Last week I was filming in the Napa Valley, California, and interviewed owners of four outstanding family vineyards: Gargiulo, Martin Estate, Quixote and Palmaz (check videos). As wonderful as their wines were though I could not overlook the beauty of the landscape in this fame-stricken American wine region. Majestic trees contrasted with a crystal blue sky and mountains with decadent curves easily transfer your mind into a wonderland.
But, Napa is also a place where quirky ideas of winemakers, celebrities turned winemakers and smart businessmen offering limo wine-tasting tours make a visit of this fruitful area unforgetable.
Visitors can enjoy a ride in a wine train, funky galleries, a champagne breakfast high in the clouds in a balloon or strolling the wineries on a tandem bike.
Here is a taste of Napa in pictures:
Glitzy and stylish wine tasting at Domaine Chandon
Tasting inside the rock at the White Rock Winery
Art gallery in a former train wagon in Calistoga
Singing to the grapes at Gargiulo
Old camera at the Rubicon Estate owned by a movie director F.F. Coppola
A luxurious limo waiting for carefree wine tourists
An old World War II. jeep ride at Heibel Vineyards
A wild nature picnic set up at Heibel Vineyards
Napa Valley Wine Train