Hess Winery

After all these months in Napa, when my brother and his wife came out to visit, we finally made it to our first official wine tasting at Hess winery. The grounds are lovely, there are three floors of interesting contemporary art (my favorite piece being a flaming typewriter - such a good metaphor for writing) and the views from the art gallery are Monet-worthy. The person presiding at the tasting (sommelier?) was good-natured and informative, pouring my brother and my husband about eight tastings apiece, and my husband ended up buying two bottles of reasonably-priced, delicious wines - a Pinot and a Gewurztraminer. It's a good winery for those who, like me, can't drink alcohol (genetics!) because there's so much else to entertain visitors, particularly the lovely garden with wisteria in bloom and a water-lily containing reflecting pool complete with little goldfish. I did smell all the wines, and the sommelier told me I had an excellent nose! I did run a parfumerie over ten years ago, so finding top notes and bottom notes is second nature to me.

We've had a particularly damp, cold spring and winter this year, so I'm happy to have a bit warmer temperatures and sunshine, especially now that I'm up and about more (no more crutches!) I'm looking forward to exploring more in Napa as the weather improves. Still not a huge crush of tourists around here.