dancal13

[dancal13]

Napa to Nashville - Day 4

This day started out with low expectations.. Susan had a conference to attend and I had a ton of work.  We talked about meeting for lunch, had an event at 5p and 8:30p dinner reservations at a second restaurant our friend Mike had recommended to us.  Low key but lots to do.  

That’s how the day started and that’s how it was going.  Susan arrived back at the hotel at noon.  We ordered lunch in and both kept working.  In fact Susan ended up missing the afternoon session, as work back home required her attention.  We worked through the end of Nashville work day and then prepared to attend Revive Health’s event party.  We changed and headed down to the bar for a quick cocktail and to wrap up some emails.  The temp reached the mid 90s with the humidity in the high 50%’s, yuck, but the party was only a block or so away so we walked.  The festivities were nice and it gave Susan a chance to meet the team she had been working with in person.  They worked out of a great office with some truly cool artwork in it, including this statue of a Narwhal, made out of crayons.

They were also giving away limited edition t-shirts designed by Johnny Cupcakes.. who you say?  so did I [I found this on the interwebs: Johnny Cupcakes, Inc. is a clothing brand founded in 2001 by Johnny Earle. The clothing line uses cupcakes as the prominent design motif of its merchandise, often replacing iconic symbols with cupcakes. The brand's insignia is a play on skull and crossbones, with a cupcake silhouette replacing the skull.]  So there you have it, we both learned something new.  Here is what we got.

Yup, we are now officially that hip...  The event was top-notch, they had Martin’s BBQ cater it, a local legend and a couple of bars set-up.  We stayed for a bit, and then wandered back to the hotel, as Susan’s work required more of her attention.  It was only 4:30 in Tacoma, apparently no one got the memo that she was working in Nashville this week.  Sheeesh.  Our dinner reservations weren’t till 8:30p and Susan would need most of it to get stuff done.  

At 8:00p we climbed into our Uber and headed to Rolf & Daughters..

Very cool place, lots of shared tables though we got our own.  We liked the atmosphere at Josephine a bit better, more intimate, and our waiter at R.A.D. was trying to hard to be clever.  We kept hearing him say practiced lines and jokes at the tables next to us, then replaying them for different questions when talking to us.  With that said, he didn’t ruin the meal.  

The wine list was totally European, which is cool, but to be honest I recognized nothing on it.  We ordered a bottle of French Syrah, from Rhone hoping it had a Chateauneuf quality to it, but as luck would have it, they were out.  The sommelier came and said she thought we might like another bottle that was more, and these were her words, “Something more funky”.  Suzy nearly choked.  We explained our thoughts and tastes, and she left knowing exactly what we would like.  Obviously we were ready to be impressed.  What she brought us was an Austrian Red, made from varietals I’ve never heard of.  She convinced us that it was great and said we could send it back.  Susan’s first taste said it all... T-E-R-R-I-B-L-E..  but she asked us to let it breathe and give it a chance.  We were game.  Five to ten minutes later, sadly still terrible.  To her credit she brought us a bottle of Valpolicella, that was fantastic, and later came to let us know that the staff had tasted the Austrian wine, herself included - and that it was a bad bottle.  Suzy’s palate wins the day again.

We started off with straticella (the insides of burrata) with roasted heirloom peppers and steak tartare... 

They were other-worldly.  The goofy waiter and bad wine forgotten we were in foodie heaven.  Next up, our entrees.  Typically, I avoid pasta at restaurants, mostly a carb thing, but the options here were crazy.  We got a Sweet Corn Agnolotti

 and a Pork Ragout Rigatoni

They were both lick the plate delicious. So of course we had to have dessert, I mean it wasn’t going to be a long night like Saturday, so why not.  We ordered the Sourdough Ice Cream with Huckleberries - are you kidding me, I think not!

and their dense chocolate cake dessert, forgot the actual name.  Oh My..

We were food smitten and very happy.  We each received a button/major award for dining there.  We will wear them proudly, likely attached to our Johnny Cupcakes t-shirts.

So dinner was a wrap.  I’m thinking, busy day tomorrow, maybe grab one drink, head back to the hotel - just chill.

At the same time, Suzy’s thinking - - - 

One Drink, 

One Bar, 

One Band 

And we will see where we go from there...

So back to Broadway we went...  

Ending up at Honky Tonk Central

So we could hang out with this band..

And my favorite guitar player during our stay..

Their music was all over the board, kicking off with AD/DC, and Billy Idol then rolling into the Dixie Chicks and a number of other fun and danceable songs.  So we danced and had some cocktails, then repeated our efforts a few more times, not sure when we left... But did we head back to the Hotel...?

Say it with me..  

Susan and Dan are NOT Q-U-I-T-T-E-R-S.

So back the Kid Rock’s we went....  oh no you say, OH YES WE ANSWER...

We spent the next couple hours with this guy, who I like to call Cowboy Elvis, because yes, uncreatively he sang Suspicious Minds by Elvis, and did it well, he also nailed a couple AC/DC songs but he didn’t look like a Cowboy Angus Young to me.

Did they play a bit of country, of course they did -- but they were all over the place and a hell of a lot of fun.. So much so they turned me into this guy..

I don’t know where we found the energy, but we were out again till 1:30a.  Yes it was Tuesday morning by the time we left.

What a great night.. Fun event, Fantastic Food at a cool little restaurant and two great bars with fun bands.  And most importantly, quality hang time with my wife Suzy, aka “The Gamer”.  

Tuesday would be a long day, and our last in Nashville.  Not much to write about, as it was all work...  I will say, if you go, there is a cool looking restaurant called Nash House Southern Spoon and Saloon.  We went for dinner on the last night.  Cool exterior, cool interior - food not so cool, remember you were warned...  

Thanks for reading along, it was fun to share, and if you are going to Nashville and want more insights...

Y’all c’mon over to my house, I will pour you a bourbon and we will talk it up.. 

[dancal13]

Napa to Nashville - Day 3

Well, I can honestly say that I slept in... Well at least I can kind of say that.  Around 6:30 AM, nature called - I mean there was a lot of consumption, and my body was looking for balance.  Upon my return to bed I took a quick glance at the ESPN app on my phone expecting an ugly but expected win from my Dawgs..  That will teach me to go to bed and not support them to the end.  DAMNIT... Good news, I wasn’t interested in reading lowlights, so back to bed I went.. We both woke around 10:30a.  High-fives all around for the two Fifty year-olds, who partied til 2:30a like Rock Stars, danced, feasted, and all in all represented the great state of Washington.  

Today - would be more recovery [so - much shorter writing for Day 3], but we were not quitters (I feel like I've use this sentence many times my previous writings, but it held true. Breakfast and a pot of Coffee were ordered, the first week of the NFL was upon us, so we used Pre Game to get our feet under us again and figure out our day.  Remembering that Susan had Conference responsibilities in the coming days (the actual reason for our visit).  Turns out we both had Sunday work to do, to get ready for the week.

At 3p Nashville time we were off, back to Broadway to find the Seahawks game, grab some lunch and why not maybe grab a drink or two.

First stop Luke Bryan’s 32 Bridge Bar, just across the street from Kid Rock’s place

Equally huge, with four floors and a couple of rooftop bars, bands on every level. and tons of sports screens.  Although, once there we made one of two food mistakes for the weekend. This was the first of them.  We migrated up to the top floor, found the Seahawks on a screen in the Luke Bryan Sushi bar.  (yup that should have been a non-starter) But we had enjoyed great seafood two nights before, I love sushi and Susan is a way too cool, go with the flow wife.  It sucked, our service sucked, but Susan’s Cosmo was apparently great.  The next picture I grabbed from the internet to give you perspective on how big these places are.

Luke Bryan’s bar fills half this build the other half is Jason Aldean’s place.  And the Rooftop bars merge. So we worked our way up Luke B’s and the worked our way down Jason A’s -Found a Vodka Rocks t-shirt that we both thought would be perfect on the other, but not on ourselves, so we left it there. The lunch was marginal and the Seahawks were struggling, So we headed out.    

We walked across the street back to Kid Rocks, where another good band was going strong, headed up the mezzanine level, got them to turn the channel on one of the many TVs, watched the game, when the game sucked watched the band, and using Susan’s excellent friendship skills made friends with one of the older bouncer’s.  Her skills were strong that day, because he wouldn’t leave us alone.  He came back to chat us up multiple times, worse part, is we couldn’t hear him over the music.  So we smiled a lot and nodded our heads, tossing a “Wow”, “Really”, “That’s Awesome” in here and there to show how much we cared. That’s for you Nashville, Seattle isn’t quite as nice but it’s not like we don’t try.

We headed back to our hotel and caught the fourth quarter of a game that looked like it was going to finish like the Husky game.  Luckily it didn’t.  We were gassed.  Susan had a conference the next morning.  I had a busy work day. So we ate in the restaurant in the lobby  Not a lot of pictures were taken Sunday.  Monday promised to be a bit stronger..

[dancal13]

Napa to Nashville - Day 2

You’d think with the two hour time change, that maybe just maybe I would wake up at a normal time.  Apparently that is not in the cards.  At 6a (4a PST),  I was up and in need of coffee.  I went down to the front desk and asked where the nearest Starbucks-ish-like coffee shop was located, as hotel coffee service in Nashville is not a thing.  I was directed to go one block, turn right and go 5 more blocks... (WTF that’s nearly half a mile a way) what is wrong with these people.  

I was sure they were wrong, so while walking using the provided direction, I pulled out my phone and “googled on bing” the nearest Starbucks, turned left and quickly learned that I should just listen to the locals.  After 30 minutes of wondering the streets of Nashville I ended up at the originally and properly directed Starbucks, got both hot and iced coffees for Susan and I, and shamefully walked back to the Hotel.  Suzy was still sleeping, none the wiser. When she woke we ordered breakfast in.. Going to be a long day, so we took our time.  

Around 11 we headed out, back to Broadway.  But with a reason... a purpose! So there is a thing in Nashville, I didn’t know, maybe you do.  But every Cowboy Boot store offers it.  If you buy 1 pair of boots, you get two additional pairs for free.  Now beyond the Why, is the question who needs 3 sets of cowboy boots. Likely there is someone, but not my wife.  What I didn’t know is the she was in Cahoots with our friends Kari and Michelle, and not unlike the Wine Barrell auction, Susan had a commitment from each of them to purchase a share (or 1/3) of the boot purchase.  So I spent my morning watching the kids, and when I say the kids I meant the 20 odd pairs of cowboy boots as Susan tried on, tested, texted her share holders and made super important boot decisions, that if done poorly could haunt the rest of our days.

For clarity of purpose my shoe selection stayed relatively boring, and was not swayed by the regions country/western bent. Avert your eyes if my legs offend you.

When it was all said and done Suzy got her boots and two other sets were shipped back home for distribution

As we hadn’t adjusted to the time, we needed to kill some time before eating a late lunch, so we explored Broadway in the daylight (and yes the place was rocking at noon).  We stopped by BB Kings, but to quiet, decided we might come back.

We moved on to a nearby alley recommended to us by one of our Lyft Driver’s known as Printer’s Alley and known for it’s Blues bars and music.  It immediately looked promising.

We looked in a few and chose the Bourbon Street Blues and Boogie Bar.  Walked in grabbed a drink and watched two Bluesy dudes play guitar and sing (yes the blues) and they were great.  There were possibly 50 people in the bar, no more - enjoying the show, hiding from the heat and having a drink - we fit right in.

After a couple drinks and set of music, we tipped our waitress, tipped the band and headed back out into the street, and talked about coming back that evening to see Sista Ruth.

We walked a bit longer, scouting bars for the evening and looking for places that might broadcast the late Husky game.  It was 2p, and we were finally hungry for lunch.  

Beyond the music, Nashville is also famous for Hot Fried Chicken.  If you like food with heat this is a must try, the more touristy place is Hattie Bs, and the original hot chicken creator is Princes (again we learned this from our Lyft driver - great guides in Nashville).  We were planning to go to Princes, but the original location was closed the other was much further away, so Hattie B’s was where we landed.

It was hot out side and the line was out the door, Susan kept asking if we could have it ubered to our Hotel, then the line started moving, we ordered, sat and had our food in 20 minutes.  The chicken can be ordered at 6 different levels of heat - No heat, Mild, Medium, Hot, Damn Hot!, and Shut your Clucking Mouth!!  Susan ordered a Mild fried chicken sandwich and i order a Hot dark meat, we also added pimento mac & cheese, cole slaw and crinkle cut fries. Good news we ordered the heat level right for both of us.  Would like to try Damn Hot next time, but not necessarily an entire order.

We had plans that would take us late in to the night - Dinner, Music, Dancing and if lucky a Husky game near the end. (little did we know, play the ominous music).  So we headed back for some chill time and maybe a nap.

At 7p we were up, dressed to kill it (meaning, yes Susan had her new boots on) and ready to head out.  Side bar here: when heading to a cool new place we like to find restaurants that the locals like, not always easy but in this situation our friend Mike Epplin has a brother that shares the same mission, who had also been to Nashville and through Mikey provided us with a number of recommendations.  This night we would try Josephine

 We arrived thirty minutes early and were sat in the bar.  There were two talented and creative bar tenders working the small space.  I went with a less sweet Manhattan and Susan ordered what they described as beefed up Cosmo, where the pomegranate juice was replaced by Pomegranate liqueur.  Both executed well, the early vibe of the restaurant was awesome.

It was 50 minutes before we were sat, the hostess told us it was because she had a great table for us, with her favorite waiter, but the nice older lady who was sitting at it was dragging her feet and slowly drinking her tea. We were excited that we made such a nice impression, but as we watched all those around us who arrived later than us being sat and getting their food we started to question her sincerity.   Once we were seated though, and met our waiter our fears were allayed and what turned out to be a great meal began.  First things first.  an heirloom tomato bruschetta and duck fat hashbrowns with a sprinkling of trout roe.  Wow and Yum

I ordered a half bottle of Vieux Telegraphe Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Susan had another Cosmo.  Then our entrees arrived Carbonara and a grilled Pork Chop with a Sorghum Vinegar Glaze also delicious.

We decided to pass on desert, to keep it light as there was still a lot of time left in our evening.  Fun to be had.  We boarded yet another lyft and headed back to broadway.  

First stop..  And yes this is the actual, entire name.  Kid Rock’s Big Ass Honky Tonk and Rock & Roll Steakhouse -  funny signs, four floors of food, drinks and live music, oh yeah and oh so many flat screens showing every sporting event being currently broadcast.  [Noted for later].  

The first band, was a hard rock band, and like most other bands we saw during our visit I couldn’t begin to tell you their name.  We grabbed a couple cocktails found a rail and enjoyed the show. 

The guy in the middle, stick thin and heroine chic, played the shit of the harmonica, moved like Jagger (not the song) and put on a helluva a show.  After busting through 8-10 songs he then wandered through the crowd with a metal bucket taking donations... New fact to share.. We went to a lot of bars, saw a lot of  bands - only BB Kings charged a cover.  Most, if not all of these bands play for tips, drinks, etc.  We tipped all the good bands we saw, if you love small venue live music, and are heading to Nashville budget accordingly.. 

Susan decided it was time to leave and head to the next place. So off we went, wandering about half block till we came to Crazy Town.  

Music sounded good, so in we went.  First song played by the new band in the new bar was “Blister In The Sun” by Violent Femmes, they had us at hello.  They played a few more progressive songs, bounced into Metallica “Sandman” then Bruno Mars “Uptown Funk” hit a country song or two and then back into progressive rock.  Nothing but fun.  Second Side Note: Good friend Brian Wilbur when getting beat by us on the golf course, so it happens often calls us HonYawks, no one on has a clue to what it means.  Saw this sign, which suggests he pronounces his insult wrong, though still no idea what it means

At the intermission of their set, I made sure to buy the band a few drinks, and tip them, I’m a quick study.  We stayed there for a couple hours dancing and drinking but it was almost time for Husky kick off. so we headed back to Kid Rock’s place headed to the third floor, found a seat at the three hundred foot rectangle bar, ordered drinks from her

and asked her to find FS1.  

Check - First quarter done Huskies leading. Then the weather gods intervened.  Good news we had other distractions. So we drank, watched other games, listened to music and waited. 

The game finally resumed around 2am our time.  They tied it up, we went back to the hotel, it was 2:30a, what could go wrong..  Figured we wait to read the good news in the AM...

[dancal13]

Napa to Nashville - Day 1

It’s been a few months, and though there have been a few thing to write about I wasn't sure they were interesting to anyone but me..  In late June, Suzy let me know that she would traveling to Nashville to attend a conference for work.  I told her that I had heard Nashville was damn cool with a great food and music scene...  Hmmm.. That sounded familiar..  It started coming up in conversations with our close friends the Pedersen’s and Van Nortwick’s who were familiar with the city, and fans of the atmosphere.  Then it happened.. Susan suggested I tag along.  As I typically work from home, working remotely wasn’t an issue, with kids at home, the dogs would be sad but survive.

Susan booked me a ticket and five weeks later we were Nashville bound.  

To be honest, when we first arrived, I wondered if we had been deceived, it was a hot and muggy afternoon, the streets were quiet, and though our hotel was next to the ginormous Nashville City Music Center, Country Music Hall of Fame  and the Bridgestone Arena, home of the Nashville Predators there didn’t seem to be a lot of energy for a Friday night.

[City Music Center]

[Country Music Hall of Fame]

With that said, Suzy and I checked in, and headed to the roof top bar at our hotel bar at the Westin Nashville.  It was time to figure out dinner and then our evening plans. Obviously drinks were ordered, and drinks were had..  I did say it was Susan and I right?

The view didn’t suck and the drinks were decent.  We decided to head toward the Gulch, a nearby hip foodie neighborhood.  

Off we went. No reservations. No ideas. Just hungry. We ended up at the Marsh House.  Looked cool and crowded, so hopefully it would be good.  We were surprised when we realized it was a seafood restaurant, our snobby Seattle has the only fresh fish hackles stood on end, but we gutted it out.  Sorry we were a little spent from the travel, my phone lost charge and Susan and I were enjoying some us time, so no early photos were taken [this was take from the interwebs].  

Susan ordered Tuna Orecchiette, a pasta with sausage made from Ahi tuna.  It was the only thing we didn’t enjoy.  I got Fried Chicken (Awesome) and we shared Crudo, Blue Crab dip, Fried Green Tomatoes, and Crispy Brussels Sprouts and Cauliflower - all delicious.  

We were content, but not stuffed.. it was time to see if this music scene thing was real...

Oh Fuck Yeah... It was REAL and it was Spectacular!!  Our pictures don’t do it justice. But it is four to five blocks of bars. Each bar has at least one floor with a live band, most have multiple levels and multiple bands, all varying in size but nothing huge and many have roof top bars as well.  If you love Country music, you are covered, if you don’t (that’s me) you are covered as well.  We heard Rock, the Blues, Progressive Rock -- hell one band was playing a cover of Bruno Mars’ Uptown Funk and everyone was digging it.  

The level of chaos is epic and in streets the amount of overlapping music is crazy, but once you pick out your bar and head in, that’s the only music you are hearing.  We chose Tin Roof the first night. It featured a band playing mostly progressive music.  We danced, drank and enjoyed, we wandered a bit, getting our bearings, figuring out our plan of attack for Saturday and most of all people watching...  

We found these two location within a couple of doors of each other... sadly there was no Megan’s 

Nashville has a huge Vegas vibe when it comes to people watching.  Tons of beautiful people and an equal amount of seriously drunk and not so beautiful people.  In fact as I headed over to the bar to get us another round I saw the end of a bar fight where a beer bottle was broken over the head of one of the combatants.  Did I mention it was two women?  

That’s the other thing about Nashville...  It’s a girls trip mecca... Many are there for bachelorette parties, but tons there for girls weekends as well... Pretty damn entertaining...  We only made it to midnight the first night and decided to walk back to the hotel..  At the end of a long day, not our best decision, but we learned from it.  Saturday was going to be fun...

[dancal13]

Day 9 – Farewell

Our last day had arrived, and most of it would be spent heading back to the Pacific Northwest. There were very few clean clothes in our suitcases and lot of new wine bottles, cups, etc. that needed to be packed. Tom had departed at 7a to participate in an annual 10k in Sonoma. He would obviously win the race, cuz that’s how this story ends. Ok, not true but he did race. We were packed and ready to leave at 9:30a.

We said goodbye to Stag’s Leap vineyards, the Fay house and turned left toward the Sacramento airport. No wait, sorry, we turned right and headed north toward St Helena for one more tasting. I did mention earlier, We are PROFESSIONALS and this is what professionals do. Jen had scheduled our last tasting at Davies (which also owns Schramsberg). Suzy and I lowered our heads, gritted our teeth and focused on the task ahead.

The Davies tasting room [pictured above] is on Hwy 29 and very cool. We were handed some Brut Rosé as we entered, a good first step. Jen had signed us up for a brunch tasting / food experience. We have done a similar experience a number of times in Healdsburg at J winery’s Bubble Room. It is a truly great way to taste wine and bubbles. The Davies menu shown below.

We were poured two new glasses of bubbs. Tasted both, then tried the caviar, lemon crème fraiche, boiled egg and a potato chip and then tasted the bubbs a second time.  

BLAM.  It was amazing, immediately Susan and my quiet conversation about skipping the morning tasting was long forgotten and quite possibly denied. We tasted a number of other bubbs, some pinots and their Jamie Cabernet, which we found out was the last case we got from the Barrel Auction. So good and now we are looking even more forward to that. We even tried their Demi Sec, labeled Cremant, typically a sweeter style of bubbles and not our favorite, but when paired with a slice of cheese cake (or other sweet dessert) the flavor completely changes, and it was delicious. Our final tasting was over, we posed for a group photo, I wandered the small tasting room preparing to leave. Only to turn around and see Susan ordering more wine and signing us for another wine club. Yup, My girl is a champion.  [As I post this 10 days later we have already received two shipments from Davies/Schramsberg, and under oath would confess to enjoying a few bottles as well. ;-) ]

We meandered back to the car, and this time actually headed to the airport. 90 minutes later Tom and Jen dropped us off, hugs were shared, goodbyes were said, and commitments to next year’s event discussed. 

We were flying home on Alaska Airlines – you know the airline that will check a case of wine per person on flights back from wine country. Which we of course needed. Grabbed a quick lunch (maybe a vodka) in the airport.  Boarded our plane for the 90-minute flight back to Seattle. 

We were home by 5:00p, greeted by Megan, Bailey, Lucy and Harley. We unpacked, started laundry, and prepared a simple salad for dinner, nirvana. Wine was discussed, but no action was taken. Bailey and Megan headed back to Seattle, and Susan and I went to bed early.  It was an amazing trip.  

What I shared will never begin to truly describe what we experienced. Susan and I have discussed ways to improve upon it, but it is merely a discussion.  Will we do it that big again, dunno, maybe.  

The next few photos do a pretty good job of describing our week.

If you have followed along with my ramblings, Thanks. Not sure if it was entertaining, informative or just a waste of time. But it was fun to try. Will think about the effort versus the result down the road and I am open to input from anybody who took the time to read.

[dancal13]

Day 8 – We’re Not Quitters

You’d think by now, there would be dread when heading out to a wine tasting, especially the day after the wine auction. But not when it’s somewhere new and yet to be discovered. That was Hyde de Villaine (HDV). You would miss it if you didn’t know it was there.  

Very small facility, very small production (under 5000 cases). Good news for us, Tom and Jen knew about it and even then, only after driving by it twice, we were able to find the facility. 

We were greeted by Nate, who was the only one working the facility while we there and appeared to hold nearly every job but wine maker. He was our tour guide and tasting host. He knew his shit and was very passionate about it. The more you do these tasting the more you appreciate those with this passion. They recognize your interest and often improve and extend your tasting. It was no different here, as our 5-wine tasting became 10 (Rosé not pictured) 

HDV is the result of a partnership between a famous wine owner from France, Aubert de Villaine (maker of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti) partnering with a very well-known grower in Napa, Larry Hyde (Hyde Vineyards). The result were some great chardonnays and pinots. The winery is built in what looks like a small warehouse (pictured above), metal sheeted walls, one ramp and what looked to be only two doors. Barrels, equipment, tasting room and office tucked into what appeared to be a building that was only 40 yards deep and 70 yards long – at most. Susan was sold, we will be receiving deliveries bi-annually going forward. If we open a bottle of the Ygnacia (Ignacia) when you are hanging with us, I am pretty sure you will be pleased as well.

We headed back to Yountville for lunch, and this time with a reservation. Much to Brian Wilbur’s disappointment the previous Monday, we were not able to get into RH. But Tom and Jen knew well in advance that we were planning to attend. Reservations were made, and we were sat at 12:30p. 

Most of you know that Restoration Hardware, is a high end furniture store, what you may not know is that they have now opened 3-4 restaurants in front of some of their snootier locations; New York, Chicago, LA and Yountville. They offer a simple menu, but really deliver good food, presented in a really cool dining room. 

The dining room, itself was filled with chandeliers and six 100-year-old transplanted olive trees. Lots of young beautiful people waited on us, I think you are fired when you turn 30.  

Of note and discussion. Susan and Tom both ordered the shaved ribeye French Dip sandwich which Tom fantasizes about often. It did not disappoint, nor did the burgers Jen and I had ordered. (Ps. Suzy also had bubbles and I had a sauvignon blanc - just to keep it going and still not quitters)

The food was delicious, but very rich, I think we passed on dessert, but delirium had set in and I am not sure.  RH is about two blocks away from Thomas Keller’s French Laundry, a bucket list restaurant for me, pictured below covered in ivy with a cute couple.  Will have to save our visit for another trip.

We probably could have gone back to the cottage from there as we had done so much, but seriously as previously mentioned, We Are Not Quitters. 

Our next stop was Trinchero (pronounced Trin – Karo) to taste their wines and enjoy their wine experience. 

Super cool facility found between St Helena and Calistoga on Highway 29. Relatively new. There were some nice wines, but nothing that screamed at us. If you were hosting/guiding someone new to wine, this would be a great experience for them.   

We did the barrel tasting, which included surprise, surprise a barrel tasting (pictured below), though a bit staged for coolness. 

Of quick note, Trinchero is a family owned winery.  They made most of their billions with another winery that you might recognize - Sutter Home. Known for White Zinfandel and box wine. This would typically be a reason not to go see a winery, but Jen has a friend in the business who works for Trinchero and recommended that we try their tasting experience.

With all their money they decided to build a high-end experience with better grapes. If they figure out the wine, and likely they will spend the money to do so, this might be worth revisiting. Afterward, we drove about 10 minutes North on Hwy 29 to Calistoga. Supposedly a cute little town, Suzy and Jen checked out a few stores, Tom and I wandered and waited. 30 minutes later we headed back to Stag’s Leap.

Our last night in Napa was upon us.  We were actually more mentally and physically spent on dining out than tasting wine. Mostly because we are professionals when it comes to drinking wine, not that I’m bragging about this, ok maybe just a bit. Our restaurant for the evening was Basalt in downtown Napa and only a block or so away from Angele from two nights prior.

We went light - salads, seafood and maybe a little risotto, but obviously healthy see the pictures, I’m pretty sure there is something healthy making it green.  

I think Tom and Jen got dessert, we passed. We got home around 9:30, there was a half-bottle of the Fay Cabernet calling my name, ever so gently from the dining room table.  I passed and headed to bed.  Suzy quietly mentioned that she would be okay skipping our last tasting the next morning.

[dancal13]

Day 7 – The Barrel Auction

This is a hard day to explain but if you are a wino and foodie, and like to gamble (maybe game is a better word for it) this is your wet dream.  We dropped Jenny off at 10:30a as she was working the first half of the event for Stag’s Leap (this would become important later) and parked the car in a nearby shuttle bus parking lot.  

Please note that the shuttle buses to the event felt like first class seats on a commuter flight.  We arrived at 11:00a, we were handed a glass of sauvignon blanc as we walked up. And then the Games began. 

Tom, Susan and I first admired the new updated Louis Martini winery (they are one of 5-6 wineries/facilities capable of hosting such a large-scale event.  We wasted as much 45 seconds doing this, as we were focused and already tiring of our 90 second old sauvignon blanc.

Into the barrel room we went, unlike last year, there were actually two rooms to accommodate over 100 wineries that were auctioning off barrel lots (90% of the barrels were Cabernet Sauvignon or blends made mostly from cabs) to benefit Auction Napa Valley.  Each participating winery produces one to two barrels of these presented wines specifically for the auction.  So, you are only getting some if they have extra at the winery, or you “Know a Guy” who attended, who is generous with his or her wine.  We were told the barrels are the best lots or rows often from their best vineyards (probably not 100% true across the board but it sounds cool).   

Now for the game or better explained here’s how it works. Throughout the 4-hour auction, you wander from barrel to barrel picking and choosing which wines you want to taste and which wines you want to bid on. There were three of us to begin with, so we didn’t always get the same wines but we shared, or sacrificed our taste buds and if it made our personal initial cut, then encouraged the other two to grab a sample. We were looking for both known and unknown wines, and watching the bid prices. This is where the gaming part begins.  

For each barrel there at 10 lots/cases available. Each bid incrementally increases by $50. Your goal is to place a bid on a wine you like and want - early enough, but not too early.  If you bid to early and 10 more bids come after you, you lose out on the wine, unless you want to bid again at the highest price.  

The first image includes an early view of our bids (on the left) and how we netted out (on the right)

The second image is for shits and gigs - showing the ridiculous amount that one barrel/case price maxed out at, yes $25,000 per case, with the person getting the best deal at $24,500)  

Now I know you are thinking wow, Dan and Susan have deep wine pockets, and though it is likely true that we spend more on wine than many, although no where near as much as our friend Kip. In this situation, and the same for previous year we reached out to other wine enthusiast friends (you know who you are) and got 4 additional financial commitments for a total of 6 partners in our wine consortium/syndicate. So, each member would receive two bottles of each the cases we won.

We bid early on Blackbird, Correlation, Ghostblock, Antica (not shown, as Tom managed that bid) and Sterling. There were reasons/stories for each, you can ask me in person.  We of course kept tasting, the entire time. We bought Jax last year, and while were tasting this year, the wine maker suggested that it would be cool to have a vertical of the auction blend, BRILLIANT, our bid was in. Ghostblock was our first loss, Susan secretly told me that she was okay with this, she didn’t love the wine. Blackbird followed it almost immediately. This was a bummer, but no worries, we had been doing our jobs identifying replacements.

Good News, our secret weapon was just getting off work, with a fresh and way more knowledgeable palate. (Tom would argue that it was him, and he is good, but Jenny Jennerson - aka Scott is the cheese). I suggested the Amici, as the fruit came from a famous vineyard Beskstoffer To Kalon. I was first and rightfully ridiculed by Tom for my god-awful pronunciation of the vineyard name, but then blessed by Jen, as she liked the wine. Our Amici bid was now on the table.  All the while we continued tasting and scheming.  We came across the Davies, a wine not known by many, but owned by the family that makes Schramsberg the original bubbles maker in Napa and known by Jen and Tom. This is where the gaming began, as you can see in the first image, we had bids down now on 6 cases, which would take us well over our budget.  But Correlation at that time was at 7 and quickly moving to 10, (11 would move it out).  

We could wait for it to drop off, but then pay more for the Davies. Susan and I agreed to sell our daughter’s Megan and Bailey or one my kidneys if need be to cover the chance, our Davies bid was in. During this time, we also met many wine makers and winery owners. Susan is pictured with the wine maker or owner at Hall, I’m not sure. Two years ago, we bought a number of his cabernet’s, one specifically called Jack’s Masterpiece as a gift for our son Jack for graduating UW.

It was now time to wait and focus on the second part of Susan and my wine auction strategy. This strategy revolves around walking the floor and finding the cases with the highest bids on them. Anything over $5k (nearly $500 per bottle) and there were many, got our attention and we tasted it. The VGS Chateau Potelle (their owner said VGS stood for Very Good Shit - pretty sure he is the guy with the orange sleeves picture below) was really good, though the bid was only at $5k or so when we tasted it.  

There were many more and we were motivated.   At almost 4 o’clock the count down begins, imagine New Year’s Eve. We closely watched our phone app to see how we did. Clock struck 4:00p, and our 5 “wins” were secure.  

Our finishing places 8, 9, 8, 9, 7… We patted ourselves on the back and bragged to ourselves how skilled we were at the game. [For the curious, we will not see this wine for another 9-11 months as it will be bottled, laid down and stored, then shipped to us when it is more ready.  The wineries will then suggest we lay it down for another year or so to get it more ready and delicious. Good news these wines were great in the barrel, they should be way better by then.]

Barrel Auction Part 2, same day

So as not to confuse the explanation of auction part of the day, I delayed sharing the second part, which makes this day even more incredible. Outside the barrel rooms you find 40+ local restaurants from Napa, Yountville, St Helena, Calistoga, etc. and another 30 or more wineries (not included in the barrel bidding). 

So in between tasting and tending to our bids (4 hours is a long time) we wandered around outside, tasted great foods and sampled bubbles, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay and rosé. The food was incredible and though smaller in portion, bigger than you would think - appetizer size in most cases. My favorite was fried chicken legs, drizzled with local fresh honey. The honeycomb is pictured below. Other great items included and pictured below tuna poke, eggplant parmigiana, and lobster roll with edible flowers in them to name a few. 

There were also two live bands. One on each side of the winery.

And then there were the other cools things to do and eat. Lexus was displaying their wine fridge trunk with quick wine cooler in the side and of course the chocolates, oh so many chocolates and some cookies.

Our event was done, we were happy, wined up and full. As we departed, we were gifted with White Corkcicle outdoor traveler wine glasses. Do these look familiar?  If not go back and re-read Day 1.

We had a few hours to kill and chill prior to dinner, but what should we do?  Oh yeah, we were staying in the Fay House in the middle of the Fay vineyards. Rosé was distributed and we headed out into the vineyards to relax and recall the amazing day.  And it was AMAZING.

Dinner was spent at Roadhouse 49, just south of Calistoga.  Low key BBQ night. No pictures could be found.  An amazing day ended and is now in the archives.

[dancal13]

Day 6 – Transition Day

Thursday was moving day for Susan and me.  After five days at the El Dorado it was time to move on. The room had been small and noisy, but the stay was great, the food and bar fantastic and the location perfect for our visit. Bags were packed, though Susan’s stuff seemed to have expanded :) and my bags were needed. Coffee and pastry purchased at the local bakery.  We then we sat down and chilled at café next store for an iced coffee. An hour later Tom and Jen swung by, our bags were packed in their car and we were off to a weekend of food and wine delight.  First stop “Layla at MacArthur Place” for lunch - still in Sonoma, but on our way out of town.  If you get nothing else out of this bloglike blathering, you should get a decent list of options for great places to wine and to dine in Napa and Sonoma Valleys. Thursday was a trifecta of places to dine.

Layla is new, but the location within MacArthur Place used to be a steak house called Saddles (never went).  The outdoor patio was not quite finished, but it looks like it is going to be spectacular. It is part of a hotel called, yup you guessed it, MacArthur Place just off the square in Sonoma.  Not sure it is in our price range - was told $800 per night, but it if it was in the range, it would definitely be a place worth staying.  Our lunches were great, Susan and I split a fried chicken sandwich and great salad (not pictured).  

But the thing that impressed us the most were the handcrafted cocktails.  I know Shocker. 

The inititals on the drink were created through a stencil, and shrank in size as you sipped it. The purple drink was created using an ingredient called shrub, which is a sweetened vinegar-based syrup that was actually blue until it was mixed with the alcohol and turned lavender. 

Ps. The eye dropper to the right of the drink was hot sauce that we put on our sandwich. I asked our Hispanic waitress (ethnicity only important for this side note) how hot it was.  She smiled and said not to hot for Mexicans. Good news it was not to hot for me either. Lunch was done and we were off to the Fay House in the center of Stag’s Leap vineyards just off of the Silverado Trail to spend the rest of our trip. 

Jenny had to work the rest of the afternoon so Susan, Tom and I headed to Yountville to kill time, and when I say kill time I mean drink some wine, and get some treats.  Our first stop was a preview of where we were scheduled to dine  on Saturday for lunch, and also the place where we got shut out of this past Monday.  RH, which is Restoration Hardware’s somewhat move into the restaurant business.  They have a few restaurants currently, I learned of two - New York and Yountville, though I’m sure they define it as Napa Valley (I would learn about a few others on Saturday).  We were just here for wine, so I will only share pictures of that experience and share the dining room on Saturday. I grabbed the two evening shots off of the web, because they did a better job of showing how cool this place is.  We sat in our own cabana (there were about 20), drank a glass of wine or two, caught up with Tom and acted like the beautiful people. 

Next stop Buchon Bakery, owned and created by Thomas Keller who also created “The French Laundry” a world famous restaurant also found in Yountville.  Too many choices to be sure.  Great pastries, great bread and some hand made candy.

Treats were purchased, snacked on and we headed back to Stag’s Leap to gather Jen, drink some rosé (cab led and pinot led for comparison) and get ready for dinner. Yup more food and wine. Might be time to buy stock in Zantac.

Dinner Thursday was at Angèle in downtown Napa.  A little (petite) French restaurant.  A little noisy but great energy.

Jen ordered a bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, sorry not pictured and not Napa - oh so brazen. We also ordered some fun drinks to start. We shared fried deviled eggs (had a scotch egg outer texture)  and seared octopus as appetizers. Then moved on to Branzino, Sole Meunière, and Steak Frites for entrees. Pretty good rating from all of us. Though Susan later said that her steak could have had more flavor.

We were full, but seriously dessert at a French restaurant is a must. Not pictured was Jen’s crème brûlée and Tom’s pot du crème. Suzy had a butterscotch bread pudding, with a caramel bourbon sauce. Yes, you head that right. I had the profiteroles, which looked way better than they tasted, a little plain and chewy. Even with this dessert disappointment I would go back to Angèle again without a second thought.

It was 10pm, we were content, and the wine barrel auction was the next day.  It was time to call it quits and prepare ourselves for the big day.

[dancal13]

Day 5 – We Almost Didn’t Drink Wine Today

[Meaning not as much to write about, think of it as a break for the reader as well] 

Much like yesterday, it was a day for goodbyes as the Robb’s headed back to Sammamish. After another quick breakfast in which John had Eggs Benedict for the 4th day in a row, we recounted many of the highlights, discussed what we would do differently, hugs were exchanged, farewells wished, etc.

This was our official vacation hump day, falling on an actual hump day.  Oh, the symmetry.  It was the day that Susan and I had decided would be a focused workday.  Our best chance to not get to far behind on things, so that the Monday of our return would be less abrupt. This is pretty typical for me, Work Life balance is pretty good, but Vacation Life balance is less so.  We also thought it would be a good day to rebuild our constitutions and prepare for the coming onslaught – no lunch, lite dinner, drinking unlikely.  We gathered our gear and headed down to hotel patio, spending the next 4 hours writing, editing, emailing, responding and other nonesuch.  So productive.  On a side note, I finished the Lenny Bruce autobiography, the second half of the book was pretty slow as he describes the many legal battles he went through, as he was often arrested for lewd/dirty speech.  More importantly, I started my second book pictured below. 50 pages in and flying, it was recommended by our friend Karen Crowe, I am connecting with the authors ideology on when not to give a Fuck. And how to better choose what fucks to give.

It was now 3p, and we were antsy. We went for a walk, found a coffee shop as we always do, found some cute women’s clothing stores as Suzy always does and blammo bumped right into one of many wine tasting rooms.  This time Fulcrum vineyards, recommended to us by Karen (not Crowe) at Three Sticks. Fulcrum is a Pinot/Chard winery that of course offers a cabernet.  They also offered some nice and very different rosés, one pinot based, one cab sauv/cab franc based.  If you are new to wines or just introducing yourself to rosés, I’d recommend the second cab based one, it is more fruit led.  But once you have had a few the pinot-based rosé might be more to your liking and very French. 

We didn’t join the club but took home a rosé and a pinot to share with Tom and Jen over the next few days.  We had a great conversation with our host, I shared my thoughts on the Pinot vs Cab, she of course disagreed but Susan thought her answers were bias, I cannot remember her name.  For shame. 

Next stop the hotel to chill for a few hours and decide on a light dinner for our last night in Sonoma.  We went back and forth and ended up back at Maya.  

So, the light part went right out the window. We also watched the St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins go to overtime in the Stanley Cup finals.  These are the days when you know you have married right, yup hockey.  Not saying Susan was totally engaged, but she did look up when something cool happened. [As I post this, game 7 is now looming, I am now cheering for St Louis, as they have never won a Stanley Cup, and we are all tired of Boston] Fish Tacos, Chili Relleno, Mole Enchilada, Pomegranate Margarita and a Blackberry Basil Mojito. 

Time for bed. Preparing for the gluttony to come.  I told you it was a light day, not as much to write about either.  

[dancal13]

Day 4 – Continued Recovery, Kind of

Tuesday saw the departure of the Wilbur’s. Before they left, we had a quick meet up for breakfast next store at the Sunflower Café. I went light with the breakfast burrito ;-) and I believe Susan had the benedict. I can honestly say, I was unable to finish it.  Might have been the food hangover from the Girl and the Fig, or I was just watching my girlish figure.  

Good news no lunch was needed.  Suzy and I headed back to our room to work a bit, and then down to the pool to chill.

At 1:00p we reunited with the Robbs, and headed to our first tasting of the day, Three Sticks Winery (apparently named after the owner’s surfer nickname - Johnny 3 Sticks), More good luck awaited us, as it was less than hundred feet from the entrance of our hotel and yet extremely secluded. Our host, Karen explained that the tasting room was located in one a few remaining Adobe homes in California built by the Mexicans in the early 1800s. (a lot of history - ask me in person if you are more interested).

Three Sticks (another Jen Scott recommendation) is a small production Chardonnay and Pinot Noir Winery that owns most if not all of the vineyards they get grapes. Though we tasted in the front room the pictures below were for a much cooler room 

There was also a great courtyard, that wine club members are allowed to use if they want to swing by and drink a bottle of wine.  

Yup you guessed it, the Robbs and Callahan’s are now members, which also allows us access to their small production allocations, and access to this courtyard and wines whenever we are chilling in Sonoma.  We ordered a case between us and signed up for the El General (pronounced El Heneral) membership.  We will try to bully the Wilbur’s into absorbing a third of this membership. It includes two cases of Pinot per year. Mike Epplin, I asked about the El Jefe membership. It doesn’t exist. YET.  It was a great experience, but if you are interested in visiting make sure to call a few weeks ahead of your visit as they only seat 6-9 tastings per day. This is the entrance, very little signage, easily could walk by, if you didn’t know.

Ps. The drummer for Green Day, Frank Wright III aka Tré Cool (Also a wine club member) was there to hang in the gardens and drink Pinot with seven of his friends on Saturday (Day 1) - 3 nights prior, maybe that’s why it was so loud outside our room, or why we are so cool. 

Next stop, mostly because we had no reservations, was back to Pangloss. (again Day 1) where our five wine bottle tasting quickly became 10, plus we experienced wine flavor comparisons out of different stemware (could have been Jedi wine mind tricks), and then a blind tasting of a blend. In case you are wondering John picked out the cab franc, and I guessed the merlot, it was a right-bank Bordeaux style blend. Yeah probably more lucky than good when it comes to identifying varietals. The discussion of course side tracked our conversation to the movie “Sideways” and Cheval Blanc a famous right-bank merlot led blend.  Did I mention we had tasted at least 10 wines here?

The wines were good at Pangloss, I truly liked  them and purchased my second bottle of the week of their Moon Mountain Cabernet.  But, they equally tasted Pinots and Cabernet’s and you know what damnit, I am a skeptic and though I am sure there are exceptions here and there, it is my belief that a great wine maker of Pinot Noir, will not be nearly as great making Cabernet or Cabernet blends and vice versa. (this was Pangloss’ flaw). Each of these varietals require inspiration and understanding of the subtle nuances needed to make the favored varietal shine – being a genius at 2, well I’m sorry you just can’t have it all.  I am sure many you will have an example where I am wrong. But think about it, I think you will come around. 

We were also encouraged to taste an even smaller batch production, owned by the Pangloss winemaker, called Texture and then snuck back into the Texture tasting room, a very cool place.  The wine didn’t stand out to me as much as the Pangloss, and no where near the Three Sticks but that maybe due to the amount we tasted.  It was definitely nap time. 

The best thing we learned at Pangloss was that on Tuesday nights the park in the center of plaza becomes a farmer’s market; fresh produce, food trucks, food stands, live music and best yet, the park has a Tuesday liquor license so you can bring your wine to the park and enjoy it.  We quickly cancelled our fancy dinner plans, patted ourselves on the back for buying our Yeti cups previously used for the pool, and headed back to the hotel for a quick nap.

Not quite fresh from our naps but the best we were going to get at the end of our fourth day, we grabbed our wine, our cups, some cash and headed across the street into the park. First stop the corndog stand for a Cajun corndog.  Served alongside the Moon Mountain Cabernet, I mean sure why not, and you know what, it didn’t disappoint.

John found the Bleu Cheese French Fries, and was more than willing to share, oh so good.

Suzy, being Suzy gravitated to the bruschetta stand, and wow. The first and second were made with fresh California tomatoes grown nearby and pesto and were so good. The third with Brie, Prosciutto and balsamic vinegar also fantastic.

Like all good farmer’s market’s there is beautiful produce and expected gifts and tchotchkes, don’t worry I didn’t buy the towel below for anyone, but it would have been a great parting gift for those of you who join us on our back deck

Also, as typical, you buy your food, get full and then eventually run into a place you wish you had run into first.  For us it was the Paella stand, smelled so good, looked even better, note the size of the pans.

We headed back to the El Dorado patio had another round of drinks, a little dessert, yes, we found just a little bit more room and then headed to bed. 5 days to go.

[dancal13]

Day 3 – Taste a Little, Recover a Lot

I know this sounds like a bit of copout, but day 3, as it needed to be was a recovery day. Now I am not saying we were quitters, you know us better than that, we just understood what it was going to take to survive the rest of the days ahead.  The Robbs and Callahans meandered out of bed, to breakfast, and possibly back to bed for the better part of the morning as our first tasting would not start till 11:30a. The Wilburs checked out of their rental and into the El Dorado.  At 10:30a though we met, and were all in the car by 10:50a and headed back to Napa for our first tasting at Odette. 

One of the many great things about being related to Jennifer Scott is the knowledge she brings of new, cool and delicious wineries to our plain of existence.  Last year during our visit, on a whim and just before we left town, Jen suggested we stop at Odette.  So, of course we did. When we arrived Pandora’s Odesza radio was playing in the back ground. We sat on the porch in the shade and sampled their great wines and the wines of their sister wineries PlumpJack and Cade.  It was must see tv, and we had to go back and pass on this shared knowledge with our Bottle Rock friends.  

Tom our host, who was also a 12th grade high school teacher, was fantastic. We tasted the Cade Sauvignon Blanc, the PlumpJack Chardonnay, onto the Odette Adaptation Cabernet led Blend.  We then were then treated to two Cade Cabernets one grown on the floor of Napa Valley (Stag’s Leap) while the other was grown at around 1500 feet in Napa Valley (also Stag’s Leap) both amazing and entirely different.  Lines were drawn, sides we taken but then the tensions eased when Tom suggested we buy, drink and chill with a bottle of the Odette Estate Cabernet Sauvignon.  

It was unanimous, we each bought an additional bottle of the estate cab to carry home and somehow the recovery period seemed over, as by 1:30p we were all now three or four glasses of wine into our day.  Please note that Susan and Jill in the accompanying photo were having a great time but hiding their purple teeth. 

Based on the previous day and our first tasting it was agreed that lunch was a priority.  We headed into Yountville to get a bite.  First, we tried to get a table at the Ultra Foofy new restaurant created by Restoration Hardware, who knew? Apparently, my friend Brian did. But we were shut out, as we were with every other restaurant in Yountville. Note to self: Reservations on Memorial Day weekend are a must.

A quick decision was made, we headed in the wrong direction toward St Helena, grabbed sandwiches at Dean and Deluca, ate them in the parking lot and our day was saved.  On to our second and final tasting of day 3.

At 2:57p we arrived at Patz and Hall for our 3p tasting, phew, a few of us looked like we would have preferred a nap, but there was still time allowed for that later. We were seated on the back porch, with the view provided below. I know, seriously right, how are supposed get through a tasting having to look at that.

Our host Patrick was great and surprisingly a dead ringer for Charlie Day (who stars in Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Horrible Bosses). And is known for his high pitched voice. We tasted two chardonnays (one unfiltered) and two pinots, Patrick then shared a third Pinot from a new vineyard called Little Boot, which is adjacent to Bootlegger’s vineyard, known for its great Pinot Noir grapes. We were sold and bought two, again this is another benefit of being related to Jen, as Patz & Hall is one of the wineries she works for and Patrick “Charlie” knowing that (yes Suzy told him) provided us with a friends and family discount on the wines purchased and comped the tasting.  Someone was quoted as we left the premise saying, “It almost feels like we made money on that visit.” (yes, it was me).

It was nearly 5p, we were spent, but we had allowed for chill time and agreed to reconvene for drinks just prior to our 8:30p dinner reservations. Good news dinner reservations were at The Girl and The Fig an institution in Sonoma and just across street. (picture taken from our bedroom). 

We met downstairs around 7:45p - drinks and bubbles were had, but the group was obviously a bit gassed. We crossed the street to dinner. The Girl and the Fig (TGaTF) is a wonderful Country French themed restaurant, meaning not a bunch of over the top super rich, but still delicious entrees (Voila in Seattle is a similar restaurant and really good, but not as great as TGaTF.  We were sat on the back porch, great temperature as the weather had already changed for the better from the day before. 

Our server Daou (sp) was from Nepal and there for our every need. If you ever get a chance to dine with Brian Wilbur, and I have many times this is where he truly shines. His ability to get the best out a of waiter and sometimes chef, understand what the restaurant does best and build a top-notch meal for the entire group is something to behold. This night was no different. Pictured below is a featured Flounder Meuniere that was selected by one of our group.

We all left uncomfortably full but happy.  No after dinner drinks, it was bed time. Day 3 was in the books.

[dancal13]

Day 2 – So Much Music, So Much Wine

Quick Disclaimer:  Suzy and I both love live music, which is awesome as music has always meant a lot to me. And now Jack, Bailey and Megan are all into music - so I am still learning about and loving new music, while keeping up with past favorites.  But I have grown to hate large crowds (might even be a phobia for the small-minded person - meaning me).  So, we pay attention to all the small venues in Seattle and see a lot of up and coming bands as well as lot of bands that are past their prime.  Pretty cool on the whole, but what we miss out on is the big tours, the bands in the their prime, for example U2’s most recent stadium tour. Not a chance that I would go to that even though I love U2.  But Susan is clever and not one to give up on something she wants to do.  As I mentioned in the Prologue a couple of years ago our friends the Wilbur’s mentioned BottleRock and Susan had her in. Combining and weaving my love for music with my addiction and love for red wine into her sales pitch. The opportunity to see the Red Hot Chile Peppers (never seen by me) and hang in Napa Valley. I was low hanging fruit. (Sorry not such quick disclaimer after all)

And here we are…

We woke up Sunday morning to a chill and the threat of rain and thunder (could be song lyrics).  Much different than our previous visits, where our fears mostly included sunburn and 100-degree weather.  No rain gear, no worries – Susan doesn’t believe in General Admission, that is so bourgeois.  We are VIP Baby and VIP gets you shelter, nice bathrooms, shorter food and drink lines and an obvious sense of superiority.  This of course could easily be disproved, but it’s our story, so stick it. Our friends the Robbs (Jill and John) flew in early that morning and met us for breakfast prior to rocking out.  As true festival goers our breakfast included eggs benedict, smoked salmon-arugula-egg flatbread, Belgium waffles with fresh a bananas and a ham-gruyere omelet, obviously the breakfast of music rebels everywhere.

From there we dropped off the muscle car, its head banging purpose complete and left for the festival.  As we arrived the clouds opened, and we again questioned our attire. We watched in utter horror as umbrellas were collected at the gate and tossed into waiting garbage cans - NOT ALLOWED.  But we were quickly reminded who we were. 

We were VIP and loving every minute of it.  First Stop, I know hard to guess, the bar and wait, you guessed it a covered area looking over the main stage. We would never be anything but damp again as each big stage had a covered area waiting for us.

We had been here before, the covered area previously acted as shade, apparently it can serve two purposes. With wine and cocktails in hand we quickly worked our strategy.  In the two years since we had last attended there were some improvements to VIP. The first being that they had set aside a huge portion of the field in front of the stage for those of us who wanted to see the performers up close.  More on that later.

We headed back to the food and drink areas set aside for our elite status, which included some pretty awesome restaurants and drink options and an acoustic lounge, that featured performers who were finished with their sets or still yet to perform.  These quick and intimate performances lasted about 4 to 6 songs, with a much smaller crowd, maybe a 150 people at its largest. Pretty cool. Just a quick note: though we didn’t take advantage of this (or get taken advantage of by this) there was a booth selling very high-end CUPS of wines.  I wish I would have taken a picture of the menu for posterity.  You could get a small “plastic cup” of Joseph Phelps Insignia for a mere $72. It is here where we were quickly reminded that though we were VIP Special, we were way, way less special than the VIP Platinum attendees.

After some food and drink and an acoustic set or two, we ventured out to the main stage to see Skylar Grey. My only knowledge of her was when we received the first set of promotional materials and I was scrolling through the various artists; I was stopped by the picture of her legs.  See the accompanying picture 😊. Apparently, she is a singer songwriter known more for songs that she has written for more famous artists, she is also currently a local of Napa and a big fan of wine, maybe we will hangout some time.  The first song performed was a song she wrote for Puff Daddy, P Diddy or whatever his current name is.  She had a fantastic voice, tons of tats, and yes great legs.

We stayed for 4 or 5 songs, grabbed some fun pictures, and text-taunted our friends the Wilbur’s who went for multiple days and did GA, while hosting one of their daughter, a nephew and other young friends (as mentioned, VIP access got us pretty close to the stage)

Next stop the Firefox stage to see Gang of Youths.  If you have been to a music festival, typically you will come across a band you do not know, know only one song, or maybe know a few and their performance far exceeds your expectations - You are now a fan!  In the past I have had that reaction to Coleman Hell, New Politics, Odesza – this year it was Gang of Youths, sorry for the bad pic, I have video, but not quite sure how to embed.  They were rockers from Australia, and the lead singer and guitarist looked like Jon Snow from Game of Thrones, so Suzy enjoyed them as well. Hmmmm… GoY vs GoT coincidence?  I think not.

I was also able to capture this image during GoY, of the GA crowd behind me and my cup of cabernet.  I almost felt sad for their existence. Then I took another sip of cabernet, enjoyed the music and all was forgotten.

We headed to the third of four stages to see the Teskey Bros, a blues band that Susan had become a fan of, but finally bumped into our friends Brian and Anne, pictured below drinking Frozés (yup rosé slushies) 

and then stopped nearby for a quick visit to the Silent Disco.  A huge dance floor where everyone is provided a set of headphones that are channeling 2 or 3 different DJs.  Pretty funny to watch a bunch of people dancing together but to different music. On a channel that I wasn’t on, Don’t Stop Believing, by Journey was playing.  Half of the audience/dancers were singing along and singing so loud that I couldn’t hear my headphones, it was time to go.

The Teskey brothers were good and we stayed for most of their set.  We then made our way back to the main stage, the acoustic lounge and the food and beverage area in time for the evening set.  This is where my funny wife stepped up.  After getting an unsatisfactory pour of bubbles while I was receiving an abundant one, she decided to watch me during my next order.  Again, I received above the line pours for both our drinks.  Susan screamed; you are flirting with the guy working the bar.  And then again yelled that I was flirting with the girl during our next stop. Obviously these days I don’t believe in gender labeling (thanks Megan for you guidance), so I just went about my business of flirting, I know right – I AM SO WOKE.  The entertainment ensued from there as Suzy started making friends with people who had arrived early enough for seats, or spaces at the rails or just looked fun. After hanging a while with Suz, they would then offer their spaces to her as they left – by the end of the day we each had a role… Flirty WOKE Guy and Friendly “Who’s Your Buddy” Girl a match made in rock and roll festival heaven

Evening set: First up was Michael Franti and Spearhead.  Seems like he performs every year at Bottlerock, and I’m not sure anyone has a better time doing so.  We were near the stage, but when Michael Franti performs, that means you only get to see him up close for half the time.  He is a bare foot performer who likes to wander out and sing in the crowd, and he does it well. This was the first performance we stayed at for the entire set.

It was nearly 8:30 now and our backs and legs were nearly spent, but the headliner “Mumford and Sons” took the stage.  I’m a big fan of their music but was still surprised and awed by their performance. It was a bit harder than I expected, and they performed with so much energy it was great.  I will find a way to see them again, probably multiple times.

It was a long day, and I was sore for a few days after standing and dancing for nearly ten hours. I’m am not interested in attending other festivals like Coachella, likely because they are not in Wine Country. I know snobbery right?

One insight I would like to share. If you are attending something like this and using a bankcard for drinks, check ahead of time with your bank, as we found out the hard way, that it looks suspicious if you make a bunch of small purchases in a day (food and drinks), in another state. The bank can and will freeze your card until the next day, or until you call them. The good news or easy solution is to carry cash or a second card.  Learn from our mistakes.  

[dancal13]

Day 1 – The Arrival

5:00a Wake-up, 6:15a Airport Arrival - Holiday Busy. Quick flight To Sacramento, saw a Muscle Car in rental lot and thought, well why not.  It was parked next to a Tesla, but that seemed pretentious and I’m just a South King County Kid who married a girl from Bellevue, and she was into the muscle car as well.

On the way to Sonoma where we would hotel for the first half of our stay we stopped at the midpoint (the Cruz, the Confluence - inside joke) between the two valleys, Domaine Carneros, a bubbles maker that we had enjoyed a number of other times. You’d think after years of doing this we would have learned, but apparently on Memorial Day weekend, with Bottle Rock going on nearby a reservation might be required.  Oh Well, it became a fancy looking rest stop toward our ultimate destination

We checked in at the El Dorado, a really cool old hotel on the Square (or Plaza) in downtown Sonoma and decided to grab lunch on their patio.  Please note: when I say anything about eating going forward it will usually include imbibing as well.  Our first two drinks of the trip: Suzy had a Rosy Cheeks (on the left, many ingredients) and I had a Stone Fruit (boubon), and we were off and running.  Oh yeah, the food was great, we did appetizers.  

Our flight had departed at 7:50am, we were 7 hours into our day, and it was only, just noon. Good god what had we got ourselves into. The great thing about this predicament, and the way Susan and I like to travel, is that we adhere to a light-to-no schedule strategy. If you are someone who plans to go to Napa and wants to taste at five wineries a day.  We hope you enjoy yourself. (aka Go Fuck yourself, kind of just kidding).  With no plans and the sun out, we decided to reintroduce ourselves to the square, do a little people watching and stop and visit at what ever caught our eye. Funny thing happened, as we wandered, the first place that caught our eye was Pangloss a local winery tasting room that Tom Scott had recommended.  This might surprise you (probably not) but we stopped, pulled up a chair at the bar, did a tasting, made friends with the knowledgeable kid pouring our wine, bought a bottle for later and even art directed a photo of what appeared to be a bachelorette party. 

We continued our trek around the square stopping at a jewelry store, a kitchen store, etc. and finally made it back to the hotel around 2:00p. Wait what, still so much day left.  So, we headed to the pool, mostly to read and maybe dip our feet in the water. Not much of a hot day. Suzy caught up on the news. Somebody bought me Lenny Bruce’s autobiography, “How to Talk Dirty and Influence People” if it was you, let me know, I want to thank you.  Sadly, the pool had a No Glassware rule, so cocktails were out of the question, unless you are married to a Problem Solver like I am.  My wife excused herself to go to the bathroom, but actually it was a stealth mission back to the kitchen store previously mentioned. Then a quick stop at the bar, and Bob’s your Uncle, we now had cocktails, new Yeti tumblers and a bartender’s epiphany.  As learned, when I went back for refills and was told, Your Wife Is A Genius.  So, not actually much of an epiphany, as of course I knew this already.

Day 1 was nearly over, I watched a little bit of the NBA playoffs, we crossed the square one more time for dinner, Maya, kind of a mix between our Cactus (Madison Park version) and Masa (in Gilman). Good quick meal, sat next to a young family with one boy and two younger girls.  Super cute, fighting crying sisters, a stressed mom and an overbearing grandmother who thought she could fix the overly tired kids.  Good luck with that.  Oh yeah, we had drinks too 😊 I dedicated my drink to my buddy Chris Stirrat - king of the foofy drinks

Day 1 survived, we went to bed as Day 2 would be big.

[dancal13]

9 Days in Napa

PROLOGUE: Suzy and I for many years, have found ourselves vacationing in Napa Valley.  While our kids were young it was the only place that we ever really vacationed without them.  For a 5 year stretch we celebrated our anniversary there (not actually on the date but in Oct after the crush), connecting with Tom (Susan’s brother) and Jennifer Scott, my in-laws, but truly more our friends.  At the time both worked in the wine industry, and had crazy insights on where to go, what to see and where to eat (one of my favorite things). Much of this culminated on my 40th birthday, when Susan planned a celebration in Napa with 12 or so of our best friends (but that is story I never wrote, looking back I might still need to recreate it.)  We thought we would continue to go annually, but Maddy got sick and Napa fell off our to do list for nearly a decade.  We slowly recovered, talked about going, but other things kept getting in the way.

Then Bottle Rock happened, a three-day music festival in the heart of Wine Country. Our friends the Wilbur’s had gone the year prior, raved about it, and encouraged us to join them. WINE, LIVE MUSIC, TASTINGS, Great FOOD – We were in.  We committed to a day of Bottle Rock, got to see the Red Hot Chile Peppers and drink snooty wine while doing so. We also did three days of tasting. Napa was back in our blood.  We did it again the next year, had a great time again, this time saw a very stoned Tom Petty just months before he passed, but weren’t sure Bottle Rock was going to be part of our Napa experience going forward.

We passed on going the following year, planned to take a year off and then Jen Scott asked us to join them at The Napa Valley Barrel Auction.  This is a Winos Wet Dream (Cabernet wino to be more specific) I will explain later.  We spent three days in Napa with Tom and Jen, felt like old times and the auction, well I already kind of explained that.  We were hooked. If I had to sell a kidney to go again, I considered it a no brainer.

So, this year comes along, auction plans are made, and then all of the sudden Anne Wilbur lets us know that Mumford and Sons would be headlining the last night of Bottle Rock.  For those of you who are Facebook Friends, you know that Suzy and I have been on a music kick the past few years, #SuzyMusic2019, and this was a band we really enjoy, but hadn’t yet seen.

We did the math, noted that the show was on Sunday and the Auction just five days later and two trips became one. The following nine posts are a day-by-day account of our experience.  We took some photos, not all will be shared.  I wrote this in pieces while we were there, and then added and edited later.  Enjoy, ask questions, or delete. 

I think I did this more for myself to see if I would follow through on it, I’m not quite sure yet.