calistoga02a

the infamousstuffed cat

Andrea twirling her hair as she does habitually

out in front of La Chaumiere. Here's the picture of us from last year

waiting for our food

a large backlit leaf

our chili relleno and gazpacho soup for our appetizers

(left) we were still feeling tired so we headed back to La Chaumiere and took a siesta in the hammock (although we had already checked out in the morning). We needed a little rest before wine tasting

We decided to go wine tasting only at places to which neither of us had been (and were on our way back). We first stopped off at Freemark Abbey. They had a good selection of well made wines - nothing spectacular, but everything well balanced (reserve tasting $10 for 5 wines). Andrea bought a bottle of their Cabernet Bosche, a Cab-Merlot blend.

We then went to Flora Springs (right) (reserve tasting $8 for 5 wines). They had a very nice Chardonnay for $26 (we bought 3 bottles), a nice Sangiovese for $35 (bought one), and their signature wine, Trilogy (one bottle purchased).

Overnight in Calistoga - August 16 - 17

Images 1-9

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	Overnight in Calistoga - August 16 - 17 Images 1-9 [Social Index] [Main Index]
	Day 1: arrival in Calistoga (no pictures) After a tought week, Andrea needed some rest and relaxation so I offered to take her out someplace. I was really scrambling to try to find someplace (start of harvest season in wine country and almost every place has a 2-night minimum) and really lucked out. I was able to book us for one night at La Chaumiere which is a B&B that we had stayed at almost exactly a year ago. This time though, we were in the main house in the upstairs room since the cottage was booked. We arrived in Calistoga at about 9:45pm. We quickly checked into our room and then went to grab some dinner. We walked to Brannan's, which is the same place we ate at last time we stayed here. We had cozy seats with a view overlooking the whole restaurant.. We started off with some Hogback oysters with Veuve Cliquot wine, yes, just like last year. For dinner, I had the lamb frites and she had the steak with garlic mashed potatoes. We split a half bottle of 1996 Grgich Cabernet Sauvignon (big, fruity, very California). For dessert, we had the capuccino pot du creme accompanied by a flight of port - Fonseca Bin 27, Prager, and Smith Woodhouse (strongly preferred over the other 2).
	Day 2: relaxing in Calistoga We had breakfast at 9am and met the other couple who was staying in the cottage. They were also from San Francisco. We chit chatted with them and also laughed about the stuffed cat (picture below, to the left). Ursula had prepared a fruit parfait and blueberry pancakes. We were tired so the coffee helped out a lot. We were quite full after this breakfast, esp. after having eaten so late the night before. We went back to bed after breakfast. After resting up, we walked around Calistoga.
	the infamousstuffed cat	Andrea twirling her hair as she does habitually
	out in front of La Chaumiere. Here's the picture of us from last year
	It was a very lazy day for us. We mostly did some window shopping. The only thing we ended up buying though were some nice soaps, bath salts, and some special laundry detergent. We did enough walking around to work up an appetite again. We ate at Wappo's bistro, a nice little place.
	waiting for our food	a large backlit leaf
	our chili relleno and gazpacho soup for our appetizers

		(left) we were still feeling tired so we headed back to La Chaumiere and took a siesta in the hammock (although we had already checked out in the morning). We needed a little rest before wine tasting
	We decided to go wine tasting only at places to which neither of us had been (and were on our way back). We first stopped off at Freemark Abbey. They had a good selection of well made wines - nothing spectacular, but everything well balanced (reserve tasting $10 for 5 wines). Andrea bought a bottle of their Cabernet Bosche, a Cab-Merlot blend. We then went to Flora Springs (right) (reserve tasting $8 for 5 wines). They had a very nice Chardonnay for $26 (we bought 3 bottles), a nice Sangiovese for $35 (bought one), and their signature wine, Trilogy (one bottle purchased).
	Lastly, we stopped off at Milat, a small winery. Milat used to produce grapes for other wineries, but now they produce their own wines. Milat is also run by David Duckhorn, the son of the person who runs Duckhorn winery (visited 1/13/02). They made an interesting Merlot with a minty nose and herbaceous on the palate. He explained that it was due to the eucalyptus trees that back up the vineyards and that the eucalyptus had been worked into the soil over the last 100 years. The Merlot also had a 33% case discount (normally $21/bottle) - only $168 (a steal) to make room for the coming harvest. We took advantage of that deal!. All in all, it was an enjoyable 24-hours and I think it had the desired effect of giving us a some rest, relaxation, and recreation.

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