Beyond Here

We visited Peju on our way back. Some research on the web and we had inferred that it would be easy to do with a kid. As expected, there were gardens and fountains all around. And the main tasting room was a more casual affair. As soon as we entered, we were told that it was ok to share a tasting (my husband and I are not heavy drinkers or tasters for that matter) and that the tasting fee could be used as a discount if we decided to buy a bottle. Plus the person conducting the tasting was generous - we got to taste 7 instead of the normally 4 wines in a classic tasting, one of which was a reserve wine. The reserve wine was so costly, i decided to empty the glass to the last sip. I thought it will be criminal not to, given the cost of that wine :) I found these trees lining the driveway to the entrance particularly interesting. And for lack of a picture of fountains, here is one of Shaurya enjoying the fountains. He turned 1 that day and we decided it was ok for him to get himself all ...

The next winery we visited was Beringer. When we had started from our home, our planned visits were to Sterling and Peju - Beringer was a last minute decision based on what we saw from the road when we drove past. We had gotten a glimpse of the Rhinehouse from the road and it was too tempting to ignore. Some history behind the Rhinehouse as we learnt later when we decided to visit the winery - it was built by Frederick Beringer (one of the 2 Beringer brothers) because he wanted his home to remind him of his German home. Beringer winery is the oldest and continuous running winery in the Napa Valley. This tip came from our guide on a tour of the underground caves where the barrels storing the wines are kept. The tasting was also along this tour. I will add that my one year old found the underground tour through the caves a little too interesting, to our dismay. 5 minutes into the tour he realized that his voice echoed when he spoke anything. The next 25 minutes were spent by him trying ...

Yep, between the pregnancy and the nursing, I have been off alcohol for that long. I am not a heavy drinker, mind you. But I do like to know that I can sip something here and there whenever I want to. And so these past couple of years I have looked enviously at each and everyone who has sipped something in front of me. Well, the fast is finally over. And what better way to break the fast than visit the wine country in our backyard - Napa Valley. Its barely 1.25 hours drive from where we live. And we decided to visit it last weekend. First stop was Sterling Vineyards. With an aerial tramway, it was on the top of our list of wineries to visit. Also, they have a self-guided tour - less intimidating and easier to do with a one year old in stow. The entrance to the winery made quite an impression. The trees were in spring bloom and lined the driveway to the parking lot. And the views from top were spectacular. You could get a bird's eye view of the entire valley from there. The tastin...