Oh yes! You read that correctly, I finally went to Napa Valley! I like to think I'm a wine Connoisseur, however, I had never rated Californian wines, I found them ridiculously expensive and subpar. I knew deep down that it was mostly attributed to my gap in knowledge about Napa wines, they must have some hidden gems and would like to visit the Wine Country someday to experience and learn about them first hand.
It was couple of weeks ago, when a very good friend of mine randomly called and said they would be visiting San Francisco and asked if I was willing to fly down for meeting/dinner to catch up, I was already on the West Coast anyway so I told them I have a better idea which birthed my trip to Napa. I immediately bought a ticket and booked the hotel, I didn't have to do any research as I had done the research a long time ago and saved it in my digital travel journal. All I needed to do was make reservations at the hotel and book the tour to the wine estates I wanted to visit. Also, I knew I wanted to stay in Yountville. It turned out to be a 2 night trip in Napa.
Until now, I had never been to San Francisco (SF), so i did a mini itinerary of tours I could do in a day on my way back from Napa. Talk about killing two birds with a stone! On arriving at SF, I met my friend and we rented a car, the drive from SF to Napa was approximately 2 hours. We arrived in Yountville late, being a Friday doesn't help either. I quickly had a change of clothes and we headed straight to Bouchon. I have heard so much about this restaurant, the waiters were actual professional waiters similar to what you will get in Sud de la France, I wasn't expecting anything less from a Michelin star restaurant. It didn't feel like I was in the United States. The meal was excellent and we had a bottle of one of the finest Sauvignon Blanc I have had till date. Unfortunately, it is not commercialised so I'm unable to buy it in the city. It was a long night of drinking, after all I'm in the wine country, I had just one job and this is it.
I stayed at the Hotel Yountville, an impeccable property. If I had more time, I could stay within the property and it would still be a great experience. Everything was well thought through, they even had a turndown service which I have never experienced in the US and I do stay at great hotels. I can't even fault them for anything 10/10.
On our first and only day, I had booked the wine tasting at Far Niente, a phenomenal winery in Oakville. We had other wine tasting tours but this was meant to be the major one where we learn about the process and their wine specialities. Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and had also travelled around the world, so not your regular "US and the rest of the world folks" which was quite impressive. We had a tour of the wine caves, learnt about the owners, the property and what birthed the dream of the estate. My friend and I later talked about how having an actual partner can bring some dream to fruition. Anyway, I digress. Far Niente was beautiful in every sense of the word. The only Caveat was they mainly produce Chardonnay, Carbanet Sauvignon and Dolce (the late harvest) so I did not get to try any Sauvignon Blanc. Nonetheless, the wines were paired with different type of cheese which amplified the wine tasting experience. It was such an amazing experience. In fact, I was going to subscribe to the wine club but the monthly shipping cost to my residence was outrageous so I passed on the idea. I guess I would just have to head down to Napa Valley anytime I feel like it which will give the trip more meaning. At least that's my excuse:)
When we finished at Oakville, we headed back to Yountville and had lunch at another beautiful restaurant, we had a light lunch as we had dinner plans later and i wanted to enjoy that more plus our wine tasting adventure still continued at JCB Salon. I'm one of those people that can't eat a lot when drinking so of course I prioritised the reason I was there in the first place - Wine!
I had booked dinner at RH Yountville, It was a beautiful venue, with exquisite chandeliers, indoor and outdoor gardens, I continued with my Sauvignon Blanc and ordered some Burrata, Shaved Vegetables and Dover Sole. Again, another amazing meal! We ended the day with some pictures. It was our last night so I needed to get back to my hotel, get some rest as i wanted to walk around Yountville before my friend collects me in the morning and head to SF.
I woke up super early than I anticipated, even got some work done and had some breakfast before my walk, the walk was scenic and lovely. The weather was a bit chilly but that's a summer day on the East Coast. I later packed my bag and headed to SF.
I have never explored SF before, I had one day to explore the city so when I got to the hotel, i dropped my bags and headed to the Salesforce tower, I have always wanted to see it, it is the tallest building in SF and they have a human only Park at the top which houses different plants, I think it's a brilliant idea and encourages people to have less screen time on their desk and even take walks while on work calls. If I worked in that building, I would enjoy going to the office a lot more.
Once I was done at the Salesforce tower, I went to have ramen at Ipuddo, it's the best ramen I have had since Japan, I later went to the Golden gate bridge which is one of SF landmark and rumoured to be the most photographed bridge in the world. It was raining too but I could care less. On the way back, the bus dropped me off at Union Square where I had a walk around and indulged in some retail therapy before heading to my hotel to get ready for dinner.
I booked the Waterbar restaurant for dinner, they have an upclose view of the BayBridge. I sat on the terrace, the meal was impeccable and the waiter paid every attention to detail. I later headed back to the hotel, parked my bag for my 3:00am flight.
Overall, the trip seemed short, however, it was the right amount of time I needed to de-stress. Contrary to popular opinion that SF is dangerous, I didn't view it as such, yes there were a couple of homeless people here and there but it's pretty the same in the big cities.
As for Napa Valley, what's there not to love! It was a dream and unreal. I will definitely be back when my pocket recovers from the damage I've done. There are some restaurants I would still love to experience, also, given some of the restaurants require three month booking in advance, that would give me some time to have my ducks in a row.
Until next time, I will continue to bask in Dolce Far Niente "the sweetness of doing nothing"
