This is a typical sight in California’s wine regions: palm trees standing next to vineyards.
These are vines at Peju, off Saint Helena Highway. It’s one of my favorite wineries in Napa. Hopefully this last round of wet weather will help local wineries avoid a dry season.
We love living next to the wine regions in the Napa/Sonoma Valley and Lodi. It’s a pleasure to discover new grapes and buy vintages that are not sold at Bev Mo and grocery stores. It’s also fun to introduce our friends to the smart and charming winemakers in these regions.
Last month, we did breakfast with my Medill buddy, Sara, at the Bouchon Bakery. I’m a Thomas Keller fan and his macroons blew me away. We also checked out Domaine Chandon (good wine, shoddy service) and Peju. I want to take my parents to Peju’s tasting rooms. I’m sure they will enjoy the bold reds and the entertaining wine experts.
We also spent a relaxing Sunday in Lodi with Susan and Tom. Jessie’s Grove is our top winery in that region. Mark joined the wine club and we’re looking forwarded to picking up our next bottles from there. They had some tasty chocolate brownies to go with the port tasting. However, one of the cats devoured the sweet treats. Naughty kitties! We finished up our day with beer tasting at the Lodi Beer Company. Susan pointed out the beer flights felt refreshing in comparison to our extensive wine tasting at Jessie’s Grove. I suppose it was a nice change of pace.
I like tasting wine on my weekends. What about you? How do you spend your weekends?