Saturday was our RAD day in Napa! Get it? Winners joined us for a day in Napa. My wife Christina, and I (far left) began the day with our maggots at Rombauer Winery
Before the day got started, though, one of our most prolific James’ and his wife stopped by Rombauer (yes he was approved by security prior) to meet us after 20 years of being a faithful maggot.
After James and before the winners arrived we had the arduous task of assisting the Rombauer team in opening and tasting all of the wine we’d be serving later.
Once everyone arrived, President and CEO of Rombauer, Bob Knebel (right side, maroon shirt), took us all on a tour behind the scenes
The tour included a visit to the caves where they age the wines in barrels for up to 18 months
We were actually quite lucky to be there on their first day of crushing grapes in weeks. This is something many people don’t get to see and we were able to literally watch the wine being made
Christina and I were able to spend some time with winemaker Richie Allen (and Bob still).
As the tour wound its way around the winery, we stole a moment to take one of those obligatory “we’re a couple in a beautiful place,” pictures
After the tour we all sat down to a beautiful catered lunch (with lots and lots and lots of Rombauer wine).
Who were the maggots, you ask? Here we have Justin and his wife. Justin enjoys making cherry wine that his wife finds gross. They were a lot of fun (and well lubricated)
Next up are Daniel and his wife who came down from Reno for a weekend break and who have been dating for 11 years without a proposal…paging Dawn…Dawn to the lecture booth please
You may remember Austin, who won the trip to take “his mommy.” Well, unfortunately, Austin couldn’t make it, but he still sent mom (who was a blast) and her friend (not pictured) and I was able to call Austin from lunch and make fun of him. He was a great sport
Rounding out the maggots were winner Misha (far left) who as a “non-wine fan,” fell in love with the Rombauer Sauvignon Blanc (I had to order our table 3 additional bottles during lunch, almost all for her)
Misha was also the winner of best shirt of the day
After proper lubing everyone up they limo-ed their way to Silverado to spend the rest of the day and evening with Brandon and Mrs. Brandon!
