Friday 5ive- Napa Valley Visit

Welcome to the Friday 5ive, a weekly-ish post featuring five things that caught my attention this week. There was no post last week because I was in Napa Valley for our biennial trip to wine country. We always have a great time there, with excellent food and wine. It was very hot there (like everywhere else in the country), so we spent a lot of time poolside.

1) The scenery in Napa is just beautiful, filled with mountains and vineyards and gorgeous flowers. 

Outside Clos du Val Winery

The pagoda at Chateau Montelena

The view of Opus One Winery's vineyards

2)  We had some amazing meals in Napa, including the pizza at Ciccio, which was a big hit with everyone. We always put that restaurant on our list when we are in Napa. 

At Stag's Leap Wine Cellars we partook in their Summer 2023 Cellarius Kitchen Experience, where Executive Chef Travis Westrope created a four course luncheon for us. I liked the West Coast Corn Dog, which was filled with shredded tiger prawn with a delicious plum sauce on top, and served with a plum and cucumber sunomono (a Japanese salad) on the side. 

3) The highlight of our trip is always the Del Dotto Barrels and Beasts Dinner. Their winery is so incredible, and this year we were once again able to go into their caves and taste wines directly from the barrel. The dinner was so elegant, with passed hors d'oerves (caviar on top of an everything seasoned sable with smoked sturgeon mousse, pork belly spiedinis, and lamb chops), hamachi tartare with fresh diced peaches and marcona almonds and the highlight of the meal, a Cape Cod Bay Scallop on top of the tastiest corn pudding. They had entertainment from three members of the San Francisco Opera and a DJ wrapped up the evening with a $20 song- "Sweet Caroline". It's always unforgettable (unless you drank too much of the wine-LOL).

4) On our last evening in Napa we visited Mustard's Grill, recommended to us by more than one person. Perusing the most extensive wine list we've ever seen at a restaurant, we found a Pinot Noir from a winery named LaRue. Of course we had to try it and it was wonderful. We even brought the empty bottle home.

5) When we returned home, we took a helicopter ride back to NYC from JFK airport from Blade. It was pretty cool, flying over the Statue of Liberty and it only took 10 minutes to get back to the city (when it would usually take nearly an hour in traffic). I wish they landed on the East side because it took me almost an hour to get from the West side to the East side in an Uber. But it was still pretty cool.

I hope you can stay cool in this heat. Until next time.

Friday 5ive - September 24, 2021

Welcome to the Friday 5ive, a weekly(ish) post about five things that caught my attention this week. We visited Napa last week, so this week's Friday 5ive is an all-Napa edition.

1) We had planned on taking a hot air balloon ride there, but the weather didn't cooperate for us. However, on our way to the airport to go back home, we saw this beautiful sight- balloons being blown up and some already in the air.

2)  If any of you are familiar with Thomas Keller's famous restaurant, The French Laundry, in Yountville, our hotel was nearby and we wandered through his huge garden where he grows produce for his three restaurants in town. It's beautfully laid out, we saw all kinds of lettuce, peppers, zucchini, pumpkins, and they even have chickens on site for the eggs.

3) We had a special lunch at Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, where the chef paired a wonderful four course meal with lovely wines. The most beautifully presented dish was dessert- a Bakewell tart with figs and a homemade basil gelato. It was all delicious.

4) We visited Chateau Montelena, and if anyone has seen the movie Bottleshock with Alan Rickman, you'll recognize the stunning exterior of the chateau. Our taste guide Michael gave us an interesting history of the winery, and of course we bought wine to send home. 

5) The reason we made the trip was to attend a VIP dinner at Del Dotto Vineyards, and that was so spectacular. The building is beautiful, and the last time we were there, we were able to tour the caves and taste wine right from the barrel. The food was amazing,  and they had singers from the San Francisco Opera perform during dessert. It was a magical evening.

Looking into the wine caves

It was a fabulous trip and next week, I may share more with you. In the meantime, stay safe.

This post was shared on Weekend Cooking hosted by Marg at The Intrepid Reader. You can find more Weekend Cooking posts here.

The Vineyard at Painted Moon by Susan Mallery

The Vineyard at Painted Moon by Susan Mallery

Published by Harlequin ISBN 9781488077760

Hardcover, $27.99, 400 pages

I have been interested in wineries and vineyards since a trip we made a trip to Napa Valley a few years ago, so I was intrigued by Susan Mallery's newest novel, The Vineyard at Painted Moon. 

Mackenzie is a well-respected winemaker at her husband Rhys Barcella's family vineyard, Bel Apres Winery, in Walla Walla, Washington. She met his sister Stephanie at college, and they have been best friends ever since. All four of the Barcella adult children live on the grounds of the winery, under the careful and critical eye of their mother Barbara.

Barbara freely shares her harsh opinions of her children with them- Rhys, Stephanie (divorced with two teens), Lori (who just wants her mother's respect), and Elizabeth (whom she calls Four). Elizabeth is an artist, a free spirit with a happy marriage and wonderful young children, which makes her mother crazy. Barbara adores Mackenzie and respects her work ethic and talent, and feels like Mackenzie is family.

Rhys and Mackenzie seem to be just going through the motions of a marriage. They love each other, but there is no passion there. When Rhys asks for a divorce, Mackenzie decides it's time to strike out on her own. 

This decision enrages Barbara, who sees this as a betrayal. Her family took Mackenzie in and gave her a career. Mackenzie might be willing to stay if she could own a piece of the winery, as all of Barbara's children do. She has worked hard to earn that, but Barbara refuses.

I very much enjoyed learning all about the winery business from the perspective of the vineyard owner, I haven't read many novels with that setting. The family dynamic is fascinating, combining the normal familial relationships with the business relationships. 

There were some wonderful touches- flying the "cookie flag" outside the house when someone has made fresh cookies, inviting other family members to bring their takeout containers, the personal chef who makes dinner every night for the family members and leaves lunch for the next day (I want that service), and the fact that tea towels became such a big seller in the cafe with the tourists.

Mackenzie has to face big changes and decide what she really wants out of life. Is owning a piece of a vineyard worth losing the only family she has? 

At the end of the book, Susan Mallery includes helpful information about wine pairings- what type of wine to drink with any dish, as well as a few quinoa salad recipes.

We've been doing wine-tasting Zooms, and I think that The Vineyard at Painted Moon would be a great way to combine Book Club with Wine Tasting Zooms.  If you enjoy wine and interesting family stories as I do, put The Vineyard at Painted Moon on your to-be-read list.

Thanks to Harlequin for putting me on Susan Mallery's tour.

Weekend Cooking- Napa Valley Trip- Part II- The Wineries

This post is part of Beth Fish Reads' Weekend Cooking.  If you have anything related to food, cookbook reviews, novel or non-fiction book reviews, recipes, movie reviews, etc., head over to Beth Fish Reads and add your post. Or, if you want to read food related posts, head over to read what some interesting people have to say about food.

Last week, I wrote about the food we had on our trip to Napa. This week, I cover the wineries.

The first one we visited was Frog's Leap Winery, where I took my favorite photo of the entire trip.

The view at Frog's Leap Winery

We took a tour of Frog's Leap, where we discovered that the founder and owner John Williams graduated from Cornell and interned at Taylor Winery, and opened Glenora Winery in the Finger Lakes region where we used to live, so that was pretty cool. Our tour guide Evan was knowledgable and friendly, and we enjoyed all of the wines we tasted there. I like white wine, so I was very happy here. My husband likes red better.

The vineyards

The grapes are collected in wheeled bins

They get dumped into this container

and they go up the conveyor 

Then we saw the huge barrels the wines are aged in.

The wine barrels

Our next winery was Sterling Vineyards, where we took a tram up the mountain for a self-guided tour.

The view from the tram

The views were stunning, and at Sterling you followed a path to different stations where you again tasted more wine. We liked the tour better at Frog's Leap as it was more interactive and informative.

One of my husband's friends and his wife met us at Del Dotto for a tour of their wine caves. Del Dotto looks like an Italian castle inside, and the caves were very cool. We had a VIP tour, and actually tasted wine directly from the casks where the wine was aging. You could order wine from the very barrel you tasted from; the wine would be delivered in a few months or even years, depending on how long that particular wine needed to age.

Del Dotto cave

Del Dotto was pretty spectacular, and our tour guide really knew his stuff, as did my husband's friends. They have been coming to Del Dotto for years, and have many bottles of their wine, so they gave us the scoop on what to buy. Our wine is scheduled to arrive soon, and we can't wait to invite our sons and their girlfriends over for a wine tasting party.

In front of Del Dotto

We visited a few more wineries, and after two days of that, we decided that next time we did this, we'd probably stick to just one or maybe two wineries per day and then a little sightseeing before dinner. One of our friends told us that after visiting wine country, we wouldn't want to drink wine for awhile and she was right. I needed a little break, but by the time our Del Dotto wine arrived, I'll be ready!

Weekend Cooking- The Epicurean Hotel in Tampa Florida

This post is part of Beth Fish Reads' Weekend Cooking.  If you have anything related to food, cookbook reviews, novel or non-fiction book reviews, recipes, movie reviews, etc., head over to Beth Fish Reads and add your post. Or, if you want to read food related posts, head over to read what some interesting people have to say about food.

A few weeks ago my husband and I were in Tampa, Florida and we stayed at a new boutique hotel run by Marriott called The Epicurean.

From the moment you walk into the bright lobby, you can tell that this is a place that loves their wine. The logos of wines, like you'd find on wine corks, decorate the entire wall and ceiling of the lobby.

They also have bicycles that you can borrow to ride, much like you'd find at a Napa Valley B&B.

My favorite book and movie is Gone With The Wind, and they have a cute lobby display, Gone With The Wine, made of wine scented candles.

In the corner, you can buy soaps and wine accessories found in the hotel rooms and spa.

Off of the lobby is a wonderfully appointed wine shop, where they host frequent wine tastings. (They were preparing one as we arrived.)

The rooms are all about the wine too. They have a lovely display of split bottles of wine for purchase, along with jars of olives, in addition to your standard coffee maker.

When you come off the elevator, you see this rustic cart. (That's a telephone on top of the cart for you youngsters.)

As we were leaving the next morning, the manager offered us a cold beverage that was out of this world good. It was citrus sparkling water that the chef prepared for the guests. 

The Epicurean has a little chocolate shop and a spa, as well as a lovely bar and restaurant. We wish we could have stayed there more than one night, and if we ever find ourselves back in Tampa, The Epicurean will be our home base.