Toasted rice on the nose

The first stop for us was the Fremont diner. They made a great spicy chicken sandwich and Mac and Cheese. The place felt just like one of those Hamptons roadside spots with the screened-in porches connected to an adjacent general store.

We then picked up where we left off on the wine tastings. We stopped by Carneros Domaine first (The Chateau looking place). It was super tourist'y...so we bailed and looked for something less pretentious.

We ended up across the street at Cuvaison next and what a refreshing contrast it was to the "merry-go-round" at Domaine.

Cuvaison poured us an excellent flight of wines over the course of about an hour and a half.

Next stop was Heitz Cellars. They had a really classy tasting room where we enjoyed glasses of several of their wines--including their port and their Trailside Cabernet.

Finally, we closed the day at Whitehall Lane where we sampled about 8 different varieties. They were pretty crowded when we first got there, but once the crowd died down a bit, we got their undivided attention...even well after they were scheduled to close.

It was a great end to another fantastic afternoon in Wine Country.

BTW...Below are some actual phrases we heard to describe the wines we sampled yesterday.

"It has a Barnyard taste on the finish."

"It is like the first rain of spring"

"It has a nutty bouquet of herbs and spices that just picks you up and mellows you out like a glass of lemonade after a cool summer breeze at the end of a long day at work."

"There is definitely some toasted rice on the nose" (Note...Matt actually used that last one)

Afterwords, we sobered up over some coffee and a walk around the town of St. Helena. Kudos to the coffee shop for their amazing selection of sweeteners. They had pure sugar, Sugar in the Raw, Sweet n' Low, Equal, Splenda and Stevia...all living together in harmony. It was like a little sugar tenement.

Later in the night we returned to one of the local bars to meet some of Matt's classmates from the CIA in town for some Thursday night karaoke. After a few drinks and a couple hours we lit up the place with a valiant and respectable rendition of "Twist and shout".

It's going to be sad to leave Napa. I had a ton of fun here. I promise I will be back though. In the true wine tasting spirit, I'd say the trip had a smooth, crisp beginning with subtle overtones of toffee that blossomed into a rich bouquet of terra firma on the pallet and left you feeling like a lioness on the first day of fall curled up under the lush protective shade of the Acacia tree as the fleeting Serengeti sun lightly kisses her young after a busy day down at the local watering hole...with a hint of maple syrup.

That said, I've been really hyping up the blog recently. Every place I go I try to spread the word. Sometimes it is a little awkward...but it gives me something to do. So c'mon kids, tell your friends and keep reading. This road trip isn't even half way finished yet. There are still so many more adventures that lie ahead. Most notably is the biplane barrel rolls over Napa Valley scheduled for a little later today. Wish me luck!