San Francisco: Part 2

I had been looking forward to this day for a long time, wine tasting in Napa! We were able to get a rental car for the day at a reasonable price so that we could drive to Sonoma & Napa. We honestly didn’t have a real plan for the day because the list of wineries is so extensive it makes it hard to select which ones to visit. Everyone will give you a different recommendation of where to visit.

The drive over was beautiful. It was raining and dreary looking when we left SF, but as we got closer to Sonoma the weather started improving. Sonoma and Napa reminded me a lot of Dundee and Yamhill, Oregon. I actually felt like I was in Oregon Wine Country and not Napa Valley. The mountains and scenery were beautiful, I felt like I was in a postcard. Most of the wineries we drove by were absolutely breathtaking. I wanted to take a gazillion pictures!

Our first stop was V. Suttui which was the winery that Kim from Nuun had recommended to us.  Several other people after Kim said that V. Suttui was also a great place to stop.  

We did the "Premium Tasting" and it was only $10 per person. We got to select 5 different wines from that, but we actually got about 7 a piece. I think that they were generous because they knew that we were going to be purchasing wine to have shipped to our home. The interesting thing about V. Suttui is that you can only taste or purchase their wine at their winery. You won't find it at restaurants or the super market. They had an awesome Cabernet Sauvignon, but I really loved their Moscato the best!

Enjoying some awesome wine at V. Suttui

The deli at V. Suttui was incredible! They have a huge assortment of specialty cheeses that I wish we could have bought. We ended up not doing the BBQ that they offered outside because we would need to wait almost 45 minutes. Instead, we got a picnic lunch from the deli and sat outside and ate. It was perfect!

Best picnic lunch ever!

After V. Suttui we went to Duckhorn the one winery that Mr. Healthy Diva wanted to visit because one of his clients had recommended it. I had never heard of them before, but was game to check it out.  We should have known that it was going to be expensive when they asked us if we had tasting reservations. We didn’t have reservations, but they were able to accommodate us. The price for tasting at Duckhorn was $30 a person. Mr. Healthy Diva was not impressed with the price, but agreed to do the tasting. If you can imagine, the wine was also very expensive so we didn't purchase any at Duckhorn. I really liked "The Discussion" which was a red blend offered at $125 a bottle. Probably the best wine taste I have ever experienced!

Duckhorn was beautiful

I could live here.....

We were given 7 wines to taste at Duckhorn

On the way out of Napa we stopped at Del Dotto, but we didn't do any tastings. At this point of the day we were thoroughly exhausted, but Del Dotto had been recommended to us so we figured we would at least check it out. 

It looked bigger online

In my opinion it is best to have a wine country map and maybe 1-3 wineries selected to visit. People in SF had told us that we would be exhausted after going through Napa and they were right! You will be exhausted after just two wineries. I was ready for a nap when we got back to our hotel at the end of the day. 

I am so thankful that I got to experience Napa Valley because it was fun and has been something I have wanted to do for a long time. I was just a little shocked at how much it resembled both Oregon & Washington wine country. My honest opinion of Napa Valley is that it is overrated, but it did make for a fun day. I am so glad that we went. I loved the scenery and seeing the beautiful wineries. It was fun to see familiar names too!

Next post will be all about Lagunitas Brewery!

If you missed San Francisco: Part 1, you can read about it HERE

--Tasha