8/18 Napa Valley

On Monday, Aleks' folks drove us north to Napa Valley, where Aleks and I visited the Robert Mondavi winery. On an unseasonable chilly afternoon, our tour guide showed us the variety of grapes on the vine--they were surprisingly sweet. Then we went inside to see the compressors and the barreling process, in which they used French Oak and kept the barrels for three years, so the grapes we tasted would not hit the market till 2010.



After tasting some of Mondavi's wine, we headed up the road to the V. Sattui winery to have lunch (salami, pate, and French bread), but first Aleks and I went inside to taste some of their wines. When lunch was over, we drove over to Calistoga and walked around downtown, where Aleks got hit on by two guys when I went to the bathroom. Finally, we stopped by Benicia to get some tea and Cokes and Aleks and I posed by the water.