The Grape Juice Plus Wine Tasting Group celebrated the mustard season by attending The Marketplace, the Napa Valley Mustard Festival's signature event which was held on Saturday & Sunday, March 16 & 17 from 11am to 5pm at the Napa Valley Exposition. An array of mustards, wines, cuisine, and gourmet products were showcased at the event. Tickets were $25 for the food & wine tasting package.
We couldn't have asked for a better Saturday, especially given the weatherman had threatened rain throughout the whole day. After buying our tickets at the box office, we walked through the gates and received our tasting glasses and sampling plates. Conveniently, the first winery we happened upon was Domaine Carneros, so we began the morning with some bubbly. The sparkling wine was carried into the heavy smell of lavender where the spa associated products were located. After scoring some free mustard bath, the group backtracked into the bigger tent where some of the attendees were lured to the booth of Folie a Deux. We then headed into the "fine art" tent and exited at the rhythmical African dance troop that just never seemed to stop drumming. Upon regrouping, Grape Juice Plus again started heading towards the main building. Everybody spun the wheel and won a prize at the Chevron booth before moving next door and joining numerous phone and mailing lists by trying to win a Chevy Tahoe. Finally finding the enterance to Cabernet Hall turned out to be the best thing that happened all day. Mustard was everywhere. Mumm Cuvee Napa was our first stop here, and wound-up being one that was returned to a few times. At this point the group split up for a bit. Half went to witness a grilled salmon filet demonstration, while the other half wondered up to the Grey Poupon booth to try a free sample of Potatoes Poupon (ha, ha, you said poop). A small bowl of seafood ravioli from Piccolino's Italian Cafe was given its first taste around this time. This half of the group also were the first to sample the Barbera and Sangiovese of La Famiglia di Robert Mondavi. Right across the way was the Silver Spring booth, home of the Beer 'n Brat mustard. All the horseradish made for a good sinus clearer. The group gathered together again in front of the Jessup Cellars table where their Cabernet-based Port was found to be one of the stars of the festival. Straight across the aisle was Smith & Riley Mustards with samples of their sweet-hot, jalapeno, and garlic mustards. For lunch the group got sandwiches from Aidells Sausage Company. The table we sat at seemed to be the center of the show that was beginning under the tent. First Terry was chosen to do a fire dance, then "Bronco" and "Mongo" were chosen to participate in the "Chairs of Death" stunt. We got out before anyone could be picked to be in the big finale. Cruising through Cabernet Hall once more, the Vineyard Cats came across Prager Winery & Port Works, where they were serving a 20 year Tawny Port. We also scored a sample taste of their "Madeline" Brandy-fortified Late Harvest Riesling. Right next door was another champagne offering, this time from a winery who's name is lost to the wind. Some pretty good butterscotch almond brittle could be found at the San Francisco Brittle Company booth, but it was after much meandering and revisiting of previously visited winery booths that we finally got in line in front of French's Mustard. As predicted, we all walked away with free bottles of mustard, as well as mini wisks and refridgerator magnets. Free stuff is cool. With that the group headed into the mysterious Riesling Hall in search of sherry samples. The building was mostly filled with arts & crafts which made the booth with personal sized cheese cakes, chocolate mousse, and lemon tarts really stand out. Some folks reminisced in front of the Peju Province exhibit. The winner for best craft work of the day was a sculpture of a large woman in a bikini on her back with salt and pepper shaker breasts. On the third trip through the doors of Cabernet Hall, GJ+ was captivated by the demonstration on Extreme Heat Cooking of a whole turkey. The champagne was all dried up so the rest of the drink tickets were used for wine that we already new we liked. As the day was winding down, some people poured themselves a cup of Millstone Coffee. At last, the group headed home with a full bag of swag.
Here's everybody's thoughts on the day:
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