Visiting Vineyards in Napa Valley

Every trip to Napa Valley should include some wine tasting at the vineyards filling the valley.  Our first stop is on the beautiful grounds of Domain Chandon to sample sparkling wine.  Domain Chandon was established in 1973 by Moët et Chandon and was the first French-owned sparkling wine producer in Napa Valley, making still and sparkling wined with grapes from Los Carneros, Mt. Veeder, and Yountville.

The Grounds at Domain Chandon

Tasting

Our next stop is at Hall.  Opened in 2005, Hall is dedicated to single-vineyard and limited production wines.  The vineyards consist of over 500 acres (202 hectares) of classic Bordeaux varietals, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Sauvignon Blanc.  And, the artwork on the grounds is whimsical and delightful.

The vines

Wine in process

Art on the grounds

We head inside to the Hall production facilities and tasting rooms, with expansive views across the vineyards.

Facilities

Vines

Ready for tasting

Our next stop is at Darioush Vineyard, where we taste a few wines and have a group dinner in the courtyard.  Founded in 1997, Darioush focuses on premium Bordeaux-style estate wines.

Dinner at the vineyard

We've only made a few stops among the over 375 vineyards open for tasting in Napa Valley, but we've had a good sampling and a good dinner!  This has been a short trip, but we learned a lot more about Napa than we knew when we lived nearby.

 

Street Art in Napa

Napa is full or artists and art.  On the streets, murals depict the history of the area.  On First Street, near the river, the Hispanic Heritage Mural honors and celebrates past and contemporary advocate activists who continue to promote significant social, cultural, viticultural, and economic advances in Napa.

Hispanic Heritage Mural

Other murals nearby depict historic Napa scenes

Historical Napa

Just off First Street, Artist Alley selected local artists to paint murals on the walls in "celebration of a sense of place and community."

Artist Alley

Scattered around town are sculptures offering delightful surprises as we wander the streets, including a depiction of a horn, honoring Napa as the birthplace of the loudspeaker and the Magnavox Corporation in 1915.

Sculptures around the city

Wander over to the Napa Mill, we find beautiful plantings, courtyards, and more art.

Napa Mill

On the other side of First Street, the Napa 9/11 Memorial Garden lists the names of the victims in Flight 11, Flight 77, Flight 93, Flight 175, the North Tower, the South Tower, the Pentagon, and the first responders who perished on that day, a somber spot for reflection.

Napa 9/11 Memorial

A few blocks away, back in the city center, we find more whimsey.

 

Back in the city center

Everywhere we turn in Napa, we find art, some serious, some playful, some in-between.  All of it pleasing, thought-provoking, and enhancing the allure of the city!