Wine Country

So Saturday morning we checked out of the Westin :(, and got picked up by Nick in our fancy, gas-guzzling Armada. Kind of ironic after spending a week talking about climate change. We were joined by Becca Mazur, who got her Master's at CSU this past year and is now training to forecast with the National Weather Center in Eureka, CA. It was nice to have her on the trip.
We drove to Napa Valley and arrived right around noon. Our first stop was Flora Springs. They had very good Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Oh yeah, I am not at all a wine snob. I am not very picky with my wines, and I can't pick up on those subtle nuances that people talk about. I just like wine, mostly red. Anyway, the first place was nice and they gave us some recommendations that came in handy later. Then we went across the street to V. Sattui, which was way more crowded and not as good. The best part about it was the people we were tasting next to were hilarious. We met up with Brad, his fiance, and their friend there, but then went our separate ways. The next stop was Ballentine, which turned out to be our favorite. It was just us and the pourer and she was really friendly and answered all of our ignorant questions about wineries and vineyards. The tastings were really generous too, and we didn't have to pay for them because we all bought wine there. Chris and I each bought a Zinfindel (?), and Nick bought a $40 port (woohoo, expensive!).
We were all feeling pretty happy after that, and next went to the Frank Family vineyard. I abstained at this stop so I could drive. The next stop was very disappointing. I don't even remember the name, but it was $10 and we got 3 very meager tastes. It sucked. We checked out one more place but didn't taste, and instead decided to go find a campsite and buy some wine at a store to drink there. Anyway, most places were closing because it was about 4:30 and getting dark. Oh yeah, the valley is really pretty, with rolling hills and vineyards everywhere. It would be cool to be there in the summer, when there are actually grapes on the vine.
So we found a campsite outside of Napa and drank the wine Chris and I had bought the night before, then headed off to dinner. We all wanted wine with dinner but didn't want to pay for it, so Chris had a brilliant idea. I had brought the coffee cups from my hotel room, and their lids, so we had "coffee" and walked around Napa. Haha. We even took our "coffee" into the restaurant. Wow, that was a lot of coffee! There was a lot of vino flowing on Saturday but never really felt drunk, so it was quite nice. And my dinner was really delicious ... I had ravioli again. Yum! Camping was nice and we were all asleep by 9:30. :)
So that is about it from our trip to San Fran, we had a great time. It was a very good group and 4 was the perfect number, I think. Nick even told Chris and I that we are his favorite couple from Georgia. Haha, how sweet.