Napa Winery Experience

As I mentioned in my last blog, Dick and I love the Napa Valley. It is a very special place, catering to all of your senses. For people who love to eat, there are gastronomically fantastic restaurants. For people who love to pamper their bodies as well as their bellies, there are incredible spas. For people who love breathtaking scenery and clear, starry nights, there are those magical vistas. And lest we not forget the foremost reason to come to the Napa Valley…there is the opportunity to drink amazing wine.

Dick has been collecting wine for many years and has quite an extensive wine cellar. He even acts as a wine consultant to private wine collectors and a number of restaurants in Southern California. He devours magazines, books, and newspapers catering to the wine trade and afficianados. Best of all, he has an ecclectic palate, and loves try local wines. Wherever we travel in the entire world, he will order the local brew…and love the experience. Anyone can order a major bottle of French wine, but the most fun is to sample what they make, be it in South Africa, Australia, Chile, or even a Kuala Lumpur. It definitely makes a dinner more exciting. Although, I must confess, that given our "druthers"….we are particularly partial to a cabernet from the Napa Valley.

Having said that, we were able to squeeze two days into our hectic schedule last week, and we headed north to California's great wine country. It was raining in the Napa Valley when we arrived. That is good for the drought, but bad for the tourists. Actually, Napa has had enough rain, after being hard hit with it two weeks ago and halting the harvesting of some of the grapes. Now the vintners are looking for some warm weather and light winds to dry the remaining grapes in order to increase their sugar content. All things considered, this year should be a stellar year for their wines. 


We began a wonderful day-trip wine tour at 9am when our driver, Lance, from Viviani, Inc. picked us up and took us to our first appointment...the home of Mike and Jean Lamborn, the owners of Lamborn Family Vineyards. The Lamborns live on Howell Mountain, along with their adorable English Mastiff dog, and make delicious zinfandels and cabernets. It was a bit early (9:30am) to start tasting (though that didn't stop us). We had a delightful visit with a wonderful couple. As Lance said, "If you become friends with winery owners, you will like their wine." Wine drinking is a social activity, and liking the people is a great factor. This was a statement that held true all day. By the way, for all you oenophiles, Heidi Barrett of Screaming Eagle, O"Shaunnessey and Paradigm fame helped Mike and Jean with their wine.



From there, we went to Fleury Winery, where Brian Fleury's son, Eric, had us sample their wines. What am amazing place this winery was!! The art in the building was done by son Eric who is a wonderful artist, and the jewellry was done by mom Claudia. The space itself, with four tasting areas divided by tent-like structures, was just incredible. Everything is done to the 9's....including the etched bottles of their "F"in' Red wine to the piano lacquer presentation boxes they have for gifts. I always look at the items a winery has for sale, and I can only tell you the design of their shirts, hats, and other gifts are all amazing. Didn't see anything like them in all of the valley. OAKLEY has done the shirts, and they are amazing...not the typical "Got Wine?" shirts.
The wines themselves are extraordinary. They make about 12 different kinds and we loved all of them. The pricing went from $50-$175 a bottle., but drinking any of them is a real experience.



From Fleury we went to Tournesol Vineyards in the City of Napa. This winery looks like something straight ot of Chianti in Tuscany, and I can say this with great conviction, having just been there a month ago. Even with the rain, it was a glorious sight. We were met by DJ Warner, their head of marketing. He took us into the tasting area, which not only had beautiful racks of wine, but a 1958 Volkswagen 22-window bus and a 1964 porsche roadster. Guess we know what the owners enjoy other than wine!


DJ had a lovely lunch set out for us, and we proceeded to drink some exceptional Tournesol cabernet and bordeaux-like wines. As it turns out, DJ and his wife are also making a wine under the label " Keplinger". They are making four different Rhone wines in the Spanish mode, and we tried those as well. What fun to taste such a lovely example from so small a production (less than 500 cases). We enjoyed the conversation about how the concept came about...all the way thru the labeling and the first harvest.

Wine making is indeed a labor of love. And we all think it is so romantic. Well, it is all of that....mixed in with a LOT of HARD WORK. And you are constantly being challenged by the weather. Like today....which kept getting worse.



From Tournesol we went to Caldwell Winery to meet with the owners, John and Joy Caldwell. What a FABULOUS couple they are. They built the caves in which their winery is located in the year 2000. They produce what they have named a Platinum, Gold and a Silver wine, in addition to their Varietal Collection and an every day wine called Rocket Science. They are all exquisite....as is their winery. And, can you imagine, when the weather gets too funky, John HEATS his caves to the tune of $2000 a month just to keep the wines at a good temperature to do what they need to do in the vats. Joy has bought special glasses (Eisch) to taste their wines, and used an aeriator called a Vino..... to "open up" the wine. She swears by both, but says that some people cannot tell the difference. Most women tell better than men, she says, and they tend to like the softer taste of wine in the Eisch glass that has been aeriated! John just rolls his eyes, and pours more wine. Regardless, their wines are just magic, and if you ever get a chance to come to the Valley, make an appointment to visit with these people.




Our last stop of the day was at Andretti, as in Mario Andretti. It is a lovely spot, and his wines are very approachable and nice. By the end of the day, however, it was the "end of the Day"...and, sadly, we missed Mario.

What a joy it was to have Lance drive us to all these places that we NEVER would have seen, or found, for that matter.
 Our hats off to Linda Viviani. She is the consummate professional and no request is too much for her. She can arrange for private cars, trains, and planes. She will take one person or 50….and all with the professionalism that one can expect. Her list of "special people in the Valley" is staggering, and all you need to tell her is what you like, and she will take it from there. She knows EVERYONE in the area, and can get to anyone you might want to visit. Her main expertise is Napa, but she can do, and has done, the entire coast, including Cabo in the Baja,the Central Coast, San Francisco, Washington, Oregon and now Canada. Dick and I come here a lot, and have never had such an incredible day.

And one last thing....if you are lucky enough to be able to do a day in the valley...have a driver. The police are out in force giving tickets for "driving under the influence"...and even if you are sipping/spitting....you can swallow enough to be "under the influence". I cannot recommend this too much.

Our Napa Odessey

Dick and I have traveled to Napa Valley every year for 25 years. We took our dog Daisy and now her replacement Dolly with us. It has always been challenging to find accommodations for her, as she is a sizable dog. (Dolly’s more like Marley, if you know what I mean.) Very cute, but very naughty. We have stayed in many places in Napa that we would have not chosen because of our dogs, some good and some just fair. That has now changed.

Well this weekend, we had a family celebration in Los Gatos, and we left Dolly at home. Free at last to stay WHEREVER!!!! I did a lot of research, and chose the Bardessono Hotel, Spa and Restaurant in Yountville.

The Bardessono opened in February 2009, to the much awaited publicity of the “Greenest luxury hotel in America.” There are 62 rooms in this incredible hotel which was built on the grounds of the old Bardessono Ranch in Yountville.

This is an amazing property and they have achieved everything they set out to do. The property is exquisite. The balance of color and materials blend right into the land. It is truly a “lair of luxury” being “earth friendly”.

There are four different kinds of rooms, all private in design and function. All have king/queen beds with incredible linens, and spacious patios off the main room.

The bathrooms all have gorgeous tubs and separate showers...many of them are outdoors. You can shower under the stars..in complete privacy...and then have an “in-room spa experience.” The rooftop pool is glorious..even though we couldn’t use it because it rained ALL DAY. I can only imagine how nice it would have been after a warm day.

The spa is designed by Carrita, who has designed many the world over in high end hotels and ships. The products are just lovely... as is the types of treatments available. Anything your body could desire to nourish its soul is there. And speaking of nourishing...the restaurant will be one of the best in the Valley. The meals are meant to be a “nourishing experience”, both in concept and fulfillment. And what presentation!!

The help all over the resort is well-trained, and very accommodating. Even in the all- day rain, the friendly staff were smiling. That means a lot to your guests. And no request was too much...even a recipe for something sent to our room as a “Welcome to our Hotel” was readily made available.

This is how hotels should be built and operated. What a joy the Bardessono is, and I hope we are lucky enough to come back very soon.

By the way, did I mention that the hotel was “DOG FRIENDLY”? There were 2 different couples checking in with their “Friends”, and it was lovely to see these adorable creatures welcomed. I really felt guilty about leaving Dolly at home.

However, I know I will be back....with her in tow.

More on our Napa trip coming soon....

The Med on the Crystal

What to do for our 25th anniversary? This is not such a terrible "problem". After all, being married to the most wonderful person on the planet, every day is a celebration. But we needed to mark it in another way, so we decided to take a Mediterranean cruise, revisiting places where always wanted to go and thought we never would.We flew to Barcelona, and spent 3 days before boarding the Crystal Serenity. Our first port was Monte Carlo, where we docked over night. Then we went to Florence, Rome, Sorrento, Taormina, Dubrovnik and then Venice. Sounds heavenly, doesn't it? Well, I cannot lie..... it was.

We picked the Crystal Serenity because we had been on her sister ship, the Harmony, many years before and loved all that Crystal had to offer. She is bigger thantheRegentMariner..holding 1050 passengers...and offers Butler service in the Penthouse suites.What an incredible way to travel and to experience familiar places. To land in Livorno, however, and having to travel an hour and a half to get into Florence, and then have to return to the ship by 6 is very frustrating if you have never been to Florence. For us, it was perfect, as we have already seen all of the major tourist attractions, so we were just able to wander the streets and absorb all the wonderfully familiar sights.

In this article, I am going to address mainly the ship. In the following articles, I will get into the cities where we spent a lot of time...like Barcelona and the Chianti area of Tuscany.

The Serenity is a fabulous ship and her reputation of service is well deserved. She is larger than the motorized Yachts like the SeaDream and the Seabourn but not nearly as large as the megaships. Her size allows her to have many things the small ships cannot have....like a huge casino that Ceasar's Palace designed. She also has two specialty restaurants other than the main dining room. One is Asian, called Silk, and the menu has been designed by Nobu Matsuhisa. It is just wonderful and a real treat. The other is Prego...which was as good as any Italian restaurant in Italy (and that says a lot).

They tell you on the ship that you can make reservations in the specialty restaurants twice during your sailing...but we managed to get into them more than that. Having said that, I must tell you that the food in the Main dining room is just lovely. There is no need to dine anywhere else unless you just want a change in venue. There is a nominal charge for the specialty restarants, however, just to cover tips for the waiters.

Now we need to talk about the spa...and the gym. This will be short, cause I NEVER used the gym...just walked in to check it out. And the equipment was wonderful...as was the space. Just not something we felt we needed to do, as we planned on walking a LOT.

The spa was just lovely...a beautiful hair salon with all the services, plus treatment rooms for things I don't even know about...but some women cannot wait to sign up for!! If you wanted to take care of your body all day, every day, there would be things to do. I think I would have needed to start the regimen much earlier in my life, and I fear it is too late now. Fighting gravity must begin in childhood!!!

If strengthening your mind, or expanding your horizons in on your list, you can also be busy all sea days. There are lectures, movies, programs, classes. NO ONE can be bored on a cruise. If people say they are, then they are boring people. Even if you go to the computer room, there is someone to help and even give lessons. And for Bridge players, it is Nirvana. Can you imagine playing every day...and having someone give lessons and critique your skills?

And, lets not forget the shops on board the ship. One is a Logo shop, which is just what the name implies, and the other is a beautiful store filled with lots of clothing from various designers. There were also two jewelry stores in case you got lucky at the casino!!.

When they talk about Floating Cities, that is what they mean. The ship has a big show room, and then a couple of smaller and more intimate bars...some with pianos. The Swimming pool deck has a wonderful place to eat casual food...and GREAT ice cream. I know this sounds as if I am concentrating on food...and that scares a lot of people. I can honestly tell you that you do not need to gain weight on a ship. If you get over the idea that there is food all around you, you can concentrate on asking your waiter for a plain piece of fish with the sauce on the side. Every night I ate 5 vegetables!! More and more ships have "Spa Cuisine" selections on the menues...and people are taking advantage of that. I ate more in the ports than on the ship.

What makes this ship special is the service. By the second day, the waiters in the Lido Cafex(where we had breakfast every morning) knew our names. That is quite amazing. You expect this on a 300-passenger ship, but on a 950...that is really good training. When I sat at the swimming pool, someone brought me fresh water constantly....and cool towels to wipe my hands (it was August, and it was HOT) They even changed the towels you laid on if you got into the pool!!!

As this itinerary was "Port Intensive", we only had two Sea Days...and I am here to tell you that I missed the relaxation of the ship!! Don't get me wrong, I loved the ports we were in, and I don't want to sound like I am complaining, it is just that the ship experience is so mesmerizing, that you miss the total relaxation of it. And let's face it, shopping /sightseeing can be EXHAUSTING!!!. There were days we got off the ship at 8AM, and didn't get back until 6 or 7 in the evening. The next day I longed for a day at sea...just to think about where I was and what I had been seeing.

There are only two downsides to the Serenity. The first is the size of the cabins...which is small. Everything does fit, BUT they are smaller than the other luxury liners in this category.
The other downside is that there is assigned dining, as opposed to Open dining. You have a speific table, and time...and I don't like that. I much prefer to dine whenever I choose....and with whomever I choose. And if you are assigned a table of 6, it is uncomfortable to change in the middle of the cruise to a table of 2. They do try to have a couple of "Open Dining Nights"...and that helps. Also, tipping is not included on the Crystal, as it is on other ships. They do tell you the Prescribed Amount, and it can be charged to your Shipoard account..but it is easier when it is included( I think).

Now that the travel business is in flux, things are changing for everyone. So, Crystal is now including free air in many of the cruises, as well as 2-1 pricing on some selected sailings. Make sure you book with a Virtuoso Travel Agent (of which I am one) and you will usually get another few perks that are only offered to them. Bottom line, the Crystal Cruise Line well deserves its standing among the World's Best!!!