Wine-O-Weekend

It feels like we were gone for at least a week. But, in truth, it was only a weekend. Calistoga has that magical power, which makes time warp and hours fly by in blissful glee. Here is what Mr. Husband and I did this weekend:

- Friday: After half a day of work, we frantically ate lunch, packed and drove to Calistoga. We arrived to our hotel, the Calistoga Village Inn, around 4pm. The hotel turned out to be a little farther away from the main strip than we would have liked and, unfortunately, our hotel room sucked. It smelled like someone had gone bonkers with the cleaning supplies. The entire room was drenched in the fake-clean smell of "flowers" that makes your insides churn and head hurt. The shower was so tiny Alan couldn't stand up in it without hitting his head. We quickly were informed that one of the inn's main pools was out of commission. Overall, the inn was a bit more run-down-looking in person than in its website pictures. We were not impressed. However, we are currently in harvest season, which means most hotels in the area are full and booked months in advance; we knew we couldn't change hotels without paying premium prices, so we decided to make-do. After complaining to management about our hotel room we got bumped to a better, larger room, with a whirlpool tub... and received a steep discount. In the end, the hotel worked out well since it was relatively economical and we didn't spend much time in it anyway.

Once we were settled in, we set out to dinner at Hydro Grill. After dinner we went swimming in mineral waters and received relaxing massages at Golden Haven Spa. By the time we got done with our massages we decided to out to town again, and ended up eating a second dinner at the famous Calistoga Inn. We finished our second dinner with cappuccinos and a decadent piece of chocolate-peanut butter cake, (which tasted like a large reese's peanut butter cup) covered in chocolate syrup. By the time we got back to our hotel we were happily bursting at the seams.

- Saturday: We woke up reasonably early, had breakfast at a nice, little cafe and set out to Vincent Arroyo winery, where we did some wine tasting and purchasing. Beringer Vinyard followed. While there we received an amazing tour of the Beringer Rhine House and tasted some more fantastic wines. The Rhine House has stained glass windows worth about 89 million dollars! By the time we left Beringer we were starving, so we decided to stop by this cute burger joint that we saw off the side of the road near the town of St Helena. At Taylor's Automatic Refresher the burgers were good, large and filling.

By the time we were done eating there were only few wineries left open for tastings in the area. We stopped by V. Sattui Winery in St. Helena, which was close by. We discovered that this was not the weekend to visit V. Sattui; it was packed to the brim with families, babies, and people, people, people. We didn't feel like fighting our way to the tasting bar (or listening to babies cry), so we split for our beloved Calistoga. While wondering around Calistoga in search of wine, we stumbled across a wine-bar "grand opening" in the downtown area. The SoloVino grand opening included great food and live music in an intimate setting, for FREE, with your modestly priced tasting. It was wonderful. From there we went to Golden Haven Spa for an evening swim and a detoxifying mud bath. Both of which were awesome. After drinking and eating and swimming and being detoxified, we were in the mood for a light dinner this time. Bedtime came soon after, because wine tasting and mud baths make you sleepy.

- Sunday: We went back to Hydro Grill for a hearty brunch and then wondered around Calistoga shops looking for interesting art and odd trinkets. Alan found a nice zippo torch accessory at A Man Store. Then we went to St. Helena, where we marveled at all the different types of olive oil and balsamic vinegar and designer shoes that exist in the world. Around 1pm we drove south to Bouchaine Winery, near the city of Napa, where we met up with my family for a wine tasting/grape crushing party. There was live music, generous pours, wonderful people, and -of course- great wines at Bouchaine. After the party we were were pretty exhausted, and we headed back home to Sunnyvale.

Sometimes, in the hectic mess of our daily grind, I wonder why we live in California. California, with its overstuffed highways, menacing wild fires and insanely priced real estate. However, a quick weekend getaway to California's wine country, full of history and world class wines and gorgeous landscapes, always manages to remind me of why I live where I do. I love it here, and I wouldn't exchange it for anywhere else in the world. (Except maybe Paris.)