A Pinot Noir and a Lovely Vineyard View of Napa Valley, California
For this Napa Valley side trip, I was not fussy about doing a wine tasting information overload tour by an intimidating sommelier. And I didn’t care if I am not able to visit a wine cellar and taste the winery's the vintage of all wines. I’m actually reserving a trip for this separately in Dordogne, France in the fall, which would be perfect as it will be harvest time. But that’s still long down the road. What I really wanted to do in Napa Valley is to sit in an outdoor terrace, drink a glass of red and unwind while relishing the beautiful Californian vineyard panorama.
Ever since living in Europe and working in demanding jobs, I have learned to literally steal and appreciate the little moments of pleasure, relaxation and pampering during weekends and holidays, and even when the sun is shining. We call this the ‘bourgondisch leven’ here in the Netherlands, a lifestyle patterned from the people of Burgundy; the Imperial and French Burgundian dukes once ruled the country during the Middle Ages. These people are known to enjoy life to the fullest by taking time and amusing themselves with gastronomic pleasures, while the (central and northern) Dutch, due to its Calvinistic training feels faint and assaulted with guilt at the hint of pleasure. This, obviously, has changed over time and now the unyielding Dutch have learned to unwind and let go, a little bit =)
With this in mind and to attest that we have indeed learned to incorporate the occasional obligatory ‘bourgondisch leven’ into our lives, we went to Mumm Napa, a wine estate with beautiful vineyard plantation vistas and a restaurant with an outdoor terrace. In addition to this, it has its own exclusive wine club and a promising art gallery.
We chose Mumm Napa mainly because of two things (and we had no idea about this place beforehand). From the Silverado Trail Road, we spotted a handful of cars parked in their parking lot and not tourist buses which suggests that it’s a popular yet devoid of mass tourism place to hang out. Secondly, it has an inviting outdoor terrace the looks out to the vineyard valley.
I had a Mumm Pinot Noir, and while I was enjoying the lovely vineyard scenery (too bad it’s still very early in the season the vines have not grown and climb the trellises yet), the Dutchman was gone, somewhere—surprisingly—touring the art gallery.
Cheers and Proost for now =)
I do not mind having this (wine and view) everyday in the afternoons...
Travel Period: March 2011
Ever since living in Europe and working in demanding jobs, I have learned to literally steal and appreciate the little moments of pleasure, relaxation and pampering during weekends and holidays, and even when the sun is shining. We call this the ‘bourgondisch leven’ here in the Netherlands, a lifestyle patterned from the people of Burgundy; the Imperial and French Burgundian dukes once ruled the country during the Middle Ages. These people are known to enjoy life to the fullest by taking time and amusing themselves with gastronomic pleasures, while the (central and northern) Dutch, due to its Calvinistic training feels faint and assaulted with guilt at the hint of pleasure. This, obviously, has changed over time and now the unyielding Dutch have learned to unwind and let go, a little bit =)With this in mind and to attest that we have indeed learned to incorporate the occasional obligatory ‘bourgondisch leven’ into our lives, we went to Mumm Napa, a wine estate with beautiful vineyard plantation vistas and a restaurant with an outdoor terrace. In addition to this, it has its own exclusive wine club and a promising art gallery.
We chose Mumm Napa mainly because of two things (and we had no idea about this place beforehand). From the Silverado Trail Road, we spotted a handful of cars parked in their parking lot and not tourist buses which suggests that it’s a popular yet devoid of mass tourism place to hang out. Secondly, it has an inviting outdoor terrace the looks out to the vineyard valley.
I had a Mumm Pinot Noir, and while I was enjoying the lovely vineyard scenery (too bad it’s still very early in the season the vines have not grown and climb the trellises yet), the Dutchman was gone, somewhere—surprisingly—touring the art gallery.
Cheers and Proost for now =)
I do not mind having this (wine and view) everyday in the afternoons...Travel Period: March 2011
