In lieu of the New Year and our departure from the US, I thought it would be fitting to take a look back at some of my favorite experiences from the last two years:
10: Playing bocce with the ‘Casino Cowboys’ at Crane Park in St. Helena- “America’s team’ of St. Helena bocce…go boys (and girls)!
A crucial roll for the Casino Cowboys (and girls!)
9: Hiking across Napa Valley, namely Bothe State Park and Mt. Saint Helena.
Overlooking the Valley from high up on Mount St. Helena
8: Filming a series of videos on pruning techniques with Linda Neal of Tierra Roja Vineyards.
7: Visiting incredible, small production vineyards, wine caves and wineries throughout Napa Valley like Dana Estates, Hall Rutherford, Pride, Haber Family and O’Shaughnessy.
After barrel tasting at Pride Mountain Vineyards
6: Attending the tasting at the Pritchard Building off of Main St. in St. Helena that housed the likes of Mirror, Robert Foley, Switchback Ridge, Realm as well as Hourglass , the wine that created my love affair with their Merlot.
5: Going to the Taste of Oakville with Karen and Erin where I was able to taste Screaming Eagle, Bond, Entre Nous, Stanton, Dalla Valle , Futo and other elite wines before they were made public.
4: San Francisco Marathon- first half: July ’09, second half: July ’10. Running across a fog-covered Golden Bridge amongst hundreds of others on a brisk Sunday Morning in July is easily one of the most exhilarating experiences in my life.
A celebratory dance after the race
3: Celebrating my 29th birthday at the highly recommended Cyrus Restaurant in Healdsburg. Delicious and beautiful…See more.
2: Getting the opportunity to meet so many established and up and coming winemakers in the Valley such as Rob Lawson, Heidi Barrett, Mark Herold and Dave Phinney.
1: Meeting Karen, Erin and the rest of the ACME crew when I first arrived in St. Helena. Working alongside them at such a special and cutting edge shop over the past two years was easily the most rewarding experience of my professional career.
The Great Wall-o-Wines at Acme