My day in Napa Valley was awesome, not just because I enjoy wine, which I of course do. And not just because it was gorgeous, which it was. It was awesome because it was my birthday. I implore you all to visit Napa on a birthday or be with someone on their birthday. It provides a lot of bonuses, that much is for sure.
I had recently been in the mood for champagne, but you can't really just buy a bottle and leisurely sip out of it. But in Napa Valley, I was able to have some tastes of champagne (oh, excuse me, it has to be called sparkling wine in Napa because it isn't Champagne, France).
At the next winery, I tasted a delicious buttery chardonnay and totally got a bottle to bring home. I also got to have my tasting for free.
Then it was on to the Robert Mondavi winery for a tour. It was gorgeous there. Behind the vines were mountains. The tour was great. I learned that the wine country of Northern California began when Spanish missionaries grew grapes in order to make communion wine. I was also able to run out in the vineyard and eat the grapes. They were much, much sweeter than I thought they would be. I had a cabernet grape, a merlot grape, a pinot grape and a chardonnay grape. I saw the big vats and barrels the grapes and then eventual wine is put into.
Our tasting was of three of their reserve (i.e. super fancy wines) and when they heard it was my birthday, the tour guide opened another bottle for more tasting. And then everyone told me happy birthday. (Here's a fun fact; there were two couples in my group who were also named McGuire; one was spelled the correct way (McGuire) and one was spelled the wrong, Tom Cruise way (Maguire). And then we all ended up sitting in a row during the tasting).
By this time, I was pretty tipsy, but we stopped at another winery, where I not only received another free tasting, my friend's tasting fee was super cheap. This is where I got a bottle of red (Cabernet Sauvignion) to go with my white..
At this point, after a ton of wine and really, only lime tortilla chips to eat, I was starving. So we went to dinner. And shared a bottle of Chianti. I had never had Chianti before. After our large dinner, my friend kept saying we should get a dessert. When it came, it had a candle in it, and I guess, after so much wine, I wasn't really thinking much about it, and then I was told to listen and the singer in the corner was quietly singing, "Happy Birthday."
After dinner I felt sick from wine and food and pretty much spent the rest of the evening laying very still.
Happy Birthday to me.
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