Long Meadow Ranch Winery: Farm-to-Table Dining Experience in St Helena Winery

Wine and food paired meals definitely ranks pretty high on my list of things I love. Long Meadow Ranch Winery in St Helena offers an amazing food and wine pairing experience, not to miss! We tried the Farm-to-Table Experience when some of our friends were in town. Between the incredible 4 course meal (salad, entree, dessert, and cheese) and hilarious company, including one other couple trying out LMR for the first time as well, we had a wonderful experience. Without spoiling it too much for anyone who reads this and decides to go, I'll let you know a few things that really hit the mark for us:

1) Intimate Setting - we were seated inside this beautiful and quaint winery, instead of the noisier main dining.

2) Great Food - The food was fresh, organic, local, and inventive. Our favorite was the dessert course which was a carrot bundt cake seared in butter on both sides! Holy calories - but totally worth every bite!

3) LOTS of Wine - We tried some really great cabernet sauvignons, which is Long Meadow Ranch's focus. They were delicious and it was great to try different vintages.

We also had a really friendly and great hostess, Gretchen, who was funny, accommodating, informative, and not one bit boring! I would recommend trying this in the evening for your dinner and not after 4 wineries...you want to enjoy this experience, and for your taste buds to be ready for the wine. It would be really great to come here with a few couples or a group of friends. We lucked out and had a really great dining group with a mixture of friends and new friends, which kept us talking about it and laughing for days!

Nickel & Nickel: Single Vineyard, Single Varietal Boutique Oakville Winery

 Nickel & Nickel, Far Niente's sister winery, is the place that I think of visiting when planning a trip with my best friends and family. That's probably why I convinced Alex that this was a wine club that we needed to join. The tour we had with our wine educator, Chris, was a great experience for everyone ranging from wine novices to experts. He was informative, thorough, and flexible with the group's interests. He gave us just enough knowledge about the winery's history, winemaking philosophy, and the different local wine regions. Then after peeking into a beautiful 300 year old barn, checking out the different soils from the local appellations, and heading down to the caves, you return to fabulous wines and delicious cheeses to pair in a beautiful formal dining room.

This is a place where the wines are so delicious, they really steal the show! Their focus is on Cabernet Sauvignon, but their Chardonnays, Syrahs, and Merlots, were all very tasty. I love the style of the wine maker and I am always excited to receive our next shipment. My favorite so far has been the CC Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon ($95). Nickel & Nickel also hosts great events for their wine clubs, usually on the same days as the Far Niente events. If you are a member you can taste and tour complimentary at both wineries as well as attend all of their events. We have not attended any yet, but will be attending two of them the first weekend in February, and will definitely share our experience in a post soon!

Tips - Nickel & Nickel:

• The tasting fee is $50 a person, the wines are amazing (and very expensive) and I would pay the fee even if I didn't live near wine country! Since I do, I joined the wine club which allows me to take up to 3 guests complimentary on every visit.
• Try to remember what you like about tasting the same vintage of 100% varietal cabs from different regions. They all taste very different and I love that about Nickel & Nickel.
• Make this your first appointment of the day if possible, and arrive 10 to 15 minutes in advance. You don't want to hold up the rest of the group for these small and intimate tours.
• Remember, this winery is appointment only. Call in well in advance (2+ weeks) to make sure that there is availability.

The Inn on First: Our Favorite Place to Stay in Napa

This past weekend we stayed a night in Napa for a couple's mini vacation and we were so thrilled to finally share our home away from home, The Inn on First. It's amazing to find a place where you walk up, ring the door bell, take a deep breathe and finally feel relaxed. Once we grab a warm afternoon chocolate chip cookie (or in Alex's case, 5), settle in our room with a split of champagne and homemade chocolate truffles, Alex and I look at each other and say, "Why do we even go on vacation anywhere else?"

The rooms are amazing and exceptionally clean, which is a major concern of mine anywhere we go. We have stayed here at least five times over the years and we will always come back as long as Jim and Jamie are running the place. We adore them and they are what make the experience so special, because they are great people who are doing something that they are passionate about.

I love the intimacy of the rooms and privacy of a hotel that you wouldn't typically feel while at a B&B. In the evening, we played board games in the living room and drank tea from the loose leaf selection in the dining room. Probably one of my favorite memories from staying over the past weekend was watching our friends try Inn on First breakfast in the morning. The spread is incredible ranging from delicious fresh cut fruit, homemade granola, fresh baked cinnamon twists, and yogurt to create a delicious parfait. Then the potatoes au gratin, it was piping hot and full of perfect wine country breakfast flavor, but created with the care and elegance of a professionally trained chef. Needless to say, our friends were impressed and it was so special for us to be able to share this experience with them.

SIP Wine Bar: A Taste of Napa in Del Mar, CA

  

You don’t have to be in Napa to taste their delicious wines…SIP Wine Bar in Del Mar, CA reminded us of that over the holidays. Last month we ended our annual Christmas trek to San Diego with 10 friends at a great new wine bar. We took over one of the large family style wooden tables and laughed, told stories, and enjoyed our time together well past their Monday evening closing time. I loved how we could talk and laugh in an intimate setting. I felt like this bar was in a friend’s house, rather than in the middle of the Del Mar Plaza. The group tried (many) wine flights and some of the delicious bites. SIP has a really great menu ranging from healthy options like edamame and green salads to savory options like braised short ribs and sliders. The hit of the evening was definitely the Sparkling Flight with 3 glasses of delicious wines ($15) and the Duck Fat Fries ($3 during happy hour). I highly recommend coming here with friends. Check out their happy hour too, this could be a great pre-dinner start to a romantic date.

 

Mini-Vacation Idea: One Day, One Night in Santa Barbara

Christmas is a very hectic time of year for Alex and I, sothis year we decided to add a day of fun prior to the annual 4 Christmases to help us relax and prepare for what is to come...we planned an overnight in Santa Barbara at the Simpson House Inn, and decided to try a winery or two on the drive down from San Francisco.

 

We began our day tasting at Rusack in Los Olivos. The drive was pretty, although a little windy for the last few miles. We entered a nice tasting room and were warmly greeted by Joe, the wine tasting guide. We enjoyed the wines and decided to purchase the Ballard Canyon Estate Syrah and Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir. The beginning of the experience was excellent, however another tasting host completed our tasting in a very rushed and not very personable manor. He was practically grabbing our glasses out of our hand which really tarnished the experience for us! The wines were great, unfortunately I do not think that we will be back here any time soon! Once we got back in car,we decided we would give Los Olivos another shot and made our way over to Carhartt. 

Robin, our wine host, was amazing! She was so fun and energetic, it was really just a bonus that the wines were good too! When I began to ask her for additional winery recommendations and she described a place as having “Nordstrom-like bathrooms”, I knew she was my kind of girl. This tasting room is extremely small, so come here on a random day or when its warm outside and you can enjoy your tastings on the patio. Lucky for us, we were the only tasters there when we arrived. I personally preferred their whites to their reds, however their pinot noir was very delicious. We ended up spending about 45 minutes in the tasting room and purchasing 2 bottles of wine, the 2010 Sauvignon Blanc and the 2010 Granache Blanc. We thought that both of them weredelicious and unique. Per Robin’s suggestion we tried Los Olivos Café for lunch.To my surprise, this was a really amazing place. They had an incredible wine selection and a beautiful layout. A thai curry flavored turkey burger and 2 glasses of water later, we were back on the road towards the Simpson House Inn.

 

 

Upon arrival at the Simpson House Inn behind 121 Arrellaga Street, we were greeted at our car and our luggage was whisked away. We were given a tour of the inn and all of the amenities were fully explained to us,then we were taken to our upgraded room. The garden room was a beautiful wooden room with high ceilings and a lot of natural light. The room was stocked with complimentary water and sodas along with a small dessert and a personal welcome card. No wonder this place is the only 5 diamond awarded B&B in North America! There was an appetizer and wine tasting hour featuring Santa Barbara Winery and light bites. Alex and I didn’t care for the wines, but the appetizers were a nice touch and tied us over for the evening. We took a walk down State Street, then returned to desserts, coffee, and tea before retiring to our room and scanning through Netflix. The beds were extremely comfortable, which is important to note, because I am a difficult sleeper away from home. The following morning we enjoyed a huge gourmet breakfast delivered toour patio. We had coffee, granola, fruit, muffins, yogurt, and a Strata witha small salad. We loved the rainfall shower and Alex liked the Kiehl’s bath products so much that I bought him some for his Christmas stocking. The overall experience was exactly what we needed to relax before a long weekend of 5 Christmases in San Diego. I think that we found our new pre-Christmas routine and next year we will be happy to head back to the Simpson House Inn!