Napa Valley - Spa in Wine Country

Ok, this trip was supposed to be a surprise b'day gift for my fiancee, but the weather during the weekend closest to her birthday was so lousy that I had to postpone it. As it turns out, I couldn't be any happier that the trip is postponed till now. The day is a bit longer, the weather is very summer-like. Un-be-liev-able! whoo hoo.

We start the trip early today, but we still don't get to Bale Grist Mill State Park until 11:30 am. The turn to the state park is off highway 29 after you pass St. Helena and the St. Helena outlet. We don't quite know what to expect, but when I planned for this trip, I am looking for something that is also outside of wine or winery. In some way, that's an oxymoron because we are after all going to a wine country, but it's fun to go against the stream sometimes. ;-)

This mill was originally owned by Mr. (Edward?) Bale of England. He was hired as a physician for the Mexican army. He then was given a plot of land north of Napa, and he built a water powered mill that is  now known as the Bale Grist Mill that we are visiting today. From the parking lot, we walked down the hill towards the mill. You pay an admission fee inside the mill. When we get there, the tour is just starting, so we just join the flock. The docent tells us how the mill operates and the parts that make up the mill. One thing we learn about this mill is that despite the heavy weight of the stone grinders (over 1500 lbs), the 2 slabs of stones are not supposed to touch each other. If they do, they will cause fire sparks that will produce ozone. The ozone will be absorbed by the flour, and it will give the flour very distinct undesirable smell. If you have heard this saying, "Keep your nose on the grindstone", you will now understand where this saying comes from. Mill workers need to keep their nose to the grindstones lest they need to toss the entire batch away. From the docent, we also learn that there are currently only 10 water powered flour mills in the US. This is one of those.

Although the mill is now a historic state park, it is still in operation, and you can buy flour milled in this location at the gift center. We get 2 bags of 2 lbs pastry flour. Can't wait to try it. This mill also has quite a few scenic locations for your photos. As an alternative to wineries, I would recommend this place for people going to Napa Valley.

From the mill, we go to a branch of C.I.A. to finish our "business" there. ;-)  We are so ready to  dig out gastronomical secrets. Ok, sounds weird? This CIA has nothing to do with Langley. It is "Culinary Institute of America". The main building looks almost like a castle. The main lobby looks like that Hogwart school of Harry Potter. This is supposedly where the culinary wizards of the future train. We check out their cafes, stores, and demo rooms, and later, we go to the Wine Spectator Greystone restaurant, still within the complex, to have our lunch. We order today's temptations (a set of appetizer sampler), crispy skin fish (halibut)  and pork shank. The appetizer sampler consists of consome, carnitas on grilled polenta, crab and potato gratin with tortillas, goose liver pate with mango on crackers, arugala and various citruses. They are all terrific. We also have gewutztraminer and "unpearable". ;-) Unique as it is, "unpearable" is actually just a tea infusion with pear juice and ginger. Having said that, it's a signature drink of CIA. We like the food and drink so much.

From CIA, we go to St. Supery winery. Starting from last year (2007), the art gallery of this venue is the host for Mustard Festival photos. When we come though, most of this year contestants have not submitted their pictures yet. So, the exhibits we see are other paintings and pictures. One interesting exhibit is a display of a grape vine with soil dug out around its root. You can also try two smelling stations where you can smell fragrances that you commonly encounter when tasting wines, like citrus, black cherry, to green olive and redwood. In the winery complex, you can also find a historic house, the Atkinson House. Too bad today it is closed. Another distinctive landmark at St. Supery is a giant oak tree.

On the way to Silverado Resort, where we will be staying overnight, we also make a stop at Oakville Grocery. It's such an antique looking grocery store that when you are inside, you would think that you were in 1940's. Well, I don't have a first time experience on how  stores in 1940 look like, but if Hollywood can be trusted, then the look of this place is not too far off from what's in the movie.

Also, on the way, we take local road instead of highway 29. At one point, the mustard yellow color is so tempting that we feel like re-enacting "Crouching tiger, Hidden dragon" and Matrix scene. ;-)

Our suite at Silverado comes with a big living room and full kitchen. We get to Silverado early enough to prepare our dinner, but the eating part will have to wait until after we are done with spa. Off we go to the spa for a Lomi Lomi.