It may sound strange to most that Napa Valley was once known for its various crops instead of wine. It wasn’t until Napa took the title amongst France, Italy, and Spain in 1960s that it became known in the wine industry (They even made a movie about it.) If you’re a Californian or visitor of California, you ought to come out for, if not wine, its spectacular scenery, gorgeous weather, and the Napa culture.
UC Davis, locating closely to Napa Valley, has its place in the field of viticulture and enology (though, we have a pretty legendary brew master as well) I felt that it became a part of our responsibility to know the basics of wine (or at least something about it.)
With our friend, Carmut, visiting and Jim’s growing interests in wine, we decided to take a trip for some wine tasting. 
↑First stop – Domaine Carneros.
Quick look at logo: It seems most wineries feature their architectures in their logos/emblems. A refreshing approach after seeing many corporate logos. Gotta keep it classy with the serifs.
I wasn’t exaggerating about the view. 
↑The only group photo we had – yet the couple in the center paid more attention to the camera than our own.
↑Champagne Sparking wine sipping. Quick lesson from the host: There’s no difference in taste between sparking wine and champagne, but an indication on where they were made. Only sparkling wine made in France are titled “champagne.”
↑ First tasting. Though, white, sparkling are made of both white and red grapes. It remains white because all red grapes are skinned before extracting its juice. Feel like a boss, yet?
↑Tasting two. I was turning red at this point.
We were brought down to the basement, where they ferments the wine. The host also explained the process on how they extract the yeast..etc. I was too busy taking pictures and trying to figure out the difference in taste between the two wines I tasted than listening about the steps. Oops. 
Cork machine: 
Tinted red, usually serve as dessert wine. They left a thin layer of skin from the red grapes for the coloring:
↑Beautiful looking wine. Heard the ladies like ’em.
↑Corks.
↑There you have it, Domaine Carneros.
Got the munchies? a quick lunch break before the next stop: 
↑Bouchon Bakery.
↑Wine tasting + phone interview sounds like a good way to go.
Macaroons. 
GIANT MACAROONS!
↑Never seen macaroon as big as this. A quick image of the GIANT GUMMYBEAR popped in my head when I saw this. Might be a good idea for some, but it was too overwhelmingly sweet to finish this alone. Heck, it was a tough task even for the 3 of us.
Stop #2:
↑ For those who have watched “Bottle Shock,” this is the winery of Gustavo, who were one of the main guys from Chateau Montelena.
Stop 3: Robert Mondavi Winery. 
↑Perhaps the most renown winery for us UC Davis Students. (Mondavi Center) There were no three stories chateaus or fancy windows. The winery was wide and refreshing.
↑Props to the minimalistic bear.
No wine tasting for this one. Just basking ourselves under the sun, running across the field like 5 year olds. loved it.
Wrapping up the day with BBQ rib sandwiches. chyea.
Now, quick question of the day: 
’til next time,
-Benson|| Twitter || the movement|| The Imaginary Zebra website || Shop of Imagination ||
