This past weekend, I had the wonderful opportunity to visit Napa/Sonoma/Yountville aka Wine Country as part of my friend's 25th BIRTHDAY celebration. I experienced wine tasting for the first time and I finally found a bakery line longer than 85 Degrees Bakery!
Fremont Diner
We almost drove right past this place because of its obscure location and the run-down dirt roads -- but there was a crowd and a fairly large sign -- so we were able to turn in time. There is a parking lot, quite gravelly and sandy, so I recommend wearing boots (no high heels ladies).
The cuisine here is farm-fresh/Southern/diner/breakfast+brunch style. Seating is outdoor picnic tables under a canopy/tent with plastic side drapes -- which is great because it's right next to the sandy/dirt parking lot -- and the drapes keep the dust out of the food. There is one restroom on site -- pretty clean for being shack-like.
Breakfast menu and lunch menu are different -- be sure to get there before 12 if you want breakfast!
The birthday girl ordered the Oyster Po' Boy Sandwich and I ordered the Chicken & Waffle. Both were delicious (special seasoning) and portions were just right. I prefer my waffles Belgian style though -- this waffle was more like Eggo style. The only other thing I can complain about is the small plate -- it made it very difficult to eat these messy/finger foods without it getting all over the place (only one cloth napkin, no paper napkins or wet naps). Overall, great place for brunch/lunch and I would come back to try some of the sides next time -- mac&cheese, biscuits, and eggs.
Gundlach Bundschu Winery
Almost drove right past this place as well because you have to turn into a small road (with a small sign) off the main road. There is a gravelly parking lot, covered outdoor picnic area, and outdoor restrooms.
The property is very well-maintained and beautiful (but the signs pointing to the tasting room were a bit confusing). On the plus side -- no reservations required -- and tasting of 6 wines for only $10!
We had a group of 13 people so they could not accommodate such a large party for wine tasting all at the same time -- we split off into smaller groups (3-5) and went to the next available representative at the bar.
This is the tasting room, well air-conditioned/cool, nice bar atmosphere. There are some merchandise/gifts for sale as well -- blankets, cheese boards, cork screws, wine charms, etc. I personally do not know anything about wine and this was my first time wine tasting. I guess I expected a brief history/background about the winery but the lady went straight for our wine orders. I sampled quite a lot (almost all of them) because my friend and I would taste different wines then switch glasses. As I am not a wine expert, I can only say that I enjoyed the experience and am happy that I opened my palate to new things -- I guess I prefer lighter wines like the Pinot Noir, and my friend really enjoyed the richer wines like their Cabernet Sauvignon.
After the tasting, we soaked in some rays lounging by the watering hole/pond on some nice wooden lawn chairs and tried on each other's sunglasses.
Bouchon Bakery
The Bouchon Restaurant and Bakery are located right next to each other -- I only went to the bakery though. The line was really long and it didn't help that the sun was BLAZING down upon me.
The bakery storefront is very tiny -- it can fit up to maybe 10 customers at a time -- hence the long line outside. I do love bread and pastries though so I was super excited nonetheless!
The pricing is pretty standard for specialty pastries ($$) -- $3.5 for macarons (quite large) and $3-5 for the other pastries. I ordered 1 epi baguette, 2 almond croissants, 2 macarons, 1 oh oh (their take on the ho ho), and 1 sugared donut -- total was about $26. I really wanted to try their kouign amann but it was sold out by the time we got there - late afternoon (3pm). Overall, a nice pit stop in Wine Country and definitely the right place to go to satisfy any sweet-tooth cravings.
Scribe Winery
Before I get started on this place, I just want to say that we didn't get the full Scribe Winery experience -- there were a lot of miscommunication issues, attitude, and negative vibes -- that being said, I am on the fence about coming back here.
The property is right next to Gundlach Bundschu -- the main road to the main building is lined with palm trees, there's a creepy abandoned haunted house-like building, and there are two small parking lots -- one closer, and one down the hill. There are a number of picnic tables and blankets available to sit on the lawn and a very cute tree swing. This is a very different winery compared to Gundlach Bundschu -- very focused in terms of their clientele, aesthetic, and wines (I think there were only 4 or 5). They are by-appointment only and cannot accommodate groups larger than 6.
Now this is why it was so frustrating -- we had a group of 11 so I didn't understand why they couldn't just split us off into 2 groups -- plus, they didn't mention the group size restriction over the phone. Second, not all of us wanted to drink, so I didn't understand why 6 people couldn't get the wine tasting and the rest of us could have just chilled on the side (apparently they didn't want us hanging out there if we weren't going to drink). Third, ok I understand we were late to the reservation but even if we had been on time they said that they would not have been able to accommodate us (again, why didn't they clarify over the phone). Fourth, we spoke with two representatives and both of them were giving us different stories about what they could do to accommodate us and what not -- if one person okays something and another person says otherwise it makes it very confusing to the customer at which point I really just wanted to leave. Fifth, one lady kept saying how this reservation time (4pm) is exclusive to their members and that we were supposed to come in the morning if we had such a large group -- which again, did not make sense because they don't accommodate large groups to begin with -- and they should not have confirmed our 4pm reservation if they knew we had so many people. AND finally, it's very rude to treat new customers like they are not worthy of your winery/product when you did not make it clear to anyone, not even your employee, about the rules/restrictions surrounding large groups; we made an extremely long trek to visit your winery and it was not a welcoming reception at all, it felt very uncomfortable, full of rules/restrictions/excuses, at which point made me believe that you were just making this all up just to shut us out.
In the end, we were not able to get the wine tasting (normally it's $25/person but one lady said they could accommodate us for $50/person -- which is again a lie because what one person said did not hold true for another). We ended up purchasing a bottle for $50 and sat out on one of the picnic tables. We brushed off the drama and tried to enjoy the remainder of the afternoon watching the sunset over the hills.
I had an amazing experience overall -- I would love to try wine tasting again but perhaps with dessert wines/moscato and with some cheese+bread next time because my chest was on fire!
Comment below on some of your favorite wineries!
Links Sonoma >> The Fremont Diner
Sonoma >> Gundlach Bundschu Winery
Yountville >> Bouchon Bakery
Sonoma >> Scribe Winery
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