When I was a kid back in Moldova, my grandparents had a small winery and September was the time for harvesting and making wine. As kids we loved to drink “must” which is very young wine, it’s really just grape juice before it starts fermenting. So after more than 10 years of living in CA, we finally decided to see what Napa Valley is all about. We picked a weekend in September and booked a flight to Oakland. On the first day, we toured a couple of wineries on our own. On the second day, we had a limo tour, which was mostly a waste of money. Hendry’s winery tour and tasting, which we saw on the first day, took the award for the most informative and educational tour of the weekend.

The cellar at Robert Mondavi winery
The cellar at Robert Mondavi winery – so clean and organized.
Wine tasting at Robert Mondavi wasn't nearly as interesting and educational as the tour and tasting at Hendry's.
Wine tasting at Robert Mondavi wasn’t nearly as interesting and educational as the tour and tasting at Hendry’s.
found my logo, almost :)
found my logo, almost 🙂

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harvesting is done later in CA because of the favorable climate
Harvesting is done later in CA because of the favorable climate
another winery
Another winery
morning mist
Morning mist

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hot air balloons going up in the morning from the neighboring county
Hot air balloons going up in the morning from the neighboring county
Some wineries are very well maintained and advertise themselves as wedding venues.
Some wineries are very well maintained and advertise themselves as wedding venues.
So that's where the corks come from.
So that’s where the corks come from.

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