While we really could have just wasted the entire day away at the spa, lounging beside the pool or in the sauna, we all eventually fell victim to hunger, and a world-famous burger joint, Taylor's Refresher, was calling our name from across the street. Now, the Napa Valley is filled with top-notch restaurants offering delicacies from around the world, but who can resist the aroma of a mouth-watering juicy burger. Not us! When presented with the healthy spa options vs. the artery-clogging red meat delight, we all unanimously agreed that we were on vacation to indulge.
Afterwards, we walked the streets of downtown St. Helena and once again engaged in a little retail therapy. There was an electic mix of stores, everything from clothing and jewelry to olive oils and soaps. The only disappointment was that we didn't make it to the Culinary Institute of America located just a little North of St. Helena. We simply ran out of time thanks to the abundance of cute stores.
From St. Helena, we headed back South to Yountville for dinner at Bottega, a restaurant owned by chef Michael Chiarello. He has a show on The Food Network. This restaurant is awesome! It's upscale, but far from stuffy. The waitstaff is top notch, but not arrogant. Oh, and the food is delicious. We unanimously agreed that this was our favorite restaurant. Celadon from the first night came in a very close second, just in case you're taking notes for a future trip.
All in all, I have to say that day 3 was the definition of relaxation: pampering at the spa, shopping, and an incredible dinner experience. It would be tough to top, but we were sure gonna' try on day 4, our final day together.
We woke up bright and early again on Tuesday, day 4. Before you're too impressed with our early rising, let me explain that 4 of us were operating on a different time zone. So waking up at 7am in Napa was equivalent to waking up at 10am at home. It was perfect for everyone, except Anne who was in her home time zone. 7am was still 7am for her, but she didn't seem to mind.
As it turns out though, we were a bit over eager. We arrived at our first stop, Chandon Winery, to sample some sparkling wines at about 9:45am. Well...they didn't open until 10am. What?! We would have to wait until 10am to drink alcohol?! What's wrong with these people? We snapped a few quick photos and decided to head up the road to the Dean & Deluca market to stock up on picnic foods instead.
Again, we found no shortage of delicious offerings. We all made our selections and loaded back into the car. We were bound for Robert Mondavi Winery where we had an 11am tour reservation.
The landscape is absolutely beautiful, but we found the tour to be a bit mundane. Our guide was nice, but rather robotic in nature. She shared tons and tons of factual information about how wine is produced, but with very little personality.
From the vineyard itself, we made our way inside and learned about the process of turning grapes into wine. I won't go into the details, but it's truly fascinating. If you enjoy wine, then a trip to Napa is an absolute must. 
Finally, we made it to the tasting room. I mean, the informational tour is fascinating and all, but what everyone really looks forward to is the tasting! This is also, coincidentally, when our tour guide finally perked up. Maybe it's better to book the afternoon tour at Mondavi. She may be a riot after a few tastings.
From Mondavi, we headed to our picnic spot, Rutherford Hill Winery. Perched high on top of a mountain, we toasted our final day in Napa and enjoyed our Dean & Deluca goodies while taking in the gorgeous view.
After lunch, we stopped along the roadside to pose with the mustard growing in the vineyards. Our trip happened to fall during Napa's Mustard Festival. We figured we needed a few pictures to commemorate the event, even if we didn't participate in any of the formal festivities.
Next on the agenda, Frog's Leap Winery. This was my absolute favorite stop on my last Napa trip. It's an organic winery with tons and tons of character. We tasted a few of their newer wines, lingered on the grounds for a bit, and then set off in search of sparkling wine since we missed out on it earlier.
The final stop was Mumm Winery. Sparkling wines are their speciality, and we did our very best to sample each and every offering. Here, the tastings are served on a patio overlooking the vineyard. Our waiter, James, turned out to be a UGA alum like Kelly and me, although he graduated a bit ahead of us in 1974. Turns out he is from Cordele, GA which is just up the road from our hometown. It truly is a small world, and James seemed just as thrilled to run into some fellow Georgians. He treated us to a few extra flutes, including 2 types of sparkling pinot noir. We had never tried red sparkling wines, but we're now big fans. What an experience! Two thumbs up!
And with that, our winery tours and tastings came to an end. We headed back into Napa to ship our wine purchases home. Amy and I turned out to be the biggest lushes. I purchased 9 bottles, but Amy took the grand prize with 14. We were just doing our part to stimulate the local economy. Times are tough. Tourists are down, but the charm and character are still at high levels. If you're looking for a vacation spot, Napa is my recommendation.
From there, we made our way to our first winery, Far Niente. To say it was beautiful would be an understatement. I can only imagine how amazing the landscape will be a little later in the Spring when more is blooming.
From the moment we walked through the front door, we felt like VIPs. Our tour guide, Walt, made us feel right at home as we toured the winery grounds and the storage caves filled with thousands upon thousands of wine barrels.
Far Niente Winery is known for their cabernets and chardonnays, but they also produce a sweet dessert wine, Dolce, made from late harvest grapes. Dessert wines are some of the very few white wines that actually taste better with age, and they can be aged up to a hundred years. Most white wines need to be consumed within 5 to 7 years. How's that for a little lesson? I did manage to retain some knowledge gained along the way.
After touring the caves, we headed back outside to enjoy some of the beautiful scenery. It was still pretty cold though, especially when the wind picked up. So, Walt decided to share a different type of beauty with us.
We walked over to a beautiful, rustic barn at the rear of the property, but when Walt rolled back the barn door, we realized the barn was actually an extremely nice garage housing a rather extensive car collection. I think there were about 16 - 18 cars total, mostly sports cars from various eras, but there were a few boats, motorcycles, and race cars thrown in to provide some variety.
As I walked around checking out the cars, I couldn't help wishing that I had Jax with me. He would have loved those cars!
The owner's pride and joy was this extremely rare Ferrari. It's worth a whopping 14 MILLION! Upon hearing that, I promptly thanked God that Jax was not with me. He would have loved that car, and it would have been hard to keep his little hands off of it.
From the garage, we headed back into the main house to taste a few wines. Walt lead us to a small dining room with a beautifully set farmhouse table. Again, the VIP treatment was very much appreciated.
We hated to leave our little paradise, but after a few more pictures, we made our way to the next stop.
We enjoyed our gourmet picnic lunch on the sunny hillside of Diamond Oaks Winery. It was the perfect backdrop. So, despite the chilly air, we lingered and enjoyed the view.
Next on the agenda was St. Supery Winery. It was nice, but nothing special. We did stroll their little museum and taste a few of their wines. I probably wouldn't recommend it. Good wines, but there's nothing on the grounds worth seeing. Sorry, St. Supery!
By this point, we had sipped quite a bit of wine and decided we should probably move on to a new activity. With 5 women, it's not too surprising that the plan we settled on involved a little retail therapy. We made our way to V Marketplace in Yountville to check out the little shops and boutiques. Given that we were in wine country, there were a few tasting rooms and wine stores among the clothing and gift shops. So, we ended up tasting a few more wines. We didn't want to be rude. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
Continuing our theme for the day, eating and drinking, we made our way to dinner at the cutest little French restaurant, Bistro Jeanty. The decor and menu were straight out of Paris. We enjoyed their signature dish, tomato soup in puff pastry, along with a few other dishes, and then struggled to roll ourselves out at the end of the evening. We were all so full we swore not to repeat our gluttony the next day.
