Skip to main content

Napa and Sonoma 2022

This trip was much slower-paced than our usual sojourns to wine country because we took hubby’s parents and aunt with us.  It was also March, which is the earliest we’ve ever visited.  While green, the bud break hadn’t started and the evenings were quite chilly.  We flew into Sacramento and stayed at our favorite winery, The Terraces.  

View from The Terraces in the morning.  Check out the hot air balloons!

Two of the three days were repeats for us as they are all wine clubs we have so you can find detailed reviews in some of my previous Napa and Sonoma blog posts.  They included DeLoach, Campana Ranch, Buena Vista, Raymond, Pope Valley, and The Terraces.  The three new-to-us wineries were:

Artesa is located in the Carneros region with fantastic views of the north side of the bay on a clear day and boasting of biodynamic processes.  They have some interesting varietals, and we really enjoyed our tasting.  I do want to note that since it was first thing in the morning, we chose to forego the outside patio seating area for some warmth.  If you are doing your tasting in the main salon, you will want to be prepared for having to listen hard to your host due to echoing and louder than necessary music volume. On our next visit, we look forward to a patio tasting to take in the views.


Saddleback Cellars is a neighbor to Opus One and B Cellar and, just across the hill from Screaming Eagle - without the price tag.  The winemaker, Nils Venge (ven gay), has been making wine for a long time and has consulted with many well-known wineries.  It’s super laid back, very small, and has a pretty large range of varietals, including Teroldego, Vermentino, and Tannat.  Craig was a very knowledgeable and welcoming host.


Nichelini Family - The drive isn’t for the faint of heart so I recommend starting your day there when you are fresh and alert.  Now, this place is awesome, and I think it’s a worth a visit.  Aimee, the current winemaker, is a 5th generation Nichelini and is producing some really fantastic juice.  The house is original to the property and literally right on the highway with scant parking.  The firefighters saved this historic property in the Atlas Peak fire, and when you see the aerial photograph showing the burn lines around the property, you’ll understand just how lucky they are to still be there.  They are small-production and do not keep a library so if you like it, buy it.

While we did eat a few meals at the house, we had some good food out.  Here’s where we went:

El Coqui In Santa Rosa - cute Puerto Rican cafe with trifongo on the menu (I LOVE trifongo) and peppered vinegar on the table.  Everyone enjoyed their meals.  Please be aware that parking can be tricky since they don’t have a dedicated parking lot.


Grace’s Table - the skillet corn bread with lavender honey butter - just do it!  They have a solid wine list and seasonal, farm-to-table food.  I suggest you make a reservation since it’s a very small restaurant.


La Hacienda on Old Sonoma Road - really great chips and salsa. Awesome chimichanga, huge burrito, and nice seafood dishes.  Would go back again.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Celebrity Solstice - Dawes Glacier, Alaska

If you've ever booked a cruise during the pandemic, you know how frustrating it can be.  In 2019, we booked our Alaska cruise for May 2021. Well, May 2022 was our make-up cruise for the cancelled 2021 sailing.  Better late than never, right? Dawes Glacier - Endicott Arm Pre-cruise First, I’ll hit our pre-cruise stay in Seattle.  We hailed a Lyft from the airport ($50 + tip).  You need to cross the sky bridge and go down one level until you see the green barriers.  The signage was actually great, but several escalators to get there were on the fritz.  Our Lyft dropped us at the Fairfield Inn & Suites near the Space Needle.  The hotel seems newly updated and the front desk staff were very friendly and helpful. For dinner, we took the advice of the front desk staff and visited Thomas Street Warehouse .  The prices are actually really great for downtown, and they have a cool cocktail menu.  In the morning, we grabbed breakfast tacos at Jack’s...

Celebrity Reflection - Western Caribbean

For Spring Break 2016, the hubs wanted to do a land vacation instead of a cruise so we stayed at Couples Negril for 5 days.  It was wonderful, and we got that out of our system for a while.  For a couple of years we had been talking about trying a different cruise line.  If you have followed by travels over the years, we have cruised Carnival (two weeks shy of Platinum after this year), Royal Caribbean, and Disney.  I started researching and came across Celebrity.  I had heard good things but always assumed it was out of our price range.  I was pleasantly surprised that I was quite wrong. Room We had cabin 6192, obstructed view balcony (or as they call it, veranda).  Please note that the hubs and I have only ever booked interior or oceanview, so this was our first balcony.  The obstructed view didn't bother us.  The room was spacious, and the bathroom was big (relatively speaking) as well.  At first I was worried about lack of drawer ...

Carnival Vista - Southern Caribbean

This will be a long one so feel free to skip to the stuff you care about most! We spent 8 days on Carnival's newest ship - the Vista - cruising from Miami. The Ship Inside Cabin 7309 As usual, we booked an interior on Carnival.  The major difference in the new ship layout is one few closet side and a few less drawers.  We still had plenty of space for our stuff - we typically don't take much more than we need.  No real issues with the cabin and location other than a very slow response time with the TV and flipping through options. The Food We ate in the steakhouse on the first night (Fahrenheit 555), which has been moved from one of the highest decks to Deck 5.  The layout of the restaurant was a little different than most other Carnival steakhouses, but it was still fine.  The food, as usual, was amazing and worth the upcharge. A+ 9oz filet from the steakhouse We ate at the Italian restaurant on the last night (Cucina del Capitano) and made the m...