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 California 2001 - Part Two

Saturday, 18 August, 2001 - Napa/Sonoma
We met for breakfast in the breakfast room - Sparky was restocking the muffins, bagels and coffee. We asked him what the difference was between a Holiday Inn and a Holiday Inn Express. He said the regular HI has more suites, a restaurant and room service. Good to know.

After breakfast we got in the cars - sticking with the boys in one, girls in the other assignment - and took off for Napa again. There is a road that crosses over the mountains between the valleys but I wasn't quite sure how to get there, so we took the southern route.

Kathy had made the excellent suggestion of taking a champagne tour, so we stopped at Domaine Chandon just outside of Napa on Highway 29. We had a really good tour and then split a bottle of Blanc de Noir with some herbed cream cheese and bread on the beautiful patio. Could have stayed there all day...

The Girls at Domain Chandon - KLM Photo

Domain Chandon Patio - KMB Photo

Chandon Grapes - KMB Photo

Kathy & Marc at Domain Chandon - KLM Photo

...but on to lunch! We stopped at V. Sattui again, and this time we shopped at their picnic store. The food was actually better and cheaper than Dean and Deluca's. The boys each had grilled sausage sandwiches and Kathy had a fabulous tri-tip sandwich and we all ate cheese, pate, fruit and bread. We had also bought a magnum of Blanc de Noir at Chandon - something festive about a big bottle - and we shared that with lunch. Very nice.

John and I went off to check out a Wine Hardware store that we both envisioned having wine cellar equipment and fittings and such, but it was pretty lame. We joined the others at Niebaum-Coppola and were going to take a tour, but it was a historical tour of the winery, rather than the wine-making process, so we went to the tasting room instead. They had a lovely wine/gourmet/accessories shop, and several tasting bars, so we loitered there for a while, refilling our tasting glasses several times. Key phrase: "I'm ready for the Cabernet."

Jennifer's friend, Beth, and her husband Dan were visiting San Fran from the Seattle area, so they got a babysitter for the afternoon and came up to meet us. We all drove down Highway 29 to the Robert Mondavi Winery and talked our way onto the 4:00 tour. It was nicely done, although Kurt the guide was a bit odd. We sampled several wines sitting in a little courtyard afterwards.

Robert Mondavi Winery - KLM Photo

Robert Mondavi Winery - KMB Photo

Robert Mondavi Winery - KMB Photo

Robert Mondavi Winery - KLM Photo

Robert Mondavi Winery - KMB Photo

Robert Mondavi Winery - KMB Photo

Robert Mondavi Winery - KMB Photo

Beth and Dan have a black Austin-Healey convertible and Marc got to ride with Dan to our next stop. We went to a restaurant called Brix just down the road, and were lucky enough that they had a table available on the patio - it was lovely. They have a marvelous vegetable and herb garden just behind the restaurant. The food was superb - spring rolls, calamari, sashimi, steaks, tuna, gnocchi, sea bass - washed down with Cakebread Sauvignon Blanc and Markham Cabernet. A really super meal and a fun time. We said goodbye to Beth and Dan and headed back to Santa Rosa. We were all pretty tired, so we hit the hay as soon as we got back.

Yet Another Picture of the World's Most Photogenic Couple - KLM Photo

Marc & Dan - KMB Photo

Austin Healey - KLM Photo

Brix Garden - KMB Photo

Brix Garden - KMB Photo

Brix Patio - KMB Photo

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