After our monumental 7 winery marathon, it was time to chill out more while wrapping up the required wineries.

We had an appointment to go to Judd’s Hill at 10:30 so that meant we had more than the usual time to kill in the morning. I wasn’t up for running (and neither was Su) so we decided to head over to the Bouchon Bakery and see if their morning pastry/coffee/etc. was worth it. We were not disappointed. I had a spicy hot chocolate and a pain au chocolate and they were spot on in flavor and texture. Su had a regular coffee and said it was satisfactory. After the brief eat, Ken and I tried out the morning hot tub. Very relaxing.

And then it was wine time…
We tried the current releases at Judds and generally speaking none of us was impressed although Ken picked up something. Thankfully they had a 2002 Cab that actually had enough flavor and quality make it worth buying.

Next on the list was Luna. Historically speaking, Luna has been very generous with their pours and inclined to open a lot of rare bottles. In short, we drank a lot because the generous traditions were upheld. The hostness was a garrulous girl from Petaluma(Lagunitas) and kept us talking and drinking for at least an hour and a half. We ended up ordering a decent amount of wine (but not Hanna levels). Todo.

At this point we thought it would be a food idea to get some food so we decided to give the Soda Canyon store a try. They had a nice mix of sandwiches and side salads.

We had just enough time to be a little early for the Pine Ridge cave tour. The guide was good but really just too long. We did a barrel tasting of unblended wine. You could taste the potential but wouldn’t be drinkable until some post processing. The tour wrapped up at the tasting room where I spent more money. Got a really good deal on a case of the 2004 stags leap cab.

The tour sort of zapped us and it was kind if getting late but we tried to squeeze in one more tasting. With regrettable hindsight, Ken and I went to the Napa Valley Cellars/Folie à deux tasting room(Su smartly stayed in the car). The wine was horrible in every way possible but at least it cost 5 bucks per tasting.

Whether the bad wine or the lack of water was the factor I wasn’t feeling great so I tried to go for a run. In summary: mission failure.

Since we had our final dinner at Bistro Jeanty, I rallied and made it without regret. That onion soup is just amazing.

There were ups and downs but overall a good finish for wine country.