A Perfect Day

ESPN recently finished showing the Top 3 "Webgems" from every Major League Baseball team. This morning, they showed the best of the best as the Top 10 Webgems of all time.

Were I to rank my Top 3 Labor Days, followed by the Top 10 Days of all time, September 4, 2006 would probably make both lists.

Kel from Who Threw That Ham At Me? and I were at a happy hour plotting a hang-out and started discussing wine country. As we were firming up plans last weekend, Michael from Try Not To Panic expressed an interest in going. Chad Fox couldn't make it, but gets a shout-out here for introducing me to both these guys.

I like my baby to be pretty when I start a road trip, so I got her an Ultra-Wash.


They always miss a couple of spots near the vents on the hood, but they do a pretty good job for the price.



I picked the boys up at Kel's around 11:30, put on the country music, and we were on our way. Despite my fears of Labor Day and Bay Bridge closure traffic jams, we made it to Healdsburg in just over an hour. For those who don't know me, I'm over Napa, and mostly over Sonoma. Great wineries for sure, but I think the wine farther north can be just as good, the people are much more fun, and the tasting price (free) is right. (My exception to this is when friends from out of town want to do a tour -- I think some of the Napa wineries are a little better.)

J Winery was our first stop as they have great wine, pair it with food, and we hadn't eaten lunch. It was a gorgeous day, and we availed ourselves of the outdoor special of wine, cheese, and meat. They planned to serve us their Brut, a Chardonnay, and two Pinot Noirs, but brought out a third Pinot at Kel's request. I didn't request the ogle-worthy waiter, but I certainly enjoyed both him and the third Pinot. The meat on the tray with the cheese wasn't bad either. I always forget to take pictures, so I made my companions pose.

Our next stop was Camellia Cellars, where they make, IMHO, some of the best red wines in California. I forgot the pictures this time, but here is one from their website:


The man on the right is Bruce, who always doles out good wine and good conversation. This time, he even gave me a taste of 2005 Petit Syrah, which currently has too high an alcohol content for production. It tided me over nicely until we got to Hop Kiln, especially given that Michael volunteered to be our DD. It's nice to have a car that others want to drive. Thanks again, Michael.



Hop Kiln makes some nice wines, especially their Thousand Flowers white, but I mostly take people there because "I like-a da sauce". They have a smorgasbord of pestos, mustards, and dessert toppings. I like the Cognac Pepper Mustard and Pinot Chocolate Sauce seen here, but Michael fell in love with the Pumpkin Sauce.




Davis Bynum was our next stop. My two favorite pourers weren't there, but I thought Kel and I had a good time. After looking at some rarely seen footage of me, though, it seems that I had a good time and Kel fell asleep:


Our last wine stop was Locals, a tasting room in Geyserville. Again, my two favorite folks were absent, so we tried a number of wines but didn't linger. Since the sun was still shining, we decided to drive over to "The 1", AKA the Pacific Coast Highway. There's something soothing about the ocean, and John Denver said it best: "Sunshine, on my shoulders, makes me happy." It's hard to imagine anything more beautiful than the right day in California, but you can judge for yourself.






Michael drove us back to "The 101" as the sun set and Kel and I reprised favorites from my country mix. We were a hungry bunch when we arrived in SF, so we parked the car and headed to Espetus. What could please the three of us more than a place where the meat just keeps on coming. Like J, Espetus too had an ogle-worthy waiter. His inability to slice the meat correctly (and his pink shirt) made him that much cuter.

After dinner, Kel and Michael went home. I had the next day off, so I went to Badlands, sad to say. I had a bottle of water and a chat with Charlie, AKA "The Whoooh Guy". It didn't take long to realize that I was unlikely to meet a boy worthy of the day, so I packed up a smile and a bunch of wonderful memories and headed home.

Here's hoping your Labor Day was as good!