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Wine Country Uncorked Tour!
By Mike Marino
The Roadhead has done a bit of traveling
and asphalt kicking in his time, but, when it comes to the sheer
galactic gravitational pull of tourism, few if any regions can top
the G-force of Northern California.
It's dazzling display of towering
redwoods and majestic sequoias, every bit as impressive as the Statue
of Liberty or the Washington Monument. Magnificent coastlines that
are washed by large, roaring Pacific waves that crest, crash and
roll onto shore with the speed and fury of a Neptunian NASCAR race.
Then gently and quietly, recede to the same ocean that just gave
it birth, leaving in it's wake a pristine beach awash with curious
flotsom and jetsom that will include sandollars, seaweed and seashells.
It's also a region of quaint seaside
communities like Steinbeck's beloved Monterey, and bustling burgs
like Jack Kerouac's San Francisco and Jack London's Oakland. One
region, neslted in a valley approximately 50 miles north of Ess
Eff has been enticing a breed of tourist known as The Vino Visitor
to this land of the vintner's art from around the globe and in droves.
A veritable Garden of Eden of varietal's and vino, known simply
as the Napa Valley, or simpler yet, Wine Country USA!
The Napa Valley is a paradise for
lovers of the fruit of the vine and those who wish to worship at
the feet of the grape gods. The valley has wineries aplenty, from
the large established names like Mondavi and Sutter Home, to the
smaller unique boutique operations. Wine tours and tastings are
plentiful and guaranteed to please the palate and to insure that
your visit is truly memorable. Nothing goes better with fine wining
than a good bout of fine dining, and you have plenty of  award
winning choices in that category.
Shopping, of course, is an offbeat
treat with merchants offering up for sale everything from wicker
picnic baskets, complete with fine china and stemware, to an assortment
of Hawaiian Shirts and custom Jerry Garcia neckware. Touring the
valley is pleasant, varied and exciting no matter which mode you
choose. You can drive yourself, or luxuriate in a limo or you can
even pretend your Steve Fossett trying to circumnavigate the globe
and enjoy the sunrise with a spectacular view of the rolling valley
below while sipping on a glass of early morning champagne. To top
off your day, you can ride the rails in luxury with haute cuisine
and fine wines on The Wine Train as you roll gently through the
valley with a backdrop of mountains kissed by a sunset. So grab
your corkscrew and get ready to Uncork The Wine Country!!
The Napa Valley wasn't always a
vintners enclave. The Wappo Indians inhabited the region 4,000 years
before the Spaniards arrived. Mexico eventually gained it's independence
from this prowling European power and assumed control of the whole
of California. In 1831, George Yount, the first American settler
in the Napa Valley, arrived and it was he who planted the first
grapevines. These original plantings were from Mexico and it wasn't
until 1860 that the higher grade European grapes were introduced.
The Gold Rush came and went and in it's wake it left a demand for
the Valley's wine.
The demand was greater than a Pacific
tsunami, and by 1891 there were over 600 vineyards in the valley
serving the needs of a thirsty population. Today, there are more
than 200 wineries in the area, turning out marvelous Merlot's, Zinfandel's
and Riesling's and other faves of the wine crowd. All this has also
produced a harvest of tourist green with over 5 million Vino Visitors
a year!
UNCORKING THE VALLEY
Highway 29 is the main vino vein
that passes through wine country like an asphalt artery. Napa, Yountville,
Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena and Calistoga each have something
different and unique to offer the visitor. Napa, at the southern
terminus of wine country, is the Gateway to the Grape! One of the
highlights of the town are hand painted murals that adorn the downtown
buildings depicting the regions history and the growth of the wine
industry. More than just informative they are truly a visual folk
art feast for the
eyes.
Traveling north on 29, you'll come
to the community of Yountville, and yes, it is named after George
Yount, the Johnny Appleseed of Viticulture. After paying your respects
at his grave in Pioneer Cemetary, you may want to visit Vintage
1870, a three story brick building with over 40 eclectic emporiums
that will cater to every shopping whimsy.
Quaint, best describes Oakville,
the next stop on your journey of wine discovery. Famed for it's
historic grocery it is a definite must stop and see. Continue north,
 and
soon you'll come to the town of Rutherford, home of the Niebaum-Coppola
Winery and is a wine country stop you can't refuse! Sure, it's a
winery, and yes, you can get a tour and a glass of wine, but the
main feature is showing in the upstairs Francis Ford Coppola Movie
Museum. Props and artifacts from many of this famed directors films
are here on display, but for my money, the hands on fave rave is
the chair and desk from The Godfather where Brando and Pacino, as
the Corleone's, ruled their celluloid criminal empire.
St. Helena is your next stop, and
it's a stylish boutique boomtown with enouch cappucino to float
the Queen Mary. It's Bar Harbor without the harbor, and design and
flair ooze from every shop, so don't expect any Blue Light Specials
in Aisle #5! As you journey ever northward on Highway 29, just north
of St. Helena, on your left you'll see the Culinary Institute of
America at Greystone, serving up some the finest cuisine in America
west of NYC.
Prepare now to enter the spa and
mudbath kingdom of Calistoga. Rumour has it that the original name
was to be Saratoga of California, after the fabled resort in New
York State, howevery, alcohol got the better of town founder Sam
Brannon's tongue and he proclaimed loudly to one and all, "This
will be the Calistoga of Sarafornia!", Calistoga it is then.
Bubbling mineral waters, massage and mud baths create a mellow air
in this reknowned realm of relaxation. Pampering has been elevated
to a high art form and smiling faces are the rule...all that's missing
is a group hug!
THE ALTERNA-TOUR
The wineries of course are the main
attraction in Napa Valley, and along with unique shopping and dining
experiences, it is a true adventure for palate and wallet. If, however,
fine wines and tastings aren't your brown paper bag idea of a vacation
and you could care less if your wine requires a corkscrew or has
a screw top, there are a host of other activities and attractions.
Mount St. Helena stands guard at
the north end of the valley, stately and Sphinx-like, she guards
the geyser realm that bubbles below her in the town of Calistoga,
spawning spa's like a fertile rabbit on overdrive. The mountain
was also home to the fabled Silverado silvermine made popular in
Robert Louis Stevenson's THE SILVERADO SQUATTERS. Robert Louis also
spent his honeymoon on Mount St. Helena in 1880 and you can hike
the five miles to Consumation Summit to view the marker that indicates
the cabin's location. Robert Louis Stevenson State Park is named
in honor of the author of TREASURE ISLAND and is located 7 miles
north of Calistoga on Highway 29.
Many hot springs and geysers dot
the valley but one ranks as the Ethel Merman of heat and steam.
California's version of OLD FAITHFUL. The old girl belts out a plume
of steam 60 feet into the air every 30 minutes or so, and is every
bit as stirring as a full chorus singing a thermal Broadway showtune.
If it's a touch of natural history
and Humphrey Bogart your looking for, look no further than California's
PETRIFIED FOREST, also located near Calistoga. Before Walt Disney
figured out that tourista's would shell out cold hard cash to see
pirates and Mad Hatters, Petrified Forest Charlie beat him to it
in the mid 1800's by charging folks to look at a petrified tree
he had dug up. In 1910, Ollie Bocker and her husband began serious
development of the area, and today it is a primo attraction for
the petro-curious from around the world.
The Roadhead chrome-magnon love
of Detroits's metal and muscle auto industry will do well to visit
LITTO's HUBCAP RANCH on Pope Valley Road just 2 miles northwest
of Pope Valley. No cabernets here, but you will find over 2,000
hubcaps collected by Emanuele LITTO Damonte. Born in 1892, Litto
created arrangements and art forms over a 30 year period comprised
of hubcaps, bottles and pulltops. Litto passed away to that Great
Auto Scrap Yard in the sky in 1985, but left behind one of California's
pre-emminent 20th Century folk art environments and is California
Registered Landmark #939. Litto's Hubcap Ranch Kicks Asphalt!!
PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES
Touring the green, rolling hills
of Napa Valley is one of life's indescribably pleasant journeys.
Lush fields seem to undulate suggestively, with row after row of
well manicured fruit of the vine. Majestic mountains frame this
verdant panorama straight out of Monet or Gaugin, and travel options
are as plentiful as the award winning varieties of wines produced
in the region.
The do-it-yourselfer will find the
absolute joy of asphalt discovery by renting a car to explore this
Wine Wonderland, or for the more luxury minded, you can book a Limo
Tour from any number of companies that specialize in Wine Country
so you can luxuriate with an informed designated driver while you
imbibe and sample the finished product of the the harvest.
If you have some Boxcar Willie lurking
in your genetic code, you can ride the rails on The Napa Valley
Wine Train, enjoying champagne brunches or dinners in a restored
Pullman car as you sniff and sip your favorite varietal concoctions.
The Pullman's harken back to a time of railroad style and grace
and are completely refinished in rich, imported Mahogany's, brass
fixtures and grape motif etched glass to surround you with quiet
elegance as your Wine and Dine Magical Mystery Tour rolls gently
up valley for a culinary experience you'll not soon forget.
The Wine Train station is located
in downtown Napa, and while your waiting to board the Vino Version
of the Orient Express, you can avail yourself of the many gift stores
to shop for that perfect Wine Country gift or souvienir. Don't forget
to stop at the Wine Emporium that is filled to the cork with over
200 varieties of wine and wine related items. All Aboard!!
The Wright Brothers and Charles
Lindberg certainly made aviation histoire, and you take advantage
of their innovations in flight and take to the skies for a Birds
Eye Tour of Wine Country by booking a flight on a Wine Plane. Charter
a wine tasting flight over the Valley and enjoy the view while sampling
Mother Grape. In addition to flights over Napa Valley, many of the
charter companies offer combo tours of the Valley and San Francisco.
All in all, this tour gives new meaning to the term FLYING HIGH!
AND BALLOONS!
Ever since the Montgolfier Brothers
soared the big blue in their big balloon, the race was on! Everyone
from Jules Verne to Steve Fossett had been bitten by the gas bag
bug. In Napa Valley, champagne balloon flights of fancy are not
only a reality, but plentiful, and you have your choice of flight
specialists to take you soaring into the early dew laden morning
sunrise. The balloons themselves are works of aeronatical art, stretched
like an artist's canvas as they expand and fill to reveal brilliant,
colorful designs that float above the valley floor as though on
display at some private flying museum of modern art, and is one
of the definitive Wine Country to do's that is not to be missed.
The Napa Valley is a wine lover's
paradiso...to be enjoyed by the corkscrew and the screwtop crowd
alike. It doesn't matter if you enjoy your vino in a glass of crystal
or a paper cup, Wine Country only gets better with age, like the
fine wines this award winning region produces year and after year.
Once you visit Wine Country, you'll come back time and time again,
if for no other reason than to keep the grapes happy, after all,
nobody wants to feel..The Grapes of Wrath!!
Mike Marino is a freelance writer
of Travel and Pop Culture and author of the pop culture cult classic,
The Roadhead Chronicles Book.
Contact him at:
dharmabumroadie@yahoo.com
 The
Roadhead Chronicles Book
By: Mike Marino
http://community.webtv.net/roadheadthree/bok
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