Dean & DeLuca | Don Giovanni | Bocce Ball Weekend

Our Second Annual Bocce Ball Tournament

This trip details our overnight trip to the Napa Valley. This is a way to have a fabulous trip with a large group of friends.

We began our overnight trip at the Larson Family Winery in the Carneros Region. We gathered at 10 am at the Larson Bocce Ball and picnic area behind the tasting room. The main activity of the day is Bocce Ball. This is our 2nd annual Bocce Ball tournament. We have set up a double elimination tournament with 12 of our wine loving friends.

We did manage to take time out to do some wine tasting and have a delicious picnic lunch among the vineyards. The Larson Family produces some very nifty wines. This year they began making two jug wines, a one liter cute jug of a white and a red wine. The white wine is called Wingo White. The red is called Sonoma Red and is a blend of Cabernet, Merlot, and Pinot Noir. Both wines sell for $20. Another new wine and the favorite Larson of our tasting was the Pinot Grigio. It is a very fruity and crisp wine and was utterly refreshing for our Bocce Ball lunch. This wine sells for $20 and this is generally a little more than we would pay for most Pinot Grigios. The Pinot Noir has a knockout aroma of raspberry and strawberry and delicious delicate flavors. The Pinot sells for $30.

The winners of this tournament, as occurred last year, were first-time players. Don and Nell captured the tournament with relative ease. You would think they had been playing the sport for years. We modified the rules slightly so we could get through the 11 games scheduled within a three-hour period. We decided beforehand that each couple would contribute $20 for prizes. First, second, and third certificates for Larson Wine were presented to the top three finishers in the tournament.

Larson Family winery bocce ball

Dinner at Don Giovanni

This was the weekend of the NASCAR event at the Infineon Raceway. We were fortunate to find lodging for one night (a rarity in Napa) for seven couples at the Chablis Inn just off Redwood Road in Napa. The inn is nothing fancy but it is quite adequate. Weekend rates range from $149 to $169 per night. Five minutes away is the Bistro Don Giovanni, a favorite of locals and travelers to the Napa Valley. The earliest reservation time available was 8:15 and we were told we would need to sit at two tables, one for six, and one for eight.

We showed up about 45 minutes before to have a glass of bubbly at the bar. To our surprise, our table was ready, and it was one table comfortably seating all fourteen of us.

The entrées are moderately priced. Prices range from a pizza at around $12 to a scrumptious rib eye grilled steak for $28. Corkage fee at the Bistro is $15 and that is just about right.

We think anything over $15 is price gouging. The Bistro has a corkage policy that if you buy one of their wines, they waive the corkage on one bottle of wine. Our group brought in four terrific wines: a magnum of Seltzner 1983 Cab, a Caymus 1987 Cab, a Hanna 1999 Cab, and delicious white Pinot Grigio from Chalk Hill Winery.

The restaurant was extremely accommodating and the service was excellent. The noise level was somewhat loud but not enough to be a nuisance. With appetizers, entrées, desserts, and coffee, our check was $125 per couple. We rate the Bistro a 4.5 out of Five on our rating scale.

Breakfast at Gordon’s

One of the local favorites for breakfast and lunch is Gordon’s Café & Wine Bar in Yountville. We all arrived there at 9:15 and luckily for us, the restaurant was not crowded. They put a couple of tables together so we could sit comfortably together.

Gordon’s is relaxed and laid back. You order at the counter, all menu items are listed on the wall. There are lots of breakfast items to choose from include a delicious scrambled egg mixed with chorizo. The coffee is wonderful. By the time we finished our breakfast the place was jammed. Lots of cyclists make Gordon’s a rest stop and have a cup of coffee and pastry before heading out to complete their morning ride.

A Visit to Dean & DeLuca

After Gordon’s, our party of 14 goes their separately ways. We decided to head to St. Helena and a stop at the famous and very upscale deli of Dean & DeLuca. It really is a happening spot with lots of tourists grabbing up gourmet goodies to take back home. They have an extensive cheese shop, coffee counter, mammoth wine shop, a produce department, and a whole lot more. It is fun to see the amazing array of gourmet goodies. The store is located on the west side of Highway 29 in St. Helena, at 607 South St. Helena HY. The Flora Springs tasting room is next door.

Dean & DeLuca Napa

The Cheese Shop at Dean & DeLuca

Before heading for home, wvisited two wineries very close by in St. Helena.

Provenance Vineyards

Provenance Vineyards is located just past the town of Rutherford on the west side of the road. It’s hard to miss; it is the big red barn-style building. We didn’t find the tasting room environment to be very friendly. Two people were working the tasting room and it seemed like one was in training, having difficulty waiting on visitors.

The tasting fee at Provenance is $10. The wines are extremely good but range in price from $19 for the Sauvignon Blanc to $50 for their top Merlots. Our favorite is the Sauvignon Blanc but we have tasted ones we like more in the $14 to $16 range.

Flora Springs Winery & Vineyards

The Flora Springs tasting room is right next door to Dean & DeLuca. This is a tasting room only; the winery facility is nearby on Zinfandel Lane. The tasting room is a rather recent addition and has increased the presence of this fine winery to visitors of the Napa Valley.

Our hostess is fun, knowledgeable, and makes us feel at home. The wines range in price from very affordable to expensive. A delicious fruity and dry Sangiovese Rosato is $10 at the low end, at the high end the Hillside Reserve Cabernet is $100. All the wines we tasted were delightful. We will definitely seek out Flora Springs wines at our local wine shops.

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