Dear Friends,
Today's plan was to go to an art quilt meeting in Walnut Grove with my friend Mary Kaye. She couldn’t pick me up easily because police cars blocked some streets by the Capitol to free them for a walk — I still have to look up what the walk was for. Anyway, she did finally make it.
Next we got onto I-80, and it was all mucked up because of construction (something involving a bridge — they’re working nights and weekends.) Cars were barely moving. After many stops and starts and turns and trials of alternate routes we decided, “Forget the quilts — Let’s go to Napa!”
We turned our backs on traffic and took the back roads. Rolling hills turned to curves, sharper curves, "don’t look over the edge" curves. It was gorgeous. Acres of grapes, golden grass, and nut orchards (Yes, they call them orchards, not groves, says Mary Kaye, who grew up on a Southern California almond orchard.)
We ended up in Napa (pop. 76,900) — a bigger town than Yountville or St. Helena, the other wine destinations I’ve visited. We chose a place for lunch because it had a parking spot out front. Inside there was live music, long, patient lines, and tempting baked goods. We stopped there by happenstance, but intense study couldn’t have found a better restaurant: Alexis Baking Company.
I insisted we couldn’t come back from Napa without a bottle of wine — so we stopped at a small wine tasting room at a crossroads in the countryside. There was an antique shop across the street, with rusting tractors out front, and next door was a restaurant with many patrons.
I didn’t know what to expect — a long bar? little tables with samples in paper cups? something involving a spittoon so you can swish and enjoy many sips?
Perhaps they’re all different, but this tasting room (Vezér Family Vineyard) had the dim, cozy feel of a club or game room, with leather chairs and sofas and a small bar where a friendly tender offered tastes. You paid for tasting, but it was credited to the price of a bottle, I think. It all happened so quickly that I’m not sure. I had two tastes. Then I bought a bottle of red wine, which I’ve hidden in the cupboard by the stove. I’ve got a lot to learn.
Today turned out better than planned. We laughed all the way back home.
Love,
k
Walnut trees
No comments:
Post a Comment