Day 17: Sacramento to St. Helena

Monday April 23, 2012

Well, another rest day for us as we take the 90 minute drive from Sacramento into the Napa Valley. Our destination – the little town of St. Helena and the charming Shady Oaks Bed and Breakfast.

We can’t check in until 4:00, so arriving in town at 11:00 we decide there is only one thing to do.   Wine Time!

Our first stop is – where else? – Velo Vino. This little winery is owned and operated by the Clif Family – the same folks that bring us Clif Bars. The owners – Kit Crawford and Gary Erickson – have created a tasting room that combines all their passions – cycling, gourmet food and fine wine.   This is not a place that The Recumbent Gourmet could stay away from –  this is the kind of place that we love! Tasting there is particularly fun because they pair the wine with specially blended fruit and nut snacks that taste great! You sip, nosh and walk about looking at some interesting cycling displays and discuss cycling with the staff. We’ve been there before, but we stop in again today because we want to ask their advice about a good route to ride in St. Helena tomorrow.

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The trikes wanted to go tasting at the Velo Vino Winery. The ICE overindulged and got a little loaded. Turns out, she is a bit of a lush. Luckily I was driving.

Our next stop was The Dutch Henry Winery.   We’ve never been here before, but the owners of this winery love Airedales. We are passionate Airedale lovers as well, and we figure its well worth a stop to see their dogs and talk Airedale for a while. We have often thought that if we get reincarnated upon our deaths, we would like to come back as one of our own dogs. Now I think I might like to come back as a dog at the Dutch Henry Winery.

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The Airedales at the Dutch Henry Winery

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After a quick stop for lunch, we head up to Spring Mountain for a really special treat. We drive up about 1200 feet to visit our new friends John and Nancy and the Schoolhouse Vineyard.  John’s family has owned this beautiful property on the mountain for 100 years. They do all the farming as well as the wine making. The grapes are dry-farmed – no irrigation – so the wines are very dependent upon the whims of the weather. We were really happy to sit with John and Nancy in their living room, sip the wines and chat about their lives and the amazing history of the Spring Mountain region that John and his family have witnessed. I could easily have spent the entire afternoon there.

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John and Nancy from Schoolhouse Vinyards

Finally, we made a quick stop at Caymus Vineyards, mostly because it is near our B&B. This is a large, very commercial producer. They have been acquired recently by The Wagner Family. In their tasting room they now sample several brands that we have liked for years – Mer Soliel Chardonnay and Belle Glos Pine Noir. The wines are very nice, but they are available everywhere in the US, so tasting them here in Napa does not seem like the best use of our time.

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Camus – The Wagner Family now owns some of our favorite brands.

Well, 4 tastings in a day is about all I can handle. We go back and check into the B&B, chat with the owner and other guests for a little while, and head out for a light dinner.

Tomorrow, we go riding in St Helena. I’ve been looking forward to riding in the wine country for years. Here it comes….