Elle and her mother Kay woke up shortly after 6 a.m. to the sound of backwoodsmen arguing in the next room. Elle made an immediate call to the front desk of the River Terrace Inn, requesting better accommodations.
“I’m afraid the grapes will wither because of the air of unintelligence that follows these people,” Elle said to her mother as they packed and changed rooms an hour later.
Despite paper-thin walls, the River Terrace was a quaint hotel with comfortable rooms in the heart of downtown Napa, Calif. Elle and Kay Noble were there on a weekend getaway from mind-numbing conventions and legal briefs.
This trip was months in the making — a simple girls’ weekend escape designed specifically for soused bonding. Underneath blue skies framed by wispy white clouds, California wine country served as an ideal setting.
Elle had hired a Lincoln Town Car driver to escort them through winery tours and tasting flights. They were sure, though, that their driver Reginald, a young man with an implacable accent, was steering his virgin tour.
“I make one more turn for you,” Reginald would say, whipping the sedan through multiple U-turns. Elle couldn’t help but notice with each of Reginald’s turns, “He’s sloshing my champagne.”
In Napa, the girls learned the best plan of attack is to, well, have a plan for the day. There are endless wineries to visit and if they didn’t have some semblance of a plan, they’d get lost in the fray and perhaps overlook a gem.
Robert Mondavi’s winery was their first stop.
Their best find at Mondavi was a 2005 Moscato d’Oror dessert wine. The trick to this offering was to freeze it into slush, pour it into a champagne flute and garnish with raspberries and a sprig of mint.
The girls were buzzed by 11 a.m.
Reginald soon delivered them to Cakebread Winery. This tour centered around food-and-wine parings. With two resident chefs in-house, the noshing proved divine. For her husband, Kay purchased a 2003 Merlot that contained Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz grapes.
At Regusci — one of the oldest wineries in Napa — Elle found more than just wine to taste. They ate their picnic lunch, drank a bottle of chardonnay and drooled over a tall, dark-haired, blue-eyed Adonis from Wales. He offered the duo a private tour around his winery.
“Wine thief and the angel takes his share,” he said as he offered them a barrel tasting. This guy was good.
“We like our wines like we like our men,” Elle said. “Smooth.”
After several more winery visits, tossed stomachs from Reginald’s driving and supporting the local economy with bottle purchases, the girls retired to the hotel for a short nap. But Rule No. 1 following a full day of drinking is to set four alarms to prevent oversleeping through dinner. Waking after their reservation, Elle and Kay ordered room service and the hotel’s movie selection while nursing budding headaches.
Returning home from a mother-daughter trip (especially to Napa) is rarely easy. Elle and Kay are best pals, but live states away. Like any timeless rendezvous, a weekend of sipping vino left the girls with no sense of time. They stretched their visit and were subsequently rushed to the airport, large boxes of wine in tow. With only minutes to spare before boarding, Elle successfully flirted her way past extra weight charges for the wine. With each request, from beginning to end, the duo took advantage of better accommodations. And why not — it was their vacation and, as equally important, their money.
