Our second day in Calistoga was a long one.
Even though we live in Seattle, Doug is on East Coast time, which means that he sleeps until 7am at the latest. Our Inn Keepers, Nick and Gillian, had set out some coffee for the early risers and we got to relax and read the paper before breakfast.
Oh the Breakfast! It was sooo delicious. I seriously looked forward to breakfast each day. It was so delicious.
Our first breakfast we had some homemade granola that Gillian made along with fresh milk and yogurt, some freshly squeezed orange juice, some fruit and my favorite: cowboy potatoes with poached eggs. I usually prefer fake eggs when I eat eggs, but there are few things I love more at breakfast than a runny yoke. YUM! The eggs with the beans and potatoes in the cowboy mix were so good. I think I had thirds.
After breakfast we got ready and headed to the first winery: Chateau Montelena. Chateau Montelena was the premise (?) of the movie Bottle Shock, and in my opinion, that has gone to their heads. After going to a bunch of other wineries, I feel like they projected a “better than” attitude which I tend to roll my eyes at. The grounds are beautiful though and I would have loved to have a picnic there. The tasting was all right–a bit pricy at $20 (we split one) but we didn’t end up buying anything.
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the view from the parking lot. So much green!
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a Swan!
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a duck! He was quacking and quacking.
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the “Chateau”
Our next stop was Vincent Arroyo winery–well actually we stopped at the Old Faithful monument, saw it cost $10/ person and then left. I loved everything about it. Our “guide” or whatever looked at talked like my college roommate Amanda, we got to do lots of barrel samples, they had doggies, and good snacks, I think neither of us wanted to leave. I’m pretty sure we also spent 2 hours there. Unfortunately, since this is a small winery, a lot of their wine was sold out. Fortunately for me, I live in a building that has a concierge so Doug ordered a case of various wines to be delivered to my place. Hopefully he doesn’t break up with me by then!
After Vincent Arroyo, we headed over to Laura Zahtila. As soon as we arrived we were greeted by one of the winery dogs and I KNEW I would also love this place. Laura herself did our tasting and knew Doug’s dad by name when he mentioned that his Dad is a member of her club. I think that is what I liked about the boutique wineries–they are more personable. So since Doug is the son of a LONG TIME member, we got to try some special wines and in return we bought a bunch to bring back to Seattle.
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this is my favorite photo from the whole trip–Doug and the Dog from Laura Zahtila winery
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our loot from Laura Zahtila
After Laura Zahtila we went to Lava Vine…this is where things get a little foggy for me. I learned the hard way that going to 4 wineries, all in a row, without a meal results in me being drunk…before noon.
Things I remember:
there was a limo party/group of people there that were loud and annoying
some guy said the following to Doug: “are you are runner? I can tell by your hair”. I think that guy also said something about my legs (I was wearing a skirt), but I think I have chosen to forget that.
talking to a nice older couple from Canada
talking to the wine guy who has a red beard, played the guitar for us and also showed off his fingernails that his daughter painted for him
buying a bottle of rose (for some reason I was REALLY into rose and white wine at the tastings)
Things I don’t remember:
buying an additional $50 bottle of wine
I didn’t even realize that I bought another bottle until I found the photo below on my phone, and later the receipt in my wallet. SIGH. That wine BETTER BE GOOD.
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After Lava Vine, we had lunch. I remember we ate at the palisades deli. I kept on thinking that Doug was saying that he wanted to get a Reuben, but he was actually saying “Cuban”. He ended up ordering a fajita sandwich instead that was AMAZING. I don’t recall what I ordered, but it looks like it was something with turkey according to the photo below:
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Doug’s sandwich is on the left, mine on the right
After lunch,we stopped at the “general” store where i paid $8 for a bottle of contact solution…that I left in Calistoga (fail), and proceeded to nap. The day pretty much ended there. I woke up from my nap and we had some small plates at JoLe before heading back, drinking more of Nick’s wine and then going back to bed.
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