THE Place for your not so average Wine Tasting adventures. Welcome to David S. Grant's Fear and Loathing adventures through NY, CT, Tuscany, and CA (Napa/Sonoma).
TUSCANY - CHIANTI REGION
Our driver is late. We are waiting in front of the Best Western pondering whether our driver, Michele, is male or female and also realizing the large number of Silver Mercedes vans that are in the area. Michele (male) shows up and begins driving fast, leaving the city of Florence. On the way he discusses Chianti wine and then drives even faster (unsure if there is a link between discussing Chianti and Italian driver arousal – hoping we don’t find out). The valleys are vast with rolling hills, olive trees, and grapes. If the car is moving too fast and you miss the view, it’s okay, just look again and you will see another picturesque image. After 40 minutes the Castello di Verrazzano vineyard comes into focus. It looks like a distant castle, surrounded by miles of grapes. To make sure we don’t miss the start of the tour, Michele pushes down on the gas, flying around 90 degree turns with cliff like sides until we eventually navigate the winding roads into the winery area. We run (Michele may have picked a gate lock) and catch up with the tour that has just started.
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"CLASSICO" (Fiction)
“That’s Classic” Jody yells looking out the window. The Olive trees, rolling hills, and grape vines are passing by, fast. She turns back to Cam and tells him we are speeding up. Cam looks over at Louis and Muriel for concern and there is none so he turns and looks out the other window as the silver Mercedes van plows through the hills, hitting the 45 degree turns at 80 kilometers. Ten minutes pass and they pull up to Castella de Verrazzano, their first winery in the Chianti region.
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THE NEW YORK HUDSON VALLEY
When planning a trip of wine tasting and farms through the Hudson Valley there is really only one rule: Do NOT drink wine the night before! Fail. Needless to say, the initial two hour drive from New York City wasn’t much fun for my wife and dog, but as we hit more vineyards and saw more crazy “farm stuff” you naturally begin to feel better. “THE HUDSON VALLEY – IT’S BETTER THAN GATORADE!”
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"THE GNOME" (Fiction)
It was supposed to “break-up” the wine tasting. A stop at Kessler Farms, see the gnome. It’s what you do when you are driving around New York’s Hudson Valley.
To be honest, I wasn’t feeling it. Not feeling well, not wanting to stop off at a random farm to see “the gnome”. It was no surprise that when I got out of the car I was the least impressed. As the others gathered for pictures I stood back and shook my head. When the others insisted on getting my picture with the gnome I casually approached and then took a photo of me stomping the feet of the gnome with my red Chuck Taylors.
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The Connecticut Wine Trail
It’s not always how you write out the itinerary; sometimes it’s the adventure itself. After a Zipcar mishap I was informed I would not have my usual Prius, the car I have grown to love for my weekend trips. Instead I would have to trek up to 22nd street to a Dollar rental place to secure a car for our weekend trip. The one thing going for me, I did not have to drive through New Jersey, instead driving straight up through New York State and into Connecticut. A dream comes true!
The other positive was the incredible weather, what is often referred to as an “Indian Summer” which I’m not sure may be an outdated term that is now considered politically incorrect. Does Al Gore use this term when discussing Global Warming? Probably not. I really am not sure on this one. Another way to put this: It was over eighty degrees in October.
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"The COFFEE Shop" (Fiction)
There were at least four wine bars as I drove through the town. Only a mile off the highway it was a quick stop, a quick coffee for the home stretch drive back to the city. In the distance I saw the orange and purple, as I got closer the words were scratched off. Maybe this was a Dunkin Donuts, maybe not. The neon sign on the window was lit and read COFFEE. Either way, this works for me.
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NAPA and SONOMA valleys of CALIFORINA
I arrive at SFO, meet Beth, get a car and after a brief detour of Oakland (ended up on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd) we are headed north. Given it is Thursday evening we head straight for a restaurant where we have a reservation named Compadres Rio Grill. Yes, a Mexican restaurant is our first stop in wine country. No one is in the restaurant leading us to quickly figure out that this area is over by 8pm. We eat fajitas, enchiladas, and dos Margaritas (each) by ourselves.
We are staying at the Napa Best Western Premier. For those unaware “Premier” equals “Fancy” and equals having an extra toothbrush when I realized I had forgot to bring mine (fancy). Unpacked, it is still early so we walk across the parking lot to the Red Hen Cantina. We drink good Margaritas and wonder where all of the people are. Overall the drinks were good, cleanliness, uh, well maybe there’s a little of work to do there. No worries, it’s not like we would be spending much (or any more) time at the Red Hen Cantina. For those keeping track, yes, our first night in wine country consisted of Mexican food and Margaritas.
The next morning we wake up early and begin our drive to the north side of Napa.
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"The VINES" (Fiction)
Growing up with the name Penny was way better than you’d think. “Penny for your thoughts”, my mother would say right before she pulled my sheets up. Or “You sure are pretty, Penny”, from my father as he drove me to first grade. Yes, living in Napa and being named Penny was a lot like hitting the lottery for a little girl. Family picnics, road trips up and down the coast of California, and softball games were the norm. For anyone that lives in Napa would know, this was of course Pre-Vines. This is before the grapes moved in and the tourists trampled through our region. Yes, prior to this time everyone played the lottery with hope, looking for a big payout. Not after the first grapes arrived, well, there was no need for hope. There was enough money to go around. No need to play the lottery. No need for picnics. No more softball and definitely no more road trips. There were grapes to grow!
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David S. Grant is the author of several books. His latest, BLOOD: The New Red will be available 11-11-11. For more information go to http://www.davidsgrant.com. Follow David on Twitter .david_s_grant
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