napa - day 1

sunday = napa bound! i had no idea how close it was, so the drive was pretty quick & luckily painless since the girls let me ride shotgun due to my body's general hatred for any kind of transportation/movement (damn you, motion sickness.) when we got into town, we stopped at a few visitors centers to get a lay of the land. tara has actually visited a few weeks prior, so she knew a few experienced secrets. we couldn't get into our airbnb until later, so we hit our first winery and had a fun first tasting. the napa scenery is something else - vines on vines with a backdrop of what looks like roasted grass, and every kind of plant you can think of. with how dry it is, we were all surprised how incredibly green and luscious certain areas were, aside from the vineyards themselves. we spotted some gorgeous flowers and even a few olive trees on our drive from winery to winery.

(check out the video i made with my new go pro to get a better visual of what we saw HERE)

after Raymond, we went to Markham and met our friend Kip. He was so friendly, was patient with our silliness, and in the end comped a few of our tastings (which let me tell you was generous because it majorly adds up for a swig of some alcoholic grapes.) the wines at Markham rocked - Kip went off the grid and gave us his favorites to taste, not the wines on the pre-set list. My favorite kind of wine is a dry white, especially a Sauvignon Blanc and theirs did NOT disappoint. crisp cold and totally delicious - so much so we bought two bottles to take home and enjoy later. we also had an exceptional rosé, nothing what i'm used to. it was dry but had a tinge of sweetness that was perfect. Kip also took us back where the barrels were held in a chilly room that smelled of oaky grape yumminess. He said it was a great spot for a photo, and kindly took one for us. Kip, you're the real MVP, thank you for your generosity.

After Markham we deemed dinner was in order, and Aerial and I were feeling the tastings with the heat (roughly 108 degrees) and the lack of food. We chose a highly revered restaurant with a hefty wait, and blitzed over to another small winery across the street while we waited. At that point, i only wanted sustenance so Tess & Tara did most of the tasting there, which consisted mostly of dry reds (not my favorite either.) We finally ate, and it was one of the best burgers i've ever had. We drove to the airbnb, an adorable three bedroom in a neighborhood in Napa, and settled in with a little nap and popped open the Sauv Blanc from Markham (which i could honestly drink for the rest of my days) for a few games of heads up and girl talk.

perfect end to a perfect day - or as tess fondly said all weekend, "what a day to have a day." indeed, tk.

cheers, jkro