dia dos

sunday morning came with the sun shining but the weather much colder. after a brisk run to the north end of calistoga and back, we enjoyed the continental breakfast at d'amici. this is a great way to save a little $. the hotel provides fruit, bagels, scones, juice, coffee, etc. each morning. our first stop of the morning was the frank family vineyards. i really enjoyed both the pinot noir and the zinfandel here. the zinfandel was like fresh jam. excellent. we had an early lunch at the rutherford grill and then we headed to the silverado vineyards. this is where we said our goodbyes to the rest of the family. there were two more stops on our trip. the first was a place called dutch henry. this is a very small vineyard with a production of only about 6000. we purchased their 2004 argos wine which is a bordeaux blend style (definitely saved for a special occasion). our last winery to visit was cuvaison toward the north end and very near to calistoga. some great wine here and we purchased an s block chardonnay (we better have some more special occasions)! fully sated on wine, we returned to the hotel and then headed to the golden haven spa for a mudbath. ive never had a mudbath before and im not sure i will ever do so again. nevertheless it was an interesting experience. i will admit that the mud was very comfortable to lay in, but there's just something about laying in the mud. however, if you are into the spa experience, this is an unpretentious and relaxing place to go. you won't be disappointed by the experience.

where to begin?

day 1:
in his book, the accidental connoisseur, lawrence osborne explores the idea of taste and whether this is a measure that can be quantified. and while i cannot say one way or another i do feel that my own personal taste in terms of wine grew exponentially during our trip to napa. that's not to say that this was the purpose of the trip, but rather an extra benefit. so where to begin? we stayed in calistoga which was perfectly suited to our state of mind. calistoga is a very small and relaxed town with a diverse population. i went for a run each morning that we were there and i enjoyed being able to run from one end of town to the other. there was a definite mix of lifestyles ranging from opulent to bohemian. all in all very cool. we stayed at the hotel d'amici which i highly recommend. it sits above the flatiron grill on lincoln (the main strip) and is connected with the rutherford grove vineyard; free bottle of wine waiting in the room and a free tasting at the vineyard. my brother and his wife are the family experts on napa and so they served as our guides on the trip. what a great job they did! so, along with my parents, the six of us, set off to explore some of the vineyards and wineries. here are the details:
st. supery- since my brother and his wife are club members, we got a free tour and barrel tasting. it was cool to see the process of making wine from start to finish. i was surprised to find that my favorite wine on this visit was the merlot.
next was rutherford grove. the sangiovese was fantastic, as was the zinfandel. we followed that up with a picnic lunch and then we went to grgich hills. i can't say that the tasting room was my favorite as it was quite crowded, but i did find an excellent chardonnay. our last tasting stop was praeger winery and port works. this was the other big surprise as i've never really appreciated port. it wound up being one of my favorite tastings of the trip. we joined their club and i look forward to some port selections headed our way next week. the day finished with a trip to the culinary institute's greystone restaurant. i had a big eyed tuna prepared in the nicoise style (more of a summer dish considering the rain). the big hit of the evening was the sunchoke soup, served like a shot. this was delicious. i have to say it was a great first day in napa valley. more about the trip in the next posting.

vacation. . . soon!

tonight i feel like i often do at the end of the week. work has been exhausting and while it won't get easier, it is nice to be looking at a week off and some time in napa. first trip should be a lot of fun and a great way to start our time off. two wines to tell you about:
1) 2007 cara mia pinot noir- i've not found one that i like better for the price. well balanced with many different flavors ranging from pepper to smoked meat to choke cherries; but nothing is too overbearing.
2) 2007 la vis dipinti pinot grigio- this will be a great summer wine with a hint of tangerine. light and crisp the way a pinot grigio should be.

the good, the bad & the . . .

the good . . .
1) 2 weeks from today in napa! never been to wine country before. i hope glasses will be provided.
2) finished the spring run-off 10k in 50:45. not bad for my first race in a while. i will be paying dearly for it tomorrow however.
3) grilled pizza this evening. im going to finish my budini cab sav with it. unless of course i finish that before.

the bad . . .
1) the feeling you get when you wake up from a nap. it feels like someone threw me down a flight of stairs.
2) the economy.
3) people who smoke while driving and throw their cigarette butts out their car window.

& the . . .
1) the other morning i was thinking about how quickly my daughter is growing up. it made me realize how precious these days are. i need to stop and enjoy our time.

im back baby!

this afternoon. 60 degrees. very light wind. managed 3.75 miles and felt really good. way better than i expected. my pace was about 8:40 per mile. it feels good to be exercising again. got to fight the gut before my 20 year reunion this summer. dinner this evening was grilled salmon with a nice white wine palazonne dubini blanco. hints of lemon.