sterling vineyards

 If you follow me on instagram, you probably saw that I got the opportunity a week ago to take the trip of a lifetime to Sterling Vineyards in Napa. Words cannot describe how beautiful this vineyard is, and it was hands down the best wine I have ever tasted in my life. I wanted to recap my experience for ya'll today!Before I go through the amazing tour we had - I wanted to share a bit about Sterling - so you can fully comprehend how amazing it is (and so if you're ever in Napa, you'll know why you need to visit Sterling)! Sterling Vineyards is one of the  most iconic and celebrated wineries of Napa Valley. The winery itself is an architectural icon - it sits 300 feet above the valley floor and provides the most stunning views of Napa Valley. Sterling Vineyards was also the first winery ever built with the visitor in mind, and the only winery in the world with an aerial tram! (You have to take a gondola up to see the view!)We started our tour with a private viewing of sorting at Reserve Winery with the winemaker. We got to see the grapes being "de-stemmed", the process of punching grapes, and so much more. It was so cool to see this process - and everything smelled amazing! After taking the gondola up to the top of the winery (which was the most beautiful gondola ride I've ever taken), we got to see the winery behind the scenes: see the tank pump overs, sample wine from the tank, and learn all about the process. We also spent a good amount of time in the barrel room and learned how different types of wood/barrels can give wine different flavors. We enjoyed the most beautiful lunch and tasted 3 different wines with our meal: platinum chardonnay, platinum proprietary white, and platinum cabernet. They were all amazing but my favorite was the Chardonnay - it was so refreshing on such a hot day!Next we took the gondola back down for grape stomping! It felt very "I love Lucy", and I loved it!After the grape stomping, we spent the afternoon and evening at the Rutherford House. If you're ever in Napa, I highly recommend visiting this house. One of the most beautiful houses and properties I have ever experienced!Side note - this is my friend Courtney from A Thoughtful Place - definitely check out her blog! She is amazing! One of the highlights of this trip for me was getting to meet her and get to know her.We had the most equisite dinner you could ever imagine at The Rutherford House. We got to do an interactive dinner prep with Chef Joey Altman which was so much fun! With dinner we tried 3 different wines - a 2012 Reserve Chardonnay, a 2012 Sterling Carneros Pinot noir, and a 2009 Platinum Cabernet. The cabernet was my favorite hand's down. It had such an intense fruit taste with well-integrated oak.Stay tuned for more posts featuring Sterling Vineyards' wines and inspiration from them! I highly recommend this winery to anyone planning a trip to Napa. It's definitely a "bucket list" trip in my book!

Shop my outfit from the wine tour!:

[show_shopthepost_widget id="1059576"]Photos by: Julia Szendrei

I am working in partnership with Sterling Wines and I am being compensated for my participation in this campaign. All thoughts/opinions are 100% my own. Wine is intended for those whom alcohol is legal and appropriate. Please Drink Responsibly!

one-of-a-kind pieces

If you haven't noticed by now, I'm a pretty basic "cut-offs and a tee" type of girl. I love fashion, but I feel like the majority of my wardrobe is made up of great basic pieces that I can mix and match with anything.This crochet dress however, is an exception. When I first saw it online, I thought it was bold, yet still feminine and classy. It stands out, but not in an obnoxious way. I think every girl needs to have a few one-of-a-kind pieces like this in her wardrobe. For special date nights (I wore this to a beautiful winery with Michael this weekend), or a trendy brunch. Something that makes you stand out from the crowd, but still lets you feel comfortable in your own skin.

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