Napa Wine Tasting Review

We started our day wine tasting with an appointment at Cakebread Cellars, just up the road from our bed and breakfast. The tasting included a walking tour of the grounds and tasting along the way. The tour was with one guide and four of us, the other couple also raced in the Vineman; we kept conversation to wine though. I absolutely loved this place and wanted to move into the house on the grounds which would have been great for some back yard entertaining. We were surprised how much we loved the white wines here and our other stops, being red wine drinkers.

Cakebread Entryway

Next stop was a vineyard Jason had found online called Frog's Leap. Here they set you on a large porch overlooking gardens and vineyards. The family dog visits and it's more of a mom and pop vineyard feel. You can take your time and just enjoy hanging out, they bring you wine and will answer any questions and also a great cheese plate.

Frog's Leap Porch

After lunch in St Helena we headed to Duckhorn, which was recommended to us by Sarah and Corbett Elsen. The wine here might have been the best we tasted, but we did not buy any- way out of our price range. So we made good use of the tasting, which seemed never-ending. The group next to us made fun of us for leaving wine on the table!

Duckhorn tasting- they brought 6-7 instead of the typical 4!

Next we headed up to Calistoga to visit Castello di Amorosa. This place is built to look like a castle with a mout and a dungeon and all. We found the place overall cheesy, but the tasting was held in the basement and our server was hilarious. He really made the trip worth while and the wine was great! No need to visit this place just to see the castle though, unless you have kids who would think it was cool. Speaking of kids, many of the vineyards have a home-made soda tasting they serve in wine glasses for kids and pregos. I thought that was cute.

Our final stop was a small vineyard called Peju, 85% of there wine is sold direct consumer, so we won't find this one in the store. It was great wine. The tasting was held in door along a bar with about 20 other people, the way I remember tasting last time I was in Napa. One wine was a blend of both white and red grapes which was interesting. We didn't take any photos here.

WE LOVED OUR B and B! Here are a few shots for La Residence- owneded by Hall vineyard.
Each morning you had a sit down breakfast prepared by a chef. In the evening a wine and cheese reception. The rooms had fireplaces and plenty of space. Outdoors there was a pool and small vineyard you could sit and hang out near.

San Fran

Jason and I flew to San Fran. and spent a two days there prior to heading to wine country for our race. We spent the first day wondering around near our hotel in Union Square/Nob Hill and China town. The first night we had dinner with Brooke in the Marina.

Then our second day we met Juliet for lunch and hanging out in Golden Gate Park. Yes, I wore the same shirt....it was so cold there and I had only packed sun dresses!

Here is our cheesy tourist shot in Union Square.

Vineman Ironman 70.3 or What a Difference a Year Makes

Jason and I just returned from a fantastic vacation in the Bay Area, which I will blog about next. The trip was planned surrounding my only triathlon this year, Vineman 70.3 . 70.3 is the number of miles that makes up the distance in a half-ironman. I registered for this race on Halloween, shortly after IM Wisconsin and was still in top shape. Over the winter and spring months, I found it exceedingly difficult to balance my life with continuing the training pattern I had established last year. I will admit, my life is much more well rounded now, but on Sunday I felt the price. The race was held in Sonoma County. The 1.2 mile swim took place in the Russian River, where we swam upstream for half the race and then turned around with the current at our back. The bike scenery was unbelievable. From mile one, which took me past Korbel vineyard, all the way to mile 56 we rode in the winding hills surrounded by vineyards. By the time I was ending the bike I could feel the lack of training catching up with me. The hills on the bike were far larger than any I've ridden on this year and the temp. had reached 92 degrees. Needless to say, the run did not go exactly as I had hoped. When I turned the first corner and saw a hill that I'm sure my car wouldn't make it up in the winter on ice, I knew I was in trouble. So the remainder of the race was about survival and crossing the finish line- which I did but almost 2 hours slower than my half iron distance race last year. There is no doubt that this race would have been difficult no matter how much I'd trained, but I know I will do better next time!

This weekend was my cousin Jean's wedding just north of Peotosky. We started out the weekend at my parent's place in Middleville with a nice morning swim. Then headed into EGR for lunch at Roses and a quick tour of my favorite sights. Then we headed up north for an evening BBQ on the lake and card game with all my cousins, aunts and uncles. Saturday we took a quick trip to Mackinaw City, only 20 minutes from the wedding site, and then got ready for a great night on Little Traverse Bay with an outdoor wedding and dancing. It was so much fun and really hard to come back to Chicago.

Fourth of July Weekend

This 4th was a great combination of friends, family, work and play. My parents were in town Friday and Saturday before heading out to see my sister in Minnesota. Sat and Sat night I worked but did have a chance to escape over to Amanda's for some roof top pool and BBQ time. Sunday morning Jay and I took our first open water swim at Ohio Street beach followed by a fantastic brunch at Feast.

Sunday Evening Amanda, Kelly and I along with our significant others kayaked down the Chicago river to watch the fireworks. Great way to avoid the crowd and really fun to be in the heart of the city on the river. Monday we wrapped up the weekend with a long bike ride and a free concert/picnic in Millenium Park. Overall it was a great weekend in Chicago and made not being home on the lake less painful :)