after dinner sneeze

t says: Day 2 started off with a bright and early with a 10am tasting. But of course, tasting too early on an empty stomach is generally a bad idea. Fortunately, I got up early and made another run to Bouchon Bakery.

Ahhh, sleepy, peaceful Yountville. Nothing like a brisk morning walk with hot air balloons in the distance … followed by pastries and macchiato. (Not pictured)

The Larkmead tasting was phenomenal, as usual – and we got to talking to Dan Petroski, a winemaker at Larkmead. Such a nice time! We wished a was there – he would have loved it! Ultimately, the 2010 cab offered the best bang for the buck … So we walked away with some juice! The streak was over! And it was over in a big way, as we then proceeded to go on a shopping spree at Quintessa and Robert Sinsky (the former more impressive than the latter).

We lunched at Bounty Hunter, where g vanquished a BBQ pork sandwich and I took in a veggie sandwich. Quite a nice change of pace from the new American cuisine that’s on every corner in these parts. The beer can chickens looked pretty awesome, too!

Before dinner, we squeezed in a trip to back room wines and Napa Vintner’s Collective. The highlight if our acquisitions was a signed a numbered bottle of Massican Annia (signed by Petroski!!) – g did her booyah-happy-dance.

For dinner, we kept up the theme if chillaxed eating and dined at R + D Kitchen, a relatively new resto in Yountville. While this place is essentially like an upscale Ruby Tuesday, we have to confess that we actually liked everything we had! The chicken sandwich was crazy good with a beautiful zippy slaw and super-crispy chicken. And g’s salad had so much extra “stuff” that she smiles the whole way through!