After two jam-packed days filled with the best of what Silicon Valley has to offer we decided the best thing for the group was some downtime to reflect and collect their thoughts so we headed off to see the wine country of Sonoma and Napa Valley!
With the Golden Gate Bridge shrouded in morning fog we headed for Sonoma and it’s beautiful town square where the Republic of California was declared in 1846 from Mexican rule before quickly becoming part of the United States. Lunch was next door to the historic Sonoma Barracks at The Girl and the Fig. This is the place to visit if cheese is your thing – what a selection!
Then it was time to get down to business – wineries! First we stopped at the famous Napa Valley sign where we nearly got cleaned up by the Napa vintage tour train before heading to Silverado with its fascinating history and unbeatable views. A winery started by Diane Miller, the only daughter of Walt Disney, Silverado is one of the more established wineries in Napa with an impressive selection of reds which naturally we sampled. It was great to hear that the family had invested money into the UC Davies school to promote research on wine harvesting. From what we tasted, the science is working!
Next up was Domaine Carneros. Jean Claude, our French wine connoisseur, gave a comprehensive and interesting tutorial on the Taittinger champagne making process which has been very successfully transported to Napa from France. Of course this involved more sampling.
A very relaxed bus pulled over at the Golden Gate Bridge on the way back to witness a beautiful sunset.
A relaxed Day 3 reflecting on history and tradition. Back to the future for Day 4!