Yountville

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Winter in Yountville

February 4, 2014 in Food, Restaurants, Travel, wine by traveleatlove | 2 comments

Winter is a great time to visit Napa Valley, and while I unfortunately don’t have a Napa or Sonoma trip planned until summer, I wanted to pass along some information on Yountville’s winter festivities in case any of my readers are planning a trip. We have visited Yountville many times, and we have enjoyed wine tasting at Jessup Cellars and Ma(i)sonry and some great meals at Bardessono and Bottega.

If you are planning a winter trip to wine country, below is some information on what’s happening in Yountville. Happy Travel Tuesday!

{Lucy’s Garden}

The Art House Short Film Series continuing through March at Jessup Cellars Tasting Gallery features monthly art house films paired with flavor-infused popcorn wok-popped to order. Chef Mike serves up Zinfandel Port paired with Winter Spice Popcorn (cinnamon, allspice, cloves and a touch of honey), Cabernet Sauvignon paired with Bacon Smoked Sea Salt Popcorn, Sauvignon Blanc with Green Onion Garlic Popcorn, and more, eleven amazing combinations in all.
Chefs on the Vintage Estate, home to the luxurious Villagio Inn and Spa, harvest their Meyer lemons all winter long, and use them to stir up fresh, house-made batches of lemon curd. This creamy, dreamy condiment debuts at afternoon teas alongside tender pastries and in luscious Meyer Lemon Tarts.
Mad for fermentation, Chef Richard Reddington of Redd and Redd-Wood house-ferments winter vegetables from the garden, cures his own meats and makes three kinds of sausage, including breakfast sausage spiked with maple syrup, and his own, mouth-watering Italian-style cotechino.
Have you ever wondered how the experts can detect aromas of summer blackberry, nutmeg or even chocolate in a wine’s bouquet? Winemakers Bell Cellars help train palates using fresh fruit, herbs, and other delectables representing wine flavors and aromas. Students of the vine are guaranteed to savor the preferred drink of Bacchus in a way they never have before.
Pics of Chef Victor Scargle’s Brussels sprout plants could very well be the most-Tweeted image from Lucy’s Restaurant. Yountville is heart-healthy thanks to Chef Scargle. He has planted a rainbow palette of cruciferous vegetables in his kitchen garden, considered vital for vibrant health. Take a saunter through the Romanesco, broccoli cheddar cauliflower and violet broccaflower. The most intriguing of all has turned out be the oft-maligned but definitely interesting Brussels sprouts–visitors always appreciate these cute mini-cabbages more after their visit to Lucy.
Michelin starred chef-spottings: Pancha’s is Yountville’s only true dive bar, family-owned and operated for decades, offering cheap drinks and pool tables. It’s a great spot to rub elbows with local chefs and vintners after hours. Just head through the vintage hitching posts out front.

Tasty winter festivities:

CabFestNV — February 28, March 1 & 2 — NEW! Napa Valley’s first Cabernet festival, and it’s in Yountville!

Napa Valley’s legendary Cabernets finally have their own festival. The festival kicks off Friday with a salute to “Cigars & Guitars,” including a live concert, cigar party, and showing of rare classic guitars. Then, on the weekend, more than 100 of Napa Valley’s top wineries pour. lincolntheater.com/cabfest/

Taste of Yountville — March 14-16 — Yountville’s downtown street party!

Taste of Yountville signals the transition from winter to spring in Wine Country, when the mustard is blooming and grapes are beginning to bud. This is the village’s celebration of the year featuring its signature street party with food, wine, art and music, plus other weekend happenings all over this charming town. yountville.com/events/taste-of-yountville-2

Tags: Food, Napa, Napa Valley, Travel, wine, wine country, Yountville

Jessup Cellars

May 30, 2013 in Tasting Room Series, Travel, wine by traveleatlove | 2 comments

It was definitely one of the most fun wine tastings we did on our last trip to Northern California. We had passed Jessup Cellars on our many past trips through Yountville, and while we had peeked inside, we never went in for a tasting. Likely, it was because I usually over schedule our Napa and Sonoma trips, something I have learned not to do after this last visit.

A few weeks prior to our travels, I received a press release about Jessup Cellars’ Tastemaker Speaker Series, and after a few emails back and forth had a tasting appointment for our Napa Valley Day.

Jessup Cellars

We arrived at Jessup Cellars on the most beautiful day ever, and Yountville was buzzing with great energy. We checked in at the front and made our way past the tasting bar to a private little room where we met Tracy and Ashley, the two most delightful women who made our tasting fantastic.

Before we started in on the wine, we took a little stroll around the adjoining art gallery.

The gallery, which is also used for wine club tastings, features rotating art displays. Below you can literally see how wine looks through a microscope. Beautiful, isn’t it?

The space is bright and airy, and there’s always something to see.

After our brief tour, we returned to the room set up for our tasting.

Jessup Cellars

Our tasting lineup included 2011 Carneros Chardonnay, 2010 Napa Valley Zinfandel (which I am drinking as I type this), 2009 Napa Valley Merlot, 2009 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, and 2009 Napa Valley “Table for Four”. There was definitely a lemony, tart, and delectable Sauvignon Blanc thrown in there, perfectly refreshing for the hot and sunny day.

In addition to wine, glasses, and a tasting selection list, there were different food items on the table. One dish contained slices of apple, a lemon slice, and salt while another offered cheese, dark chocolate, and nuts.

We tasted different wines with little bites and noted how the flavor of the food item affected the wine, for better or for worse. It was a great little lesson in food and wine pairing; some flavors were dulled, whereas others were heightened. Tasting a sweet apple with the Chardonnay made the wine a little more tart and oaky, while tasting a lemon with it boosted its sweetness.

The weight of each food versus that of each wine was evident when tasting side-by-side. It was a fun and tasty little lesson. The Zinfandel and chocolate were a favorite pairing.

As for the wines? They were all exquisite, and we left with a few favorite bottles. Always on a quest for beautifully balanced Chardonnay, I fell in love with the Chardonnay at Jessup Cellars, Creamy, yet fresh, fruity, and tart, this will make a great boat wine, perfect for sipping on a Sunday with great friends and seafood.

We were also really big fans of the Merlot, which offers flavors of wild blueberries, cocoa, and a little bit of smoke. The Zinfandel, well, since it’s the freshest in my memory until we open the others, let’s just say it’s everything a Zinfandel should be; bold, fruity without being over-the-top, spicy, and perfect for the pulled pork we had for dinner tonight. So many people think of Zinfandel as more of a winter wine because it can be so big, but give me some smoky BBQ pulled meat and a glass of this Jessup Cellars Zinfandel on a hot summer day and you will have a happy girl.

Many thanks to Jessup Cellars for hosting our tasting and for being so incredibly warm and welcoming. We will be back soon!

Tags: art gallery, California, chardonnay, merlot, Napa Valley, Travel, wine, wine country, wine tasting, Yountville, Zinfandel

Beignets and Bubbly

March 28, 2012 in Food, Restaurants, Travel by traveleatlove | 10 comments

Happy Wine Wednesday! How about a post about our adventures in wine country? I promise, I only have a few more to go. And I have to admit, I wish I had many, many more. I love writing about this stuff more than anything.

Let’s rewind a bit, shall we? On a warm, sunny Sonoma Saturday morning, my husband and I had breakfast, set out for massages at a spa on the Sonoma Plaza, and then hit the road to meet our friends over in Yountville. Before we went wine tasting, we had to fortify. Technically we had already eaten, but when invited to the sleek, swanky, and LEED Certifed (one of three hotels in the US) Bardessono with a Napa Valley local and other fun friends, you just don’t turn it down.

We’re no strangers to Yountville, and so we ended up arriving early and wandering around for a bit. The lines out of Bouchon Bakery were bananas, and in general the little town was bustling. You just can’t beat a blue sky day in Napa Valley.

On the way into the property, I snapped a photo of their sleeping vines, just waiting for bud break.

We checked out the beautifully designed patio, a great place to grab a cocktail after work. Bardessono is a spectacular property; I hear the rooms are incredible, though I will likely never see the inside of one; I did a quick search and the cheapest room was $800 a night.

Our friends were inside having brunch, so we joined them and each had a glass of Schramsberg Blanc de blancs. We were going to stick with just that, until we learned that the special of the day was freshly made beignets. Now, I am not one for a sweet breakfast, at all, but luckily the egg and bacon sandwich, banana, and yogurt I had eaten earlier were my breakfast. Beignets? Just a little snack.

The hot beignets were coated with sugar, offering a satisfying crunchiness as we bit into the hot, soft centers. The beignets were served with strawberry jam, chocolate sauce, and caramel. Not a crumb was wasted. And, of course, they went perfectly with the Schramsberg.