Our morning was spent walking around downtown Napa. Which is a delightful old town - As you walk around, you feel as though you're wandering through a film. We watched the Napa Valley Wine Train go past, and stopped off at Ben & Jerry's for Elevenses (two large scoops of ice-cream at 11am isn't easy to eat).
The afternoon was all about the grape.
First up was Beringer. An old, old, old winery - it dates from the 1800s. Initial impressions were more than favourable. A stunning old building (a recreation of the Beringer's family home in Germany), lots of old, tall trees and a fair few vines.
The tour started well. Our guide Tim - a wirey, grey-haired chap with an astonishing knowledge of the wine-making process - had a little banter with me about my 'NY' cap (only worn becuase it's the only one I had). Then it was into the underground tunnels where the wines are kept at a constant, year-round 16C. We then headed to a tasting room where four tiny glasses of wine were poured. To go with the wines, we had a salty bread stick, some Swiss cheese, and a white chocolate apricot truffle. We were taught how to match wines with food (the red wine/ red meat, white wine/ white meat thing, isn't actually right - it's all about matching the wine to the taste of the food).
After the tour finished, we made a break for the car, and headed to the Mondavi winery.
If you're ever in the position for visit Napa, go to Mondavi. It's much more relaxed, open and generally 'better' than Beringer (nothing to do with me doing a good job of financing the place).
Our Mondavi guide, Robert, was a genial, funny guy with a knowledge that matched Tim's, but with a better way of expressing it. We were taken around the wine-making facilities (something that didn't happen at Beringer). The scale of the operation is mind-boggling, but without compromising the quality, taste and flavour of the wine. 400+ acres of vines, making a huge array of wines - from the affordable, to the aspirational. We got to taste some of the higher - mid-range wines (around the $50 mark) with a small, freshly baked mossarella ball, to compliment the wines.
Mondavi was by far the better of the two wineries. Not just because of the feel of the place, not because it was better value (although it was), but because they were more open and up-front about their processes. It was more 'fun' too.
We finished the day having a look at the Napa food festival that takes place every so often along the length of Main Street and some of the surrounding roads.
A (large) bottle of Mondavi was bought at a local store, along with some cable ties for the satnav (sitting in the window of the car was causing it to overheat)
Current milage: 112
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