• Morton’s Steakhouse

  Watch how easy and fast it is to prepare this delicious, velvety dessert.

• Luciano’s

  Calzone is very easy to make… if you can master their dough recipe, you’re halfway there.

• Paloma Blanca

  Great ideas for entertaining your friends and family. Some delicious dishes everyone will love.

• Westin La Cantera

  Delicious fruit filled French toast, savory flatbreads and omega rich salmon. See how to prepare these healthy foods.

If you’d like to tell me about one of your favorite restaurants drop me a line.

Plan a Wine Trip

Let me begin by saying I’ve never taken a trip to a vineyard I didn’t enjoy. Sure, there have been a few that produced wines that weren’t my favorite, but that’s part of the adventure. The breathtaking views, wonderful food and friendly winemakers always make the journey worthwhile.

For starters, if you’re interested in traveling to vineyards outside of Texas, Napa is an obvious destination. Yes, it’s crowded on weekends, more commercial than it used to be, but still it’s a great wine destination. To avoid the big crowds, travel there during the week… you’ll save on lodging too.

I would suggest you check out COPIA, in the town of Napa. They offer interesting courses, daily seminars and lots more all about wine, food and the arts. They can also help you plan your itinerary of vineyards to visit.

Some of the vineyards you’ll want to check out

• Peju on Hwy 29—very entertaining… a ‘singing’ wine tasting (look for Alan the ‘Yodel Meister’)
• St. Supery—Nice wines, charming setting
• Domaine Carneros—beautiful views, lovely Rose champagne (this is always our first stop when we arrive in Napa)
• Darioush—Worth the visit just to view the tasting room
• Cakebread—Love their Cab and Chardonnay
• Etude—Wonderful Pinot Noir
• Palmaz—This is a beautiful winery and the winemakers are from San Antonio!
• Folio Vineyards—Beautiful tasting room with nice selection of wines not only from region but other countries as well
• Robert Mondavi—Helped put Napa on the map!
• Truchard—A family run vineyard with incredible rolling hills and a fabulous Pinot Noir!
• Rubicon Estates—Stunning facility, good wines

There are many, many more.

Don’t forget to save room for lunch and dinner; the food in Napa is some of the best in the state. We always make time for lunch at Dean and Deluca—where else can you find a cheese sommelier! Their sandwiches and pastries are wonderful, and you’ll want to spend some time perusing their great kitchen gadgets and specialty food items, not to mention their wine store.

Restaurants—wow, where to start. Bouchon in Yountville is a gem as is the bakery right next door. If you can get in, the French Laundry is everything you’ve heard about it and more; probably one of the best meals we’ve ever had… Ever! We also enjoyed Mustards, Cole’s Chop House (a good steak and a good Napa cab go hand-in-hand), Redd in Yountville, Tra Vigne, Bistro Don Giovanni, Greystone at the CIA, all good. For a great hamburger, Taylors in Napa, lives up to the hype. Also, the historic Oakville Grocery is a must do!

Napa’s a great start to the California wine country, but there’s so much more! We’ll keep exploring, and you can enjoy the fruit of our labor right here!

Send me an email and let me know about wine trips you’ve taken.