The Big 3-0

On Thursday, the Olsons and Lundes headed on a road trip to Napa, California to celebrate Mary and I's 30th birthdays.

 Thursday was Mary's birthday, so we celebrated at Rutherford Grill with a yummy dinner and dessert. 

 On Friday morning, we all woke up early for a morning full of excitement.  The guys went golfing, while the girls headed to the spa for massages and facials. 

 Our first wine tasting was at Whitehall Lane. 

 Then we headed over to Conn Creek Winery for a blending class.  They surprised Mary and I with the best cupcakes we have EVER eaten from Sift.   

 The blending class started with tasting 19 wines, from different areas of Napa. 

 Then everyone took notes on the different tastes. 

 Once we figured out what wines we liked best, we decided the percentages of each wine we wanted to combine to make our own bottle of wine.  We poured the different wines into cylinders to calculate the amounts.  It was like high school chemistry all over again! 

 Once the sample was made, we tasted the wine and decided if it was good enough to make a full bottle of it. 

 Grant was a good sport and did all the tasting for me.  Then he told me the combinations he thought I would like for a wine and I put them together.  Even if I could not taste, I still could participate! :)

 Finally we bottled the wine. 

 And corked it!

 Ta-da!  The final project.  We even made our own labels. 

 On Saturday, it was my 30th birthday. 

 We headed to Clos Pegasus for a tasting in the morning. 

 Then we headed over to a MUCH bigger wine company, Bronco Winery.  They produce Two Buck Chuck and all those fun, inexpensive wines.  We met with Joe Franzia (yes, the family who used to own Franzia wine, but now has Bronco) and he gave us a tour of their facility.  A little different than the previous places we had visited. 

 Here is a warehouse of just Trader Joe's Two Buck Chuck. 

 Here we are with the truck of one of the winery's labels. 

 After the tour, we sat down with one of Bronco's head wine makers and had lunch. 

 Then off to another vineyard...Bell Winery. 

 We enjoyed a cheese and wine pairing. 

 They even let us taste out of the barrel. 

 Then we were surprised with a birthday cake. 

 Our last stop of the day was at Richard Grant's vineyard.  Here we are pictured with Richard Grant, the winemaker. 

They make a delicious Pinot Noir champagne. 

 To end the day, Grant had set up three reservations at fancy, nice Napa restaurants.  But all this pregnant 30 year old wanted was In-N-Out Burger.  Everyone was a great sport about it, so we headed there for dinner!

 The best dinner of the trip!  No need for fancy food for me.  :)

 Good times in Napa, with GREAT friends!!