Day 2

Despite the traffic, which promises to be nightmarish, we head north towards Napa Valley. Before our dinner reservation at the restaurant at the Domaine Chandon winery, we have time to stop at the large Robert Mondavi winery as well as the ultra-fancy Opus One winery. No time left for a tour, but at least tasting some of the wine. While the subtleties of $200/bottle Cabernet Sauvignon is definitely lost on me (as opposed to a very decent one), it is interesting to compare different vintages which have surprisingly noticeable differences side-by-side. (My favorite was the 2000 Robert Mondavi To Kalon limited Cabernet Sauvignon). The surprise of the day was the Domaine Chandon Carneros Pinot Meunier, which made a very intriguing young and light wine for dinner.