3 girls, 2 days, 9 wineries, 1 chance encounter with MASAHARU MORIMOTO (details to come tomorrow! Early details – I cried.) and too many sips of vino to count, means Napa was a smashing success! :D
There’s nothing like a little girlfriend time to rejuvenate the soul – especially with these two, Natalie and Lindsey. We’ve been on several vacations together throughout the years since meeting in college, and always have a blast no matter where we go.
Send us on a wine-tasting weekend to Napa Valley, California though, and the fun really gets turned up a notch!! ;)
After visiting Cakebread Cellars on Thursday afternoon, we kicked the weekend off around 10:30 Friday morning at Mumm Napa. A sparkling wine winery!
It’s hard to imagine taking back a hearty Napa Cabernet so early in the morning, so this sparkling, “mimosa” feeling stop felt like the perfect way to start our day.
Mumm is located on a breathtaking plot of land in Rutherford, about 15 minutes north of Napa, and offers tours plus tastings, or just tastings on their gorgeous outdoor patio with killer views.
The wine tasting experience at Mumm is unusual not just because they serve sparkling wine, but also because they have table-side service on the patio, almost like a restaurant, rather than standing up at a tasting bar. We really liked that! (Please notice the soul searing stare from the gentleman in pink.)
After settling into our seats underneath the morning sun, we ordered a “house” trio of Mumm sparkling wines in 3oz pours for $18.
Our server poured, and we sipped from left to right – driest to sweetest – with a Rose in the center. I loved all three (obvi) but actually preferred the dry over the sweet, which is unusual for me!
We got to chatting with our server, and he brought out a fourth Rose for us to try – a specialty of the house. We found this to be a common event with most of the wineries we visited. The more you chat and get to know the people working at the wineries, the more they are willing (and want!) to let you try more, delicious wines. Mumm is a MUST visit in Napa – and be sure to visit their website for printable 2-for-1 coupons before you go!
We were undecided about where to go next, so our driver, Ivo (lurve), suggested we go to Peju, about 10 minutes away.
Peju is a family-run winery started by a husband and wife team, that is now run by their two daughters.
The driveway leading into the winery sits beneath a long archway of shady trees, parallel to the grape vines bordered with TONS of sunflowers. I could hardly stand it!
Peju’s tasting room is wide-open, bright and airy. We had fun chatting with the ladies up front before bellying up to the tasting bar with Jeff, our wine tasting guide.
Jeff walked us through 4 of Peju’s wine offerings, for $15 (if I’m remembering right!)
Napa is known for their red wines, but each winery we went to poured at least 1 Sauvignon Blanc to start the tastings for the white wine fans (me.) This was one of the best I had all weekend.
As I mentioned, chatting = more wine. Jeff was a GEM, and ended up giving us tastes of 8 different Peju wines, which were some of the best of all the wineries we visited.
Especially the Provence wine, which is a “white wine drinker’s red wine, and a red wine drinker’s white wine.” Delish! Even Lindsey liked it and she is a die hard red wine fan. ;)
Be sure to check out the 50 foot tower upstairs at Peju, if you go, for views like this!
After Peju we stopped off at Oakville Grocery, an adorable “gourmet” market and deli nearby, which sells hot and cold sandwiches for lunch (I had a hot chicken, bacon, and caramelized onion sandwich – TO DIE.) This was the perfect stop because it was quick and affordable.
(source)
We were going to stop at nearby Dean & Deluca, but it would have been 10x busier, plus this place was oozing Napa charm. I highly recommend!
(source)
Our third and second to last stop of the day after lunch was at Jessup Cellars in Yountville. Lindsey had heard great things about their wine and tasting room before we left, and Ivo confirmed it was a must try.
Although Jessup Cellars are not located on a vineyard, rather in the shabby-chic town of Yountville (home of French Laundry!) their tasting room is beautiful and intimate. They also have a bigger room for parties, and places to sit down and sip.
For $20, the girls and I sipped our way through 5 different wines with our tasting guide, Bay.
Bay seriously made this visit – he was so awesome, and his Dad makes yurts. ‘Nuf said.
I enjoyed the Petite Syrah best here. BTW Syrah and Shiraz are the same thing, however Petite Syrah (or Shiraz) is a different grape!
At every winery or cellar we visited, we made sure to ask our guides what their favorite wineries were. Who knows better than the locals, right? Bay circled several to visit, but we had to choose just one before our car service ran out. Regusci Winery it was!
Regusci is a big medieval castle feeling place that sits on a HUGE vineyard with views that made me want to pinch myself. Their tasting room is long and cozy, and I loved the little touches like fresh flowers in – wait for it – MASON JARS everywhere!
At this point we had been tasting wine all day and were deeply involved in girl talk (aka babbling our faces off,) so we didn’t get to talk too much to our wine tasting guide (who was busy with several other visitors – it wasn’t like we were ignoring her.)
It was a more casual vibe anyhow, so she came over to refill our glasses and fill us in on the winery’s history every 10 minutes or so. It was perfect!
We finished our last tasting on their enormous, elevated back patio. It was like a dream. I definitely recommend Regusci not only for the wine, but the atmosphere. Just beautiful.
After Recusci, Ivo whisked us home where we promptly crashed, then headed out for dinner at Uva, a chill Italian restaurant with terrific food (and half portions, which is key) and live music. Day 1 was a BLAST, and Day 2 might have been even better (see previous note re: meeting Morimoto. I can’t even…ahh!) Details to come tomorrow! :D
Happy Monday!
Liane R 01.22.2014
We also loved Mumm and Peju. Nothing like sitting outside on a nice day, tasting wine and we ended up joining Peju’s wine club. The last few times we have gone we have stayed in Sonoma. A quaint little town with and old time town square which has some tasting rooms as well. Great photos!
Melissa 01.21.2014
Hello! I have been reading your blog and taking notes for our one year anniversary trip together this May to Napa. I wanted to ask if you used the Platypus Tour everyday you were there? How long should we make out trip to Napa? Did you stay both trips at the Embassy Hotel?
We were thinking of renting a car and driving from San Diego there, but I read about not driving to the winery due to a lots of cops tracking down people. What can be another way? Biking? Ferry? Walking?
Thank you!!!! Look forward to hearing back from you.
Kristin 01.25.2014
FUN! We used Platypus for one day, and rented a town car + driver through Apex Limos for the second day. We stayed at Embassy Suites for 2 nights and The River Terrace Inn for 1 night. I would say 2 or 3 days is plenty if you’re doing wine tasting in Napa!
You are correct – they are very strict with drinking/driving, so you can rent a tour or driver, or they also have bikes that you can rent and bike from winery to winery!
Napa Vacation Home 07.18.2013
All of your pictures are amazing! It is a good tip to ask the locals what their favorite wineries are!
Friday Favorites | Iowa Girl Eats 05.24.2013
[…] today with an old friend who just had her second baby, and Saturday with two of my other besties (the Napa girls!) for a fun day in the city. Cannot. Wait. Girl time is seriously the best time. : […]
Sara 09.25.2012
Hometown pride :) my family is from Napa and currently located about half an hour away, so I loved reading this! Plus, you hit up some of my favorite places (Jessup & Uva). Hard to resist suggesting a million more places to you (Domaine Carneros, Artesa, I could go on…) but sounds like you had an excellent time!
Copycat Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli Soup | Iowa Girl Eats 09.13.2012
[…] and, despite our best efforts to avoid cross contamination, as of Monday I had officially traded wine, cheese, and sushi – for juice, Nyquil, and tissues.These are not the same.To me […]
Ashley 09.11.2012
I went out to Napa quite a few years ago for a 3 day adventure and visited Peju. Loved every minute of it!!
Laura 09.11.2012
You never mentioned (or I missed it) where you stayed…do you have a recommendation for an affordable but lovely accomodation? Have you ventured over to Yountville, or are you solely a Napa gal? Love the pics and your story…
Napa’s Must-See Dive Winery + Iron Chef Morimoto and Me | Iowa Girl Eats 09.11.2012
[…] 2 of our Napa Valley Girlfriend Getaway kicked off by getting picked up curbside at our hotel by Platypus Tours – the transportation […]
Laura F. 09.11.2012
Peju was my favorite winery in Napa when I last visited!
Rachael {SimplyFreshCooking} 09.11.2012
This trip looks SO fun!!! Napa is so gorgeous! :)
Lu 09.11.2012
There is something extra nice about sipping wine in the beautiful sunshine. I swear it tastes better when the weather is good!!
I’ve nominated you for the Versatile Blogger Award, you can find the info on my blog here http://moosenoose.com/2012/09/07/good-times/
Iowa Girl Eats 09.11.2012
Thank you so much, Lu!!
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy 09.11.2012
Beautiful photos!
Em 09.11.2012
Great post! Bay is gorgeous!
em @ simplypresent 09.10.2012
Love, love, love!
Lacey 09.10.2012
I totally wished I knew you were going to be there! I would have loved to meet you! I love MUMM. My favorite.
Stacie Gorkow @SincerelyStacie 09.10.2012
I am going to Fair Play, California on Oct 4 with 3 girlfriends. I am giddy and after reading about your trip I can not wait to go. I love wine and I love traveling and I have never been to California. Do you have any tips for us. The house we are staying in has 12 wineries around us. Four days, four gals, 12 wineries….can’t beat that!
Iowa Girl Eats 09.11.2012
You will have a BLAST! I would definitely recommend hiring a driver or going with a company like Platypus Tours (http://www.platypustours.com/) for the days you will be visiting the wineries. It’s so nice not having to worry about driving!
Stacie Gorkow @SincerelyStacie 09.11.2012
Well, we are actually within walking distance to several wineries I guess. So, I will leave my heels at home and hope I can walk straight! LOL! We are looking into maybe going to Tahoe for a day too….ever been there? Worth the drive time of 1 1/2 hrs each way?
J 02.26.2013
Did you use the tour company both days of your wine touring? I am going in July for 3 days (in napa), and wondering if two full days of tours would be too much?
Iowa Girl Eats 02.26.2013
We used Apex Limos for the first full day (described in this post.) http://www.amaxlimo.com/ It was more self-guided, though our driver suggested a couple awesome stops! I don’t think 2 days of tasting is too much, either. We thought it was just perfect!
J 02.26.2013
Thank you, I will check them out too!
RebeccaS 09.10.2012
I was in Napa in April and visited Mumm and ate at Uva. Both were fantastic, agreed!!! Glad you had such a fun girls’ trip!
Rainey 09.10.2012
This looks fantastic! I am definitely putting Napa on my “Must Visit” list. Thanks for sharing! Can’t wait to hear about the Morimoto encounter!
kim@hungryhealthygirl 09.10.2012
What beautiful pictures….I’m so jealous! Looks like the perfect girls trip! Can’t wait to see day 2.