I’m a woman of contradictions, what can I say?

The game was alive and well when we visited Napa Valley last fall. I would live there in a heartbeat, especially on some land with a few vines: it’s so gorgeous.

I do have a confession, though: before going to Napa, I didn’t love wine.

(Just like before all the beer in Belgium, I didn’t love beer, and before the scotch tour in Scotland, I didn’t love whisky…there’s a definite pattern here.)

Sure, I liked wine, and I enjoyed a glass with dinner, but I tended to prefer the fruity, lighter ones. You know, the pink ones you drink out of a box.

Classy, right?

Yet, I couldn’t wait to try as much wine in Napa as possible, because, why  not?

Due to several recommendations, we hopped on a tour with Platypus. Although we were by far the youngest on the tour, it was great to have a ride, some snacks, and easy access to smaller, more intimate vineyards.

The tour consisted of four different tastings at Arger-Martucci Vineyards (which are now closed, as the families wanted to retire), Hopper Creek Vineyard & Winery, Razi Winery and Whetstone Wine Cellars. I think my favorite part of the tour was how different each winery was. At Arger-Martucci, we sat in their pretty backyard by the pool and talked with the wise yet hilarious owner; at Hopper Creek, we hung out in their winery, played with their dog, and watched the tour guide drink Coors Light in between sips of wine; at Razi we sat in a bar-like setting with a beautiful view; and at Whetstone, we visited a gorgeous old winery that looked like it came out of Italy. I would recommend Platypus for the variety of experience, as well as the delicious cheese plate and the handy ride all over the Valley.

Be warned: you WILL want to buy all of the wine you taste. We miraculously only came away with two bottles, mostly because E can keep his cool even after countless bottles tastes of wine (unlike me, I discovered). We also really didn’t want to ship wine (or so we decided before the tours) and I really wanted to ship it all back after several tastes, but E is responsible and we only took what we could squeeze into our bags.

The wine was amazing, of course, but so was the scenery. Likely why I really was enchanted.

We met a friend of mine, Karly, for delicious French food at Bistro Jeanty (get the cream of tomato soup!) in Yountville after our full day, and treated ourselves to more wine with dinner.

Yep, I would definitely live in Napa…maybe one day, when all of my dreams have come true and I grown tired of the vagabond lifestyle.

And now?

I do love wine.

^the river that runs through the valley.

^the view from Arger-Martucci.

^to have the wine, you must grow the grapes!

^when my dreams do come true and I move to Napa, I will for sure have a winery dog.

^this man might be the reason we ended up buying two bottles of wine at Razi!

^a happy, happy girl.

^just us being adorable in a vineyard.

^sipping it in at Whetstone.

^see what I mean about Whetstone looking like it belongs in Italy?

^we had a convertible in California. Cliche? Oh yes. Worth it? OH YES.

^hello beautiful!

Can you believe it’s already letter W for the A to Z Challenge??

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