I recently went on a trip to San Francisco to visit my best friend who moved there. A group of my oldest friends joined me as our friend dragged us around to all of the great tourist spots in the area, and we jam-packed just as much as you could into a week of travel.

One of my favorite stops on our journey was through Napa Valley. We decided to rent a car and pick a few wineries to visit. The first was Artesa Winery and the second (since we underestimated how much wine would be consumed, we only completed two tastings) was Cuvaison Estate.

Artesa Winery was drop-dead gorgeous. The building itself is nestled into a hill; I made a joke we would be drinking wine with the Teletubbies. The architecture and surrounding fountains looking out over the hills made for an exquisite backdrop to our outdoor tasting. While there was a more casual/laid-back experience to the tasting where we went up to the bar to get the wine ourselves and we didn’t receive much information on the wine, I really couldn’t complain.

Our next stop was Cuvaison, and it’s an experience I’ll never forget. While the building wasn’t as ostentatious as Artesa, the building complemented and blended into the Napa scenery beautifully. The floor-to-ceiling windows were all we needed to enjoy the gorgeous views. Our sommelier was incredible and made the experience so personal and warm. Dogs lay on the floor as we sipped wines and joked with our sommelier and other people.

I bought a bottle of Zinfandel to bring back to my parents (Zin fanatics) as a gift and just recently had the pleasure of sharing that taste of Napa with them. I can’t wait to return.

— Allie Menzione, assistant editor