After arriving at SFO and picking up the fancy rental car--hello Buick!--we caravaned (following a beast....a 1987 Volkswagon Vanagon....to Napa to our hotel, the River Terrace Inn. Meghan, a CA native, took us on a scenic road tour through the Fisherman's Wharf area and across the Golden Gate Bridge.
The River Terrace Inn was across the street from the "downtown" Napa area, and when we got there, we found a care package from Natalie's parents waiting for us!
After we had a celebratory toast with cheap wine in the hotel room, we headed into downtown Napa to do as many tastings as we could before the tasting rooms shut down. The town closes down earlier than you'd expect!
Don't worry, we didn't let the inherent class of the Napa area rub off on us....
The second day, we went to several wineries and generally enjoyed exploring the area and taking in the views...and of course, drinking vino and bubbly!
In the above picture, I learned an important lesson: tiny quantities of 2000 Mumm Napa DVX Brut champagne....
....go right to my head!
Too bad I was the designated driver! The good news is, there were other ladies who did not discover a similar champagne to drunkeness ratio, so we didn't have to miss the tour of the wine caves OR wreck the rental car :)
Napa Trivia
Oak barrels are only used for 15-20 months before they are discarded? The "toasting" on the inside loses its tasty goodness.
Since I'm still jet-lagged, that's all she wrote!
