Napa Valley California: Reviews Day One

Getting There
As we traveled up the five, we were met by magnificent landscapes, white capped mountains, and a fog that hung over the green rolling hills.  It's the things you hear about in books, and even though you are going 70 mph, it feels like everything is standing still.  One of the things I've missed so much about living in Los Angeles is the greenery - the trees, shrubs, grass.  Los Angeles grass doesn't even feel real, much like the city itself (too Hollywood).

We left at 8:30 in the morning, an hour later than I would have liked, but it's vacation, you aren't supposed to rush.  We made our way out of the city, into the desert, then into the green rolling hills.  And at 3:30 in the afternoon, we arrived at Rutherford Hill Winery.  Here's the part where I wish I could tell you about Rutherford Hill in more detail.  However, Colin and I, like most people after a 7 hour drive, got into an argument over forgetting to pack a suit coat for him.  To sum it up:

The view from Rutherford Hill

C gets angry that R forgot suit coat (R volunteered to pack so that C could make a play list for the drive, in which he drove all the way).  C and R exchanged very hurtful words.  R yelled "I'm going home!"  And started walking down the hill.  As she was contemplating how to stop the silly argument, she noticed something beautiful.

R - Come see!

R yanks C out of car and pulling him down the hillside to see the Napa Valley view. They exchanged apologies and held each other, watch the fog settle over the valley.  They discovered C's nice sweater in the suitcase, and all is well in the world.

It was just long enough of an argument that we were unable to join the tour group, though, it might have been full anyway, who knows.


Rutherford Hill Winery
We did get to do a fabulous tasting at Rutherford Hill.  And for those who have never been there, I highly recommend it.  The woman who was helping us - I wish I knew her name - was very pleasant.  After getting a two-for-one deal on tastings (talk about a lot of great wine for cheap), I freely admitted to her that we had never been to a proper wine tasting before.  She gave us a quick Wine Tasting 101 - what to look for, what to smell, how to aerate the wine, how to taste it.

The winery is located on a hillside, their picnic area outside has a great view of the valley below, and the inside of their tasting room resembles a warm, cozy cabin.  I didn't even realize at the time that they had filmed Top Chef at their winery - one of my favorite shows to watch with only a slightly guilty pleasure.  After tasting ten of their wines for only $20 - some reserves, some up to $70-80 a bottle - we decided to get the Malbec, a wine neither of us had ever tasted before.  If anyone ever finds the Malbec in stores, please do let us know.  It was probably one of my favorite wines from the trip.

We decided that since the location was so beautiful that we would like to come back.  So we signed up for a tour on New Year's Eve morning, and headed to the hotel.

Tuscany Restaurant
There are a load of bad reviews for this restaurant - and neither Colin or I could tell you why.  I had a delicious butternut squash dish and Colin had some kind of creamy, spicy shrimp noodles.  It might be because it is next to the number one rated Italian restaurant in Napa, but I still think that this place deserves a try.  They are very attentive, bringing loads of bread.  The butternut squash ravioli was floating in some amazing oil thing that was sweetened with sugar and cinnamon - who needs a good dessert dish when you have something that delicious.  There was, however, only five raviolis.  But with such a great sauce to dip bread in, I was full by the time dessert arrived!  We got their creme brulee, which was fantastic, however - a little overdone on the top.  But if you like a thick top on a creme brulee, you'd love it.  Our waitress was very nice, attentive, and we really just had a great time.

Napa Discovery Inn
This was an interesting place.  The manager's first language isn't English, but getting over that barrier wasn't too hard.  My last name is hard to spell, I admit, but it's really annoying repeating how to spell it seven times over.  He was nice enough about it.  I don't really have anything negative to say about this place - except that it's right next to a busy road.  There's nothing "special" about the Discovery Inn, no amazing history or anything that you can get at some of the more expensive hotels.  However, we were on a budget, and $60 a night didn't seem that bad.

watch the fog settle on a little grassy patch out our bathroom window at night.  That in itself was gorgeous.  The room itself is small and the rather large bathroom only had a shower, no tub.  We did receive complementary breakfast, but it was just packaged pastries.  So instead we headed out to a smaller bakery...  But that's Day Two.