Girl's Napa Trip - July 2009...

The last week of July I went to the Napa Valley on a trip with some of my favorite girls in the whole world! Sharron Collier Carnes, my Mom's best friend and Collier's namesake, turned 60 in July and all she wanted for her birthday was a girl's trip to Napa. It was tough, but we decided to grant her her birthday wish! So on July 30th we...Sharron, Mom, Jenny, Elizabeth and myself (Brooke injured her back the night before we left and didn't get to go - we were SO sad!)...boarded a plane headed to Napa. Here is Mom's account of the trip (she is a MUCH better writer than I am, so I asked to use her trip notes...thanks for sharing Mom!)...

Wednesday, July 29:
Brooke, Sharron, Jenny and Elizabeth all arrived from San Antonio early evening. Amy’s flight was delayed and she didn’t make it in from Dallas until about 10 p.m. We all managed to eat, find beds and get at least a little sleep.

Thursday, July 30:
We were up early. Brooke had thrown her back out on Wednesday night and just couldn’t make the trip. We were very disappointed and sad about that. J came and picked her up in Austin. After a delayed flight out of Austin (almost an hour), we managed to just make our connection in Los Angeles, arriving Oakland only about 15 minutes late. We met Emily, got our baggage and headed to the rental car place. It took more than an hour to get our van, but we finally got on the road to Napa. We stopped at “In and Out Burger,” a California tradition, for a quick lunch – hamburgers “animal style!” Delicious and cheap! Lots of traffic and horrible highways (makes one really appreciate our Texas roads), but a beautiful drive up once we hit Highway 29 into Napa and on up the Napa Valley through Yountville, Oakville, Rutherford and into St. Helena. The whole valley is about 30 miles long from Napa (on the south) to Calistoga (on the north). The vineyards were beautiful along the way and the towns all quaint. The valley has done a good job of keeping big chains and signage out, which really helps maintain the original charm of the region.

We met Molly at the Scott Harvey vineyard. With the exception of Mumm, all of our winery visits were with Molly’s friends…private tastings and tours…can’t be beat! Molly’s friend, Bill, did a tasting and pairing for us. Great guy and good wine…probably the best overall that we had in my opinion. Really enjoyed our time there.

We ran by Molly’s new apartment. She’s still unpacking, but it will be cute when she’s finished and she’s so glad to be closer to work and friends.

We then headed out to our “cottage” in a redwood forest outside Calistoga…about 20 minutes from St. Helena. It was absolutely amazing! Gorgeous setting…neat house…very comfortable, beautiful and peaceful. It was a real joy to come home to each evening. The red oaks are huge…truly spectacular. They tend to grow in circles, “families,” with one in the center that dies. We saw this repeatedly in the forest. The site also had apple and pear orchards. Just all-around neat!

We went back to Rutherford and met Molly’s friend, Connor, at Rutherford Grill for dinner. The grill is the test kitchen for Houston’s and the food is delicious. We didn’t get to go out to the winery where Connor works this time…maybe next time.

Returned to the cottage and fell into bed after a very long day. Emily bunked in with Molly at her apartment Thursday and Friday nights and we all stayed together on Saturday night.

Friday, July 31:
Up early and went into the Calistoga Roastery for a quick breakfast.

We met Molly, Emily, Connor, Natalie (another Molly friend and Jenny’s, too, as they had all traveled together in Europe) at the Soda Canyon Store and made our way to Astrale e Terra (Heaven and Earth) where Natalie is working now. It was a beautiful location and we tasted three wines: 2003 Estate Merlot, which was the launch year for their Estate Wine program; 2004 Arcturus Cabernet Sauvignon, named for the 4th brightest star in the sky…a star astronomers classify as Red Supergiant; and a 2003 Syrah. She paired these with crackers and two cheeses: Langus Champagne French (good with merlot) and Monte Grappa Italian Cow’s Milk. Delicious! Afterwards, we got a barrel tasting and took a hike up Atlas Peak, the appellation for Astrale e Terra. It was a climb…not particularly good in flip flops and sandals…but fun nevertheless and worth it for the spectacular view.

Afterwards, we went to La Luna, a little Hispanic grocery with taqueria where the vineyard workers eat. Good food and nice people. We got food and went up to TheTerraces to eat lunch. Molly’s friend, Nate, works here and his girlfriend, Cindy, was there, as well. We visited and tasted some wines and got to see and taste Nate’s balsamic vinegar, which is delicious. That was a special treat. Terraces is another small winery, but with good wines and a very pretty site.

We then headed to Mumm Napa, where the head of hospitality at Quintessa had set up a trade tasting for us. Molly planned this especially for Sharron since she loves champagne. It was great to have a private tour and tasting of their seven sparkling wines called “bubbles” in the valley. Beautiful facility and setting, but then I haven’t really seen a bad set-up in Napa. We got to taste grapes right off the vine here. Some interesting quotes from Mumm:
“I drink it when I’m happy and when I’m sad, sometimes I drink it when I’m alone. When I have company, I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I am not hungry and drink it if I am; otherwise I never touch it…unless I’m thirsty.” - Madame Bollinger
“Wine is the most civilized thing in the world.” -- Ernest Hemingway
“There comes a time in every woman’s life when the only thing that helps is a glass of champagne.”---Bette Davis
“Two warm bodies and one cold bottle of champagne will produce something more wonderful than would happen without the champagne.” ---Helen Gurley Brown
“In the little moment that remains to us between the crisis and the catastrophe, we may as well drink a glass of champagne.” ---Paul Claudel
They were more than generous in their pouring…8 full glasses, plus another taste of a special bottle. Needless to say we were happy when we left…though we certainly didn’t drink all that we were poured!

Molly and Emily had gone to the Farmer’s Market early Friday morning and bought a few things for dinner. Em bought some really great Afghan food. We stopped by Sunshine Market to pick up a few other things and had a delightful dinner on the patio of the cottage. The temperatures were heavenly coming from Texas, though the evenings did get a little chilly.

Saturday, August 1:
Emily and Molly had taken the van back to St. Helena on Friday night, so they picked us up on
Saturday morning and we headed to a Farmer’s Market in Calistoga for breakfast. Beautiful
produce, good breakfast tacos and scones, neat baskets and lots more. We met Jan, a funny, neat little man that had survived cancer and was spreading the word about his “celebration of life.”

We then headed to Castello di Amorosa and a private tour with Claudette, another friend of Molly’s. It is an authentic 12th century Tuscan castle-winery built by Dario Sattui beginning in 1993. The 121,000 square foot Castello includes 107 unique rooms, 8,000 tons of hand-squared stones, 8 levels (4 below ground), 900 feet of caves, a completely hand-painted Great Hall, a drawbridge, moat, dungeon and torture chamber, a consecrated chapel, one of the most impressive wine barrel rooms in the US constructed with ancient brick Roman cross-vaulted ceilings. Castello de Amorosa has 30 acres of vineyards surrounding the castle and a private lake, which is where we ate a picnic lunch. It is an interesting story and an interesting place and the wine wasn’t too bad either.

In the afternoon, we walked around St. Helena browsing in some of the shops… most notable the
St. Helena Olive Oil Company and Woodhouse Chocolates. We also had something cold to drink
at The Big Dipper, an old soda fountain store.

We then went up to Quintessa where Molly toured us around and we met some of her friends. Then we took the Range Rover up to “The Corona,” which has a spectacular view of their vineyards and parts of the valley. We tasted three of Huneeus Vintners wines: Quintessa, Faust and Illumination. It was really first class all the way around.

A quick stop by the grocery for a few more supplies and we headed back to the cottage for another great evening.

Sunday, August 2:
Up really early to make our flights. Dropped Molly at her house, then headed to Oakland.
Drive back was much easier and we made good time. Got the van turned in and had time to
have breakfast with Emily before boarding the flights home. Sharron was feeling pretty rotten having had a “bug” all night, but she but was a trooper. All returned home tired, but safe and full of good food, good wine, good times and good memories.

Thanks, Molly, for being such a wonderful hostess!
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Check out the pics over to the right...such a fun trip!