I used to hate Wine, any kind of wine.  The sour and bitter taste gave me enough reasons to feel so, well I’ve never been a fan of alcohol based drink… but that was then! …to remind you.  Now, my appreciation for red wine is a big turnaround.  The rich, fruity & bold smell of it is a big enticement for me.  The big push  to like it is mainly the benefits that I heard and read.  The concern for benefits comes with the age, I guess…you know what I mean.

I am now officially a red wine lover and still in the process in choosing which kind my palate really loves.  I avoid something that is somewhat pungent but into something with a touch of sweetness yet rich in texture.  I noticed that most of the Cabernet Sauvignon works for me but Shiraz or Syrah really caught my taste buds… I so love this!.  Since US does not produce this massively,  Australian red wine became a common bottle in the kitchen.  Yes!, they produce a very good Shiraz red wine in a pretty affordable price.

My husband and I went to Napa.  The scenery is amazing and of course wine tasting is a must.  Napa is a haven of wineries and vineyards in the US.  We opted to have a Wine Train which is a four-hour winery tour that serves four course lunch with wine pairing upon request.  Since there are tons of wineries to visit we decided to choose couple of wineries during the trip that we would visit for wine tasting after the Wine Train experience.  Oh! I have to mention too that during the ride in the Wine Train, you can’t get off.  You just get to admire the view of vast wineries as the train  rolls in a slow paced mode.

The food in the train was impressive by the way.  I got my well-done lamb that was so tender and tasty with baby potatoes & veggies.  The gravy was enough for me to say that the food was sinfully good.  My husband had grilled chicken in polenta and veggies which I tasted of course… It was good and he loved it.  I should know since chicken is the only meat he eats and when he doesn’t like  it  only a piece of meat will be trimmed off but this time the plate was clean.

These are some of the wineries and vineyards that caught my eyes during the train ride…

• Chandon
• Secoquia Grove
• Bella Oaks
• Nickel& Nickel
• Turnbull
• Bello
• Peju
• St. Supery
• Bieulieu BV
• Grgich Estate
• Satui
  
• Hall
• Whitehall
• Rutherford
• Provenance
• Mondavi
• Chandon
  

After we got off from an entertaining train tour we decided to go to Satui  for wine tasting.  Each person costs $5 bucks which was a good deal.  You get to taste eight kinds of wines.  Various Chardonay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot & Zinfandel.  One of the wines interests me, it’s called Gamay Rougue.  It’s a bit sweet and fruity.  It’s something you can drink without food pairing.

On our second day, we headed to Castello Di Amoroso.  It’s a real Castle!… belongs to the family who also owns the Satui Winery.  We were welcome with umbrella because it was a bit raining.  Had a grand tour of the Castle with our impressive tour guide named Josh.  The castle has quite an intricate passage as what the typical medieval castles were.  Most of the bricks, walls and irons were imported from Italy where the owner came from.  After the castle tour, we were directed to the cellar room for wine tasting and yes my husband and I were impressed with the kinds of wine they produced.  We ended up buying a dozen of red wine and most of it was the wine that I loved called Fantasia and that entitled us for free  membership and perks like discounts and invitations for the events in the castle all year round.   Nice ha!

Napa Valley was indeed a very lovely place.  The best hideout for relaxation.