I haven’t been to Insignia weekend in years, but finally found a way to make the weekend work with a girlfriend. Moni and I traveled to Napa for a girls weekend in May.
Friday–We flew into Oakland, which I have found to be much easier to get up to wine country than going into San Francisco. We had an early arrival on Friday, so we had most of the day to enjoy our time. First stop was Starbucks to wake us up for the drive, note the one near the Oakland airport is a hot mess, poor/slow service and constant mix up of drinks and food.
We drove up to Napa and made our first stop Yountville. We called an audible and decided to try Silver Trident, this winery has been on my list of wineries to try. It did not disappoint, the entire tasting room is decorated with Ralph Lauren décor. We chose the food and wine pairing as our tasting option. Beth Bowlin led us through a very leisurely tasting of Rose, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, a red blend and Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine was so good, I joined the wine club.
Our next stop, lunch at Bottega, for me it’s a must do on any visit to wine country. Michael Chiarello is an amazing chef and his polenta sotto verto (polenta under glass) and polpette alla grigli (short rib meatballs) are always on my list of must eat items. We also shared a salad and risotto for our lunch. We had a good base for our tastings the rest of the afternoon.
Second wine tasting of the day, Hope & Grace, I have visited this tasting room probably 6 years ago on a trip with my husband and always enjoyed the wines. I follow this winery on social media, Rick & Graham post short videos. I had met Rick many years prior at a few other wineries that he has worked at. Regina was working the tasting bar and walked us through the tasting experience. I purchased a bottle of the St. Helena Cabernet Sauvignon. I recommend a visit to this charming tasting room in Yountville.
Final tasting of the day, Jessup Cellars, one of my wine clubs. I cannot recommend this tasting room enough. My friend, Nancy and I, came across this one on a “free tasting coupon” on a trip probably 10 years prior. Whitney was our host for the tasting and she was so much fun. The way Jessup trains their team gives you a consistent experience each time. We tasted through six wines with cheese pairings. Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Table for Four and Juel. My favorite part of tasting at Jessup is not only the great people who work there, but also I love all their wine. For me, it’s rare to find a winery where everything is really good. Now, from vintage to vintage there may be ones I don’t like as much but the wine maker, Rob Lloyd, produces consistently good wines each year. Here’s a link to the team at Jessup, if you join the club you get your own wine concierge, Mike Lutz is mine and he keeps my cellar stocked with all my favorites.
As I have said, no trip is complete without an amazing meal to end the day, Cole’s Chop House was our dinner stop in downtown Napa. The most amazing food and great service. Almost forgot to mention, for this trip we stayed at the Embassy Suites Napa, this time the focus was on keeping the hotel cost down since it was just two of us. Visit my places to stay section for other hotel recommendations.