Darioush Winery in near-infrared

Osvaldo Golijov has been in town for the past week to finish up a project with Francis Ford Coppola up at the Niebaum-Coppola Estate, which I guess is now called the Rubicon Estate. On Monday, Livia, Baby Jack, Corinne and I drove up to the estate to hang out for a couple of days.

On the way up, we stopped at Celadon for lunch. The food was great, and Chef Greg Cole was out on the floor doing a bit of everything. He even had enough time to hang out and chat with us for awhile, and his hospitality made the lunch experience even better. After lunch, we randomly stopped at a Persian winery called Darioush for a wine tasting. The tasting was disappointing, but the weather was perfect! Cherry blossoms were in bloom, and fields of bright yellow mustard blooms contrasted magically with the gnarled blackness of grape roots.

We had a bit of time before our planned arrival time to the Estate, so we checked into a hotel and plopped Jack into the pool for the first time in his life. He definitely didn’t like the “dipping” approach, and in the beginning, he much preferred to cling to Mom as she lowered herself into the water. After fifteen minutes or so, Livia passed Jack to me, and I managed to get him submerged (vertically) all the way to his nose without so much as a peep of discontent. He seemed to really like the water and was smiley and happy for over an hour after his swim.

Jack goes swimming for the first time!

We arrived at the Estate in the late afternoon and wandered by the library/mixing studio before going to the cottage in which Ozzie was staying, which had the most amazing valley vineyard view. A computer desk covered in computers and papers had been plopped down outside on the balcony facing the valley — a seemingly perfect work environment! The evening was spent enjoying our surroundings, drinking wine, and eating a delicious meal whipped up by Alicia (Osvaldo’s sister) and Joan.

Cottage dinner in the Rubicon Estate

Unfortunately, we didn’t get to meet Mr. Coppola this time around, but I’ve been to both the winery estate and his place in San Francisco, so it’s just a matter of time, right? :)

Livia, Jack, and Corinne enjoy the music

[see all photos @ flickr]