We are back in Birmingham. Big sigh.
I did't have access to a computer the past few amazing wine country days. This was probably a good thing, becaus it allowed me to relax and not compulsively check emails and instead put my head back while Shane drove our convertible and absorb the sun that produces their ridiculously juicy grapes. Napa.
I think I'll do the highlights in descending order, along with photos. Thursday was the last real day of our vacation. We awoke at our charming B&B, the Old World Inn, where we had breakfast. Old World Inn Link -- Check out The Trading Spaces Room!
It's always slightly odd to have breakfast at a B&B with random people, but after a while you usually realize you have at least a few things in common, like, in this case, wine.
The B&B was cool, as were the owners, Sharon and Russ. One of their rooms was redone on "Trading Spaces," so I totally dug that.
Anyhow, after our wine-talk-infused breakfast, we drove to Mumm Napa.Link to Mumm Napa Mumm makes sparking wines, the stuff they can't call champagne because they don't live in France. Shane and I didn't care that it was technically just sparkling wine -- not in the least! Plus they had a great exhibit of Ansel Adams photos. So we saw the art and then parked ourselves in a table overlooking the vineyards, where the Napa morning clouds were dissapating, and a lovely view of green and purple was appearing.
Six flutes of faux-champagne later (it's actually quite good, especially an '88 DVX I had) we were happy.
Our next stop was Frog's Leap , which I'd read about in a "Travel + Leisure" story. We got lost on the way to the winery, which was quite fine because Stevie Wonder was playing on the radio and we were driving along the back roads of perfectly tended vineyards. That is happiness.
When we found Frog's Leap, it did not disappoint. Frog's Leap -- The Best Web Site!
The organic winery has been doing their thing for 24 years. We enjoyed the most crisp sav blanc while walking around the brightest, happiest gardens, including a lotus pond and loads of trees heavy with limes and other fruit. Shane got a hot pepper from their baskets marked "free, take one!' and I a peach.
For lunch we stopped at Oakville Grocery, which specializes in gourmet groceries. "Put A Little Wine Country In Your Day!" Nothing beats a fresh turkey and brie sandwich.
One thing I will say -- if you are fresh off seeing "Sideways," you may think when visiting wine country you'll be all picnicing and frolicing amongst the grapes. Wrong, at least in Napa. County laws actually forbit picnicing in most places!
That's OK, we enjoyed our sandwiches and cheese in peace before heading to Costentino, a small winery that makes a mean Zin. Costentino Link
Then went to Del Dotto Caves, where we took a tour of the underground caves where they age wine. The owner, Dave Del Dotto, made his money in the 80s off late-night infomercials. FTC case against Del Dotto
Strange.
Now on his winery tour the tourguides funnel large amounts of reds out of huge cave barrels. The locals call it Del Blotto, and I can attest to that. Whew.
Finished off the night at Julia's Kitchen, named for Julia Child. Link to COPIA, home of Julia's Kitchen
(The photo to the left is from their edible gardens.) Too ... much ... food....
On Wedn
esday we drove from Sonoma to Napa. I made Shane pull over in Sonoma at the Black Bear Diner to take pictures of these wooden carvings of a bear family raising the American Flag. Note the little bear saluting.
The mornings are cool in the valley, and the clouds hang low over the mountains. We arrived at the Mondavi Winery Link to Mondavi Wines at the perfect time. It was still cool when we went on our tour, which was an excellent introduction to winemaking and some of its technical aspects.
We also got to taste various grapes -- chardonnay, pinot noir, zin, in their demonstration gardens. Then it was on to our first tasting, where we met some jolly Austrians. All of the wineries are very smart because they get you to the tastings first before the gift shop. Now as anyone who has traveled with me I love all gift shops, be it Grand Canyon (Jenny) or various gas stations of the South (Stephanie). But wine gift shops are the best. There are all sorts of cool openers and books and olive oils and preserves and reserves of wine, some of which you can only get there. We of course bought into the whole thing.
Next stop was the Niebaum-Coppola Winery Link to Niebaum-Coppola Wines , as in Francis Ford. The second floor is filled with movie memorabilia, like the desk from the Godfather and his Oscars. I got a glass of the Sofia (named after his daughter) Blanc de Blanc, which was light and sparkly. We sat by the pool and watched kids play with tiny sailboats they pushed with sticks.
After that, we stopped by V. Sattui for picnic items and ate on their picnic grounds.
We drove north, passing through St. Helena on our way to Sterling Vineyards. It's amazing to drive past vineyard after vineyard with their vines lined up symmetrically. For the first time I actually thought about where wine comes from, as well as food. It doesn't just appear!
At St
erling Vineyards we took a skybucket to the top, like the kind they used to have at 
DisneyWorld. This was the only place we didn't like the wine, but we loved the ride and the views. Here's a picture of Shane doing his tribute to Bill Murray in "Lost in Translation."
"Santori: For the good times."
Had dinner that night at Pilar. It only has 13 tables. The food is all very fresh and very Napa. Link to NYT review of Pilar
Tuesday, we drove from San Francisco to Sonoma. We were going to rent a plain old car. When we got the rental car place I noticed the Mustang convertibles and said, "How amazing would it be to have a convertible in the wine country?" A few mintues later the clerk said, "Well we have a special on the convertibles today." Next thing we knew we were in a red Mustang with the top down driving north.
We stopped in Sausalito and had a great meal on the water. Then we drove to Sonoma. We made our first winery stop at Cline Cellars, the makers of Red Truck (yum).
Then we pulled over at the heart of the city center, the old Plaza. We heard 
about the local farmers' market, held each evening at sundown. Later we heard that they do this on Tuesdays to keep the tourists and wine country weekenders out.
But they couldn't keep us out of their slightly Stepford-esque lawn party. Everyone was drinking wine and eating cheese and looked super All-American. We walked toward a large group assembled to watch something. Getting closer, we realized they were racing zucchini. Yes, it was the Annual Sonoma County Farmers' Market Zucchini Races.
During this beloved ritual, Sonomans dress up fresh zucchini, putting their beloved vegetables on wheels and racing them down a steep plank (see left). Some of the more creative entries included one themed a "Charlie and The Chocolate Factory," as well as a "Crocodile Hunter." Very, very strange and entertaining.
We finished the night with dinner at a restaurant on the plaza and Nutella crepes. Yum.
Tonight we went to see my friend Charles Buchanan's opening of his first solo show at Naked Art. It was amazing! Charles uses photographic images of Birmingham icons and other visually interesting things. He started out with prints and has moved on to bigger stuff, including this very cool table creation with a scooter print. Check out more of his stuff on the Naked Art website:
