Wine, Friends, and Boats in Napa- A Road Trip Adventure

Day 4… the last day… of our Four Day Wine Excursion in the Napa Valley

(Editor’s Tip: for more information about the wineries and their wines, click the blue text introducing them. You can also click/ tap here to see all my Napa posts going back to 2008.)

Today starts with cake and bread, followed by a visit to good friends, then on to two of our favorite wineries, and finally an unexpected boat trip. Four wine tastings… a fitting way to finish four couple’s four day excursion on the fourth day… four, four, four, and four!

Cakebread Cellars

A morning wine and food tasting at another gorgeous winery in Rutherford. Beautiful wines in a beautiful setting.

A unique offering. Seasonal garden baskets of vegetables grown onsite and all proceeds go to the Napa Valley Food Bank

Campbell Cellars

This visit was an exceptional treat for us!

In 2019, four couples participated in a Wine Cruise in Europe, sponsored by Honig Vineyard and Winery from Napa Valley. Honig sourced grapes from a small, family-owned vineyard and micro-producer on the Rutherford Bench, resulting in a superb Honig Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon- Campbell Vineyard. To our surprise, we learned that Tim and Carol Campbell, the owners of the vineyard, were also passengers on the cruise. It was wonderful getting to know them and enjoying their company throughout the trip.

As luck would have it, we were able to visit the Campbells at their wine cave, home, and vineyard for a tasting with friends at the last minute. We had a fantastic time sipping on Campbell Cellars Cabs, talking Wine, and catching up.

Campbell Cellars (really good) Cabernet Sauvignon’s

A large reproduction of Frederic Remington’s famous Rattlesnake bronze graces the cellar/ cave.

Old and new grapes. A vineyard is, after all, a farm and occasionally new has to replace old. The vines to the left were just planted, replacing old vines, and will take three years to produce grapes for wine. The new vines are part of Campbell Cellars and the older vines to the right are part of Inglenook Estate.

The single row of vines between the old and new are the Campbell’s Petit Verdot grapes that are added to their Cabernet Sauvignon’s.

How’d you like this view out your windows?

Honig Vineyard and Winery

The third stop of our four today was the highlight of the trip for the group. As noted above, we all met on a Honig- sponsored cruise and several of us have been visiting the Winery for years. Our visit was enhanced by a Reserve Room tasting, including a visit by the owner, Michael Honig.

Subtitle: Gnomes invade and take over Honig Vineyard and Winery.

A Photographer’s Dilemma: bright sunlight was shining down. Expose the gnome correctly and risk under-exposing the wine, OR capture the Bartolucci Vineyard Cab in its full glory and burn out Lord Emperor Wilson?

Since the Honig- Bartolucci is one of my all-time favorite wines, it was a no- brainer.

Sorry, Lord Emperor Wilson, you will have to live with being over- exposed.

L.E. Wilson properly exposed, so to speak. He claims the empty glasses were not all his.

A picture hanging in the Honig Reserve Room. Look familiar? Its Tim and Carol Campbell from above!

Tres Sabores

One of my personal favorite wineries. We have been visiting Julie Johnson, the winemaker and owner, for many years. If you look through my Napa posts dating back to 2008, you will often see Tres Sabores mentioned. In fact, click/ press here to read about an overnight visit in December, 2011.

The visits are low-pressure and relaxed, filled with great people and wonderful dogs… along with excellent wines. It’s a refreshing escape from the hoopla and hype that much of Napa has become.

A quote from their website summarizes the experience at Tres Sabores: “At the valley’s westernmost edge, where sloping vineyards meet wooded hillsides, Tres Sabores is a portal to old Napa – no fancy tasting room, no snobbery, just great wine in a spectacular setting.”

A crew was harvesting grapes for the Tres Sabores Rose.

Julie Johnson’s husband, Jon, and The Ladies, including your editor’s lovely daughter, Jodi. Olive trees and grape vines in the background. Like a lot of wineries, they also bottle their olive oil.

Venice in Napa

Little-known fact: the Napa riverfront features authentic Venetian gondolas, purchased used in Venice and shipped to the U.S., complete with singing gondoliers. It’s a perfect surprise for the Birthday Girl.

Singing under the bridges provided good acoustics and an echo chamber effect.

A tribute to Robert Mondavi and Margrit Mondavi atop the CIA at Copia’s 75′ tower in Napa.

It’s all in the details: he is holding a glass of red wine, she a glass of white.

The Mondavi’s founded and funded Copia, the center for wine, food and the arts, an educational non-profit institution, which is now owned by the CIA. It houses the Culinary Institute’s new classrooms, a restaurant, and much more.

OH, you thought they were spies?

August 28, 2025

Click/ press here for full-size, no watermark, images at www. ImagesByBill.us

Click/ press here to see all my Napa posts back to 2008.

Click/ press here to see all my Road Trip Adventure posts.

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