St Helena

 

We've driven through St Helena many times but have never stopped to look around.  It is usually pretty busy but since this was the Monday before Thanksgiving, the town was relatively quiet.

They were busy putting up their holiday decorations including - of course! - a wine barrel tree.

Very picturesque buildings fill the town.

It was lunchtime so we looked for a place to eat...this looked good!

And it was!  Now I'm not one for taking photos of my food, but I made an exception in this case.  The after-meal desert was fabulous!

In case you're interested, their menu...

Hall Winery

This was our second trip to Hall Winery just south of St Helena and we truly enjoyed it - again!

In addition to great wines, guests get to enjoy great views, great architecture, and great sculptures around the building.  It is a must visit in our book.

Girard Winery

 

This was our first trip to Girard Winery.  It was a quiet day - a Tuesday two days before Thanksgiving.

They sat us on a comfortable couch and brought the samples to us.  Sooo relaxing!

A view into the main tasting area.

Girard has a great selection of whites in addition to great reds.   They truly have something for everyone!

Trefethen Vineyards

 

We finally had the chance to visit one of the last family owned wineries in Napa Valley - Trefethen Vineyards.

The interior is quite soothing and pleasurable for wine tasting.

In 1979,  the Trefethen Chardonnay helped put Napa Valley on the map by winning a Gold award at the World Wine Olympics in Paris, France.

This upset some of the French so much that they requested a rematch in 1980 - and the Trefethen Chardonnay won again!

Here is a copy of the letter French wine make Robert-J. Drouhin wrote requesting the rematch.

Castillo de Amorosa 2024

 

Bright and early on a Wednesday morning, we took Lucy to Castillo de Amorosa - her first trip to a winery in Napa Valley.

The hillsides in the crisp morning air made a great backdrop for a few photos.

The tour started in The Chapel.  Lucy sat for a moment to take it all in.

One can look at this wall for a long time and still find new details.

Facing the altar.

A mural.

Next we visited the Great Hall.

The ceiling is my favorite feature in the Great Hall.

Two comfy chairs available!

The walls are adorned with midevial scenes.

The back wall.

From there, we went to a turret.

Let's start making our way into the underground tunnels!

There are several layers of tunnels, most stacked with wine barrels.

Our guide explaining the process.

A photo op!

In the Torture Chamber, there is a spiked chair for those brave enough to use.

My wife gingerly gave it a go.

On to the tasting room!

When we bought tickets, we checked the box to get chocolates to sample with their red wines - highly recommended!

Opus One

 

Bright and early one rainy fall morning, we decided to make our first visit to Opus One, a high end winery in Napa Valley.  That's not us with the umbrella, it just made for a very nice photo as they walked towards the winery.

Here is my wife hustling towards the entrance as the upper crust in the background get curbside dropoff.

Looking to the right we see the winery itself.  Built in the 1970s, they are planning a modernization starting with the landscaping as shown in this artist's rendering.

The clouds and mist added to the mystique in this photo of my wife.

Ready?  One last look before we turn around and head for the entrance.

There it is.  The main doors!

A photo of yours truly.

The view from the table where our tasting were waiting for us.

There were three tastings each.  My wife reviews the description of the vintages we would be sampling.  Note to buy any of of the bottles is $500 and up.  As I said, it is a high end winery.

They took us down to the barrel room for a look around.

Back outside the front doors after the tasting.

Our rental car this trip - a Challenger R/T.  I really loved it and didn't want to give it back!