We checked into the RV park and wandered into town to see what Napa village was like, and I was pretty convinced that an area famous for wine making would have lots of bars. This was sadly not the case. The place only has 2 pubs, a few restaurants and a lot of retail shops, so you can imagine our disappointment. So after a coffee and some really good garlic butter fries, we called it quits and headed back to the van for the night.
Saturday was our wine tasting day and we have booked ourselves on a limo tour of the area. The price was $99 USD compared to $89 CAD, so more expensive. We also were shocked to find out that we would have to pay for our wine tasting at each vineyard, whereas the the Kelowna tasting were complimentary. You do, however, get your fee knocked off any wine purchase you make.
The limo arrived and had another couple in there, who were on their 1st wedding anniversary. John, the husband, had surprised Cindy with the trip, but the odd thing was that Cindy doesn't really drink and has never had a hangover, so Cazzie and I both thought this was very strange. We did get on very well throughout the day and had a real laugh!
The first vineyard was the biggest of the day but was also a modern art gallery. I wasn't here for art - I was here to drink. We got our tour of the place, allowed to taste some grapes off the vine and saw the bottling area. We were then invited to view some the of modern art, which did not interest us at all, so we headed for the tasting part. This is where I sampled the beauty of decanting wine again. The server poured one glass of wine straight from the bottle and the same wine was served through a hand held decanter. The difference is so noticeable and re-enforced the fact that you MUST decant your red wine, no matter how cheap or expensive. I now have a use for the 3 decanters at home.
I also learnt here that there are several different types of soil in Napa and these areas are called appellations. The terrain can range from rich soil to hard volcanic rock and which type of soil depends on which variety of grape can be grown. There are also huge differences in temperature from the bottom of the valley to the top of the mountains. The fog that comes in from the Pacific helps keep the temperatures lower in the summer, which aids the growing of the vines. With this being the case, our next vineyard only grew Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, which is where we stopped for lunch.
The final vineyard of the day was Mumm Napa, a place that makes sparkling wine and was easily the busiest place we stopped at. It was a different type of tasting as the 4 of us were asked to take a seat and the waitress brought 6 samples of sparking wine, including one made from Pinot Noir grapes, which just didn't taste right. Whether it was all in my mind that red wine shouldn't be fizzy or cold, but I just couldn't come to terms with it. The place was lovely though and Cazzie seemed to like it!!
That final place of the day was an olive oil tasting place which had about 50 different types of olive oil to taste. I particularly enjoyed the lemon and habanero ones!
Of course I am going to compare the day in Napa against the day in Kelowna and when I take everything into consideration, Kelowna gets my vote. The vineyards are nicer, the people are friendlier and the tastings are free. My pallet is not sophisticated enough to judge which wines are better, which I suppose is the only thing that really matters, but if I were to choose between the two, Kelowna would get my vote. The nightlife in Kelowna is much better too!
The Napa photos are here.
Stuoobs
xxx
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