Fall in Napa Valley

For friends who follow me on my Instagram, you knew our little family spent a couple days in Napa Valley (also known as “Wine Country,” for good reason) before Thanksgiving.  It was a great visit; those Fall colors in Napa Valley are amazing!  I have never seen such views before — I mean, amazing views everywhere, tons of them, endless and . . . words can’t even describe it all.  There are so many photos I want to share with you today, and my honest advice?  If you have the chance, go and explore for yourself.  You won’t regret it!

 

Besides a lot of stopping to gaze at amazing views, and try out hot food, we visited 3 wineries during the trip.  The first stop was Antica Napa Valley. Antica Napa Valley is located on the top of the mountain, it was a beautiful, sunny day, so you can imagine our private tour and tasting with the breathtaking mountain views of Napa Valley.

 

This private tasting took place in the beautiful home of the Antinori family itself, just a few hundred feet from the public area. The home is beautiful and intimate, exquisitely decorated with a lot of memorabilia.  And what I love about Antica Napa Valley is their 26 generations of winemaking history, over 630 years!  I think no family business can last long without the deep love of each member of the family, don’t you agree?

 

Antica Napa Valley produces three wines available in select markets across the US and abroad, and a number of limited-production wines available only at the winery.  We got to taste every type of them, and they were delicious!  Each of them reflects the Antinori’s tradition and culture, and my favorite ? —- their Pinot Noir!  That one was from the “Soprattutto” limited production, which is available only at the winery and through their “Soprattutto Wine Club.” Well worth it if you are into fine wines.  Our host, Glenn Salva, was wonderful, explaining about the wines, the amazing history of the Antinori family and its wine business, and answering all of our questions.

 

What I wore: Zara Lace Top/ Chanel Flats/ Elliatt Skirt

Our second stop was Conn Creek Winery, and it was also my second visit to them; I went on a tour there a couple months back when I was visiting the Palace Hotel in San Francisco.  Both of my visits were to experience their wine blending classes, where I got to blend a wine from different grapes according to my own taste!  I thought I might be bored at my second trip, but it turned out to be a great experience.  My first blending experience was with a group of other bloggers, which was fun and very exciting, and this time I was all alone, just me and my instructor, Jessica.  She is so sweet and nice, and patiently took me through every part of the blending class, and gave me a lot of good advice.  We chatted about life, family, like we have known each other for a long time.  At the end, I feel I am so knowledgeable about my wine-making (yes, I am confident of that!). So I told Jessica, “I can work here now . . .”  Guess what, Jessica told me that’s possible, because 12 years ago she was like me, a guest at the winery who fell in love with it and decided to change her career from a banker to a wine-taster and instructor, and she LOVES the new career!

 

So this is my advice, “If you’re not a winemaker now, you’ll want to be after Jessica teaches you to blend your own wine.”  Thank you, Conn Creek Winery – this was a fantastic way to learn about Napa Valley AVA’s.

 

What I wore:  Self Portrait Dress/ Chanel Pumps/ Chanel Bag

Then the next day we visited the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, and it started to rain lightly before we got there, a bit cold, but not too bad.  We actually love it when everything smells so fresh and clean, (and my skin feeling so much moisture, ha!).

 

Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars is famous for winning the Cabernet Sauvignon competition in the 1976 Judgment of Paris.  Quite an accomplishment for a young California winery in those days!

Their FAY Outlook and Visitor Center faces a gorgeous backdrop of historic estate vineyards and the Stag’s Leap Palisades.

 

 

The sun came out during my tasting.  If you have a chance to experience their tasting tour, don’t forget to go into the Cave tour, too,  I like to learn about their legacy, “terroir” (learned that is the French term that describes the combination of climate and soil that gives the grapes their essential, unique qualities; it is pronounced like “tare-WAH”), and winemaking philosophy.

 

There are so many beautiful and unique designs inside the cave.  Oh, gee,  oh gees, who is going to host an event in their Great Room, send me a invite, please!

 

 

Oh, if you go there, don’t forget to try the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cask 23 Cabernet Sauvignon ( it’s my favorite baby of all their wines!), and be sure to ask for my friend Kendra to be your tour and wine guide — not only is she beautiful, but also sweet and very full of wine knowledge.

 

Thank you so much for your visiting today, I hope you enjoy these pictures as much as we enjoyed taking them.  We are planning another road trip during the Christmas season (maybe becoming our family tradition?), so please stay with me.

 

Special thanks to Ste. Michelle Wine Estates and Conn Creek Winery, Antica Napa Valley, and Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars who kindly sponsored this trip.  I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions I have expressed are entirely my own.