Dowdall Creek

We're up in good time after yet another restful night's sleep. It is COLD. The outside temp is around 8C, which is a bit of a culture shock after the past week. Our wine tour pick up is at 09:40, and it's still fairly fresh. We head off to our first winery, arriving at 10:00, and to be met by a cheeky Rosé for breakfast. Delish.

This is Patz and Hall, top notch producer of (predominantly) Chardonnay and Pinot Noir still wines, along with a couple of sparklers for good measure. We spend the next 90 minutes trying 8 of their estate wines, loving most, adoring a couple. We limit our purchases to two bottles, as we're not planning to bring any home with us, and we've already got a fridge full back at the house. The surrounding scenery is stunning. Reminds me a lot of the Franschhoek valley, one of my very favourite places on the planet.

We head off to an early lunch, regaled by our guide, Luke, with insider details of the different wineries we pass along the way. Fair to say that the Napa Valley is pretty much at saturation point now, with every conceivable square inch of plantable ground used for vines. We learn that it's a US holiday today, which explains some of the traffic. What used to be Columbus day, is now known as Indigenous day, a change made, according to Luke, because, "It turns out Columbus was a total asshole."

We have an astonishingly good lunch at Farmstead in St Helena, a little village in the Napa Valley, and all suddenly feel like a little afternoon nap wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. We have more wine to drink though, so head off to Paraduxx - part of the Duckhorn family portfolio. Paraduxx is where they experiment with blended wines, using grapes from across their portfolio. A couple of traditional Bordeaux style blends, a very cool one that focuses on South American traditions, and an Aussie style Cabernet/Syrah option. We also get a little bonus tasting of their premium Merlot offering, which goes some way to changing my mind about the grape. We're also taken off for a mystery tour to see the concrete egg - something completely new to me, and apparently a way of ageing white wines without oak, but allowing them to oxidise a little (which stainless steel tanks don't allow). Our host, Steph, is a joy, and regales us with information and stories in equal measure. She keeps our glasses well topped up as well... The wines are great. Perhaps not quite the heady heights of Patz and Hall's, but none too shabby. The Viognier/Chardonnay blend we try IS outstanding, and I make sure to grab a bottle on our way out.

We're in the heat of the afternoon, and fair to say flagging just a touch. We have one more winery to visit though - Gundlach Bundschu. We decide unilaterally that this 'probably' means Good Luck Bum Face. We don't ask at the winery, just in case. This is set up in the hills above the Sonoma Valley, and is a slightly more casual and laid back affair. Ant and Vick decide cheese is needed to help sustain them, and I don't argue. The wines are a bit more of a mixed bag. The Pinot Noir a little disappointing, the Merlot a touch bland, but the Cabernet is great, and the Chardonnay up there with the best we've tried on our tour. Our host shares that our next destination on our roadtrip is renowned for its pot farms. Interesting...

Luke drives us the short trip back to our house, and we pour ourselves out of the car. It's around 18:00, and we're trying to decide if we should head out for a bite, or just relax at the house. We opt for the latter, watch a movie, and are all headed for bed by 21:00.

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