Hit the Visitors Center in Oakville to find a hotel -- end up in really nice hotel that didn't belong a busy hwy type street. Quaint little place.
We had a vineyard tour scheduled at Robert Mondavi Winery for 10am.
Do you know why you'll always see roses growing near grapes? Roses are a sensitive grower but its easy to tell when there are bugs or disease on roses, and if they are visible on the roses then the grower knows they are in the vineyard.On our drive to San Jose several days ago we saw a semi truck full of something, it didn't look like apples and yet it looked like apples.
Turns out it was grapefruit. who'd of thunk?
Aren't grape leaves beautiful?? They turn a burnt orange, more brown actually and fall off. Often you'll see some with red leaves, but that means the tree is sick.Here he is showing us how to tell how old the vine is. I think this one was around 7 seasons old. There is no sure tell way to grow grapes, to decide how long to grow on a vine or when exactly to harvest.
It's all in taste and how much wine you hope to produce with that tract of land. There are some vines out there that in in there 65Th year of production. They produce a lot less and a lot smaller of a grape, but the flavor is what you're after. The less you are able to produce the higher you get to charge for the wine. It was interesting to hear how to read a label and relate it to the rarity of the wine and therefore the price.
He's showing us that their is a seed in the grape, however, you can't plant the seed and grow a tree. Something about long ago diseases in the ground and you have to graft a tree onto a root system or something or another. It was interesting at the time, but it didn't stick.
He's showing us that their is a seed in the grape, however, you can't plant the seed and grow a tree. Something about long ago diseases in the ground and you have to graft a tree onto a root system or something or another. It was interesting at the time, but it didn't stick.Wine grapes grow with yeast on them. I'm dying to tour the Welches grape factory or something and learn something about juice grapes and table grapes and how they differ.
Okay, so wine is all about the flavor, and where the flavor comes from and what can effect the flavor. It's Fascinating. Anyway one of the effects of the flavor is the barrels the wine is kept in.
I forget how many places create wine barrels, but the flavor that comes from the wood depends on where they harvested the trees from. Really fascinating, but hard to hold onto.
They had wine tasting. . . didn't interest me, but I got learn a whole lot of interesting info. on why a wine is served warm or cold and how to open up the flavor of the wine. Why you let some wine's breath and others not. The smell of a wine changes the longer you let it sit. It's fascinating.
Okay, so wine is all about the flavor, and where the flavor comes from and what can effect the flavor. It's Fascinating. Anyway one of the effects of the flavor is the barrels the wine is kept in.
I forget how many places create wine barrels, but the flavor that comes from the wood depends on where they harvested the trees from. Really fascinating, but hard to hold onto.They had wine tasting. . . didn't interest me, but I got learn a whole lot of interesting info. on why a wine is served warm or cold and how to open up the flavor of the wine. Why you let some wine's breath and others not. The smell of a wine changes the longer you let it sit. It's fascinating.
Oh, and I'm shocked I tasted it, but this taste treat was wonderful!! They gave us the recipe but. . . Hum. . .
Our tour was amazing and full of fascinating information, it was really a lot of fun. Our tour guide is from Hawaii and wanted to enter the industry to he comes to the Napa Valley 6 months of the year to work at the winery and then is back in Hawaii 6 months of the year. He was an amazing tour guide. He didn't stall when you asked him a question and he always answered the question completely but with a simple language that was easy to understand the answer. There wasn't a single question that stumped him.
From there we headed a few miles up the road to the Grgich Hills Estate so I could stomp some grapes.
It was a BLAST!!! They all thought I was strange. Apparently most folks who stomp grapes stand in there for a minute or two and move on to the wine tasting. I was in there probably 20 minutes. It was so much fun.
The gal that was managing the area was a real sweetheart and took lots of photos for me, even though she thought I was strange.
Our tour was amazing and full of fascinating information, it was really a lot of fun. Our tour guide is from Hawaii and wanted to enter the industry to he comes to the Napa Valley 6 months of the year to work at the winery and then is back in Hawaii 6 months of the year. He was an amazing tour guide. He didn't stall when you asked him a question and he always answered the question completely but with a simple language that was easy to understand the answer. There wasn't a single question that stumped him.
From there we headed a few miles up the road to the Grgich Hills Estate so I could stomp some grapes.
It was a BLAST!!! They all thought I was strange. Apparently most folks who stomp grapes stand in there for a minute or two and move on to the wine tasting. I was in there probably 20 minutes. It was so much fun.
The gal that was managing the area was a real sweetheart and took lots of photos for me, even though she thought I was strange.
Oh and no one really knows how long you have to stomp grapes, once the grape breaks you pretty much have it done, but in the winery now, the machine breaks them from juice but then all the excess stuff -- skins and what have you go into a press. It takes 6 hours for the press to extract out all of the juice which is later used to top off barrels and to flavor some. Then the excess what have you gets spread into the fields.
There is a winery in New York that will bottle your stompings for you and label it up. Here in California they never heard anyone wanting to take their stompings. If you decide to take your stomps go prepared with a wine bottle and cork. A) They can't give you one until the end of the day when they've handled there tasting inventory and B) if they give you a water bottle, just say no.
I brought mine home in a water bottle, it smelled nasty and then two days later, it blew its top, we had a nasty, sticky mess
Aren't the grapes pretty?
They taste pretty yummy also, especially when they've been warmed by the sun.
There is a winery in New York that will bottle your stompings for you and label it up. Here in California they never heard anyone wanting to take their stompings. If you decide to take your stomps go prepared with a wine bottle and cork. A) They can't give you one until the end of the day when they've handled there tasting inventory and B) if they give you a water bottle, just say no.
I brought mine home in a water bottle, it smelled nasty and then two days later, it blew its top, we had a nasty, sticky messAren't the grapes pretty?
They taste pretty yummy also, especially when they've been warmed by the sun.
Harvest was finished by the time we arrived, however Grgich Hills is a stop for the train so they have a small section out front they live for the ambiance.
Grapes are mostly hand harvested in the wee hours of the morning -- 2 and 3 am. Part of that has to do with the heat of the day for the workers, but part of it has to do with the frailness of the grape.
Grapes are mostly hand harvested in the wee hours of the morning -- 2 and 3 am. Part of that has to do with the heat of the day for the workers, but part of it has to do with the frailness of the grape.Anyway, from our grape tour we headed back east to I-5 and North toward home. We got tired fairly early on did end up sleeping in California again before starting early for home.
What an amazing trip. I small now as I think about all the amazing things I got to see, do and experience. An amazing gift.
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