Remember when I took you to Harry’s Bar in Venice for a peach bellini?  There is something so delectable to me when the bubbly is magically wedded to anything fruity.  From the way it shimmers in the glass to the first linger in my mouth, champagne simply delights all my senses.  I know full well what it’s doing as the alcohol works its way into my bloodstream, tingling my ears and turning my usually vampire skin to a full blush.  Depending on the alcohol or amount of consumption, I can range in shade from a two-degree burn to a fully cooked lobster in no time. For this reason I was never able to lie to my parents too much about underage drinking.

But today, fully of legal age (and then some, sigh) we are at Mumm Napa for champagne tasting.

 

Before the liquid brunch begins, however, we tour a special George Rose (Hollywood, Beverly Hills & Other Perversities. Pop Culture of the 70s and 80s) and Ansel Adams photography exhibit inside the winery’s gallery:

 

The minute I walk through the gallery’s door, I can smell the champagne, probably because it sits directly over a cellar.  In between the photographs on the wall, there are windows to further entice you to the business at hand:

 

We don’t have time to take the winery tour so we head out for table service on the terrace:

 

 

Then I don’t really remember taking any more pictures. I remember being in the shade gazing out at the sun over the lush landscape and thinking what a magnificent day this is.  A few, many sips later and this is the kind of silly picture I find in my camera at the end of the day…am I looking for my brain on the floor perhaps? Hellooo out there, has anyone seen my brain?

 

Next stop is the Black Stallion Winery, housed inside a former equestrian center, which is honestly the main interest for me to visit.  I’m serious. This had once been a huge facility for riding, showing, and breeding horses.

 

Winetasting eventually leads to a huge appetite buildup so we pop into the V Sattui Winery to check out their popular marketplace and picnic grounds, and wine is flowing everywhere…

 

In the next blog I detox in the city with another vice: shopping!