permanent buzz going on...my first stop was Silverado Vineyards which is right on the Silverado Trail, one of the main roads leading you to the countless vineyards. The best route to take in my opinion, more scenic and organic in feeling.
This is the view as you approach the vineyard, not too shabby.
The stairs lead you up and inside; this was one of the best ones as it sits up high.
If you go here, be sure to take your wine out to the back patio where you can take in a lot of the Valley.
Another great spot was Mumm, for those of you who like champagne. Its owned by Pernod Ricard, the company who bought Absolut Vodka.
There are grapes that are grown on site but they are actually not used for their champagne, they belong to another vineyard. Its too warm up here, and their grapes need to be grown in a cooler area.
Got to take a tour of the winery, there are over 100 stainless barrels mixing and chilling and concocting.
The freeze.
That white robotic machine in the upper left hand corner is called 'Bob' and he is a one man show; he picks up the bottles and lays them on their sides into big crates.
The crates are then stored in these aging rooms awaiting the sediment to settle.
This is a riddling rack, which is not just a decorative piece that some of you have in your home. It was invented by Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, a widow (veuve), who is most know for Veuve Clicquot champagne and inventing this rack which positions the bottles in such a way that the sediments can be gathered and then released by systematic turning.
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