I’ll upload some pics after I get some time this week.

Ya, the train was full. Too full to even wander back to the tasting car. The average age was over 50…..

In the Napa area I think it’s harder to find a bad restaurant that a good one. Everywhere we went the food was incredible. If you can get into Cyrus, you really need to try it. Expect costs to be over $200 each for a wine pairing meal. I’d also visit the Brix, Rutherford Grill, Silverado, Fish On, Mustards, Don Giovanni and the drive in for a good burger at the Refresher. There are many others, but those were the ones that come to mind. If you get to San Francisco, Gary Danko’s is every bit as good as Cyrus (maybe better) and also more expensive. Both Cyrus and Gary Danko are better than the French Laundry and just as hard to get into. One of the guys managing one of wineries we went to is a chef and worked at the French Laundry. He told us that chefs go to Cyrus, if that means anything to you.

As far as which wineries to visit…

Wineries I visited and recommend:

1 – Flora Springs is a MUST
2 – The Castle is a MUST
3 – Rudd winery (appointment)
4 – Stetzner (walk in)
5 – Cakebread (appointment)
6 – Feildstone (walk in)

Here’s a list of wineries I missed this trip, or heard about while in Napa. They are on my list to go to next trip:

Jordan – I love this wine but could not get an appointment. They give a tour and tasting. http://www.jordanwinery.com/
Madrigal – I found this wine during our trip and couldn’t make an appointment. http://www.madrigalvineyards.com/wine.html
Turley – I had a bottle of their Pettite Sarah last night and it’s wonderful. They are very small and hard to get any of their wines. http://www.turleywinecellars.com/
Lamborn – Very small producer and they do not have a tasting room to speak of. You basically set up an appointment to meat the owners personally. They are great people. http://www.lamborn.com/cs/lamborn/view/docs/41