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Napa County

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Le 10 migliori mete di viaggio Napa County
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    • Giorno 9

      From here, to there

      9 ottobre 2022, Stati Uniti ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

      Once again, we're all up in good time after a good night's rest. Even though Mariposa is still at some 700m elevation, the early morning sun is warm, and I sit in the garden with a coffee for a while, letting the rays of the sun help wake me.

      Today's a bit of a transition day - heading from the mountains to the coast, and to Sonoma. It's also the day that will include the only segment of freeway/Interstate driving, which I've tried to avoid as much as possible during our trip.

      Our first pit-stop is at the Castle Air Museum. Castle used to be a US Air Force base, but was closed in 1995 following the end of the Cold War. Between the mid 1950s and the 90s, it was home to a bomber wing of B52 Stratofortresses, the workhorses of the USAF Strategic Air Command, and which were responsible for the majority of the 7.5m tons of bombs dropped on Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia between 1965 and 1975.

      These days, Castle is a museum, featuring military aircraft of the past 75 years. It's a treat, and real eye opener to wander around the open air exhibits. The scale of some of the aircraft is staggering. After a fun hour wombling around, the sun starts to get a little warm, so we get back on the road to our next destination. The majority of this leg of our journey is on the Freeway, and we're all bored out of our tiny little minds. We blow past several towns, without the faintest idea of what kind of town they are. I'm assured that the choice to travel by smaller roads wherever possible is the right one, even if it adds time to the journey.

      We're collectively delighted that lunch isn't the clusterfuck that it was yesterday. We're a little earlier to our reservation in Lodi, but are quickly seated, and enjoy a very laid back brunch type affair, with some very tasty local wines. The restaurant is in a lovely and peaceful setting in Lodi, attached to a wine tasting centre for local wines. Our lunch is backed by a guy with an acoustic guitar doing passable covers of Police, Elton John, The Clash etc etc.

      Sated, we get back on the road, and head towards wine country. At one point, Google Maps takes us on a slightly detour, due to my route plan of avoiding the Interstate. We're pleased that it does as it takes us past a highly random saloon bar in the middle of nowhere (or Cordelia, if you prefer). We stop for a sharpener, and are met with a bar full of friendly locals, a ceiling covered in bras, and some of the strongest mixed drinks known to man or woman. These kind of out of the way bars are amongst my favourite things about travelling in the US. They're stacked with character and characters, and are almost always a smiling and happy place to rest.

      We've got a final 45 minute shoot down to Sonoma, and we're soon passing field upon field of vines. We drive past the hill that was used as the wallpaper for Windows XP, and quickly arrive into Sonoma, a small city of 10,000 that is a Mecca for wine lovers. Nearby Napa is bigger, and perhaps more famous, but Sonoma is home to some of the finest Californian wine producers around.

      For dinner, we head out to a brilliant Portuguese tapas restaurant. Salt cod cakes, crab pies, amazing braised pork, a stunning goat stew. Massively tasty, and a great little place to hang out.

      By 22:00, we're all winding down towards sleep. We're off on a full day's wine tasting tour tomorrow, and our chariot arrives at 09:30 to pick us up.

      Zzzzzzzzz.....
      Leggi altro

    • Giorno 63

      Floating pumpkin 🎃

      31 ottobre 2022, Stati Uniti ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

      Laura knows I like Halloween and that Americans go crazy for it. So she found this "floating pumpkin" event in Napa Valley where we were going to be.
      I was very excited, but we got there and the excitement quickly disappeared like a Halloween ghost as it was pretty crap. But it killed some time 😂Leggi altro

    • Giorno 64

      Madrigal family winery - Winery #2

      1 novembre 2022, Stati Uniti ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

      Madrigal family winery was much more fun and a much nicer experience than the castle. We had a guy to ourselves and he sat and went through all the wines with us, as well as explained the local area and loads of information. We felt compelled to buy a bottle of wine because of the experience. However it was the end of the day and he had some open bottles, which he let us leave with. The bottle purchased was around $50, but the value of the two other bottles was around $200. So a bargain was had really. Laura was super excited 😂Leggi altro

    • Giorno 26

      What a thrill!

      26 giugno 2023, Stati Uniti ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

      We had the great fortune to meet Bobby Golasinksi at the Senoma Raceway. He was kind enough to show us around and he even allowed me to get into one of these fabulous vehicles and turn it on and off. It was more like sitting in a cockpit than a car. Fabulous.

      What an honor. Thank you, Bobby.
      Leggi altro

    • Giorno 37

      Winelands

      13 settembre 2023, Stati Uniti ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

      Ich schreibe am13.9. Abends

      Am 11,9 , Montag, sind wir morgens in San Franzisko aufgebrochen und über die Golden Gate Bridge in Richtung Norden gefahren.
      Unser Ziel waren die Winelands mit Sonoma und Napa mit den bekanntesten Orten.
      Ich hatte in Sonoma gebucht, der Ort kleiner und beschaulicher .
      Das Hotel hieß „ an inn to remember"
      Verheißungsvoller Name, nichts davon eingetroffen .

      Außer atemberaubender Natur und unendlichen Weinfeldern gibt es hier nur Weingütermit klangvollen Namen, 2 davon haben wir ausgiebig besucht. Shafer und Opus one.
      Schon beeindruckend.

      Heute Mittag ergab sich die Möglichkeit einen Rotary Club zu
      Besuchen.

      Danach gaben wir das Weingut Opus one mit einer Weinprobe besucht, das war dann das Highlight unseres Besuchs.
      Morgen, Donnerstag geht es weiter nach Seattle.
      LG MuT

      English

      I am writing Wednesday, 13th, evening.
      Monday 11th, we left SF short before noon and went passing the bay by the Golden Gate Bridge North to the winelands.
      Sonoma and Napa are the 2 most known villages.‘
      I booked in Sonoma, it is the smaller and Visier place.
      The place I booked is named
      „ an inn to remember“
      Promising name, but disappointing!

      So, we saw wonderful Nature, endless winefields, wineries with great names, one of them we visited today, Opus one.
      That was a highlight.

      Before this visit we attended a Rotary Meeting.

      Tomorrow we will fly to Seattle

      Truus and Manfred
      Say goof night
      Leggi altro

    • Giorno 10

      We all need an afternoon Napa...

      10 ottobre 2022, Stati Uniti ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

      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.

      ROCK. AND. ROLL.
      Leggi altro

    • Giorno 14

      Hunde-Hype

      4 giugno 2023, Stati Uniti ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

      In Napa erlebten wir heute ein eher dekadentes Event. Einen Hunde-Hype. Dutzende von Hundebesitzerinnen und -besitzern brachten ihre Vierbeiner Downtown.
      Hundefotos, Bisquits, Torten. Mäschchen, Coiffeur, Spielzeuge, Pools... die Tiere wurden verwöhnt. Mehr als die Zweibeiner.

      Typisch Amerika.
      Leggi altro

    • Giorno 27

      Day 26 - Rio Vista to St. Helena

      21 giugno 2022, Stati Uniti ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

      Gluthitze in Kalifornien! Mein Garmin zeigte 45 Grad an!😅😅 Mit vielen Zwischenstopps in klimatisierten Tankstellenshops im Napa-Valley angekommen. Leider kein Pool auf dem Campground!😕 Die Lust nach Wein blieb auch aus. Das Bier ging runter wie Wasser!!😂Leggi altro

    • Giorno 13

      Day 13: Napa and Sonoma 🍷 🥂

      26 agosto 2023, Stati Uniti ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

      Spontaneously booked a wine tasting bus tour around Napa Valley/ Sonoma 😁 obviously the better choice than driving myself or having to stay in the area overnight (too f****** expensive!!!). We stopped at three wineries and tasted 12 wines in total 🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🥂 I have to say - they were all good! The tour guide told us that Californian wines once won against French wines in all categories of a competition. Which I had never heard of, but I’m sure in Europe this isn’t really propagated too much 😂 Anyway. Really enjoyed it, met some crazy-ass girls from SF, who adopted me for the day, and came back home tipsy but happy. Yay for Napa Valley wines!

      P.S. the merchandise was awful!! Can anybody imagine European wineries to sell shirts like that along with their wines?? Hilarious! 😂
      Leggi altro

    • Giorno 305

      Autokauf in Napa

      10 agosto 2019, Stati Uniti ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

      Jens geht auch während unserer Reise seinem Hobby nach und stöbert im Internet nach interessanten Autos. In der Nähe von San Francisco verabreden wir uns zur Besichtigung zweier Oldtimer. Der erste Wagen ist ein Porsche 911 SC von 1979. Mit dem Modell kennt Jens sich schon aus, denn so einen hatte er sich schonmal zum 34. Geburtstag gekauft. Das jetzige Exemplar steht leider nicht ganz so gut da und auch die Probefahrt verläuft problematisch. Mit dem zweiten Wagen haben wir mehr Glück. Wir nehmen ihn genau unter die Lupe und finden wenige Mängel, sehr hübsch anzusehen und weitestgehend Rostfrei. Den nehmen wir! Ein Dienstleister, zu dem wir den Wagen einige Tage später in den Hafen bringen, kümmert sich um die Verschiffung nach Bremerhaven. Von dort wird er per LKW nach Berlin geliefert. Wir freuen uns schon auf das Wiedersehen.Leggi altro

    Potresti conoscere questo luogo anche con i seguenti nomi:

    Napa County, مقاطعة نابا, Напа, নাপা কাউন্টি, Comtat de Napa, Napa Valley, Kantono Napa, Condado de Napa, Napa maakond, Napa konderria, شهرستان ناپا، کالیفرنیا, Napan piirikunta, Comté de Napa, 納帕縣, נאפה, Napa megye, Նապա շրջան, Contea di Napa, ナパ郡, 나파 군, Napa Comitatus, Napa, Napa Kūn, Hrabstwo Napa, ناپا کاؤنٹی, Округ Напа, நாபா கவுன்ட்டி, ناپا کاؤنٹی، کیلیفورنیا, Quận Napa, Condado han Napa, 纳帕县

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