Kieu Hoang is located about an hour ride from our home in Danville. It was purchased last year from the Mondavi Family Estate by a successful self made businessman named Kieu Hoang originally from Vietnam. Our host was Edgar who was full of interesting stories and very knowledgeable.
Their winery offers a serene setting on a large porch where you can bring your own food or order from nearby Browns Valley Market. Their wine labels are also very unique and represent a microscopic picture of a grape cell in various bright colors.
Edgar was very generous with our tasting. We enjoyed all of their wines sitting on their comfortable chairs and enjoying the beauty of the bright yellow mustard plant in full bloom highlighting their 20 rolling acres of vines.
Their wines are very reasonably priced and we took home a bottle of the 2012 Peoples Red Wine blend for $24.00 and a bottle of the 2013 Chardonnay Carneros for $35.00. My favorite was the 100 per cent Cabernet 2012 Red Label for $60.00 that also made the trip home to Danville.,
This winery is sure to be a "must do" in Napa as the word gets out about their wine and great place to have an elegant picnic.
After this private tasting, we drove to nearby Yountville for a great foodie lunch at Bouchon owned by famous chef and French Laundry owner Thomas Keller. The restaurant features an open oyster bar with a very skilled server preparing elaborate works of food art for the many happy patrons.
The restaurant has the Thomas Keller feeling of "world class excellence" with very knowledgeable long tenure servers proudly educating you about their variety of special drinks and food choices.
Linda chose the Quiche which she described as "the best she had ever eaten." It was so good that she bought the Bouchon cook book and promised to make it when we got back home. Karen ordered the mussels served in a cast iron bowl with a mustard wine sauce and sour dough bread that brought an eternal smile to her face. The "best ever" trifecta of entrees was completed when my Croque Madame was served to "picture perfect perfection."
There are a variety of freshly made desserts that can also be bought at the bakery next door or ordered from the menu. We took home some pecan rolls ala "sticky buns."
For more information and to make reservations go to:
http://www.kieuhoangwinery.
http://www.thomaskeller.com
