Frenchie Bar à Vins

Our last meal in Paris was at Frenchie Bar à Vins.

This wine bar is adjacent to Frenchie, Chef Gregory Marchand’s restaurant that is very challenging to book. They made this wine bar so that you can enjoy Chef Marchand's dishes tapas-style with wine, without having to make reservations months in advance. We didn't want to wait so we just went 15 minutes before they opened and were able to be get seats. By the time we were leaving, this tiny bar was PACKED! The food was unique and delicious (my fave: foie gras mousse, 3rd pic) and the wines were very reasonably priced.

Healdsburg

My dear friend took me on a day trip to Healdsburg. She was saying the locals have recently been going to Healdburg instead of Napa to avoid the tourists.

Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge.

Once we crossed the bridge, the weather was gorgeous!

Found the Bear Republic Brewery in downtown Healdsburg.

Took a beer break on the patio.

I ordered the Pale Ale and my friend ordered the Rye Ale. They were both really good and so refreshing on a hot day!

Since we were in downtown already, we went to the Kendall Jackson tasting room. I had been drinking their Chardonnay religiously this summer so it was great to try their other wines. For $5, you get to try any 4 wines.

We hung out at Bear Republic too long and realized that most wineries closed around 5pm on weekdays. So we ended up going to Simi, which is really close from downtown.

You get any 8 tastings for $15. I'd seen their wines before but had never tried any of them. I really liked their Sauvignon Blanc, Reserve Cabernet and Petite Syrah.

The people who worked here were super friendly and kind, even though we went 15 minutes before closing. After they closed, they chatted with us and gave us extra pours of wine (which was wonderful). 

The garden outside the visitor's center.

The great thing about Healdsburg is that the tastings are very reasonably priced (especially compared to Napa) and most places will waive the tasting fee if you purchase wine. On my next visit, I would love to spend more time and visit other wineries and also dine here. Supposedly there are a lot of great restaurants!

Napa Stops

Other quick Napa stops we made...

Rubicon Estate

I had been here before, when it was the Niebaum-Coppola Winery.

The Daniel Tasting, $25

You get a sample of 3 Captain's Reserve wines and their flagship wine, Rubicon. All of the wines were great, especially the 2 on the right: 2007 Estate Cask ($65) and 2007 Rubicon ($145). And a great tasting deal for $25.

They have a beautiful rose garden too.

Quick lunch stop at Dean & Deluca.

Turkey Breast & Pesto Panini. So good.

A tasting at Heitz Cellars.

It's one of the few wineries now that offers complimentary tasting (which was how it used to be before, according to my mom).

They also produce Port, which is also very rare in Napa. I don't usually drink Port, but their Port was amazing, not too sweet, not too thick. It was also a perfect gift for my Port-loving boyfriend.

Orin Swift Cellars.

They don't have a "winery", but offer complimentary tasting (by appointment only) in their tasting room located in downtown St. Helena.

They "purchase" local vineyards and grapes to produce excellent wines at reasonable prices. They don't produce too much so its quite rare outside of California. My favorite was "The Prisoner" (on the right).

Kenzo Estate

Located in the middle of nowhere (literally), Kenzo Estate is situated on over 4,000 acres, out of which 70 are vineyards. My family had been raving about it and my brother had brought me back a couple bottles when he went in February. I found out that the wine bar I frequently walked by and wanted to try in Tokyo was actually their tasting room (I ended up going before I came back to CA).

My sister has been to LOTS of wineries in Napa Valley and she said nothing compares to Kenzo and that it is "THE most prestigious wine tasting experience".

Kenzo Estate entrace.

You have to make a tasting appointment ahead of time and call them when you arrive to open the gate.

Follow the one-way road through the vineyards...

to arrive at the Tasting Room.

Gorgeous outdoor area. So serene and relaxing.

They take each party on a private, very detailed tour to walk through the wine caves, processing area and the vineyards.

Our guide, Julia, explained to us how the grapes are grown, harvested and how the wines are made. She was so amazing, with lots of information and just the most friendliest person.

When we go back to the tasting room, our table is all set up. They only have one party per about every 1.5 hours, so that everyone gets a very personal and private tasting/tour experience.

After a glass of their only white wine, Asatsuyu (Sauvignon Blanc), we go on to try their 3 reds; Rindo, Murasaki & Ai.

Loved the design and simple interior.

They only produce these 4 wines. My favorite is Ai, their Cab. It's very full bodied, yet so smooth and delicate. My second favorite is Rindo, but I enjoyed all of them. 

Tasting for all 4 wines start at $30. When comparing it to the Opus One tasting (strictly $30/glass), it is more of an "exprience". There are separate glasses specifically designed for each wine and for such an intimate tasting and very personal tour, I thought it was SO much more worth it than Opus One. Julia was also very generous and gave us a couple extra pours, or in her terms let us "revisit" our favorite. 

As you can tell from the name of the winery and wines, the owner is Japanese. Kenzo Tsujimoto, the CEO of Capcom, had bought this piece of land more than 20 years ago to fulfill his dream of producing quality wines.

It is absolutely worth it to take the trip out to Kenzo, when in Napa.

Ma(i)sonry

At Ma(i)sonry located in Yountville, you can have a very unique wine tasting experience. It was originally built as a private residence in 1904, but now, it has turned into an art gallery where you could taste wines from various vineyards. There are interesting and modern art placed and sold all over the place. We got 2 different types of red wine flights in the garden that was so laid back and the perfect setting for wine tasting. All the wines were recommended to us by the server.

Loved these communal tables in the garden.

Cool furniture and sculptures placed all over.

With the wine tasting, they gave us this cheese & nuts plate, complimentary. Pretty awesome.

Domaine Chandon

More sparkling wine tasting at Domaine Chandon. This was my first time here and it was a very pretty winery. It was like a huge garden with lots of greens, trees and ponds. 

Entrance.

Reserve Tasting.

Sat at the outdoor seating area to enjoy the clear, blue sky.

Mumm Napa

Visited Mumm Napa to taste some sparkling wine.

The view from the tasting room.

We each got a glass of different sparkling wine.

Out of the top 3 bottles, I really liked Blanc de Blanc (left).

The waiter was super generous and told us that he could pour us if there were any other wines we wanted to try. The bottle to the right, Cuvee M Red, is a sparkling red wine that I really enjoyed. It was very rich, fruity but not too sweet.