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Saturday, March 1, 2014

FANTESCA WINERY - ST. HELENA, CALIFORNIA

FANTESCA ESTATE AND WINERY
ST. HELENA, CALIFORNIA

FANTESCA ESTATE AND WINERY
2920 SPRING MOUNTAIN ROAD
ST. HELENA, CA  94574
707-968-9229
707-968-9548 FAX

Ahhhh....Fantesca.  What a great visit to this small family owned winery.  We rolled up and were greeted by Andrea who's smile was big and never ending.  She introduced herself and then walked us to a beautiful deck overlooking the vineyards.  After a brief history of the winery we were led into the Fantesca Wine Cave.  Wow...what a beautiful setting to enjoy a wine tasting.  We sampled several of the Fantesca red wines inside the cave and then were lead through the winery upstairs to a private tasting room.  Andrea made all of us feel at home with her stories and humor.  She was recently engaged and was happy as can be.  We were happy too.  The setting and wines were fantastic.  Just one of those moments where you feel lucky to be here at this point in time.

WE WERE GREETED BY ANDREA WHO HOSTED OUR VISIT TO FANTESCA WINERY
FANTESCA ESTATE VINEYARDS
NOT A BAD PIECE OF PARADISE IN NAPA
ENTRANCE TO THE FANTESCA WINE CAVE
THE FANTESCA WINE CAVE
PRIVATE WINE TASTING IN THE CAVE WAS INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCE
WE ENJOYED A GREAT GLASS OF FANTESCA WINE IN THE CAVE
FANTESCA WINE CAVE
HANGIN OUT HERE WAS A TREAT
ENJOYING FANTESCA KING RICHARDS RESERVE
ENJOYING A GLASS OF WINE INSIDE THE FANTESCA WINE CAVE
AFTER ENJOYING SOME WINE IN THE CAVE WE MOVED UPSTAIRS TO THE TASTING ROOM
PRIVATE TASTING ROOM SET UP FOR SOME DRINKING!

ELEGANT AND SOPHISTICATED
IT WAS A LITTLE TOO WARM TO FIRE UP THIS BABY
LINE EM UP AND KNOCK THEM DOWN - LOVED THE FANTESCA WINES!
LOVE IT WHEN OUR HOST PARTAKES IN THE JUICE WITH US
BEAUTIFUL TASTING ROOM AT FANTESCA
ROLLING OUT AFTER A GREAT DAY VISITING FANTESCA

COLE'S CHOP HOUSE - NAPA, CALIFORNIA

COLE'S CHOP HOUSE
NAPA, CALIFORNIA

COLE'S CHOP HOUSE
1122 MAIN STREET
NAPA, CA  94559
707-224-6328
HOURS:  Monday thru Thursday/Sunday 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM
                 Friday and Saturday 5:00 PM - 10:00 PM

Enjoyed a delicious meal and great company at Cole's Chop House in Napa.  Just an incredible evening of good food, great wine, service and friends.  We brought our own wines from some of the wineries we had visited.  Corkage fee was $25 per bottle.  Our table started with the Warm Brie ($8.50).  Delicious cheese served with bread.  Loved it.  I started with the Iceberg Wedge Salad with Bacon ($10).  Chilled lettuce with lots of thick cut bacon and Bleu Cheese Dressing.  Salad was good.  For my entree I went with the Bone-In Filet ($59).  This was an absolutely fantastic $60 steak and I would order it again in a heartbeat.  Lightly charred on the outside and juicy and pink inside.  The Hash Browns ($8) are world class here.  Probably the best I have ever tasted.  I asked the waiter for some ketchup and he took a while to get it.  When he brought the ketchup, he also brought a completely new order of Hash Browns and apologized for taking so long.  This was a class act I thought plus we got more of those great Hash Browns.  The Creamed Spinach ($8) and Sauteed Mushrooms ($8) were not even on my radar.  I stuck to the Hash Browns and was in heaven.  I loved our dinner at Cole's Chop House.  Really an incredible evening of great food, wine and friends.

COLE'S CHOP HOUSE

COLE'S CHOP HOUSE IN NAPA, CALIFORNIA
NICE VIEW OF KITCHEN
THE BAR AND RESTAURANT AT COLE'S CHOP WAS WAS PACKED
TWO GLASSES OF WINE AT ONCE WITH A LITTLE BREAD
WARM BRIE WAS DELICIOUS
ICEBERG WEDGE SALAD WITH BACON
THE BEST HASH BROWNS IN THE WORLD!
CREAMED SPINACH
SAUTEED MUSHROOMS
BONE-IN FILET
FILET WAS COOKED TO A PERFECT MEDIUM RARE - LOVED IT!

BISTRO DON GIOVANNI - NAPA, CALIFORNIA

BISTRO DON GIOVANNI
NAPA, CALIFORNIA

BISTRO DON GIOVANNI
4110 HOWARD LANE
NAPA, CA  94558
707-224-3300
HOURS:  Monday thru Sunday 11:30 AM - 10:00 PM

Enjoyed a pretty good meal at Bistro Don Giovanni.  Service was good and food was not bad.  I absolutely loved the Beet Salad ($12).  The beets were fresh and delicious.  The Linguine Clams ($24) was a bit bland.  Disappointed that the pasta was a bit mushy.  I prefer al dente.  The sauce was pretty basic.  Probably would not order this dish again here.  My friend loved the Pork Chop ($28).

BISTRO DON GIOVANNI

BISTRO DON GIOVANNI DINING ROOM
BISTRO DON GIOVANNI BAR
BISTRO DON GIOVANNI MENU
MORE OF BISTRO DON GIOVANNI MENU
SOURDOUGH BREAD 
BEET SALAD
LINGUINE WITH CLAMS
PORK CHOP

TAMBER BEY WINERY - CALISTOGA, CA

TAMBER BEY WINERY
CALISTOGA, CALIFORNIA

TAMBER BEY
SUNDANCE RANCH
1251 TUBBS LANE
CALISTOGA, CA  94515
707-942-2100
707-942-2104 FAX
EMAIL: wine@tamberbey.com

Check the link below to read about how we met Tamber Bey Winery owner Barry Waitte at his home and then were invited to his ranch to enjoy a variety of wines with local winery owners.

We arrived at the Tamber Bey Ranch not knowing what to expect.  The day before we were lucky to meet and sample wines with winery owner Barry Waitte.  Barry was nice enough to invite us to a private tasting that he was having at his ranch in Calistoga the next day.  The event was pretty exclusive and featured about a half dozen tables where local winery owners provided samples of their wines.  What a pleasure it was to drink wine and learn the personal stories of how these people came to Napa and started small family wineries.  One gentlemen was an architect from New York.  Another woman who now owns a winery with her husband from Southern California was from Iran.  We sampled wines, talked story and had one of the best days of my life here.  Truly an amazing experience at Tamber Bey.  Thanks so much Barry!

TAMBER BEY IS IN A CLASS BY ITSELF WITH AMAZING LOCATION AND HORSE RANCH
ENTER THE PRIVATE ESTATE OF TAMBER BEY
ENTRANCE TO WINE TASTING ROOM AND GIFT SHOP
THE HORSE PAINTING ABOVE ARE ACTUAL HORSES OWNED BY WINERY OWNER
BEAUTIFUL STABLES AT TAMBER BEY
PRIVATE WINE TASTING WITH A FEW OF TAMBER BEYS FRIENDS FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD
TAMBER BEY WINERY OWNER BARRY WAITTE 
A BEAUTIFUL DAY AT TAMBER BEY
WINE AND DINE AT THE STABLES 
NAPA ROSE
THE GRADE WINERY OWNERS TOM THORTON AND BRENDA MIXSON MAKE AN
ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS SEA-FOG 100% SAUVIGNON BLANC
TAMBER BEY IS AWESOME SPOT TO ENJOY SOME WINE WITH FRIENDS