Bottle of white, bottle of red, perhaps a bottle of rose instead

Was Billy Joel singing about scenes from an Italian restaurant.. or a Napa Valley winery?

Over the course of Valentine's Day weekend in Napa Valley, my sister and I tasted wines from a lot of bottles of white, red, and rose, but I'd have to say mostly red. Or at least the red were the ones I liked the most.

Even though it was February - the off season obviously for growing grapes - the landscape was still beautiful because of the mustard plants that grow between the vines.

 My first sip of Napa Valley wine was at Rutherford Hill, best known for its cave aging system. "Year-round, 8,000 wine-filled French and American oak barrels age in an ideal wine-storage environment of 59ºF/90 percent humidity." 

 We sipped wine as we toured the caves. Rutherford is apparently best known for its Merlots because the grape growers who founded Rutherford Hill selected climate and soil conditions in Napa Valley that closely resembled those of Pomerol, the small but distinctive Merlot-growing region of Bordeaux.

My personal favorite at Rutherford, however, was the Cabernet Franc. Mmm mm I brought a bottle home with me, in a nifty bubble wrapped wine skin in my suit case.

 

We even got to taste wine directly from the fermentation tanks.

 The best, most informative tour was at Mumm Napa. They specialize in sparkling wines.

What is sparkling wine, you may ask? Or how is that different than champagne?

Good question. In fact, it is one of the first I asked. Sparkling wines and champagne are the bubbly version of wine. They have gone through a second fermentation stage and the bubbles are from the carbon dioxide.
All champagnes are sparkling wine, but not all sparkling wines are champagne. Why? Because champagne is a name legally protected in many countries, reserved only for sparkling wines grown in the Champagne region of France.

My favorite part of Mumm was the photography exhibit: Yesterday and Today by Art Rogers. He would take photos of individuals or families in the same spot - but 10 to 30 years apart. Unique - to see the evolution of those people over time - and to celebrate the generations. An example of his work that was featured in Range Magazine is below.

One of my favorites - the circle of babies. (Sorry it is so off center and not a great shot - I wasn't sure if we were allowed to photograph the photographs.)

In case you wanted to drink too much wine and stumble into a swimming pool, you can do so at Francis Ford Coppola's winery.

 

On the winery's website, in words of the famous director, screenwriter, and producer, the winery is “a wine wonderland, a park of pleasure where people of all ages can enjoy all the best things in life – food, wine, music, dancing, games, swimming and performances of all types. A place to celebrate the love of life.” Intrigued, we went to Francis Ford Coppola's winery - but skipped the swimming in the wine wonderland.

 We browsed Coppola's memorabilia from his notable film career.

And checked out the bottling line and the chemistry room (where the scientists concoct and test delicious wines). I'm pretty sure if they taught the science of wine in chemistry class, more people would care about the periodic table. Oh wait. Ohio State does offer a beer and wine class. :D

They had such cool bottles - even one wine was "bottled" in cans. Check them all out on their website: http://www.franciscoppolawinery.com/wine.

The second day, we did a second sparkling wine tasting at Domaine Chandon... yum. 

 Then tasted a series of wines in V. Sattui's private tasting rooms for wine club members. 

And had a picnic lunch on their front lawn. One of the few wineries permitted to serve food. Apparently someone left their car keys... to their Barbie jeep.

 Also owned by Sattui was the castle winery: Castello di Amorosa.

 

I think I know how they fertilize their grape vines. :)

 

But my Napa Valley adventure wasn't just wine... more in my next entry.