Date Day

Brian has been traveling a lot this summer. And with me and the kids being in TN for most of the summer, he and I will only be together as a family of 4, for just 8.5 days between father's day and labor day this year!

So before he took off for his next trip, 3 weeks to Korea, we decided to leave the kids with a babysitter ( a new male babysitter- son of our friends- who knows how to earn his $$$ by making some kick a$$ paper airplanes, btw! I have to watch a YouTube video each time Tate asks me to make one!) and we headed out to NAPA!

Brian took the afternoon off work Friday, so our time there was limited, but we were determined to try new places and make the most of our hours there. Actually, we haven't been to Napa for months and months. And the last few times we went was with friends, so this was a real treat that we got to go together, just us. 

We started at V. Sattui, of course. We are members and get two bottles of wine a month. They were shocked that we hadn't come in to pick up our wines since January!!! If only we had more time, we would gladly come each and every month!

We ran across the street to grab some lunch on the run from Dean & Deluca, a place we hadn't been since our honeymoon 10 years ago! Then we headed to a new place- the Elizabeth Spencer Winery. http://www.elizabethspencerwines.com

We were a little taken aback by the $25 per person tasting fee, but instantly loved the vibe of the tasting room (a renovated post office!) and the patio-

They had grapes growing right along the patio, table side-

I got a kick out of the uni-sex bathroom urinal- 

The sign says it is a waterless urinal, who knew?!

 Okay, okay- enough about their bathrooms and patios! How about the wines?

We loved them so much that we joined the wine club! As a member, you get to sign the giant bottle in the lobby. Here he goes-

Official photo for the member directory. Okay, joking- it's just for my blog. 

Here is the label. It is a must try if you ever see it on a restaurant menu-

While we were sipping our wines leisurely on the patio (it was the perfect summer day to be in Napa, btw) around comes one of the owners- Spencer Graham, greeting each table . (Side note, Elizabeth Pressler married Spencer Graham- creating the wine label/company Elizabeth Spencer. They have a neat story, read about it on their website listed above if you wish...)

It was such a refreshing experience being there for a couple hours. I have a teeny, tiny desire/secret to become a certified wine sommelier http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sommelier (you heard it first here, folks!) and this is the first place I thought, okay this would be cool to work, if I had to be away from my kids/husband/house. With so many big, huge wineries owned by major worldwide cooperations, we loved finding this gem in the heart of sweet, old Rutherford.

We had just enough time to squeeze in a dinner before heading home and decided to walk over to the Rutherford Grill, and try it finally! Their signature mustard colored patio umbrella's drew us in-


If you have ever driven through Napa Valley on Hwy 29, you know these umbrellas! We were not disappointed with the place at all, and they even have a no corkage fee for wines from our newly beloved winery, Elizabeth Spencer- cheers to us!