I recently visited Napa a couple weeks ago. It was my second time and my mom's first. I had such a great time introducing her to the "Wine Disneyland" I fell in love with. We spent three days between Napa and San Francisco. On Day 1 we visited Domaine Carneros, Opus One, Cakebread, Robert Mondavi, and Silver Oak. For lunch we stopped at The Pear, skipped dinner, and had dessert at Bouchon Bakery. The Pear was okay but not my favorite place. Bouchon was amazing! The macaroons are heavenly. I died a little bit when I bit into the pistachio mac. Bouchon Bakery is a must stop. It is the famed Chef Thomas Keller's bakery and if you don't know already he's kinda like a BIG DEAL (Google The French Laundry!).
On Day 2 we had breakfast at Oxbow Public Market. We had breakfast tacos at C CASA and coffee from Ritual. Uhhhmazing! Literally don't think I could get tired of this combo. Everything in the Oxbow Market is of the highest quality and supports sustainable agriculture. C CASA serves fresh, gluten free Latin cuisine using only local, seasonal ingredients. Ritual coffee serves the most velvety soft coffee I've ever had. This stuff is not bitter at all. Their menu is very simplistic and focuses on the quality of the coffee, no artificial sweeteners needed here! It kicks Starbucks ass easily. Oh and the barista's are so friendly and sweet and do a damn good job. Getting back to the wine here...we started our day off at Joseph Phelps and we had an amazing tasting. Our wine educator was so sweet and knowledgeable. It was such a pleasurable experience; everything from the scenery to the wines were beautiful. We took home a bottle of their 2012 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir and 2012 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay. The remainder of our lineup consisted of Rombauer, Failla, Chateau Montelena, and Sterling. I really enjoyed visiting Chateau Montelena. Their history is so rich and they really are iconic and a status symbol for what California wines can be. Our wine educator Kevin was very engaging and the property was gorgeous. We had to take a bottle of their Chardonnay home for keep sakes. For dinner we met up with my old college roomie and her grandma at ZuZu. We all ordered different tapas and shared so we could all try different items on their menu. Everything was great! My favorites were the spaghetti squash and the chicken croquetas.This place is always busy so I recommend going in earlier in the evening to avoid the wait.
On Day 3 we checked out some of the shops in the oxbow district and by shops I mean bakeries...My mom is super into baking so we had to try something from each place. She bought some treats at Model Bakery and I got this cookie because it was just so cute!
Here are my Favs from this trip:
Favorite Dining Experience: Oxbow Market
Best Winery for Wines: Joseph Phelps
Most Beautiful Grounds: Chateau Montelena and Domaine Carneros
Best Sweet Spot: Bouchon Bakery
