A Visit to Wine Country

After graduation, we spent a few days back in Virginia to pack and store our belongings there. Our friends Matt and Joanna hosted a really nice surprise graduation party for David—he was indeed very surprised! We enjoyed some of Matt’s delicious cooking and got to spend time with close friends and family. After that we were off to Napa Valley in California for a wedding of friends from Kellogg.

This was my first trip to Northern California, and David’s first in many years—since he was legal to drink wine anyways. Arriving on Thursday, we were anticipating a weekend full of food and drinks, so we decided a great way to start the trip would be to go for a run. After Googling, David found a top-rated trail run in Skyline Park, which he explained we would be running about three miles to a lake and then back. Although the part he failed to mention was that it was three miles up the side of a small mountain, but fortunately the views made it worthwhile. 

David running circles around me (literally)

Views from the Skyline trail run

After a good night sleep, we met our friends and fellow wedding guests for a long day of wine tasting. Our guide took us to three wineries, Spring Mountain, V. Sattui, and finally Domaine Chandon. All were very different and a lot of fun. 

Exploring the winery at Spring Mountain with Jackie and Joe

Pretty flowering artichoke at a winery

That evening the groom’s family hosted a celebration dinner for the wedding guests aboard the Napa Valley Wine Train. The train is beautifully restored, and we enjoyed dinner and of course—wine, while the train took us through several vineyards and provided some great views, including one of a rainbow. 

The Napa Wine Train

Rainbow out the window of the train 

Saturday we started the morning at Thomas Keller’s bakery Bouchon, we had a few bites of a quiche which looked and tasted like 90 percent butter and 10 percent spinach/egg. We didn’t have a chance to try the homemade Ho-Ho’s (rightly named “Oh Oh’s), but they looked delicious as well. We spent the rest of the day exploring the nearby towns of Yountville and Sonoma.

Bouchon, The Bakery

The butter quiche

Oh Oh's 

The wedding Saturday evening took place at the home of the bride’s family. They were married under a gorgeous cork tree, followed by dinner and dancing outside under the trees and stars. The food and wine were delicious, and we had a chance to try some wine made by the bride’s family, which David and I agreed was one of our favorite wines to date. Of course, we were probably also positively influenced by the group of good friends and good music as well. We thoroughly enjoyed the few days we spent in the California wine country. 

The ceremony spot