I haven’t checked out any of the hotels in Napa, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the
Carneros Inn was the most beautiful lodging venue in Napa. The Carneros Inn is walled off but not gated in its own community. There are little cottages where guests stay in, and there are also permanent residents who have purchased a cottage. We were told that that a cottage on the property costs $2.5 million…but I think the staff was kidding and it’s more like $300-400K. There’s a market on the premise but it’s not a real grocery store. They sell already prepared food, drinks, aspirin, etc. Oh, Carneros is a region in wine country. It’s cooler than Yountville, so the grape skins are thinner. I remembered that from a wine tasting because I got really confused when people talking about “Carneros” as a type of wine instead of the Inn.
The wedding ceremony was held at Carneros Inn’s Apple Orchard (it’s a part of the Carneros Inn) – no apple orchards but open land with a stunning view of hills. It was just gorgeous!
They had a table with lemon water for us while we waited for the ceremony to start.
The Apple Orchard is the perfect place to get married. Since it’s secluded, there’s no traffic noises, no airplanes going over us, and the sun sets behind the guests. It’s such a beautiful place that some of the guests and I cried before the wedding started. The Apple Orchard just really made the wedding ceremony a moment that no one will forget.
As we waited for the newlyweds to take their wedding photos, we walked to the courtyard for appetizers and cocktails. My jaw dropped.
They had this amazing table of five/six different cheeses with two different bread and crackers, vegetables, hummus, olive tapanade, almonds, dates, raisins, etc.
The bar was set up with all the good stuff.
Since I was in Napa, I just stuck to wine. I wished I jotted their wine…I was so preoccupied with all the food that was going out…there were lamb chops (I didn’t try it since I’m not a fan of lamb),
endives stuffed with crabs (I’m allergic to crabs),
asparagus soup and delicious creamy mushroom soup in cute little espresso cups,
and amazing risotto balls!
It was just sick! I was wondering how I was going to eat my dinner…
Next to the Courtyard is the Hilltop Dining Room where dinner was served.
I was relieved that the portions were small, well what people should eat. We had pre-ordered our dinner. Options were fish, beef or vegetarian. I picked beef. For our first course we had the butternut squash green bean salad with roasted chestnuts, proscuitto and sage oil paired with Ethan Viognier, Santa Barbara County!
I was impressed with Carneros Inn, but wow, our dinner was paired off with selective wines too! Wow. The salad was delicious and the proscuitto bits were a nice touch.
The second course was seared Dayboat scallop, parsnip puree, vanilla bean infused with extra virgin oil paired with Mayro Murdic Pino Noir, Carneros.
Since I’m allergic to scallop, I had the mushroom risotto. It looked purdy but it was one of the blandest risottos I had. The risotto desperately needed Parmesan cheese.
Since I’m such a hippo (I had gained 5 lbs at this point), I took photos of the other entrees. The vegetarians received the Garden Char Cannelloni.
My companion and I share the prime rib eye with roasted fingerling, potatoes, and delta asparagus sauce bicordelaise and pan seared sea bass with chanterelle mushrooms, broccolini, and truffled oil. The prime rib was paired off with the Hope and Grace Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley. The pan-seared sea bass was delicious.
Had I known that the fish was going to be served with chanterelle mushrooms I would have picked the sea bass. But still I wasn’t disappointed since I split my entrée. The prime rib was perfect – medium.
All the wine pairings complimented the dishes.
After our dinner we headed to the ballroom, which was across from the dining room to work off our meal! The newlyweds decided to go the nontraditional route and ordered macaroons from the Carneros Inn instead of a wedding cake.
The flavors were blueberry, vanilla and pistachio.
I don’t get macaroons. I don’t get that instant gratification that I do with chocolate or Bouchon’s Nutter Butter. I tried all three flavors. I just don’t get it. The night continued to the Farm.
It’s the bar/restaurant open to the public.
The bar section is small but that’s why they have a big outdoor patio where there’s a rectangle fire pit.
There’s a heater under each chair but it’s still not warm enough. I had to sit next to the glass wall fire pit to warm myself up. I fell in love with the Farm’s bar lighting. Instead of chandeliers they have “lamps!” How cute is that!?
The celebration continued to the next morning when the parents invited all the guests to breakfast at the Farm! This wedding was just sick. Really. There were three buffet food stations.
The first table was broken into three sections. You had the fruits, granola and yogurt on the right side.
In the center you had every pastry that you could possible think of.
On the left side you have your bagel, tomato, lox, cream cheese and pasta.
To the side you had a make-your-own-omelets station.
I so wanted an omelet because it looked so good, but I was about to explode since I pretty much tried every pastry…
In the back you had home fries, scrambled eggs, bacon, apple sausages, and filet mignon.
Breakfast was ridiculously sick. I’ve never eaten so much for breakfast.
Oh, at the bar they were offering Mimosa and Bloody Mary. I was the only one who took advantage of the booze…hell, I’m on vacation.
Service was impeccable. Food was amazing. The wedding was just perfect. My words and the photos are only a glimpse of what an amazing and magical time I had.
Address: 4048 Sonoma Hwy, Napa, CA 94559
Phone#:(707) 299-4900
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