Wednesday, September 17, 2008

In the Land of the Nectar of the Gods

First off, thank you to everyone who weighed in on my deodorant dilemma. I so greatly appreciate your concern with my malodorous armpits. Thankfully, there were no stinky incidents on the trip.

Secondly, please bear with me through this post. My brain cells (I just typed sells instead of cells) are still a bit blotto from the weekend. Even with a daily nap, it seems I never quite got enough rest to rejuvenate my drunk little neural pathways. So I think many of them are shut down right now.


The weekend was fantastic. Mostly just because everything connected to wine is beautiful and decadent and timeless. Driving through rolling hills dotted with oak trees and flanked by striated vineyards is sort of like crawling across a big beautiful patchwork quilt. It’s comfortable and you appreciate the care and craftsmanship that went into creating it, and you really want to just stop and take a nap on it. Seriously, I think there’s a reason they named it Napa up there…


Then there’s the whole process of swirling the wine in your glass and watching it catch the light; holding it to your nose, trying to pick up fragrances of green apple or earth; swishing it around your mouth as its buttery flavor coats your tongue. It’s an indulgence for every sense.


We went to about a dozen wineries and tasting rooms. La Crema, Kendall Jackson, Seghesio, Simi, Lambert Ridge, Rosso & Bianco (Coppola’s), Cosentino, Miner Family, V. Sattui, Merryvale, Rubicon (also Coppola’s), Opus One, and Silver Oak. At a couple of them, we just wandered around a bit an enjoyed the scenery. At all the rest, we sipped and poured, trying to determine how badly we wanted to add a bottle to our purchase list.


We ended up shipping 12 bottles from about 5 different locations. And Mr. Wonderful joined the wine club at our favorite spot which I’ll write about in a separate post.


I’m wearing a grey shirt today, which pretty much sums up how I feel about being back in LA. I was so depressed last night I cried after I left Mr. W’s house. There’s something about getting so high on the taste of olives and cheese and Cabernet and kisses then having to come back to the daily grind. Quite a downer. At least I can smile every time I look down at the type across my new grey t-shirt…it reads “pinot envy.”

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ha! Nice shirt. Sounds like a wonderful time.

And I love that you said "blotto." :)

megabrooke said...

pinot envy!! my kind of shirt! i love it.

those pictures are amazing and your trip sounds perfect! i know what you mean about that post-vacay letdown. at least you have some really great memories- and hey, now you'll just need to get busy planning your next excursion to look forward to!

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a wonderful trip. Sorry 'bout the doldrums but, believe me, you're not alone in that right now...

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful trip! The post vacation let down always catches me by surprise. You know what cures it? Planning another trip!

Sizzle said...

Mmmm La Crema. Good stuff!

Mandy_Fish said...

"Whaa whaa whaa. I'm back in LA."

Try coming home to Detroit, lady.

;-)

Glad you had a nice trip!

Nilsa S. said...

And just think, you've shipped a little bit of your trip home. Soon enough, you can make it through each day knowing you can always sip a little Napa when you get home!

Melissa Maris said...

JustRun - Yeah the shirt cracked me up. I had to have it. Perhaps because of my "blotto" state. :D

Brookem - The trip was great. Thank goodness for pictures - they always seem to help with the post-vacation blues.

Geekhiker - It's kind of funny (not haha funny) a lot of bloggers and people I know are feeling down right now. We all need to eat more chocolate, I think.

Dingo - I know - I'm trying to get Mr. W fully on board for planning a trip to Italy. Now THAT would be some good wine tasting!

Sizzle - La Crema was the first place we went and it was really good! I had never even heard of it before, so it was a nice surprise.

Mandy - If I ever went to Detroit, I think my Southern California genes would cause me to have seizures and wet my pants then die of hypothermia.

Nilsa - I know! Mr. W already IMed me today to tell me he received two of our packages today. Woo hoo!

Bretthead said...

Pinot envy and hopefully no sweat stains in the pits!

Jenn Martinson said...

When I lived in SoCal, me and the girls did wine trips to Temecula. There is something about sipping wine with your girls that makes the world feel right.

Plus, I had fun with my shirt: YOU HAD ME AT MERLOT

Sosiesmama721 said...

Love the shirt!! I need to get me one of those :)

Your pics are great, I love the one with you next to the barrel, pretty classic! Coming down from vaca is always pretty crummy, but hopefully you can plan something soon!

Anonymous said...

I swear, I want your life... and I don't even drink wine.

-Jane

Melissa Maris said...

Wow TWA - I don't think there were sweat stains on the new shirt...but if there were, they smelled like coconut Secret.

CoconutDiaries - I tried Temecula once. If I had to choose between that, Santa Ynez and Napa, I can officially now say that Napa takes the cake. I want your Merlot shirt!!! That is awesome!

Semichrmd - Thanks! I can't help but strike goofy picture poses on vacation.

Jane - Whatever! Your life is way more exciting! I may take wine trips but I live in my hometown - you move all over and have adventures every day!