Joni & Jason’s Sunday, June 7 Adventures

It has been a couple of days since I’ve had internet access so my posts have been stacking up. I believe I left off with Sunday.

Sunday was woke up and went to Enterprise to pick up our rental car. When I made the reservation online I had requested a luxury car and Enterprise suggested online that we would get something comparable to a Cadillac….well, lady luck was looking after us and we got a Mercedes instead! 2008 C300 – white with a wonderfully fantastic tan leather interior.

Me and our awesome rental car.

We packed up our stuff and headed to Napa Valley. Our first stop was Viader, a small winery off Deer Park Road on Howell Mountain – slightly Northeast of St. Helena, CA. Viader. It was in an beautiful location on the side of Howell Mountain with a great view. Unfortunately, I left the camera in the car (which was stuck somewhere in the valet) so we were unable to take pictures of the spectacular view.

First walked through their wine caves and tried some of their pre-release wines – those wines that are currently being aged and are not yet for sale. The 2008 non-blended Viader was one of the best young wines that I have ever tried. Then we headed up to the tasting room where they had available for tasting all their current release wines and also every wine they had in their library (basically all the releases since their first batch in 1989). The library wines were great because it was a chance to try something that you can no longer buy – a very special treat. Before we left we bought 2 bottles of the 2001 Viader (a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc).

We then hopped in our car and headed off to Joseph Phelps where we got to sample all their current release wines. First a 2007 Sauvignon Blanc that was smooth and creamy – one of the best white wines I’ve ever had. Next came a Chardonnay, a Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon that were okay but not great, nothing to write home about. Finally, we moved on to their signature Cabernet Sauvignon called Insignia, a 2005. The Insignia was a very well rounded and smooth but still full of a depth of flavor. Before we left we bought 2 bottles of the Sauvignon Blanc, 2 bottles of olive oil and we joined their wine club. We’ll be getting two bottles of Joseph Phelps wine every three months until we cancel…Yay!

The view from the Joseph Phelps tasting terrace.
Me and Jason at the Joseph Phelps Winery.

After Joseph Phelps we drove to Napa and met Holden and crew for a small social hour and then headed to the hotel to get ready for the big dinner at French Laundry. I will dedicate an entire blog entry solely to the French Laundry because it deserves its own time in the spotlight. I will just say that it was something that I will never forget and makes everything I have eaten since taste like a mud pie.

No description needed.

We got finished with French Laundry around 9:30 PM. Jason and I went back to our hotel room and changed into our swimsuits and then we both went to Holden’s hotel where we swam for 2 hours. We had the best time doing cannonballs and playing Marco Polo with the kids.After swimming we went back to the hotel and collapsed in the bed. The end.