One of the places I was most excited for in my recent US trip was our visit to Napa Valley. This is the wine capital of the United States, and we were truly looking forward to learning about California wines and visiting the wineries. Of course, I always come prepared. I did my research in advance. From deciding to do the wine train, going on the group trip, hiring a driver, selecting what wineries to go to with the hundreds or even thousands they have, where to eat… I really went crazy!

My love for wine started when i was around 20. I never really liked it.. To me it was a bitter grape juice with a bad aftertaste and I wondered why my mom would drink wine almost every night in our Antipolo home while sitting on the porch and enjoying the evening breeze. On those mother/daughter bonding evenings, I later on decided to take a sip here and there, and it wasn’t long before on some nights she and I could finish one whole bottle.. In fact sometimes we would have one bottle each hahaha (not every night only on occasion :P). I guess it’s the spanish blood in me. Anyway wine is my thing with my mom and Napa was a destination we sure could not miss.

The original plan was just to visit 3 wineries but we ended up visiting almost 5 :) My research online recommended to take just one wine tour and then visit the winners for tasting so that’s exactly what we did. We were kinda averse to crowds and wanted to enjoy each and every step of the way with this Napa experience, so taking our pick from all the wineries, we ended up in the one that was quite highly recommended: Kenzo Estate. Kenzo is actually the name of a Japanese national who loved wine so much and because he was quite successful in his other businesses he decided to invest in his other passion and put up a winery in Napa. And let me tell you it was amazing. My mom and I, took the tour along the vineyard and with our guide teaching us the basics of the entire wine process. We got to tour the cave where they age their wines with hundreds of barrels then sat down for our wine tastings. And without any exaggeration this was one of the best wines i have ever tasted. Oh my. Even if it was a little pricey I could not help but buy some to bring home. All in all i learned alot from the entire Napa Valley experience. Not quite a wine connoisseur just yet, but eventually I hope to be =) let me continue the story with these photos…

The Kenzo Estate.

Tha cave where they store their wines to age.

This barrel was bigger than me!

The tasting room! Oh I was so excited for this part after learning so much about their wines…

We then headed to the Oxbow Market! There was so much to buy and so much good food!

They had different kinds of sprices even others i’ve never even heard before!

We ordered our steaks from here. You pick the piece and sauce and they cook it for you!

After ordering my steak I saw C Casa.Of course i also had to order… They had Zagat awards for best Mexican food in SF!

It was GLORIOUS!

Our next stop was Inglenook!

“In 1975, Francis and Eleanor purchased part of the historic Inglenook Estate, including over 1400 acres of land and founder Gustave Niebaum’s Victorian home and carriage house. Francis Ford Coppola is best known as the five-time Oscar-winning director, writer, and producer of such epic films as the Godfather  trilogy and Apocalypse Now.   As a writer, director, producer, and technological pioneer, Coppola has created a body of work that has helped to shape contemporary American cinema.  He has been making films for more than fifty years and wine for nearly forty.”

Gustave Niebaum’s Victorian home. 

The grand staircase!

The tasting room!

The garden and the vineyard! It was sooooo beautiful!

Next stop V. Sattui :)

They had an awesome selection of cheese that you could order with your wine and take it outside for picnic!

Next stop is Castello Di Amorosa. A 13th century inspired Tuscan castle!

It was such a scenic place but it was too late to tour the whole castle..

Our last stop.. Beringer!

They had a chocolate and wine tasting room!

We ended the day with the small bottle of Nightingale! It was sweet and tasted like honey :)

After visiting the wineries a recommended restaurant to go to was Ciccio. We got there at 6 and ended up eating at 8. Yup we waited… IT WAS WORTH IT!

The chef in action! Kinda reminded me of Ellen ;)

They had a very simple menu…

Wood fired sweet corn and mushrooms!

We even had a photo with the owner!

The pizza was a perfect way to end the night!!

Napa Tips:

Book your wine tours in advance and preferably in the morning so you have time to go around.

Create a route and list of wineries you want to go to.

Go on a week day cause weekends are crazy especially for walk in tasting rooms.

Have a friend drive for you or hire a driver so you can leave and visit as much wineries as you want.

When picking the wine tour make sure you know what you want. Other wine tours have more than 20 people others have 5 and take you to their vineyard by a 4×4.. There’s also an air ballon wine tour if you want to spend a little bit more.

Check the events on the day you’ll be going.. The weekend we went Colbie Callait performed in one winery…. Shhhh. We really wanted to watch but tickets were sold out already!

Hope this helps! :)