Vacation Recap – Napa

Wednesday (10/12) we skipped the hotel breakfast, because we had bigger and better plans: brunch at the Fremont Diner in Sonoma. If you have been reading for a while, you know that this place is near and dear to my heart (and to everybody that I haven taken there so far!).

We got there around 9 a.m. and there was no line this time (woot!). It probably paid off to go there on a regular weekday. We had a delicious breakfast (Brisket Hash and Buttermilk Pancakes) and French Press coffee from the famous thermoses.

Then we headed over to Napa Valley. We had three wineries on the agenda: Artesa, V. Sattui and Swanson..

We stopped at Artesa Winery first. It’s one I had been before, which has a very modern design and is basically built into one of the Napa hills. Unfortunately, the picture of the “Struwwelpeter”, that I had seen there before (it’s from an old German children’s book), wasn’t there anymore. Bummer. We hung out there for a while, enjoyed the view from the patio and my Dad tried one of their Cabs.

Then we drove on to V. Sattui Winery. I had read some good reviews about it and it was a great place to also have a light lunch (wine with bread, cheese and deli meats). They have a huge picnic area and so we spent some time there just sitting, eating, and enjoying each other’s company.

Also, Dean and DeLuca happened to be right across the street, how very convenient, so of course we had to stop there too.

At 3 p.m. we had an appointment for a wine tasting at Swanson Vineyards. My Dad had wanted to go to this winery for a long time and the last time they were here, we stopped by, just to find out that they only do tastings by appointment. So this time, we planned in advance and I made a reservation. It was really cool. They served nuts and chocolate (with curry) with the wines and we sat outside in the garden area and enjoyed the afternoon.

Before we headed back to Sacramento, we stopped at TJ’s to buy some groceries and then we had roastbeef, remoulade and fried potatoes for dinner.

Here’s the route of our three-day trip. It was just enough time to do and see everything with enough leisure to not feel rushed at all. Highly recommend for a short trip!