Wrapup of Napa Trip

The last two days of the trip were great. We tasted some great wines at the Chappallet Vineyard and the folks at St. Supery gave us the royal treatment. Other great wines were tasted at Girard's winery, Honig winery and a don't miss visit to the Shafer winery. One of the real highlights of the trip (not counting the wine) was an olive oil tasting at Round Pond. They have two varietals of olive trees, Italian and Spanish. The Italian trees have a smooth trunk and bark whereas the Spanish trees have a very knarly base trunk and look ancient. They do not "press" thier olives, they macerate them to get the oil out. In a good year it takes the production of 1 tree to produce a gallon of extra virgin olive oil. The taste of the Spanish, which is picked a little greener than the Italian, is an earthy, pungent, peppery olive oil. The Italian oil has a smoother more refined flavor. Both are excellent finishing olive oils. They also press the skins of the blood orange and the meyer lemon to fuse those oils with the olive oil.

We ate at Bistro Jeanty, 25 Degree Brix and CIA Greystone. Of all the places we ate...here is how we would rank them. Number 1 is Bistro Jeanty because of their excellent French Bistro food, such as sweet bread pie, tomato soup, french onion soup, pigs feet salad, etc. It is a quaint, unpretentious place. Next, would be Michael Chiarello's Bottega for his unbelievable ricotta gnocchi and polenta under glass. Then Thomas Kellers Ad Hoc for the unique food preparation and delicous food. Brix and then CIA. If you are planning on visiting the Napa Valley don't miss Bistro Jeanty and Bottega.

We discovered many new and exciting wines and have some ideas for some new dishes. Most of the really good wineries are tasting by appointment only. Most of the wineries we visited reserve their best wines for wine club members only or to sell at the winery only. But we still managed to find some we should be able to obtain for Bistro 108.

Susan has been working on her menu for Valentine's Day. For this Friday and Saturday she will add Duck Breast and Beef Tenderloin and of course we will have our seafood fresh from Hawaii.

It has been a good trip to reawaken our senses and renew our creativity. We look forward to seeing you and talking to you more about our trip. You will probably have to tell us to...go away and leave you alone...we will be so eager to share.

Mike and Susan