Napa Fun

We spent last weekend at the Carneros Resort and Spa, courtesy of our friends The Banker and Tina.  They bought a home up there a few years ago and this is the second time they have treated us to a luxurious stay there.

We headed up Friday morning with #1 and Barbie.  After dropping off Friday’s dinner, we headed into Napa to let our hosts finish their workday. After lunch at the Napa General store, we went for a tasting here.

https://www.macovineyards.com/

Our host Alvaro was very engaging and explained the history of the winery.  We enjoyed the tasting in a shaded spot by the river, being the only guests there at the time.

We got back to Carneros around 4pm to kick things off. John Legend rosé was featured during our pre-dinner deck time. Few people know that John Legend tinkers in his own wine lab. This stuff comes in a gorgeous bottle, and I’m sure it will be featured as a water bottle on one of our upcoming dinners, because my wife has an artistic streak.

We had dinner on their patio Friday evening.  My Chicken Cacciatore was featured and #1 put together a restaurant worthy salad. I shared the cacciatore recipe on my 12/20/23 post, so you’ll need to go to the archives to retrieve it.  We were blessed with great weather and hung out until all hours of the night, which for me is about 9:30pm.

Saturday was wine tasting day, starting at O’Brien, which happens to be my brother’s middle name.  But enough about him. We were greeted by an ebullient Brit named Ben, who showed us the barrel room and vines before escorting us to a gazebo a stone’s throw from the owner’s home. The wines all were great, but Ben’s friendliness and enthusiasm made the day. He told us his hometown was King’s Lynn, which was an important port and part of the medieval Hanseatic League.  I was going to tell him the Banker, Tina and I came from the part of upstate NY that had the DUSO League but thought the better of it.  For the uninitiated, which is pretty much everybody, DUSO (Dutchess, Ulster, Sullivan, Orange) was an athletic league that went out of existence around 1970 when the area grew large enough that each county had their own league.  What does this have to do with Napa?  Absolutely nothing. If you read the hot garbage that is my blog long enough, you get used to non sequiturs. 

O’Brien was the only winery on the schedule that day, but we ended up at Raymond because The Banker and Tina had a shipment to pick up.  We of course turned this into a tasting event. Raymond is a lot less sedate than O’Brien.  The owner, Jean-Charles Boisset, is apparently quite a character. Regardless, we enjoyed the fine reds we were served. It also gave us an opportunity to pick up some more of John Legend rosé.

https://obrienestate.com/

https://raymondvineyards.com/

When we returned to their abode, we had some time to take a dip before getting ready for dinner. I was going to do about 70 butterfly laps in record time, but I didn’t want to embarrass anyone. The pool was quite refreshing after a day of elbow bending and we also took advantage of the hot tub. On the walk back home, we somehow got on the topic of our high school mascots. Most were standard, but then my wife said hers were The Nordstroms. It turns out that they changed the name in the early 2000s to the Retail Therapists, in order to be more inclusive. OK, I made that last part up.  And my wife corrected herself.  Her team was The Norsemen. Now that makes more sense, doesn’t it?

Dinner that night was on-site at The Farm. Our waitress was their favorite, and I could see why.  We were comped six glasses of bubbly, two appetizers, one side and a dessert. Plus, the Banker dipped into his wine collection to bring two fine reds, so we had a feast that did not break the bank.  I thought #1 would pick up the tab but he made me split it with him. Besides my disappointment with that, no one was disappointed with their meal.

We wrapped our stay with breakfast Sunday morning from the general store. We then tried our hand at bocce, each tossing one ball.  I led off, showing them how it’s done. I got within a couple feet of the pallino and thought I had it made, but Tina took the title. I think we know who to ask to join our FC bocce team next season.

Molto Grazie to The Banker and Tina for a fine weekend.

At Week's End

A rainy Saturday morning is a good time for reflection, soul-searching and shit-posting on my blog site.  I thought we were done with rainy season, so I had maintenance done on my sump pump.  I’ve had it for five years and was informed I was supposed to get it checked every two years.  I guess that is why the guy pulled two handfuls of detritus out of the thing. As I’ve mentioned previously, rainy days and Mondays always get me down.

The wife has taken off for the morning, so I’ve attended to my chores before devoting any time to the blog.  The kitchen is spotless, and I just got done grilling chicken for our lunch.  I was a little concerned about doing it in the rain, but my wife assured me I wouldn’t melt.  That woman should be a motivational speaker.

My sister and LA were in town and stayed with us Sunday night. They had spent several days with friends in Sebastopol before heading east and north.  My sis headed home, and LA had business to attend to in Seattle and San Diego.  They brought a six pack of fine wine from a place near where they were staying.  Needless to say, it was better than the budget swill I usually pick up at Total Wines. We all chowed down on my interpretation of this recipe.

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017327-roasted-chicken-provencal

I plan to head to the posh club this afternoon to get my laps in.  They say the rain will continue until 3pm, so that should keep people away.  I can’t share a lane due to my “unique” swimming style, so I should be able to get one as all the wimps stick to indoor activities.  The other day it was full up, so I went to the indoor pool as the geriatric water aerobics was about to wrap up.  After I showered up, I was heading to the door when one of the aerobics participants said to me, “so that’s how you look with your clothes on”.  I could only sputter “Oh my!”. I guess my animal magnetism only works on those over 70. 

The Met Gala is coming up and the Wig and I decided we were not going to attend.  I see that Lauren Sanchez is working with Anna Wintour on her dress.  Hopefully Anna will convince Lauren to cover up some.  She and her paramour give me the everlasting creeps.

#1 is down in San Diego so I’m hoping for a hit from down there.  These are the things I live for.  I’ll be seeing him and a bunch of the FC crew when TCG and Katie host a bday party for the wife and I. I turned 67 Wednesday, and she turned 66 Thursday.  I am now in my late 60s, but it feels a little like my early 80s. We had our bocce game Thursday night with the Hotelier and his wife.  We almost knocked off the former champs. We currently stand at 2-5, eclipsing last season’s winless effort.  After the game they graciously treated us to some excellent chow at Chuan Chim, one of two fine Thai restaurants in our little burg.

I’ll leave you with the happy news that Hope Hicks is engaged to Jim Donovan, the 58-year-old head of Goldman Sachs. Love conquers all.