Barrel Sales

My brother, Joe and I took a trip to Napa in early December to sell some of his hand crafted Missouri oak barrels.  It was a whirlwind trip, full of coffee, wine, and focus (and a few long showers for me with no kids banging on the door.)  We stayed at our cousin, Mark's, hotel in downtown St. Helena.  There are worse business trips. =)  Joe is an easy traveling partner and it was nice to spend a few extra moments with him. We visited a few nice wineries, and I had a mini Fresno State reunion.

 My old classmate, Sara, is one of the winemakers at Peju.

 The Hotel

 Joe unwrapping his barrels in the Hotel common area.

 The barrel room at Ovid was magical.

 A nice view of the Golden gate Bridge and San Francisco behind

 Mark, his youngest daughter, Lucy, and his wife Kris

 the outside of the Hotel

 the inside of the Hotel

 Sara amid her barrels at Peju

 The view from Ovid

 Mark, Joe and I at Ovid

 Ovid tasting room

 Joe enjoying himself at Ovid

 outside of Ovid

The Wydown Hotel's Open House/Meet the Cooper night

One of the best parts of the trip was when I struck up a conversation with the lady behind me at Dean and Deluca waiting for a coffee, and she ended up being the owner of Ovid winery and invited us up to the tasting room.  It was very exclusive, very expensive, and all three of us were on a high, not only from the wine and the view, but sometimes wine can be so exciting and make you feel so alive.

We went out there ultimately for an Open House/Meet the Cooper night at the Hotel.  Joe's barrels were well received and he has already sold some.  Very exciting to see him succeed at something he loves.