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| Inglenook |
A perk of living in San Francisco is being so close to Napa (& Sonoma, aka world class wine country). Drive just over an hour over the Golden Gate Bridge and you'll feel like you're on vacation. When I moved here I was pleasantly surprised how accessible and casual the wineries can be. Since there are so many (hundreds), over the last few years I have taken a pretty lassez-faire approach to trying them out, mainly relying on friends or events to go to new ones. I'm happy to report I haven't had a bad winery experience yet :)
The latest new-to-me winery I've visited is Inglenook, which is owned by Francis Ford Coppola. I first heard of it while staying in Yountville's Villagio Inn (they had a huge book of local wineries) back in March, and then in April a friend was in town and suggested we go. The Rutherford estate's rich historical legacy is maintained by Coppola, who apparently kept making movies in order to fund his winery hobby. (No judging, just admiration!) With my friends I did the full tour and tasting experience and it was one of the best tours I've done in wine country. I'd love to go back and sit in their little bistro.
I also visited V. Sattui, for probably the umpteenth time. Their picnic grounds are great for groups and I have a membership that gives access to a smaller tasting room. Sattui has a sentimental place in my heart, too, because it was one of the first wineries I visited when I moved to the Bay Area, introduced to my husband and me by one of our own wedding party members. Our family and friends also love their wine so we bought a case to give as presents this past Christmas (hence, the membership). On this most recent visit, my friends and I got to taste a cab right from the barrel ("wine futures"). I also bought a bottle of rose, which is now just waiting for me to finish my Whole30 diet.
And finally, another new adventure in wine country was having dinner at Bouchon Bistro in Yountville. My husband and I made use of a gift certificate we got for our wedding (over two years ago) ...talk about delayed gratification. Anyway, we had a fabulous meal, the service was great (our server got a kick out of us testing our French vocab on the clever mural behind us), and we got a kick out of listening to the vacationing family next to us (their youngest kid, maybe a 10 year old boy, gawked at how small his order of 1/2 lobster tail turned out). We had an early reservation, but even at the end of the day, there was a long line for Bouchon Bakery next door - another perk of being a local is having the chance to go to the bakery when it's less crowded!
