Napa Valley.

And so it was, that after the heady excitement of ad:tech, a select group got together with the wonderful Sue Bratton and headed out to wine country.

We stopped on the way at a wonderful new winery which isn't actually open for business yet. But our tour guide was a friend so we were invited. By the way, I'd recommend Jim Tennant as a tour guide to anyone thinking about a Napa Valley trip. He really did a magnificent job.

So the first stop was at Palmaz as I've just mentioned, it's not officially open to the public (will be soon) so it was very much a special treat to get in and see it first.

Here we are, my wife and I, with a spectacular backdrop of what Merlot looks like before it gets to me :-)

And here's me inside Palmaz. I know there's Merlot in there somewhere!

That evening the group split into two parties. One which went to the famous French Laundry restaurant. And another which went to the famous Bouchon restaurant. Both are very close to each other in Yountville and both are owned by celebrated Chef Thomas Keller I was with the Bouchon party. You can see my globe-trotting buddy Bill Hunt at the table. Yes we do meet up everywhere!

We stayed at the wonderfully luxurious Villagio Inn and Spa which I'd recommend to anyone. A wonderful place.

The following morning we were taken to Artesa to start the day with a little sparkling Cava. Excellent.

Napa has some beautiful countryside, so it was a very relaxing day.

We moved on to Diamond Oaks where we tasted more wine and had an excellent picnic.

The whole thing was just so laid back. I almost relaxed for a moment!

In the afternoon we moved on to... yes, event more wine tasting. This time at the wonderful Opus 1 winery . I snapped a nice picture of Tatjana sitting on the grass with its wonderful tree lined entrance as a backdrop.

And then, in the evening, the highlight for many in our group: dinner in the wine cave at Reverie. First of all we were greeted and treated to appetizers and drinks out in the grounds. We found ourselves standing in a small glade with a circle of trees


And just look at the height of these trees!

And then, let the real eating and drinking begin as we entered the wine cave.

The setting was perfect for our group. I won't give a laundry list of names. But some of the greatest minds in online marketing sat around the table together that night.


And the wine kept flowing.

I can't tell you just how great the weekend was. So thanks Sue Bratton once again, for arranging such a great time with such great people.