Massachusetts-Boston

**cazzysmith**

I wrote these vendor reviews on the Honeymoon board for Napa & San Diego.  Thought you may be interested in the Napa reviews!!Napa: Hotel: River Terrace Inn - A+ - loved it! amazing location - short walk to downtown Napa with lots of restaurants, right next to wine train station, at the beginning of the ladder pretty much. the mini bar was very reasonable - only $1.59 for drinks and candy (wine was obviously a lot more expensive). pretty good breakfast in the morning. gave two free drinks at Cuvee (their restaurant which was really good) and they gave the card back to us so we could continue to get them. Restaurants: Cuvee - A - yummy Downtown Joes - A - really good but they didn't have a caesar salad when I was there - who runs out of ceasar salad? - cocktails and drink options were great and DH found an awesome ciderSushi Mambo - A - good sushi Room Service - B+ - too much dressing on the ceasar salad - but wasn't too badRistorante Allegria - A - good Italian - couple next to us just got engaged that made us nostalgic Vineyards: Hess Collection - A- - bought a bottle, a cab - pretty good wine and a great collection of modern mostly abstract artTrefethen - B+ - wine was fairly good - didn't buy anything - they had a good rangeHagafen - C - these are the presidential wines. they were eh. we werne't a fanCade - A+ - our favorite tasting! small winery up in Howell Mountain. Absolutely amazing views and the wine was even better. They started in 2007 so they only have a sauv. blanc, cuvee, and cab. blend. We spurged and bought the cuvee. It will be best in 2 years so we are aging it. If they had a wine club would have done it.Heitz Collection - B - the only reason they get a B is because it was free - overall weren't that impressedGrgich Hills - B - went here on the wine train. known for Chardonnays because owner was the one who made the chardonnay for Chateau Montelena when they put Napa on the map - but we're not huge fans of Chardonnay so we weren't impressed. tour was okay but just more of the sameHonig - A+ - Honig is soo pretty - they were really nice (appointment only) - gave us a free bottle and signed it - they also have our favorite wines - a great sauv. blanc, great cab., and even a good late harvest - perfect range. would have gotten the wine club but I think it was $100/shipment so we just bought a couple bottles. Domaine Chandon - C - 1. we aren't huge brut champagne people 2. it was really crowded even at the end of the day - had to wait a bit to get a spot. we are use to smaller places and tastings being more intimate so it was disappointing. really beautiful grounds though!Castello di Amorosa - A- - the tour is amazing. it is a period authentic medieval Italian castle. everything in there was pretty much from Italy. so many cool details. a must see. we got to do a barrel tasting that was great. the actual wine tasting - the wines were okay. you get to taste a lot - but I would say the tour was a lot more spectacular than the wine. Schramsberg - A - the tours of the caves were really cool though a little long but very informative - great pond out front with lily pads and bull frogs - the tasting was in a private room with our group - most of the champagnes were brut but I specifically requested to try the cremant and he let everyone try it - it was great - we bought a bottle - and are going to age it for a whileLouis M. Martini - A+ - Louis M. Martini is my favorite cabarnet (affordable anyways) - the tasting was great - we bought some awesome coasters as well that are really heavy duty ceramic with the label on it - we also signed up for their wine club - and left with a bottle for my uncle who gave us a particularly generous giftRubicon - A - love the Coppolas - Sofia Coppola would be my idol if I were a screenwriter or director - it was a fun tour - and the wines were pretty good - we bought one - it was crowder than other ones we went to - definitely more of a tourist spotDarioush - A? - DH and I had the brilliant idea to skip lunch and just wine taste - needless to say by the time this came around we were quite tipsy - they had VOSS water which was amazing so I drank a lot of that - only tried either one or two wines then DH finished both of ours - overall they were nice and accomodating and a cool place - but can't say much about the wines - we did buy one though!Activities: Balloons Above the Valley - A+ - amazing balloon ride above the valley - so beautiful - so relaxing - a great experience. champagne brunch was good - we had a tour as part of a package and it picked us up in a PT Cruiser with only one other couple - overall a really great experience and a great day. only downside is you have to be there at 5:30am - but we walked no problem from our hotel to the meeting spotNapa Valley Wine Train - A - a great way to break up intense wine days - it was relaxing and enjoyable, still a lot of wine, we bought a bottle on board (Hess Collection actually) - they gave us special truffles that said Happy Anniversary (close enough). word to the wise - do not eat right before! we ate breakfast and were soo full for the gourmet lunch - it is an early lunch! also know it goes 10:30 to 2:30 so you can't fit many other vineyards in - we did hit two afterwardsSix Flags: Discovery Kingdom - A - lots of animals, lots of rides, DH loved the rollercoasters and dragged me on all of them - DH also won me a stuffed animal - it was a great day and a great break from averaging a bottle of wine per person per day!

Re: **cazzysmith**

  • edited December 2011
    Wishin -- we're going to Napa on our mini moon too! Funny because we had originally booked the River Terrace Inn. But then I read all these stories about it being one of the most haunted hotels in America. I got too wigged out & had FI change our reservation to another hotel. hehehe :)
  • edited December 2011
    ha that's so funny! I had never heard that - didn't hear or see anything out of the ordinary that I know of!
  • edited December 2011
    Yeah -- I've heard stories of Capn' Hat roaming the corridors & of a young girl who appears in mirrors.  Also, of a ghost of a groundskeeper who steals your wine. F that. :)
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