Napa Valley Trip
Jun 17th, 2007, 07:32 AM
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Napa Valley Trip
My daughter and I had the pleasure of spending a couple of days in Napa Valley the last week of May and I just had to write a review.
We stayed at Dr. Wilkinson’s in Calistoga. It is charming place and I would definitely recommend it; the rooms were very comfortable and spacious and exceptionally clean. The only thing that bothered me a bit was all of the “NO’s”. There seemed to be signs all over the place about what’s not allowed. If you smoke, don’t stay here. You are not allowed to smoke anywhere on the premises (this didn’t bother me since I’m not a smoker, just thought I’d mention it since I couldn’t help but notice the numerous signs).
After much internet research we hired Dan Dolen of Reserve Wine Tours (707-963-4868) as our driver for the day. He picked us up in his gorgeous luxury SUV and he had fresh, cool bottled water waiting for us with soft music playing. We gave Dan free reign to choose the wineries we visited based on his extensive knowledge of the area and his love of wine and we were not disappointed. We did the Modavi tour only to get a good understanding of the process and to see the lovely grounds. Dan was kind enough to also be our personal photographer for the day so we got some great pictures. After Mondavi, which was our base-line and what we compared all of the other wines to, we set out to Goosecross Cellars in Yountville. This is a very quaint, small, family-owned winery with a most exquisite Merlot. The staff was very friendly and they allowed us to taste anything in the store that we wanted to, and they didn’t charge us for the wine tasting since Dan hooked us up. All of the wine was superb; I bought a few bottles which Dan so kindly packed in the back of his truck. By now it was after 1pm and time for lunch, so Dan took us to Sunshine Foods in St. Helena to buy a picnic lunch. When we walked into Sunshine Foods our mouths dropped open in pure ecstasy. There were gourmet meats, cheeses (lots and lots of cheeses), fresh baked breads, olive oil, mustard, fish, you name it. The variety was amazing and the store was absolutely packed with shoppers. Dan disappeared, somehow he knew when to magically appear and disappear, and he let us shop at our leisure. We choose 2 delectable sandwiches, some very good cheeses and bruschetta, and set out for Dutch Henry Winery in Calistoga. Dutch Henry is another small, family-owned winery with excellent wine and a great group of people. We picked a nice picnic table and sipped different varieties of wine that Will, one of the wine makers, brought to us throughout our lunch. We tasted wine right out of the barrel, chatted with Will and the gang, tasted more wine, I of course bought a couple of bottles, then we set out for Vincent Arroyo Winery also in Calistoga. Dan made sure that we stayed very well hydrated; he always had cold, fresh water on hand, so even though we could have been we were by no means intoxicated. Vincent Arroyo Winery was my favorite, we spent a lot of time there and completely enjoyed ourselves. We tasted several different wines, my very very favorite is Bodega, a blend, the Petite Syrah is the best I have ever had, and the blend “Nameless” is quite good. We tasted several wines out of the barrels and Teddy, the store-keeper, made sure that we never had an empty glass. I just can’t say enough about the Vincent Arroyo Winery and the people, the dogs, everything was just wonderful! I regret that we didn’t get to meet Vincent since he was in Dallas, but hopefully we’ll get to meet him next trip. I bought 10 bottles of wine and Teddy was kind enough to pack them, along with the other wines I bought from the other wineries, in a shipping box and he even threw in a couple of t-shirts, which I will proudly wear.
The entire trip was absolutely wonderful, Dan was the BEST, great conversation, we were treated like royalty he was a true gentleman, he knows his business and he knows Napa Valley and you just can’t get any better service. I feel lucky to have found him. The wineries were all superb, friendly, happy, and generous, we were never charged a tasting fee at any of the wineries we visited except for Mondavi.
This is the first of many trips we plan to make to wine country; it was an experience that we won’t soon forget.
We stayed at Dr. Wilkinson’s in Calistoga. It is charming place and I would definitely recommend it; the rooms were very comfortable and spacious and exceptionally clean. The only thing that bothered me a bit was all of the “NO’s”. There seemed to be signs all over the place about what’s not allowed. If you smoke, don’t stay here. You are not allowed to smoke anywhere on the premises (this didn’t bother me since I’m not a smoker, just thought I’d mention it since I couldn’t help but notice the numerous signs).
After much internet research we hired Dan Dolen of Reserve Wine Tours (707-963-4868) as our driver for the day. He picked us up in his gorgeous luxury SUV and he had fresh, cool bottled water waiting for us with soft music playing. We gave Dan free reign to choose the wineries we visited based on his extensive knowledge of the area and his love of wine and we were not disappointed. We did the Modavi tour only to get a good understanding of the process and to see the lovely grounds. Dan was kind enough to also be our personal photographer for the day so we got some great pictures. After Mondavi, which was our base-line and what we compared all of the other wines to, we set out to Goosecross Cellars in Yountville. This is a very quaint, small, family-owned winery with a most exquisite Merlot. The staff was very friendly and they allowed us to taste anything in the store that we wanted to, and they didn’t charge us for the wine tasting since Dan hooked us up. All of the wine was superb; I bought a few bottles which Dan so kindly packed in the back of his truck. By now it was after 1pm and time for lunch, so Dan took us to Sunshine Foods in St. Helena to buy a picnic lunch. When we walked into Sunshine Foods our mouths dropped open in pure ecstasy. There were gourmet meats, cheeses (lots and lots of cheeses), fresh baked breads, olive oil, mustard, fish, you name it. The variety was amazing and the store was absolutely packed with shoppers. Dan disappeared, somehow he knew when to magically appear and disappear, and he let us shop at our leisure. We choose 2 delectable sandwiches, some very good cheeses and bruschetta, and set out for Dutch Henry Winery in Calistoga. Dutch Henry is another small, family-owned winery with excellent wine and a great group of people. We picked a nice picnic table and sipped different varieties of wine that Will, one of the wine makers, brought to us throughout our lunch. We tasted wine right out of the barrel, chatted with Will and the gang, tasted more wine, I of course bought a couple of bottles, then we set out for Vincent Arroyo Winery also in Calistoga. Dan made sure that we stayed very well hydrated; he always had cold, fresh water on hand, so even though we could have been we were by no means intoxicated. Vincent Arroyo Winery was my favorite, we spent a lot of time there and completely enjoyed ourselves. We tasted several different wines, my very very favorite is Bodega, a blend, the Petite Syrah is the best I have ever had, and the blend “Nameless” is quite good. We tasted several wines out of the barrels and Teddy, the store-keeper, made sure that we never had an empty glass. I just can’t say enough about the Vincent Arroyo Winery and the people, the dogs, everything was just wonderful! I regret that we didn’t get to meet Vincent since he was in Dallas, but hopefully we’ll get to meet him next trip. I bought 10 bottles of wine and Teddy was kind enough to pack them, along with the other wines I bought from the other wineries, in a shipping box and he even threw in a couple of t-shirts, which I will proudly wear.
The entire trip was absolutely wonderful, Dan was the BEST, great conversation, we were treated like royalty he was a true gentleman, he knows his business and he knows Napa Valley and you just can’t get any better service. I feel lucky to have found him. The wineries were all superb, friendly, happy, and generous, we were never charged a tasting fee at any of the wineries we visited except for Mondavi.
This is the first of many trips we plan to make to wine country; it was an experience that we won’t soon forget.
Jul 9th, 2007, 08:16 AM
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Glad you had fun. I bought futures at Arroyo and really loved the Petite! The dog was hysterical, too. Did you meet the doggies at Dutch Henry?
You had a short trip, but thankfully had a chance to see some wineries with character and not just the biggies. next trip, try to get to Sonoma valley for comparison!
You had a short trip, but thankfully had a chance to see some wineries with character and not just the biggies. next trip, try to get to Sonoma valley for comparison!
Jul 9th, 2007, 01:50 PM
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