the winery owned by Frances Ford Coppola. This place was a stunning first impression and a grand entrance into Napa Valley. We turned down the 1/4 mile drive, flanked by vineyards on either side of us bearing full grown grapes ripe for the plucking. When we reached the parking area we could see the full majesty of the place, a mansion complete with terraces and fountains at the entrance way. The only thing that was missing from the scene 
was the bright sun shining through a cloudless sky. As it stood, we were hopping over puddles trying to reach the mansion before we all melted away like the witch of the west. Inside, the mansion has been converted into half museum, half tasting area. The museum is stuffed with apparently ever changing memorabilia
from Francis Ford Coppola's movies and his private collection. There were several private tasting rooms aside from the general tasting room which we took part of. These private rooms were lined with oak barrels filled with wine and had elaborate furnishings in the center giving a very intimate, elite feeling to the room. We of course only gazed at these rooms from behind the gated glass dreaming about what it would be like to be able to afford a tasting in this setting. Back in the real world
of the general public tasting room, Katie, Angella, and I split 2 tasting sharing each of the 3 wines we received with one another. We didn't dare buy any of the wines that we were tasting from this winery since the bottles ranged about $50 bucks a pop, which was just a bit out of our price range. Our first tasting in the bag, we left the Rubicon Estate and headed a few miles down the road to visit our next winery. It was called V. Sattui and was famous, at least in Angella's mind, for its deli and large picnic area set amongst the beautiful,
vine-covered, stone buildings of the winery. Because of the rain we could not enjoy the outdoor setting of the picnic area but we were determined to not let it disrupt our visit to the deli, even if we were forced to eat in the car. We entered the winery through
the deli, the only way possible, and were immediately so sidetracked by samples of gourmet cheeses and mustards that we almost forgot about the wine tasting completely. While rounding a corner in the deli, hoping to find more cheese stashed away, we peeped in on the tasting room and were reminded of why we came. We found a spot at the bar, lucky to get a place where we all could fit, then scoped out the tasting options. At Rubicon, there was only 1 tasting available for under $30 and it only offered 3 different wines to taste, here however the tastes were $5 for the standard and $10 for the premium and offered 5 or 6 wines to taste. Recognizing a good deal, we each ordered a tasting here but still shared all of our wines with each other and in effect got to sample 16 different wines here. After the tasting we all purchased a few bottles of our favorites and then headed
into the deli. Here we purchased a meal worthy of the streets of Rome and very fitting of wine country. It consisted of a large loaf of Italian bread, 2 hand mixed cream cheeses (garlic and habanero flavored), a hunk of goat cheese, a half pound of gnocchi, and a bag of sea salt chips. Knowing that the picnic area was not an option due to the rain, we asked the cashiers if there was any place to eat on the premises. They informed us that because of the rain they
had opened the cellar for guests. The cellar was a large banquet hall that is usually reserved for weddings and the like, offering an intimate atmosphere with giant barrels of wine again lining the walls. Though it was not as private nor exclusive a setting as the Rubicon private tasting rooms, it was still a welcomed treat to be able to enjoy our meal down here. We had so much fun enjoying our food and the setting we found ourselves in, that we nearly forgot about the rain outside; that is until we left. Again greeted by pouring rain, though much more apt to handle it now that our stomachs were full, we loaded up in Angella's car and made our way out of Napa to Sonoma Valley. Angella had never done both Sonoma and Napa in one day before. She had brought her GPS with her so that we could punch in the address to our next winery and hopefully take back roads over the mountains into Sonoma. After loading our destination and looking at the route, she was displeased with its suggestion which appeared to be to go back to the main highway. Determined to get it to recalculate the route, she headed in the opposite direction watching as it kept telling her to turn around and head back down the highway. Seemingly there was no other route over the mountains for a long way. After about a half hour of the machine telling us to turn around we finally did only to find out that a couple miles down the road it would have taken us over a small mountain road, just what Angella had wanted. We turned at the small back road dubbed Oakville Grade and quickly began to ascend the mountains after a short stretch of grape filled fields. Now, if this was Angella's plan, to take a steep, winding road across the mountains from one valley to another, it was a poor plan indeed. For any normal human it must sound like a great plan, getting a scenic view and a fun ride while avoiding the rush of traffic, but not for Angella. As she told us about 2 minutes after beginning to climb over the mountain, she is deathly afraid of roads just like this. She has been having the reoccurring dream of falling off a cliff while driving in a truck since she was a child and this has evidently
scarred her for life while driving such roads. The 20 minute drive turned into an hour as Angella gripped the steering wheel, both hands white knuckled, and drove at a constant speed of 10 mph while screaming "OHHH MYYYY GOOOOODD" over and over again each time we took a switchback. Katie and I have rarely had so much fun in a car. We spent the whole ride laughing with and at Angella in her torment as we slowly but surely entered into Sonoma Valley. I offered to drive, trying to relieve Angella's stress and get us there before the we all turned old and gray, but she said that it would have been worse for her to be a passenger, so we continued to slowly trudge on. We made it to our last winery of the day still intact and with an hour to spare before
the tasting room closed. Angella chose to end our tour with her favorite winery, indeed the same winery she used for her wedding, Valley of the Moon. The setting here was much more relaxed and quiet than the comparative hustle and bustle of Napa. The tastings were comparable to the ones we had at V. Sattui in price and amount, the only difference being after we purchased all of the wine we wanted to buy, they waved the tasting fees entirely. We headed back to San Francisco this time on the valley floor and traveling much faster than 10 mph. On the way home we discussed what should be done about dinner. Though all of us were still pretty full from lunch, we knew that we would be ready to eat by the time we reached the Horton Hippie Hotel. Since we arrived in town, Angella had wanted to take us to try some Vietnamese food that she thought we would enjoy called Pho, but had not yet gotten the chance. We weren't in the mood for going out to eat after our long day and Angella didn't think that we could order takeout since it is a soupish meal that requires a lot of extra sauces and fresh vegetables, so it looked like we were to be cheated entirely from trying it. On the way
home she decided to drop in at the restaurant and enquire anyway, just to check. After waiting about 5 minutes in the car, Katie and I knew that we would be having Pho for dinner. Angella emerged moments later both hands full of oversized bags of food and a look of excitement and joy on her face. We got back to the HHH and Angella proceeded to cook up our
Pho since they had given us all of the ingredients individually wrapped. It was delightful, tasting like a cross between Asian food and chicken noodle soup. We enjoyed our dinner while watching Iron Man 2 with Kyle's surround sound shaking the floorboards loose below us. The next day we had planned to leave San Francisco, for good this time, and head back East before looping down to San Diego.
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