Miscellaneous Musings: Napa Valley, CA

I travel a lot for work. Some places I go are not so different from my lifelong Midwestern home. Some are not so similar. Napa, California, is one such not-so-similar place. Complete with the striking natural beauty of rolling, vine-covered hills, wholly delicious and satisfying food and drink, and a lifestyle and mentality that magically combines shrewd business savvy with the relaxed, carefree attitude of the proverbial hippie, Napa is a place I always enjoy visiting.















Whenever I get to the wine country, I am engulfed by a peaceful serenity and clarity of thought. Something about the place inspires dreams, relaxes the tightly-wound soul, and showcases a simpler, slower, more conscious life. Even when I am visiting for business, I still find myself taking more time to appreciate a good meal, a smooth glass of wine, or a beautiful sunset. Something causes me to be fully present in each moment of my time in Napa, because even though the moments seem to stretch out into long, pleasant memories, I know they are fleeting.

On my most recent trip to Napa, my fiance and I were treated (courtesy of a mutual friend) to a rare personal tour of Pride Mountain Vineyards in nearby St. Helena. After a quick tasting-room visit to awaken our tastebuds, we were allowed to taste some super-exclusive (and super-expensive) reserve vintages straight from the tanks prior to the wines' bottling. Then we got a quick tour of the winery's mountainside caves, which were created to house hundreds of barrels in a naturally climate-controlled environment while the precious wines ferment and age. We were sent with a parting gift of a very fancy bottle of red wine to take to our dinner reservation that night, and we left satisfied. It was a sublime few hours, and an experience I won't soon forget.

In a world where people are overconnected, overzealous, and overworked, it is supremely refreshing to visit a different world where people still work hard, but at their own pace, and without forgetting that the simplest experiences can be the most rewarding. The folks who live in Napa (at least the ones I have encountered) don't let themselves remain chained to desks in offices with artificial lighting. They don't feel guilty if they wait an hour or two (or more likely a day or two) to answer e-mail messages, Tweets, and Facebook postings. In fact, most of these folks probably don't even use Twitter or Facebook. Our host at Pride didn't even own a cell phone. Instead, they spend time outdoors walking up and down rows of grape vines, tending to aging wine barrels for perfect vintages, working to live rather than living to work.















There is not much else that needs to be said except that I admire these people and enjoy visiting their terrestrial wonderland whenever I have the opportunity.