Alexander Valley Weekend, Day 1

The first full day of our Alexander Valley adventure dawned bright and early with Mr. Y and I leaving J&J and heading to Healdsburg to pick up Mr. Y's sister and her husband so we could carpool to Geyserville. We opted for the scenic route, and the drive was beautiful!

We checked into the hotel and left Mr. Y's luggage there. The hotel was absolutely gorgeous, beautifully decorated and modern without being cold.


Next we were off to Silver Oak for the party celebrating the release of the Napa Valley 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon. We opted for Geyserville because the party tends to be smaller, and this year it was positively tiny! This same weekend Silver Oak's Oakville location was having the grand opening of the new winery building, so we surmise the masses went that direction (or it could have been the huge increase in the tasting fee for this year...hmmm...).

The food this year was rather disappointing. The primary offering was chili. And while they offered both a meat and a vegetarian version (both of which were quite good), for some reason chili and cabernet (especially young cabernet) just didn't work so well for us.
My favorite part of the party, aside from the awesome cafe mocha, was the chocolate mousse pop table! The mousse pops are made on a frozen stone so they quick-freeze. First comes a drop of raspberry jam, then the chocolate mousse, then the sticks are quickly inserted before the mousse is frozen, then the pops are dusted with coffee powder.