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Dean &
DeLuca | Don Giovanni | Bocce Ball Weekend
Our Second Annual Bocce Ball Tournament
This trip details our overnight trip to the Napa Valley. This
is a way to have a fabulous trip with a large group of friends.
We began our overnight trip at the Larson
Family Winery in the
Carneros Region. We gathered at 10 am at the Larson Bocce Ball
and picnic area behind the tasting room. The main activity
of the day is Bocce Ball. This is our 2nd annual Bocce Ball tournament.
We have set up a double elimination tournament with 12 of our wine
loving friends.
We did manage to take time out to do some wine tasting and have
a delicious picnic lunch among the vineyards. The Larson
Family produces some very nifty wines. This year they began making
two jug wines, a one liter cute jug of a white and a red wine.
The white wine is called Wingo White. The red is called Sonoma
Red and is a blend of Cabernet, Merlot, and Pinot Noir. Both
wines sell for $20. Another new wine and the favorite Larson
of our tasting was the Pinot Grigio. It is a very fruity
and crisp wine and was utterly refreshing for our Bocce Ball lunch.
This wine sells for $20 and this is generally a little more than
we would pay for most Pinot Grigios. The Pinot Noir has a knockout
aroma of raspberry and strawberry and delicious delicate flavors.
The Pinot sells for $30.
The winners of this tournament, as occurred last year,
were first-time players. Don and Nell captured the tournament
with relative ease. You would think they had been playing
the sport for years. We modified the rules slightly
so we could get through the 11 games scheduled within a
three-hour period. We decided beforehand that each
couple would contribute $20 for prizes. First, second,
and third certificates for Larson Wine were presented to
the top three finishers in the tournament.
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Dinner at Don Giovanni
This was the weekend of the NASCAR event at the Infineon Raceway. We
were fortunate to find lodging for one night (a rarity in
Napa) for seven couples at the Chablis
Inn just off Redwood Road
in Napa. The inn is nothing fancy but it is quite adequate. Weekend
rates range from $149 to $169 per night. Five minutes away
is the Bistro Don Giovanni, a favorite of locals and travelers
to the Napa Valley. The earliest reservation time available was
8:15 and we were told we would need to sit at two tables, one for
six, and one for eight.
We showed up about 45 minutes before to have a glass of bubbly
at the bar. To our surprise, our table was ready, and it
was one table comfortably seating all fourteen of us.
The entrées are moderately priced. Prices range from
a pizza at around $12 to a scrumptious rib eye grilled steak for
$28. Corkage fee at the Bistro is $15 and that is just about
right.
We think anything over $15 is price gouging. The Bistro
has a corkage policy that if you buy one of their wines, they waive
the corkage on one bottle of wine. Our group brought in four terrific
wines: a magnum of Seltzner 1983 Cab, a Caymus 1987 Cab, a Hanna
1999 Cab, and delicious white Pinot Grigio from Chalk Hill Winery.
The restaurant was extremely accommodating and the service was
excellent. The noise level was somewhat loud but not
enough to be a nuisance. With appetizers, entrées,
desserts, and coffee, our check was $125 per couple. We rate
the Bistro a 4.5 out of Five on our rating scale.
Breakfast at Gordon’s
One of the local favorites for breakfast and lunch is Gordon’s
Café & Wine Bar in Yountville. We all arrived there
at 9:15 and luckily for us, the restaurant was not crowded. They
put a couple of tables together so we could sit comfortably together.
Gordon’s is relaxed and laid back. You order at the counter,
all menu items are listed on the wall. There are lots of breakfast
items to choose from include a delicious scrambled egg mixed with
chorizo. The coffee is wonderful. By the time we finished our breakfast
the place was jammed. Lots of cyclists make Gordon’s a rest
stop and have a cup of coffee and pastry before heading out to
complete their morning ride.
A Visit to Dean & DeLuca
After Gordon’s, our party of 14 goes their separately
ways. We decided to head to St. Helena and a stop at the
famous and very upscale deli of Dean & DeLuca.
It really is a happening spot with lots of tourists grabbing
up gourmet goodies to take back home. They have an
extensive cheese shop, coffee counter, mammoth wine shop,
a produce department, and a whole lot more. It is fun to
see the amazing array of gourmet goodies. The store is
located on the west side of Highway 29 in St. Helena, at
607 South St. Helena HY. The Flora Springs tasting room
is next door.
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The Cheese Shop at Dean & DeLuca
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Before heading for home, wvisited two wineries very close
by in St. Helena.
Provenance Vineyards
Provenance Vineyards is located just past the town of Rutherford
on the west side of the road. It’s hard to miss; it is the
big red barn-style building. We didn’t find the tasting room
environment to be very friendly. Two people were working the tasting
room and it seemed like one was in training, having difficulty
waiting on visitors.
The tasting fee at Provenance is $10. The wines are extremely
good but range in price from $19 for the Sauvignon Blanc to $50
for their top Merlots. Our favorite is the Sauvignon Blanc
but we have tasted ones we like more in the $14 to $16 range.
Flora Springs Winery & Vineyards
The Flora Springs tasting room is right next door to Dean & DeLuca.
This is a tasting room only; the winery facility is nearby on Zinfandel
Lane. The tasting room is a rather recent addition and has increased
the presence of this fine winery to visitors of the Napa Valley.
Our hostess is fun, knowledgeable, and makes us feel at home. The
wines range in price from very affordable to expensive. A delicious
fruity and dry Sangiovese Rosato is $10 at the low end, at the
high end the Hillside Reserve Cabernet is $100. All the wines
we tasted were delightful. We will definitely seek out Flora
Springs wines at our local wine shops.
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