Napa Tasting 2: Pride Mountain, Bouchon Bakery, and Estate
Yesterday, Sunday, was the best conclusion to an overall amazing and fun weekend. Ryan, our good friend Neil, and I got up early to drive to Pride Mountain Vineyards, a winery located on the border of Sonoma and Napa Valley County. It was up an unexpectedly long, winding road, but the experience was well worth the drive.
We first tasted a 2007 Viognier, which was wonderfully fruity, before heading to the cave where wine is aged in barrels.
As we walked down the rows of barrels, Jacob, our tasting guide, pointed out the different types of wine in each section and how they were progressing. We even tried some Cabernet Sauvignon from the barrel, which would be ready for bottling in at least 12 months. After, we tried a bottled Cab and tasted the difference, which was pretty substantial. Our guide was very informative and gave us a good picture of how the winery is run and how the wine is made.
After trying different types of grapes on the vine and discussing ripeness, headed back to the tasting room to try more wine. My favorite wines of the day were the Mistelle and Merlot, which were both excellent. The Mistelle is a combination of Viognier juice and non-aged brandy, which was different from other wines I’ve had. It had the most fragrant nose of fruit and honey. The Merlot is truly deserving of its legendary name. As Ryan described so aptly, it is unmistakably a merlot, but had a nose and taste all its own.
At the time also I took the opportunity to get some shots of the tasting room.
We then headed to the Bouchon Bakery, famous for Thomas Keller’s bouchons: little cork-sized chocolate desserts that seem to be a cross between a cake and a brownie, but taste so much more chocolatey and satisfying than either of the two. On the way, we stopped by the French Laundry to check out their garden, which I fell in love with. My favorite parts were the quiet calm of a well-tended garden and the grassy walkways separating each patch of vegetables and herbs.
The Bouchon Bakery was packed with people, but I got several shots of the goodies inside.
After buying epi baguettes (which were so fresh and crusty), we splurged on some bouchons and other pastries. The three of us lunched on the outdoor patio, which made for a perfect, lazy lunch. We had the epi baguettes with cheese and cured meat we had purchased earlier at Dean & Deluca, a gourmet grocery store in Napa, and they went perfectly with the bread, butter and jam. It was probably the simplest lunch I’ve had, and of course, ended up being the best. Nothing beats fresh bread, cheese, coppa and salami :) The weather was also beautiful: sunny with a slight breeze, which made eating outside with good food and good company more wonderful. The simplest things in life really do matter the most!
Next we visited Bottega, which was in the vicinity. As it turned out, Michael Chiarello had a live cooking demo going when we arrived, which was followed by a book signing for his new Bottega cookbook. Neil got a signed copy, and we met the man himself in person!
After visiting Bottega and the store next door, we spent the rest of our lazy afternoon at the Domaine Chandon patio, enjoying a nice bottle of bubbly. The patio featured live music and a garden with rolling lawns and shady trees.
Next came dinner at Estate, where we met with our good friends Tam and Lucy. As our meal was being prepared, I took some shots of the property and herb and vegetable garden.
Our first course was a selection of tuna bruschetta, olives, pickled vegetables, and a simple cucumber and tomato salad.
The veggies were all light and delicious and well flavored, while the tuna bruschetta was more richly flavored and textured. My next course was the clam bucatini, which was heavenly with the clam broth.
I then had Pacific rock cod with Yukon Gold potatoes. The cod had the perfect crisp crust I love.
Dessert was a stone fruit crostada with accompanying lavender gelato. I love fruit tarts, so this was a perfect ending for dinner. The lavender gelato was so wonderfully creamy and had just the right amount of lavender flavor to match the fruit. So wonderful, and with huge portions I took home with me.
One silly thing about Estate that made me laugh uncontrollably: their women’s and men’s bathrooms featured Barbie and Ken dolls in place of the usual sign. Luckily, I got some shots after Barbie and Ken were appropriately re-positioned.
Thanks to Ross, Kristin, Neil, Tam, Lucy, and Ryan for making this weekend so memorable!
