Day Two Napa Valley – Bouchon Bakery and Sterling Vineyards  

It was our second day in Napa.  We decided to get an early start and head out to the famous Bouchon Bakery for breakfast.  Really, who doesn’t like croissants and macarons for breakfast??

I would highly, highly recommend the chocolate almond croissant.  I have not tasted a croissant like it.  It will be something you remember for ever…….ever, ever!  Really, it is that good.  I need to find out if they ship to Canada 🙂

Breakfast of champions

We ate our delicious pastries for dessert and walked across the street to the V Marketplace.  There were several small shops located in the building along with beautiful grounds.

Having some fun in the gardens.

Hurry up and take the picture 🙂 

Attempting to take a selfie……..I think we are getting better at this.

The grounds would make for a nice setting for an outdoor wedding ceremony.  It is so pretty.

It was time to head out to Sterling Winery for our wine tasting. We arrived at Sterling Winery at 10:30 a.m…………it’s never to early to start drinking wine.

A little bit about Sterling Winery

Sterling Winery is perched 300 feet above the town of Calistoga, Sterling Vineyards offers panoramic views of Napa Valley. An aerial tram carries visitors up the hill to the winery, whose architecture was modeled after that of the Greek island of Mykonos, where Sterling founder Peter Newton once lived. The brilliant white stucco stands out dramatically against the rugged Mayacamas and Vaca mountain ranges that flank each side of Napa Valley. Mount Saint Helena makes a lovely distant backdrop. The winery’s towers house eight bells from London’s Church of St. Dunstan’s-in-the-East, originally founded in the 10th century. The church was destroyed by fire in 1666, rebuilt, then destroyed again during the bombing of WWII. Each time, new bells were recast from the old metal to give them superior tonal quality. The rich tolling of these ancient bells sounds down through the valley on the quarter hour. Walkways, balconies, and motion-sensitive DVD screens allow guests to take a self-guided tour of Sterling Vineyards’ winemaking facilities. Beautiful outdoor terraces and elegant tasting rooms provide the perfect environment to enjoy exceptional wines while taking in the view. The extraordinary Mediterranean-style architecture, unique aerial tramway, stunning location, historic bells, and attention to visitors make Sterling Vineyards a top destination in Napa Valley.

We decided to go with the Silver Experience Wine tasting. It is $39 per person, but if you mention you saw an ad in a magazine it is only $29.

SILVER EXPERIENCE: $39

The ultimate Sterling Vineyards visit. Enjoy the aerial gondola, self-guided tour of the winery and scenic views from our terraces followed by a seated wine tasting experience featuring an exclusive selection of limited release wines in one of our inviting Tasting Rooms. The Silver Experience includes special access to the upper level of the winery where you can view exhibits from the Sterling Art Collection including original pieces by Picasso, Chagall, Renior, Frasconi, and the rare Ansel Adams photographic essay “The Story of a Winery”.

This is the beginning……….where you take the aerial gondola up to the winery with the scenic views.

When we arrived at the top, we were greeted with out first wine tasting.  Honestly, I don’t remember what wines we tried.  We started with a white wine tasting.  I do remember it being a dry wine.  Look at the views.

We had two white wines and three red wines before our seated tasting.

Doesn’t it look like Tuscany?

This was my favourite wine – the Malvasia Bianca.

and the tasting wasn’t done yet……….an additional three wines.

I love this Before I die sign.  Of course travel was on my list 🙂