Shortly after moving to California, I wanted to thank a friend who helped me find a position with a new company. We settled on treating Paul and his wife, Heather, along with their two children, to a dinner on the Napa Wine Train. Paul and Heather had lived in Walnut Creek years ago, then moved around a bit for Paul's career, and I met them when Paul and I were working for GE Employers Reinsurance in Overland Park, KS. Paul subsequently took a new position in California, and he and his family relocated to Napa, or more accurately, American Canyon in Napa Valley. They had never been on the Wine Train and we all thought it would be great fun.
The two kids were tucked securely away in the children's car, so the adults could have fun in the dining car without worrying about errant tater tots and spilled Kool-Aid, or whatever it is they feed children on a Wine Train.
Now, as I recall, we had some expectation of getting wine on the Wine Train, that somehow it would be included in the astonishingly exhorbitant price for a ride in what turned out to be THE DARK, and a dinner of average catering food. But no! To our everlasting and bitter surprise, the wine was extra, and that meant extra for everything from tastings in the club car to wine with dinner. And of course the prices were marked up so high one needed a limitless credit card to consider any of the bottles. We ended up getting one glass of wine each, having bought enough California wines by then to know how much profit the Wine Train was making on their wines. Paul, as always, was quite gracious as this was our treat for Heather and him, but my husband and I were quietly seething throughout the trip.
Then there was the timing of the trip. A ride on a train through one of the most beautiful regions in California - in the dark. Why the heck didn't I think to check the time of the sunset and compare it to the time of the dinner, I will never know. We were only ten minutes into the train ride when we saw a pretty sunset and then nothing but our own reflections in the darkened glass. All I can remember of the food was that it was okay - not horrible but certainly not worth the price, even including the train ride. Of course, having just found out yesterday that a trip from Sacramento to Seattle on Amtrak is $755 for two people in a private car...and 22 hours to boot...it does give me a bit of perspective about just how much railroad companies think traveling by rail is worth.
In summary, don't waste your time or money on this tourist rip-off, if it still happens to be in business when you find yourself in Napa. You'd be better off renting a limo and partying in real comfort, whether in the dark or light of day.
March 15, 2009
March 14, 2009
In the Beginning, There Was V. Sattui
In 2003, my husband Bill was contacted by a recruiter who had a Managing Consultant position available at a small construction consulting firm. When Bill came out to Sacramento to interview for the position, I came with him. I had friends whom I met while working for GE in Overland Park, KS, and these friends had moved to Napa in 2003 (or thereabouts, it's a bit hazy now!) After the interviews, we caught up with Heather and Paul and their children, and went for a drive through Napa.
One of the first places we stopped was the Oakville Market, a charming, tiny, market on Highway 29, the main road through Napa wine country. The place is a gormand's delight, nothing sold there would be found in a supermarket. The market sells everything from cheeses to bread to meats and fish, and all the condiments necessary to turn those ingredients into a heavenly meal that should be accompanied by an equally special wine. I'm not sure what we bought; my overriding memory is that Heather and Paul's oldest lost his stuffed owl in the market and we spent a good 30 minutes looking for it without success. For the boy, the day was ruined...he wasn't going to drink any wine, he didn't like the looks of the food we were buying, and his best friend was gone. It was a tragedy...for him, anyway.
Heather and Paul had a destination in mind, a destination with wines as special as all the wonderful food: V. Sattui Winery. Never heard of it? Unless you've been to Napa, you have no reason to have heard of it. The winery does not sell its wines to any distributor, you can only buy them at the winery or at their website (listed in my main page links.) The winery has charming old stone buildings and enormous, aged live oak trees, and a wonderful if small picnic area from which you can view the picturesque grounds. Unfortunately, it suffers from its exclusivity - everyone wants to stop there for a picnic, so competition for parking and picnic tables is always high. Heather and I managed to secure a table, though, by sending the kids running to the first one that opened up; the guys went into the winery to purchase wine and drinks for the kids.
Our experience was nearly ruined, though, when a winery employee approached us as we began unpacking our food. Turns out the winery has its own deli and does not allow food to be brought onto the grounds. Fortunately for me, Heather is a tall, gorgeous blonde with a sweet, innocent face, and she managed to convince the employee to let our food stay. He did ask us to hide the bags and of course we obliged. Next life, I'm coming back as a tall, gorgeous blonde instead of a nerdy, average brunette. Sigh.
Paul and Bill brought out several bottles of wine and something for the kids - couldn't say, didn't care what the kids got. We opened two bottles of wine, a Suzanne's Vineyard Cabernet is what I recall drinking that day. Full-bodied, with a wonderful smooth finish, the wine was rich with plum, dried cherry, leather and oak, and was perfectly aged. We've bought several different vintages of this wine since that day and never been disappointed.
V. Sattui was the perfect destination and a wonderful introduction to the charms of Napa, crowds and winery restrictions not withstanding. We have returned many times since then, sometimes with out-of-town guests, sometimes on our own, and it remains to this day one of our favorite wineries. Although we did not taste wines on that day, on subsequent visits we did - and were all the happier and richer for those visits.
One of the first places we stopped was the Oakville Market, a charming, tiny, market on Highway 29, the main road through Napa wine country. The place is a gormand's delight, nothing sold there would be found in a supermarket. The market sells everything from cheeses to bread to meats and fish, and all the condiments necessary to turn those ingredients into a heavenly meal that should be accompanied by an equally special wine. I'm not sure what we bought; my overriding memory is that Heather and Paul's oldest lost his stuffed owl in the market and we spent a good 30 minutes looking for it without success. For the boy, the day was ruined...he wasn't going to drink any wine, he didn't like the looks of the food we were buying, and his best friend was gone. It was a tragedy...for him, anyway.
Heather and Paul had a destination in mind, a destination with wines as special as all the wonderful food: V. Sattui Winery. Never heard of it? Unless you've been to Napa, you have no reason to have heard of it. The winery does not sell its wines to any distributor, you can only buy them at the winery or at their website (listed in my main page links.) The winery has charming old stone buildings and enormous, aged live oak trees, and a wonderful if small picnic area from which you can view the picturesque grounds. Unfortunately, it suffers from its exclusivity - everyone wants to stop there for a picnic, so competition for parking and picnic tables is always high. Heather and I managed to secure a table, though, by sending the kids running to the first one that opened up; the guys went into the winery to purchase wine and drinks for the kids.
Our experience was nearly ruined, though, when a winery employee approached us as we began unpacking our food. Turns out the winery has its own deli and does not allow food to be brought onto the grounds. Fortunately for me, Heather is a tall, gorgeous blonde with a sweet, innocent face, and she managed to convince the employee to let our food stay. He did ask us to hide the bags and of course we obliged. Next life, I'm coming back as a tall, gorgeous blonde instead of a nerdy, average brunette. Sigh.
Paul and Bill brought out several bottles of wine and something for the kids - couldn't say, didn't care what the kids got. We opened two bottles of wine, a Suzanne's Vineyard Cabernet is what I recall drinking that day. Full-bodied, with a wonderful smooth finish, the wine was rich with plum, dried cherry, leather and oak, and was perfectly aged. We've bought several different vintages of this wine since that day and never been disappointed.
V. Sattui was the perfect destination and a wonderful introduction to the charms of Napa, crowds and winery restrictions not withstanding. We have returned many times since then, sometimes with out-of-town guests, sometimes on our own, and it remains to this day one of our favorite wineries. Although we did not taste wines on that day, on subsequent visits we did - and were all the happier and richer for those visits.
Comfort and Joy
To the true lover of wines, there is nothing that equals the comfort and joy of a well-constructed, palate-pleasing wine. Now, which wines meet that criteria is the subject of much debate and often the source of many power struggles. My philosophy is simple: Life is too short to drink bad wine, and what constitutes bad wine is a matter of personal taste. (Unless the wine truly has gone bad!) I've had $7.99 bottles of wine that were quite pleasant, and $100 bottles of wine that were so-so. I am a super-taster, meaning I have more than the average number of taste buds and a sharp sense of smell. I often smell and taste things that few others can, with the exception of my father and one of my sisters, who are also super-tasters. I'm the type of person who walks into a restaurant and sniffs the air for any of the following, which are totally unacceptable to me: mold, mildew, rotting food, bad or old fish, dirty carpet/fabric, dirty dishrag (especially foul), sewage, or old grease. I get one hint of any of those, and I will not - or more correctly, cannot - eat at that place.
Although I was raised in Pennsylvania (mostly Reading and the Philadelphia metro area), I now live in California with my husband Bill, who shares my love of wine, but is not nearly as picky since he has the normal number of taste buds and will drink just about anything red. He's not much into the whites. We honeymooned in California (having met and married in New Jersey) in 1999, and dreamt of moving to this state, but never thought it would happen. Fortunately for us, Bill was recruited by a consulting firm and in 2004, we moved here. We've spent quite a bit of time in the Napa, Sonoma, Delta and Amador wine regions. We have found gifted "wine mentors" in our friends Michael and Heidi, Al, and Scotty, and they are responsible for many of the finer (read: expensive) wines we have tasted. We tend to seek out the good values - wines that are well-structured and moderate in price.
Enough about me, though. This blog is not about me. It is about my adventures, epiphanies, and long-running, torrid, turbulent affair with wine. In some cases, wine is the background for the adventure; in others, it is the adventure. I hope in this blog the reader will find inspiration, amusement, and diversion, and welcome your feedback.
Although I was raised in Pennsylvania (mostly Reading and the Philadelphia metro area), I now live in California with my husband Bill, who shares my love of wine, but is not nearly as picky since he has the normal number of taste buds and will drink just about anything red. He's not much into the whites. We honeymooned in California (having met and married in New Jersey) in 1999, and dreamt of moving to this state, but never thought it would happen. Fortunately for us, Bill was recruited by a consulting firm and in 2004, we moved here. We've spent quite a bit of time in the Napa, Sonoma, Delta and Amador wine regions. We have found gifted "wine mentors" in our friends Michael and Heidi, Al, and Scotty, and they are responsible for many of the finer (read: expensive) wines we have tasted. We tend to seek out the good values - wines that are well-structured and moderate in price.
Enough about me, though. This blog is not about me. It is about my adventures, epiphanies, and long-running, torrid, turbulent affair with wine. In some cases, wine is the background for the adventure; in others, it is the adventure. I hope in this blog the reader will find inspiration, amusement, and diversion, and welcome your feedback.
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