Our Fall 2015 Napa Trip in Photos

The wine we "blended" won't be ready to drink for 2 yrs.

We toured this beautiful castle.

Best picnic sandwich from the famous Oakville Grocery

Such beauty.

What a view! 

Nothing like a road trip in a convertible.

Got a free tasting from a fellow "Spartan." :)

Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah leaves. Learned so much!

Our private "blending" and Bennett Lane Winery.

A cheese plate to remember.

Our perfect mix for our very own bottle.

Linc corking his own bottle.
65% Cabernet Sauvignon
10% Merlot
25% Syrah

My perfect blend.
85% Cabernet Sauvignon
10% Merlot
5% Syrah

Our Adorable Cottage in Calistoga 

My notes...

• angbaylis {8.14.15} Goodbye wine country, Napa Valley. We learned so much about you. Here are a few of our take-aways: We visited many of the over 600 wineries in the valley. They produce some of the best red Cabernet Sauvignon because of the warm days and very cool evenings. Each year's wine is affected completely by the weather. They usually stop watering 3 weeks before harvest. During the day it can get up to 100 degrees and go down to 50 degrees at night. Tannins (the skin) are what make the rich deep colors and texture of the wine. Most wine is not made from 100% of the grapes on the wineries' property. They combine theirs with some of the best grapes from San Jocamo (sp?) or other locations and can cost from $7,000 to $40,000 for a barrel. Each barrel of wine makes about 288-300 bottles of wine. One cluster of grapes makes about one bottle of wine. People are rarely allergic to sulfites that preserve the wine; some are natural and some are added. We blended our own wine at Bennett Lane winery in Calistoga, the most northern winery in the valley . My "perfect" blend was 85% Cab; 10% Merlot%; 5% Syrah. Linc's was 65% Cab; 10% Merlot; 25% Syrah. It will be ready to drink at it's best in about 2 years. We learned and experienced "palate fatigue." We ate a ton of good food and a lot of cheese and plain crackers. We learned so many new adjectives to describe wine's similarity to fruit, textures such as velvety, silky, smooth or course; and full bodied or light bodied, blackberry, cherry, black cherry, elderberry, black currant, smokey, oaky, vanilla, cinnamon, mahogany. Chew your wine like food and feel it on your tongue on the roof of your mouth behind your front teeth. When people smell their corks they smell for old socks or musty. Some people think they just don't like a certain wine, not realizing it could just be bad cork. Wine is stored on it's side so the cork does not dry out. Wine is completely about personal preference and is not right or wrong. I'd like to think we are a little more discerning about the quality of wine. We are still by no means snobs and we like it that way! We can now use our new vocabulary! Thank you for a wonderful time! #nofilter