WINE, FOOD, FUN! …A little more of my vacation

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Since I took so many pictures of my recent trip I thought I would share a little more with you.
This was a tour we took in Sonoma of the Benziger family winery, they have been written up in Wine Spectator magazine because of their Green standards. Their estate is one of only a handful of vineyards in North America to be certified Biodynamic. Biodynamics is a holistic farming approach that goes a step beyond organic farming, it requires close attention to the varied forces of nature influencing the vine, along with the elimination of all chemicals.
We took a tram tour up into the vineyards where we learned how geography and weather influence their farming practices.

The Benzingers are leaders in Biodynamic and sustainable winegrowing.

Benzinger’s 28,000 square foot wine cave that stores around 4000 barrels. We learned how different types of oak influence the aging and flavors of wines.
When the tour was over we got to sample their Biodynamic and other award-winning wines.

A visit to DEAN & DELUCA in Napa. Epicurean excellence at it’s finest!!!

Chocolate anyone??

I’ve never knew or seen, so many different kinds of salts.

Parmigiano- Reggiano! the “Queen Mother”, …. I would have loved to tuck her in my suitcase!

Rows and rows of delectable olives!

Any kind of paste you would need, pistachio and almond, the smell was amazing!

Crepes with Nutella, who wouldn’t love that!

Add some fresh strawberries and banana, sheer bliss!!

I Picked these up at a beautiful farmers market set up right on pier 39 in San Francisco. Beautiful golden red Rainier cherries, if you haven’t tried these yet, and if they are available near you, please go out and get some!!

Ruby red, sweet and delicious Bing cherries

The most gorgeous strawberries not one of them blemished!


And finally, those are seals that were sleeping all at the same time, what a sight, what a day, what a trip!

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Comments

  1. this is what i’m talking about. all of this. goodness.

  2. I just love your vacation pictures Marie! I get so giddy anytime I get to go in a Dean and Deluca, what fun!

  3. SF has THE best farmer’s market ever! And who can resist Dean and Deluca.

  4. Dhanggit and Ohio Mom, glad you liked the trip!

    Psychgrad, It really was!

    Barbara, If I could have fit it in my suitcase I would have!

    Gabi, it is $$, but you can find some unique things there.

    Judy, Benzinger was very cool!

    Glam, tell me about it!

    Amy, How near are you? I’m so jealous!!!

    Lor, lol!

    Pat, I love window shopping!

    Bridgett, Hi and welcome! Stop by anytime, I’ll come over for a visit too!

    Kev, Aren’t they the best?

  5. It looks like you encountered a lot of great food items. I am really looking forward to the Rainier cherries!

  6. You have a gorgeous site and I love this particular post. I live not far from Napa and am addicted to Dean and Deluca! It looks like you had a great time.
    I hope you don’t mind my visiting your site.

  7. Did you buy any paste Marie? I would love to have sampled them all! And those little olives..I just watched a segment with Julia Childs on salad nicoise where she uses those tiny olives from Nice.
    I would go crazy too in a store like that, I’m so glad you shared these pictures with us..now I will leave drooling..I mean dreaming!! 🙂
    Ciao!

  8. It’s so nice to see more photos and hear more about your vacation Marie. When we visited Napa we visited Mondavi’s Winery. Benziger’s looks very interesting, and if I ever get a chance to revisit the area I’ll try to visit them.
    Dean and Deluca is in NYC too, and is such an epicurian delight, but so expensive! I do love to window shop their aisles 🙂

    San Francisco is such a great city!

  9. Wow, wow and wow, it all looks amazing! My mouth is watering here:)

  10. How fun! It’s funny seeing these photos because they are so “near” to me. I did not know about this Bbiodynamic farming…. Very interesting! Great photos, dear. Thank you for sharing them.

    xoxox Amy

  11. I would have gained 50 pounds and enjoyed every minute of it on that culinary and wine adventure.

  12. Great pictures of your trip. I visited California about 20 years ago but I would love to check out the Benzinger Estate! I love what they are doing out there!

  13. I love to go to that Dean and Deluca when we’re nearby but I don’t buy much- it’s so expensive! I did buy a very tiny container of the Velvet de Guerende salt because it had such an amazing texture. Mostly there’s just drooling and pining. I’ll check out Benziger next time we’re out- I really enjoy visiting the smaller wineries. That fruit is to die for too! Thanks for sharing your pics.

  14. Mmmm…didn’t you bring me back a wedge of that Parmigiano-Reggiano!!??? My favorite. And I love “touring’ the organic vineyard through your photos. My mate and I had a wonderful organic chianti recently when we went out to dinner — dee-lish!

    I love polenta, too, Marie. That’s sometime that works really well on the grill, too! Oh, now I’m getting hungry — see what you did?!

  15. More great shots! This really does look like a foodie’s dream vacation.

  16. What great pics you got of your trip, thanks for taking us with you 🙂

  17. im jealous..but thanks for sharing your photos..i feel like i travelled with you 🙂

  18. Pat, We had great food experiences for sure!

    Rowena, Me too!

    Maryann, I was shocked to see so many different kinds! I’m a kosher girl too!

    Thanks Lori Lynn, You always go to great places yourself!

    Flanboyant, Nutella was the best invention!

    Jen, Go for a visit!

  19. It looks like a marvelous vacation. I miss that area!

  20. yeah aren’t nutella crepes the very best!?!?! oh my goodness!!! i love love love them.. i remember walking down Les Champs D’Lyses eating them at every stop I saw!

    and olives! i eat them straight out of the jar!

  21. All terrific shots. What fun!
    I love the Queen Mother.

  22. Yay! More vacation pictures! I love it.
    I’ve never been in Dean &Deluca. And I must be boring because I use only simple kosher salt.

  23. All I want to know is — after Dean & Deluca, did your credit card leave a smoky trail behind? I would have been in HEAVEN! No, no, I think I would have thought that I died and went to heaven. 😆

  24. Marie, looks like you had a fantastic holiday!! And some great food experiences!!

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