Wednesday we woke to a fresh start. All the bad things are behind us. Today will be fabulous. I had a bit of a red-meat-red-wine wooziness, but it soon lifted. We put the top down and drove up to Calistoga to start the day at Sterling. We got there a little too early, so we went around the corner to check out the Old Faithful geyser. True DeMar luck -- we get there right after it went off, so we would have to wait 40 minutes for the next show. No way. One winery I flagged in the book was right around the corner.
The Chateau Montelena is absolutely beautiful. You don't have to purchase a tasting to see the grounds, but we did anyway. The host tried to sell us futures in wine that will ship in 2010. Uh. No thanks. Don't know where I'll be thank you very much. There were bread scraps out by the pond for feeding the ducks. The bread looked better than what I can get at the bakery at the local grocery store.
Our next stop was at Sterling, which turned out to be absolutely spectacular. To get to the winery, you take a tram up the hill. Upon exiting, you are greeted with a glass of cool Reisling. While the hostess poured our wine, she said a truckload of grapes just arrived and if we hurry we can catch them dumping the load. OK. We took off and around the corner was a viewing deck.
We were told at the Beringer tour that machines pick the grapes off the vines and I was astonished to see so few leaves in the dump. Next we went onto more viewing areas on our self-guided tour. The views from the deck were fantastic. Too bad it was so hot as we could have sat there drinking wine for a bit. Inside the winery, we had two more wines to taste as part of the tour.
Well, two tastings under our belts before noon. We are starving. Head north to downtown Calistoga where we had burgers at the Hydro Grill. Typical small town bar with live Blues on the weekends. Calistoga looks like a fun place to hang out. Reminded me of Hermosa Beach only without the beach.
It's pretty hot by now and we are beat. Got up the strength to visit Rubicon Estate just to see the place. We didn't do a tasting, but instead look around the museum and gift shop there. It's pretty grand. Got to see an Oscar and Emmy, and the Tucker automobile from the movie. Oh, the winery is owned by Francis Ford Coppola. We were hoping to see some Godfather memorabilia, but all they had were soundtrack score sheets.
Our last stop of the day is Mumm's. We sped past it the day before during my intestinal meltdown and I just love their sparkling wine. It's brutally hot so we don't plan on doing any tours. Instead, we sit in the viewing area drinking the wonderful sparkling wine and then take our last two glasses over to their art gallery. In the gift shop I bought a leash for Shane and the clerk told me to bring him along next time. Very dog friendly area.
Well, now we are spent. Back to the hotel for a nap and off to dinner at 25 degrees Brix, which is some wine term. Dinner was OK. We ate on the patio and it was so hot I chose a cold watermelon soup and a nicoise salad. The soup was fantastic, but the salad was a little too healthy for me. No flavor at all and the tuna was a little too rare. Frank had a better meal, but not by much. He can't even remember what he ate except that the pork chops were not so good. For dessert, we had pot de creme with fresh peaches, which was just pudding over peaches. Very unremarkable meal, except for the ambiance. Gorgeous place, but I wouldn't recommend it.
We put the top down and drove back to the hotel for our usual Beringer port by the fire. Tipped the bell hop to turn the channel on the music from nursing home elevator-style show tunes to some modern jazz. I think the vacation is redeemed. Except for Frank having a meltdown when he momentarily forgot where he left his cell phone and the Renault Formula 1 cap that I had shipped from France, the day went off without a hitch. Knock on wood.
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