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| We only took one picture today - Dave in the Cave at Hans Fahden |
We slept in and hung out in the hotel room until a little before 10 (a note here that the breakfast buffet in the doubletree is ridiculously expensive and not very good). The drive up was easy, but yesterday’s good weather gave way to rain the further north we went. We stopped for lunch at the Dutch Door in downtown Napa, which turned out to be just that – a door with the top half open, where you could order, and seats outside. The rain had stopped and we enjoyed our sandwiches and fries – the bread on my banh mi was exceptional. Next door was a tasting room for the Alpha Omega collective, with wine from Alpha Omega (Napa), Toloroso (San Luis Obispo) and Perinet (Priorat, Spain). We used to be club members at AO when their wines were merely expensive, and we loved our time in the Priorat. So we made an exception to Dave’s rule about downtown tasting rooms and had a very enjoyable time. Our pourer was knowledgeable and kept to our timeline and the wines were all very good. We brought home a couple of bottles of Priorat red.
Next stop was Hans Fahden vineyards – well, we stopped in
Calistoga for a short walk around to get the timing right – and it was as
different from AO collective as could be. For one thing, the tasting was in a
cave dug out of the hillside. For another thing, our pourer was as far from
knowledgeable as it’s possible to get. He was crammed full of knowledge but
much of it was just completely wrong – like he’d overheard a lot of stuff and
made his own information out of it. And the first 3 wines we tasted (Suav
Blanc, Viognier, Pinot Noir) were all, well, not good. But the cave was
fantastic and we were having a great time. There were two women who’d come in at
the same time we did, and only one of them was tasting and she was
uncomfortable being in the cave but kept insisting she was ok when they
suggested she move. Fortunately the second 3 wines (Bordeaux blend, malbec, cab
sauv) were pretty good, and we got the pourer (a Napa native) talking about Napa
and not wine, and that was really fun. Also the cave walls and roof were really
interesting – most of the cave had been hollowed out by a boring machine, and
had circular grooves, but the owner had dug the last 20 or so feet using a
tractor with a drill attachment, which left very interesting patterns on the
wall.
Also at HF was on older guy who might have been the owner, a
very strange character who kept popping up and having weird conversations with customers.
He told us about azolla, a pond plant that’s nitrogen-fixing and high in
protein and is being used as cattle feed, and also about how to make nociollo,
which we got a sample of. It’s a delicious sweet fortified wine made in a
bathtub from green walnuts. Dave is going to try making some but in large plastic
containers.
Then we went and checked in at our hotel (Wine Country Inn
and Cottages, St Helena) which is wonderful. Our spacious room is on the ground
floor looking out over a patio and gardens, and has TWO comfy chairs. We got
everything unloaded (Dave has A LOT of recorders) and unpacked and had some relaxing
time before dinner.
Dinner was just a short drive away at the Goose and Gander
and man was it good. It’s a gastropub, and it looks kind of dark and old-school
when you come in but the food was fantastic. Dave had the tasting menu and I
had lots of apps. Dave’s first three courses – salad, duck confit, and filet
mignon – were all delicious and got better every course, which was amazing. I especially
want to call out the filt mignon, which was extremely small and tasty – so often
in a tasting menu the meat course is huge and boring but this was spectacular.
I had radishes with hummus (yummus) and an incredible octopus and bean and
romesco dish, and a wedge salad which was disappointing. For dessert Dave was
given the hummingbird cake which was good, and I had a pumpkin cheesecake that
was extremely delicious. The prices were surprisingly reasonable and if you are
in St Helena you have to go here.
Then it was back to our hotel for relaxing – Dave tried out
one of the Inn’s bathrobes and found it very satisfactory.
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