Anniversary Weekend in Napa...(now with notes: Schramsberg/J. Davies, R-M, Mending Wall, Raymond)

Have a Jen-centric weekend planned for our 5th anniversary, headed to Napa tomorrow, and I’m actually quite excited about it, which is odd, as it doesn’t have 8-10 tastings in a day, marathon-style that I like to do when I go to Napa or Sonoma.

We’re headed in tomorrow, dining at Redd after checking into Hotel Archer (apparently ‘the place to be’ is the roof on weekend evenings). Friday we start with a standard breakfast of eggs - fish eggs, technically - ‘caviar and bubbles’ at Davies Vineyards, then head to meet up with Berserkers Will Segui and Bud Carey, with the former pouring some Rivers-Marie (primarily Chardonnay, but I’ll be pushing to get some red stuff poured, as well) for a short tasting alongside Bud, prior to our tasting at Mending Wall (recently graced by our own Frank, Brig, and crew). I’ve seen a lot of posts about Mending Wall, and surprisingly all good, so I look forward to that one. We’ll be ending the day at Raymond for a VIP tasting that is mysterious even to me - I told Bill Farmer to make sure my wife has a good time there, her likes and dislikes, so I’m in the dark on this one a bit. The Raymond visit will definitely be up her alley in terms of over-the-top, club style decor and presentation, and I know they have a massive array of wines so I’m sure we’ll find some we like.

That evening we’ll head to Two Birds One Stone for dinner, and the following day (the real reason for the trip) is the Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet Release Party. I’ve never been to a release party, and so we’ll prep for 6 hours of Cabernet, apparently, and Jen will be in heaven, since it’s her favorite wine of all time (specifically Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon - she prefers it over the Napa Valley Cab). We’re going to the Oakville location as the new AV winery was a bit tough to get into, particularly since we’re far, FAR from power buyers with that company, so we’ll save the AV winery visit for another trip. If we can make it to dinner, we’re slated to head to Torc that evening, returning the next day.

Any wines, menu items to choose or avoid would be appreciated, and I’ll update this thread with photos and notes, though I suck at both taking notes, since I’m lazy, and suck at the actual notes, should I get the bug to actually prepare some.

Happy Anniversary and have a great time!

I’ve heard Two Birds One Stone is quite over-rated. Hope you find it to your satisfaction.

Give your wife a gift she will be able to cherish forever. Traditionally, the gift for five years of marriage is supposed to be something made of wood and the modern gift is silverware. You don’t have to follow tradition though.
Have a Happy & Healthy Anniversary ! [cheers.gif]

Yup, after 5 years with Todd, Jen certainly deserves this trip, or better yet, an award of some sort. Congratulations!

Todd, Congrats! We just passed 34 years and spouse-centric trips like these go a long way toward marriage-longevity. I have to ask though…did the Real Housewives episode drive the Raymond visit?

Cheers! [cheers.gif]

Steve

Didn’t realize that Sang Yoon had ventured north from Culver City. Menu looks fun and can’t go wrong with Ryme and Matthiasson on the By the Glass list!

Cheers,

Steve

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary!

Have a great celebration weekend.

Happy Anniversary - five years went by quickly. Enjoy your trip!

Ned - yes, I have the ‘wood’ theme all setup at each of our stops, coordinating with the person in charge of the tasting, whether it’s a cheese and charcuterie spread on a wooden platter, or a special olive wood handle on a wine opener, wrapped as a gift, there’s the wood theme at all our stops. (plus I sent our wedding hand fans to each of the locations so they can display them for us when we arrive)

Definitely not, and I"m not going to look at that link, as I’m afraid of what I’ll find, and I’d rather just go in with a blank slate, as I’ve never tasted there, I just know the rooms are night-club-ish and well decorated. I’ll leave it at that. neener

Happy anniversary Todd and Jen.

Sounds awesome. Really interested to here about your experiences at Redd (I’ll be going with my wife for our anniversary in a few weeks), and at Raymond. Sounds like you’ve got a nice in there, and I’ve heard great things from other board members. Mostly along the lines of “I expected it to be a wild joke because of JCB, but glitz and kitsch aside, really damn good wines and such a different setting from most other Napa stuff it’s kind of fun and absurd.”

It looks like Thomas Arvid will be at Silver Oak-Oakville when you are there. Check out his art work, http://www.thomasarvid.com/newart. Maybe find a nice gift ?!? We had him paint the wines we drank at our wedding rehearsal dinner as a anniversary gift to ourselves a few years ago http://www.thomasarvid.com/artwork/after-all-these-years

Wow, his paintings are so hyper-realistic I thought they were photos!!

Happy Anniversary Todd. Your wife deserves this trip. We hare an anniversary weekend - 11th for us (we got married at Silverado Resort n Napa). Nothing as extravagant planned as we just got back from Carribean (Grenada). Did book hotel for 2019 already so Very curious to hear on 2 birds.

I cannot seem to find Hotel Avalon. Do you have a link?

Don’t want to be a debbie downer, but Redd is not my favorite among the Yountville choices. It’s just a little sterile and cold in atmosphere for me. Food OK, though I was a little disappointed the last time we were there (2 years ago) given the price. It is probably the most “elegant” restaurant in the area (leaving FL out of the discussion, of course). Bouchon competes, but I’ve decided it also lacks in value. Our favorite now, and pretty much go-to, is Bistro Jeanty. It’s a little more casual, but the atmosphere is more lively, better food (though not as high-end).

Hotel ARCHER, sorry - I fixed the OP - it’s smack dab in the downtown area.

Yeah, the Carribean sounds just lovely - don’t think you need an extravagant Napa weekend [wink.gif]

Alan - I am totally opposite. Jeanty was laughable it was so bad last time. Food was inedible. Like we sent it back and did not reorder anything. Great small bar though. In our eyes, Bouchon is crazy overrated (bakery is not thought - it is really good). Redd is our favorite - but we tend to eat at the bar (serve full menu). I can see your atmosphere comment which is why we do the bar. Much less sterile.