drawing via Julia Rothman
The girls and I went Napa for the day during our West Coast excursion. My wonderfully talented friend, Shannon, planned this whole trip to the West Coast specifically so she could visit the Culinary Institute of America in Napa. The tour only lasted a short while, so we had plenty of time to explore this lovely area.
I saved this file to my computer before I had even considered starting a blog or siting my work, so unfortunately, I have no idea who took this photo.
I’ve been to Napa once before, but I didn’t have the best weather. I also had a little bought of car-sickness and wasn’t able to enjoy the wonderful wine from D.R. Stephens and Miner as much as I would prefer, but I still fell in love with the area none the less.
Me, Kristina & Shannon at Peju
This time, I packed the Dramamine and thoroughly enjoyed our visits to the Peju & Cakebread wineries. If you’re in the market for a nice, clean white wine try the chardonnay from Cakebread. It’s a great balance between dry and sweet. Peju had a really nice white blend as well called Carnival. It’s a little bit sweeter and great for girls night!
The very quaint and very delicious Oakville Grocery.
We also spent a great deal of time at Oakville Grocery. This adorable little gourmet grocer and sandwich stop has been open since 1881(!) and I was fortunate enough to stop in two years ago. The food is fantastic and it was really fun browsing the shelves for various food items. It’s a perfect place for a quick bite to eat or if you’re looking for unique gift items. We picked up two bottles of wine, Prisoner & Red C at Oakville Grocery.
The perfectly beautiful French Laundry. If I was a bijillionaire, I would get married in their garden one day.
Napa is really a mecca for the culinary world. Some of the world’s best restaurants and wineries are located in this perfect, tiny haven. We had fun (and delicious) little adventures at the French Laundry gardens and kitchen (I got to shake hands with Timothy Hollingsworth!), Bouchon for drinks, and Bouchon Bakery in the morning. Traveling with Shannon and Kristina always means that I’ll be eating well.
For dinner, we headed to Thomas Keller’s more affordable, family-style restaurant, Ad Hoc. Eating at any of Keller’s restaurants is an honor in itself, but I was really excited about Ad Hoc because absolutely love the beautiful aesthetic of Keller’s book, Ad Hoc Home.
Napa is probably the most perfectly beautiful place I have ever been to in the U.S. Please do yourself a favor & visit if you have the chance. If you’re ever looking for more things to do in Napa, take a peak at Design*Sponge’s guide to Napa to find some extra goodies!
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