Napa Wine Train

After another day of sleeping in - I am LOVING having no alarm clock! - we dawdled on the backyard deck, sipping our coffee, trying to coax the curious neighbor kitty, listening to the birds, and enjoying a mild sunny morning. We finally roused ourselves because we had reservations on the Napa Wine Train. We got to the station and had two very pleasant surprises. The first was that instead of typical plastic chairs or wooden benches, the station was full of comfy couches and tables with padded chairs. What a nice way to wait for our train! The second surprise was the granddaughter of the winery we were heading for (Grgich) conducted a wine tasting for us. We sampled a chardonney, pinot grigio, and a cabernet. What a lovely way to start the trip! We boarded the Wine Train and were seated at tables that were set with lovely linens and place settings.
The 18 mile trip through the Napa Valley was beautiful with many vineyards and wineries. The train traveled slowly enough so that we could enjoy the scenery in a relaxed way. We ordered from a menu. I had a beef filet, Joyce had salmon, and Nancy had swordfish. All meals were plated beautifully and garnished with watercress - I love that mild peppery fresh flavor! I think we were on thr train for about an hour which gave us plenty of time to savor our food. And of course, we took pictures of each - we're being such good foodies on this trip, taking photos of all our meals.
At the winery, we were greeted by our tour guide who was very energetic, chatty, and fun. Grgich is a Croatian winery and it did have a Eastern European feel to it (or maybe it's the feeling one gets from a lot of wineries, not sure). Our guide explained that they have a bio-environmental, sustainable vineyards and winery. They have lady bugs to eat the spiders and mites, owls to eat mice and keep snakes away, dogs to chase the racoons - all of whom love the grapes, especially when they begin to ferment. We got to taste the tiny wine grapes - they were tart-sweet with thickish skins. He had us suck the pulp from the grapes and then spit the seeds into our hands. If the seeds a green, the grapes are not ready; if they're brown, the grapes are ready to pick through and crush. After visiting the fermenting room, the waiting room, and the bottling room, we were led into the tasting room where we tasted 5 wines. We were given some time to buy wine if we wished or visit the flower gardens and fountains. And we were given the lovely wine glasses to keep, a nice touch.
After a friendly All Aboard, we found ourselves in a different type of train car where we were served dessert. I had chocolate mousse, which was lovely; Joyce had creme brule; Nancy had a refreshing fruit plate. And we had some delicious coffee. We were offered alcoholic coffee drinks, but we figured we'd had quite enough to drink by then!
We returned to the house for a well-deserved nap - hey riding on a wine train, wine tasting, and eating fabulous food is exhausting! We eventually got up and when our landlord stopped by to see if we had everything we needed, asked him for a recommendation for an inexpensive Mexican restaurant for dinner. We got what we asked for. It was our least favorite meal of the week, but even so, it wasn't bad. We had standard American Mexican fare: Nancy had a taco salad, Joyce had enchiladas, and I had crispy tacos.
Tomorrow, we're going to travel the Napa Valley by car from Napa to St. Helena, stopping at wineries and interesting shops, and of course, the CIA Greystone (Culinary Institute of America). Gotta get some rest tonight - it'll be another busy day.