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Travel> Wine Country
Wine Country Uncorked
By Mike (Roadie) Marino
Published March 2003
This
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
regions can top the G-force of Northern California.
It's a dazzling display of towering redwoods and
sequoias, every bit as impressive as the Statue
of Liberty or the Washington Monument. Magnificent
coastlines that get 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 in droves. A veritable Garden
of Eden of varietal's and vino...The Napa Valley
or Wine Country USA!!
The
Corkscrew Tour and History
The
Napa Valley is a paradise for lovers of the vine
and those who wish to worship 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 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 independance from this 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 you 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 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 Calistoga,
spawning spa's like a fertile rabbit on overdrive.
The mountain was also home to 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 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 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 indescrible 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!!
This
Dharmabum Roadhead writer's work has been described as DELIGHTFULLY WIERD and
WICKEDLY WONDERFUL!! Mike (Roadie) Marino is a publisher of an on line
magazine called ROAD TRIPPIN' USA. It's an asphalt kickin' journey of Roadside
Nostalgia and American Pop/Car Culture for the Chrome-Magnon in all of us. The
style is lock n load and deals with the realm of where Pop Culture and Chrome
meet Asphalt and Art!!
Mike
also writes a monthly feature column under the banner THE ROADHEAD for the award
winning Offbeat Travel zine. His column deals with bizzare ashpalt and roadside
oddities and locales from mechanical museums to Cadillac Ranch. Mike is also
a freelance writer of travel and history pieces that have been published in
magazines and ezines in the US and Europe.
Most
current project includes toiling endlessly on his first book about Pop and Car
Culture in America of the 50's, 60's and 70's. Although born in the rustbelt
of industrial Detroit, he's also been the definitive son-of-a-beach and has
lived in a treehouse in Honolulu, the tie dyed spare change neighborhood of
Haight Ashbury in San Francisco, as well as the North Beach district..where
the Beat Goes On!!
Today
Mike (Roadie) Marino lives in Missouri near the banks of the Missouri
River with his word processor. In addition, to writing and backpacking, Mike
has a penchant for Hawaiian shirts, Jimmy Buffett albums and Corona Beer. If
you would like to use any of Mike's articles some of which are included here,
contact him at the email address below or at dharmabumroadie@yahoo.com He also
accepts contract work and what the hell, a good agent wouldn't hurt either.
So contact him for rates and information. Now...Have Fun Reading...Grab A Cold
Corona..And Kick Asphalt!!!
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