MCBEE'S WINE DIARY: How to Plan the perfect Trip to Napa (Day 3: Afternoon)

THE MCBEE WINE BLOG DIARY

My mother, Camille McBee, partnered with Bobby G. Smith, Winemaker, in North Texas for over 30 years. Together they worked to develop a National and International name for Texas Wines. In 2009 she passed away too young, but she left behind a Texas Wine Industry that was better because of her dedication and she left a family with a deep rooted love and appreciation for wine and entertaining. This blog serves as a diary of my adventures in wine and as a lasting toast to my mother. -Cheers!

This blog is NOT intended to be the authority on tasting notes, or a professional guide for wine experts; it's simply a place for me to share some of my opinions and findings about wine with my friends and other wine lovers.

I truly hope you will use this blog to help you the next time you are thinking about what to buy at the wine store or deciding what to order at a local restaurant or when you travel to the wine country. ENJOY!

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

How to Plan the perfect Trip to Napa (Day 3: Afternoon)

View from the veranda at William Hill Estate Winery

After the morning tasting the buses drove us over the Silverado trail up on a mountain where we arrived at one of my favorite wineries, William Hill Estate Winery. I have been to WIlliam Hill many times, we have been members there for years, and the staff is always friendly and eager to help. When we called and said that we have 30 + Guests, the response was "Bring em on, we will make it work!" And they did!

They set up an out door picnic overlooking the valley under a wisteria cover veranda. I really could not have asked for a better setting. We were all at the point, after visiting many very high end wineries that we just wanted to have a relaxing lunch under the perfect wine country skies.

They had box lunches prepared and delivered by the Soda Canyon Store, which is just down the road on the southern end of the Silverado Trail. Standouts from the boxes where "The Best Sandwich", smoked turkey, with gorgonzola topped with a fig and olive spread and served on on sourdough and "The Tourist" smoked turkey served with a mound of double creme brie and avocado on fresh focaccia. William Hill had the outdoor area all set complete with wine glasses and servers. They served two wine options by the bottle, a 2008 Bench Blend Chardonnay and a 2008 Napa Valley Cabernet. This might have been the highlight of the trip. Just a perfect day, the forecast had called for rain, but Camille was looking down over us making sure the whole day went off without a hitch.

Rob Rickman enjoys the Chardonnay

Everyone was able to relax and enjoy the wine. I had tons of compliments on this place, everything from comments on the view to comments on the staff. A few guest somehow talked thier way into a private facility tour. Not quite sure how they pulled that off, but with this group, nothing every comes as a surprise.

Side note: They allowed us to bring along a cooler full of bottled water for everyone. It is the little things like this that makes venues like William Hill so easy to deal with. This made things a lot easier on everyone as their staff didn't have to deal with this and we were able to save our group a little money.

William Hill is a must see for large groups of for just for one. Their pleasant demeanor and casual style makes this place one of my favorite stops in Napa.