Napa in September

What can be better then spending a day or two in Napa during harvest?  For some wineries things are just getting started. Others are adding to their perfection.

 

Our focus on our visit Wednesday was on wineries on Howell Mountain.  Although we were already familiar with some of the wines of Howell Mountain - Bremer, Viadare and Arkenstone to name a few when we attended the Taste of Howell Mountain which I blogged about in June we were introduced to much more that Howell Mountain had to offer.  

Our first visit Wednesday was to White Cottage Ranch which was  recently acquired by new owners.

These owners have a new vision so the wines we tasted were excellent but not to be produced again.

This is a rendering of the new facility.

Of the 28 acres in production, according to Alicia, 20 acres have been pulled up and replanted.

White Cottage Ranch will no longer be doing tastings beginning in October.

And the new wines will be a new experience so we look forward to visiting them again  in a year or two.

Our next stop was at O'Shaugnessy.

Our hostess, Sawyer greeted us with a glass of 2010 Chardonnay from their property in Oakville.

Next we tasted the 2009 Howell Moutain Cabernet and a 2009 Mt. Veeder Cabernet.

Both of these wines, while different, were both intriguing to our palate.

http://oshaughnessywinery.com/shop

The cave at O'Shaughnessy.

 

It turned out that Sawyer was a sorority sister of our niece Shannon at Ole Miss.

 

It is a small world.

 

O'Shaughnessy  wines are excellent and we look forward to future vintages.

Depending on the grapes this week, harvest is happening.

 

Our last stop on Wednesday was at Outpost Wines.

K C was a wonderful hostess but the focus of Outpost Wines seemed to be of Grenache and Zinfindel.
Their Cabernet Sauvignon "True Vine" was not available for tasting until January so we were a little disappointed in our visit.

The views were lovely although the fog never seemed to burn off on Wednesday

Thursday we headed to Spring Mountain .
Spring Mountain Vineyard is becoming a favorite of ours and during our visit they were just harvesting their merlot grapes.

 

Sorting

Getting ready to be de-stemmed

Stems
 

Jeridan was our tour guide this time and each tour we always learn more.

 

A visit to Napa is always a wonderful experience.

Just Wondering

Jim thinks I'm nuts because every time we go out of town, whether overnight or for a week, I always pick up everything, empty garbage cans and clean the house.  I find it nice to come home to a house not in chaos.

What do you do?

A. Clean the house
B. Leave it the way it is
C. Make more of a mess because I never know what to pack

Am I in the minority or the majority?  Please share your thoughts.

Turkeys

I can't raise chickens in our neighborhood.

But turkeys run free.

I wonder how many of my neighbors' Thanksgiving turkey dinners come from their front yard?

Tahoe

What do two unemployed/retired people do for some down time? 

 Head to Tahoe.  

On the way we stopped in at Truckee to eat at Jax.  

Jax has been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.

Even though it was really lunch time I had to have the eggs benedict.  I'm always on the quest for the best eggs benedict.  This one features a homemade English muffin with Maryland blue crab cakes, hollandise and avocado.  

Although I would have preferred my eggs a little more runny it was very tasty and I just loved the crunchy string potato hash browns.

And now on to Tahoe.

Sunset from the pier.

From the pier toward the beach.

On the agenda was the gondolas at Heavenly Mountain Resort.

View from the top.

We started at a elevation of 6,255'.

And the observation deck was at 9,123'.

This is what a ski run looks like without snow at Adventure Peak.  Lots of rocks and lumber.

Since I don't ski I guess this is something I don't need to worry about.

And now for the ride down.

Are you sick to your stomach yet?

I did manage to do a little bit of knitting. 

 The beginning of another bear for Mother Bear.

Artwork in the sky.

Another sunset on the beach.

We had a very relaxing couple of days. 

Now back to reality. 

Meet Mrytle

This is Mrytle.

I acquired her this past month from the lys I have been working at for the past 2 years.  The owner had decided to retire after 16 years in the business and the liquidation sale started August 1.  I literally dropped the kid off at the airport that Wednesday and headed for work and am just now coming up for air.

Anyhow, Mrytle will be my new model to show off my knitting.  She will, however, not be modeling socks or gloves for obvious reasons.

And for her first showing I present Penumbra by Sivia Harding.  Sivia is a known for her exceptional designs using lace and beads.

Penumbra is the first of six shawls from the Mezzaluna Club, Sivia's first subscription club that along with an exclusive pattern includes yarn from top yarn dyers and complimenting beads.

The yarn for this shawl is Blue Moon Fiber Arts Marine Silk fingering in the colorway H2o yeah.

The next shipment won't be until November which gives me time to catch up on some of my other knitting.