NAPA VALLEY

NAPA VALLEY
Today is Wednesday, January 27th. We are headed to the Napa Valley on our weekly “Outing” from Quail creek. Tony pulls out at 10:08. Also on the trip is Kelli, and six residents. I was just there with Anne last Saturday, I have been in that Valley many, many times and I never tire of the scenic beauty. It is better weather today - and the highways aren’t too crowded. The potential tourists are snowbound, I guess.
The Paradise Valley area is a quiet, peaceful and safe place to walk, jog or walk your dog. The Arco gas station is posting gas at $2.86 a gallon - Shell is listed at $3.00, down a bit from the last time that I checked. . The Spot price for crude oil is about $75 a barrel.
After all of our rain the past few weeks, we have reached a seasonal normal (after three seasons of drought!) The hills are really green. Ireland’s”40 shades of green” do not have anything on these hills and valleys! It is a beautiful day. Traffic in both directions on I-80 is moderate. We are passing the Mini U Storage on our right, where I still have some bins stored, after our move from Vallejo to Fairfield, almost two years ago! Can you appreciate how much one can collect, and save, during our 46 years living in Vallejo? I have to get on the ball, and start sorting that stuff, and eliminate my $59 monthly charge!
It’s interesting what a few miles can make. As we ride through Jamison Canyon,(Highway 12), we are socked in .The fog is not only hugging the hills, but it is down on the deck, too. The oncoming cars have their lights on. We pass a roadside sign, “Olive Trees for Sale”. The fog doesn’t slow down the grazing cattle who are having breakfast along the nearby pastures. Standing water along the side of the highway - evidence of recent rains and saturated earth. It’s 45 degrees now. Hard to visualize that in six months the temp along here will be 100 degrees!
There are young vineyards around here everywhere. It is strange when you see the homes right in the middle of the fields of grapes. What happened to the rule of supply and demand? It seems like the more new vineyards I see, the higher the price of the final crushing’s. I guess the economists call it “inelastic demand.” Or, in other words, increased sales of wine with corresponding higher wine prices.
I see a large field on the right filled with communication dishes - aimed skyward - at satellites parked overhead. The lowlands of this Southern - Napa Valley area has turned into “wetlands” from all the rainfall of late. The egrets and herons like this environment. I can see some egrets perched above the standing water on their long legs. They are really a majestic bird. We see a lot of waterfowl around here, as we are right on the North - South - Pacific Flyway.
We are on the southern end of Highway 29 headed north up the Napa Valley. It is still foggy. (The grapes must thrive in this condition.). There are solid vineyards for as far as I can see., on both sides of the highway. We pass the Vintage 1870 shopping complex. After passing the Oakville Grocery, the winery crushing/bottling/storage facilities come into view. On my right, we are passing the following Vineyards - relatively close together.
The first winery is Nickel and Nickel, next Sequoia Grove; Cakebread; then St. Supery and Peju Province, prior to reaching Rutherford. Then, Beaulieu; Franciscan; and V. Sattui wineries - between Rutherford and St. Helena - near Zinfandel Lane. The northbound Napa Valley Wine train tracks are running along our right side. V. Sattui is our destination. The sun is out and it turned out to be a very nice day. We arrive at 10:55.
This V. Sattui winery has been family owned and operated since 1885. They sell their award winning wines only directly through the stone winery building, mail order or internet. The winery has no outside distribution. We browsed around inside their large stone -winery building. It included a gift shop; a wine tasting area; many shelves of different types and varieties of bottled wines; along with a gourmet cheese shop and deli.
A couple of our group did some wine tasting ($5 for up to five different regular wines, and $10 for the same sampling of premium wines. I don’t know the distinction between “regular” and “premium”. I am sure that the difference in prices would give me a clue!) I can remember 50 years ago when wine tasting was free! Of course, there weren’t many wineries back then. I can only recall Beringer, Charles Krug, Christian Brothers, and Robert Mondavi labels. I was going to buy a bottle of red wine - knowing it would not be priced as a “Two-Buck Chuck”. I was debating between buying a merlot or a pinot noir. I took out my $5, and asked to taste a Napa Valley Merlot. The taster/tender told me that it wasn’t available for tasting. I thought it was a little strange. I don’t expect to go in a Baskin- Robins and ask to taste a Jamocha Almond Fudge, and get a similar response. So. I put my $5 back in my pocket and walked away. I was telling my tale of woe to Greg, my son-in-law, and he explained why they have such a policy. While I understand that it is a business decision not to offer a taste of any variety - and why - at the same time, they didn’t sell me a bottle of $25 wine either.
We ordered our lunch at the Deli. I had asked the wine/taster/tender what the Deli had good for lunch. He said that he liked their Tai Noodles. I was going to order that but didn’t feel like eating that much. Settled for cream of cauliflower soup instead. They were on the number system for service, to give you an idea how busy they were - even in January. We took our bags of lunches to the picnic tables out on their spacious grounds.(no dining area inside the building). We were all seated, beneath a huge oak tree hovering over us. That dark-old-tree must have been 150 years old! We have had a lot of trees coming down - taking power lines with them - during our rains. I wanted to see if they were in the moment, and paying attention to their surroundings. All I said was, “I wonder if this tree above us is deep rooted.?” I got their attention, but no one moved (including me).
The workers were putting up a huge tent to house a private party on Saturday. The winery had an attractive flowerbed at the entrance. It contained some spectacular, very large purple blooms. I have never seen anything like it before. I ask one of the lady-employees inside what the plant was? She told me that it was a Blue Curled Scotch Kale plant.
We headed back from the V. Sattui Winery at 1:05.We pass the Prager, Sutter Home, Edgewood, Milat, Whitehall, Beaucanon, and Grgich Hills wineries. We pass a one room school. I don’t see many of these anymore. Marie went to a one room school when she lived on a farm in Tulare County. Her Mother taught there. Marie has told me about riding her horse to school.
Next is the Robert Mondavi winery. We pass the Brix restaurant on the right, where Mary took me to lunch, before Christmas. I recommend it! Next, are the Napa Cellar, Cosentino, Domaine Chandon and Laird Wineries. The western hills of the Napa Valley provide a great silhouette. The Wine Train tracks are still on the right side. We are passing a grove of Eucalyptus trees. They are huge and old. I remember them looking old 60 years ago, when I first saw them. I always smile when I see the tall palm trees at a few homes in the Valley. While they may say “California,” they look out of place in Northern California.
The Evans Air porter is going by Northbound in the opposite direction. Marie and I have ridden Evans on round trips to both airports - from Vallejo. Besides excellent Oakland and San Francisco Airports service, they also provide excursions and charters. This is the way to go, if a group is winery hopping and “tasting” at each one. What better a “designated driver” than Evans? We are passing the Factory Outlet complex. I haven’t been there in a long time. The last time was many years ago, when Marie bought a pair of Easy Spirit shoes. She liked the brand, and she couldn’t find them anywhere else. The “Outlet” is a large complex, and like everyplace else, I am sure they are sweating out this recession.
Tony is moving at the speed limit, and a VW Beetle is passing us - driven by an older driver. He probably bought it new (the pale-blue paint job looks like the original) 40 years ago! I always notice these Volkswagen “Bugs”, because three of our daughters (Mary, Beth and Sue) each, owned one.
I am looking at a field of interesting cattle, grazing in a lush-green pasture. They have dark hides, with white “belts” around their mid-sections. I have never seen this breed before, and I have looked at a lot of cows. I was curious, so I “Googled” the Wikipedia website and found my answer. They are either Belted Galloways or Dutch Belted cows. This white marking is also on bulls, heifers and calves. This website is amazing. Unpaid individuals provide all the input to the site. Normally, “you get what you pay for”. So, I am amazed at a free source of information. One might question the authenticity of the information, but everything that I have checked sounds reasonable to me. That’s good enough.
Driving through Jamison canyon the nice weather has left us. We are back in the soup again. At least the drivers are thoughtful, and have turned on their headlights. A freight train is chugging westward, in the opposite direction, at a low speed. Only a few cars, and it has gone from view. Back on I-80 East, and the sun is out. We are passing Ray’s RV lot in Cordelia. The recession, and the high price of gas, and low gas mileage, account for the sizeable inventory of motor homes and trailers. Traffic is heavier, in both directions, with the lapse of a few hours.
We arrive back at Quail Creek at 1:50, after a beautiful day spent in the Napa Valley. Hard to think of a better place. We should be so lucky!
Ray L’Amoreaux
February 2, 2010.