9/3 Napa & Wine Tasting

I try to spend as much time as I can in Napa so I can see my son and his family.  We used to do more wine tasting, but "after kids" changes things.  However, because I had company, we went out for one day and visited a couple of wineries, so here are some photos.  Unfortunately, they don't do this very pretty valley enough justice.  

First, some pictures of downtown Napa and interesting buildings.  

This is a closeup of the figures on the building in the previous photo. 

Interesting detail on this building. 

The grapes in Napa are ready to be picked!  This was taken at the first winery we stopped at--the Laird Family Estate.

They do a lot of crushing for other wineries, but no crushing done today because it was Labor Day!

On the way out, I took photos of some other grapes. These will make white wine, but I have no idea what variety. 

And a different variety of grapes that will make red wine.

Next stop is Domaine Chandon.  This winery produces both sparking and still wine. 

They have an outdoor area where you can taste wine.  

Almost all of the wineries have terrific valley views. 

Another day, a friend and I visited St. Helena.  It is a charming small town with some nice shops and restaurants, about halfway up the valley. 

An interesting old Victorian building. So nice that the owners have not removed all the gingerbread over the years.  

After lunch and wandering around, we headed back to Napa.  As we passed V. Sattui winery, we saw they they had a big sign out announcing that they were crushing.  Unfortunately, we got there just as they were cleaning up  Would have been interesting. 

This is where we would have watched the crushing had we been there a half hour earlier!

But we did go inside and I took some photos.  

These are the solera barrels where they make Madeira.  I bought a bottle of this very strong wine intended as a desert wine.  Cost was a whopping $62, but you drink it in very small glasses, and it will keep a year uncorked because of the high alcohol and sugar content.  When I first came to Napa to visit my son, this Madeira cost about $28 a bottle.  

Not only has wine gotten much more expensive in Napa Valley, sometimes ridiculously so, but wine tasting has also gotten very expensive.  Way back in 1997, most wineries offered free tasting.  Now virtually all charge from $20 to more likely $30 for a handful of tastes! 

Some old wine pressing equipment.