Yesterday we left about mid-day and headed up to Napa! It’s only about an hour and a half drive from the lovely fella’s place in Mountain View. We found a deal on Travel Zoo for a hotel plus wine tastings at 3 vineyards and 3 half bottles of wine!
The first stop was Peju. This was one of our free wine tastings. The vineyard and tasting room was very lovely!
They had some interesting trees in the entrance…
We tasted 5 wines: 1 white, 1 red/white blend, 2 Cabs and a Port. My favorite was the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon.
This also happened to be the half bottle that they gave us! So that was convenient. I liked this place but sadly there was another couple tasting next to us so I felt really rushed. They flew through it and it felt like we needed to go at their pace. Oh well. It was still fun and tasty!
The next stop was: Castello di Amorosa.
It was a lovely location with a great view, not to mention the winery was in the shape of a castle! This wasn’t included in our three free tastings but the lovely fella heard it was good so we went. I’m glad we did! This was my favorite of the three we went to!
We tried some wonderful wines here too! I don’t usually like sweet wines but the ones here were particularly delicious!
The final winery we went to Madonna Estate for a free tasting. It was very small but nice. We were the only ones in the tasting room. They didn’t have half bottles so we got a free full sized bottle of Riesling.
The man in the tasting room suggested a restaurant for dinner. He was Italian so naturally he suggested an Italian restaurant (Zagat also said it was delicious). So for dinner we went to Bistro Don Giovanni.
We were wined-out so we stuck to water. First, we were served some rosemary focaccia. It was extremely oily, but naturally very delicious!
The lovely fella and I shared a beet and haricot verts salad with avocado, fennel and roquefort vinaigrette. This was very good. Light and flavorful!
As an entree, I got the Ricotta and Pesto Ravioli with a lemon cream sauce. This was OOH SO GOOD! I can’t even tell you how delicious it was! I love lemony things but this was literally out of this world!
The lovely fella got an (unphotographed) Rigatoni with lamb meatballs. He enjoyed his as well! I definitely recommend Bistro Don Giovanni for anyone going to Napa. It was delicious and reasonably priced!
We decided to skip dessert there since nothing looked too good. Instead, we stopped by Whole Foods for a bakery treat! I got a cupcake (which took me hours to eat since it was so sweet):
The lovely fella got an almond cannoli. I’m not a huge fan of cannolis but he really enjoyed it…
Warning: Hipster Hating Ranting to Come!
The next day we left and stopped in San Francisco for breakfast/lunch. We went to Tartine Bakery. This hipster watering hole was delicious! I got a 3 Cheese Pressed Sandwich and the lovely fella got a ham croque monsieur. Mine was simply to die for! It was also HUGE! I ate 2/3 of it and thought I was going to explode!
The food was fantastic (I seriously can’t get over how good this place was); however, I didn’t like the cafe itself. It was ridiculously crowded with hipsters talking about Europe and art. I didn’t feel like I could really enjoy my meal to the full extent. I also felt silly pulling out my camera, maybe I would have if I had been sitting outside with a little more arm room. I literally felt like I was living in the this blog. I’m not sure why I was so irked by the patrons of this place. I think it just felt a little pretentious to me. Strangely enough, the place was kind of dirty too. You bus your own tables (which isn’t a problem at all) but that means all the tables were really dirty. The occasional wipe down would have been appreciated.
I would love to go back! It was seriously amazingly good! But next time, I’ll get it to go and enjoy my sandwich or pastry elsewhere 🙂
Now we’re back in Mountain View trying to figure out what to do the rest of the day! Maybe we’ll have some more wine… because obviously we haven’t had enough… On that note, this blog is supposed to be about healthy eating… don’t worry that will resume soon! When I’m back at home (aka Ithaca) I rarely eat out plus I have a healthy plan for the next few months, more on that later!
What’s your favorite type of wine?
Foodologie 
Wow! Looks like an amazing trip!!! Thanks for sharing; the pics are lovely.
Also– is that coat from Ann Taylor Loft? Because if so, I have it too! 🙂
It is! My sister got it for me for Christmas and now I wear it pretty much everyday… I should diversify my wardrobe but I love it!
This sounds like such an awesome trip! As usual, you look great – love that pic of you and the fella! And I totally share your ikedness at hipsters. They are pretty darn abundant in Burlington and sometimes I just feel like yelling, “you’re not that cool!” 😛
your photos are so beautiful!
and that cupcake looks fantastic! Although I’m fairly certain I could not savor it for 2 hours – I’d be lucky if I held out for 2 MINUTES! 😉
Gorgeeeeeeeeeeeous!!! The pictures are all wonderful! Looks like something I would love doing! I could probably drink my way through all of Napa! I am a huge Chianti fan, but seeing as that’s an Italian wine, I generally go for Merlots from the US. Mmmmmmm!
what a gorgeous place! i have yet to go to napa but i hear such amazing things.
Haha hipsters are so funny and probably the same all over the world.
I ADORE your photos, wine tastings are so much fun! That dinner looks amazing as well, especially those ravioli. I have a weak spot for ravioli :).
You’ve got a really nice blog here! Good food, good wine and good photos, what else can one ask for?
Hey, thanks for the comment on my blog! Your pictures are gorgeous; sounds like a fun day 🙂
I actually don’t care for wine- I guess I’m not too classy 😉
Those trees are mysterious! Looks like you guys had a great time 😉 Hipster=YUCK! I feel ya there. Sadly, they totally ruin the expereince when you go out, I know. Makes me mad at myself when I get self concious around them.