NAPA VALEY, USA

12:38 Travel Bunny 1 Comments

Home to more than three hundred wineries, Napa Valley is the main wine growing region in the United States and also well known all over the world. It is also one of the most popular tourist attractions in California with more than five million visitors each year. The main attraction of Napa Valley is of course, the fine dining and wine tours, especially the wine tasting.


From Lake Tahoe, I journeyed on to Napa County.





Woohoo, finally I have arrived at Napa Valley. Welcome to this world famous wine growing region.


The vineyards of Napa Valley.


The Mediterranean climate in Napa Valley (sunny days and cool nights with little rain) makes it suitable to grow grapevines for making wine.


The structure being placed before planting of the trees for the vineyard.


United States is the 4th largest wine producer and about 90% of the entire American wine is being produced here in California.


Founded in 1900, Beaulieu Vineyard is one of the early pioneers of California's wine industry.




The vineyards are all located next to each other.


Passed by numerous winery and vineyards.


With over 45,000 acres of vineyards in Napa County and over 300 wineries, so which winery did I go for my wine tasting?


The Sutter Home Winery.


Sutter Home Winery is the 2nd largest independent family run winery and ranked as fifth-largest winery in the United States. Its most famous wine creation is White Zinfandel, a sweet pink colour wine.


Sutter Home Winery also provides bed and breakfast service. Wine for breakfast?


All excited as its my first time visiting wineries and vineyards.


The history of Sutter Home Winery dates back to the late 1800.




The large wine barrel.




Yay, wine tasting time!


Tasted their numerous types of wines and my preference goes to the Sauvignon Blanc white wine.


The corking machine.


After the wine tasting, it’s time to shop for souvenirs.


A cute apron inside the shop.






Anyone interested in purchasing wine corks?


Bought four bottles of wine. Well, this picture was taken after me and beau drank it all.



Its just a miniature bottle, just a bit bigger than the palm of my hand. To be precise, 187ml of wine per bottle.


Even the toilet sign is custom made for the winery.


The garden named after Sutter Home’s award winning White Zinfandel wine.




A beautiful garden.




Time to leave the winery.


Another winery in the area.


No wine tour is complete without visiting the vineyard! I am right now at the Leonardini Vineyard.


The grapes are almost ripe for harvest. Lucky me!


The original residents of this fertile valley, the Wappo Indians, named this place Napa, meaning ‘ land of plenty’, referring to the abundance of salmon, elk and waterfowls in the Napa River.


It was not until the 1840s, where the the first grape was cultivated and the first commercial winery was established in 1861. By 1889 there were 140 wineries in the area.


Rows of vine trees in the vineyard.


The grapes look so tantalising.




Can I have a mouthful, please? Just kidding.


Unlike the sweet grapes we usually eat, the grapes grown in the vineyard are actually sour.




The picturesque valley with acres and acres of robust grapes is truly a sight to enjoy.



One final pose at the vineyard.





A Napa car’s number plate.


The Napa Valley Wine Train. During the 3-hour-long, 36-mile (58 km) round-trip between Napa and St. Helena, passengers can choose to enjoy a gourmet meal and sample wine on board.

If you want to sample the many types of wine from the different wineries or simply to get drunk, the wine train is the best option to go.






A train at California Northern Railroad.












An American Navy recruiting office in the area. While posing for this photo, a uniformed officer came out and asked my beau, Interested in Joining the Navy? He then handed out some brochures.



By law, you must be male to qualify. Navy seal, a reputation that’s renowned and in some circle’s even feared. The most highly trained military group that ever existed. Haha, don’t think my beau will survive a day in the SEAL.


A Premium Outlet in Napa? Too bad I didn’t have the time for a shopping spree.


The Napa Valley Airport.


Having Alaskan salmon and bread for lunch. Yummy!

  I really had a fun time in Napa Valley. After days admiring the beauty of mother nature, it is time to travel back to the big city. San Francisco, here I come!


Previous<<