Our chaffeur met us at the Sonoma
County airport just outside of Napa with the 2014 Rolls Royce Ghost to
begin our wine tour.
The Rolls Royce Ghost has suicide doors. We are ready to begin our luxurious wine tasting tour!
Where shall we go, my lord and lady Roy! Oh Happy Birthday to you, Lady Roy. :) I arranged this trip for my wife's birthday!
We are ready to head out to Domaine Carneros.
Can you open the sunshade so we can look out the pano roof, driver? Yes, sir. LOL.
They have a license so passengers can drink in the back seat. I enjoyed the hard seltzer they provided us with.
The armrest had a lot of buttons so the rear passengers can control the multimedia system as well as the navigation and phone.
Here is the main menu that is displayed on the seatback monitor. There is a screen for both sides of the rear cabin.
Since I listen to country, I was able to surf the SXM country stations from the comfort of the rear heated seat.
We arrived at Domaine Carneros shortly after leaving Sonoma Airport for some pictures with the chateaux in the background.
After pictures at Domaine Carneros, we headed out to Artesa for our signature wine tasting at 3:00 PM. The views were nice en route.
We have arrived at Artesa, mi lady!
I am taking in the cockpit as I wait for the driver to open my door.
We had some stairs to climb to get the tasting room at Artesa.
I like it when they color the water like that.
The climb up those stairs were well worth it for the views alone!
The water feature at the top of the hill was really neat!
The birthday girl is excited for some wine tasting!
They started us off with a Brut from their Spanish parent winery. One of my friends got us the signature tasting since she is a member.
I got custom cupcakes for my wife too. :)
After buying a bottle of their limited release Cabernet, we were ready to head out to continue our tour. The art work at Artesa reminded me of works by Spanish artist, Picasso.
We could not take in enough of the views of the Napa Valley from Artesa.
When we were ready to leave, I texted the driver. She pulled the Rolls Royce up to greet us. I felt like I was a Head of State as we descended down the stairs.
Our driver took us for a tour of the vineyards north of Napa.
We pulled off the Silverado Trail near the Stag's Leap area to take some pictures with the car.
This is the Spirit of Ectasy up close. The driver showed us how it retracts by itself to protect her from the undiserables. LOL.
The Ghost is a really nice car!
The vineyards in the background made the perfect picture spot for us with the ultra luxury car!
We did not have much time left for dinner so we went to Gott's Roadside, an upscale gourmet burger and shake joint at Oxbow Market in Napa.
We are enjoying our high end burgers, garlic fries, and shake here. Joy got some duck spread too at the fancy deli next door.
Our driver waited outside Gott's Roadside as we dined. It's Napa so I am sure this is a common site next to a burger joint. LOL.
Although the driver was opening and closing the doors for us, she said this button automatically closes the rear doors.
We enjoyed our drive back to Sonoma Airport.
The tour company had super cars also, and I got to check out their 2008 Aston Martin.
I wanted to plan an
unique birthday celebration for my wife, Joy. So, I got in touch
with a luxury tour company which had two Rolls Royce automobiles
available in Napa for wine tours. They had both a 2014 Rolls
Royce Ghost and a vintage Rolls Royce. Upon arrival at the Sonoma
Airport, our driver met us in the white 2014 Rolls Royce Ghost.
She opened the suicide doors, and we were off after a quick stop at the
hanger where there office was so she could get us some hard seltzer to
go with the bottles of Fiji water that they had for us in the ultra
luxury car!
As we got settled in to the fancy car, I lowered the rear armrest and saw that there was a lot of media controls. The driver said that I can control the audio system from that dial and buttons. In front of each rear passenger is a LCD screen. The rear cabin also had climate control buttons, a CD player, and heated seats too. The wood trim was very high end, and the other finishes were really luxurious. I did feel that the leather was not as high end as one would expect, but I might be spoiled since I have super nice Nappa leather seats in the Volvo S60 R-Design.
I asked the driver to open the sunshade so we could take in the views from the panoramic moonroof. Our driver was very friendly, and she provided us with excellent service! Our first stop was the Chateaux at Domaine Carneros. Carneros is an area in between Sonoma and Napa. Our driver opened and closed the doors for us as one would expect on such a fancy tour. LOL. There was a button however for the passenger to have the car automatically close the doors should a security risk arise. LOL. The last few seconds of the door closing and latching was done automatically once she closed the doors. I felt like I was in the "Beast," which is the limo POTUS rides in. The doors were so heavy, and the latching mechanism was really neat. It was like we were a celebrity couple or a Head of State riding around in a secure vehicle. I did ask if this Rolls Royce was armored or bullet proof. It was not.
Our next stop was Artesa Vineyards which is built high on hills above the vineyards of Napa. The winery is really beautiful! Once we arrived, we saw there was a long stair case to take us up to the tasting room. The climb up to the top was well worth it since the views alone were spectacular. Their wine is great too!
A friend of mine from my previous company, Wendy, arranged a private signature tasting for us since her and her husband are members there. We were greeted by two glasses of a Spanish brut that is from their parent winery in Spain. Afterwards, we tasted five other wines including their limited release Cabernet. We were quite impressed, and we ended up getting a bottle of their limited release 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon with bright notes of plum, black licorice, blackberry, and a hint of tobacco. Before leaving, Joy and I made sure to take in the views of the surrounding vineyards.
Our driver was waiting for us at the bottom of the stairs after I texted her that we were ready to go. I felt like I was a head of state doing a departure ceremony as we descended down the stairs. She pulled the Rolls Royce up and opened the door on my side as Joy and I made our walk down the stairs. The driver asked if she could help carry the wine we bought. Once we were both inside the car, the driver whisked us away for a tour of the vineyards around Napa.
We stopped in the Stag's Leap area to take pictures with the vineyards in the background. She showed me how the Spirit of Ectasy hood ornament retracts by itself at the touch of a button on the key fob. The Spirit of Ectasy is the symbol of Rolls Royce! It is a woman who is "flying."
For dinner, we went to Gott's Roadside at Oxbow Market in Napa. I knew the owner, Duncan, a long time ago. Him and his brother owned this chain, but his brother also owned Joel Gott wines. Gott's Roadside is a high end "burger and organic shake" restaurant. We both enjoyed our gourmet burgers, and I got a blueberry organic shake. Our driver waited for us as we dined. Joy found a fancy deli too to get some duck spread.
After dinner, we headed back to the Sonoma Airport. Once we got back, we saw that the super car tour was returning at the same time. I was able to check out the Aston Martin and Lambo, but I really wanted to sit in the Aston Martin since I am a James Bond fan! She took pictures of me in the car!
PS:
As we got settled in to the fancy car, I lowered the rear armrest and saw that there was a lot of media controls. The driver said that I can control the audio system from that dial and buttons. In front of each rear passenger is a LCD screen. The rear cabin also had climate control buttons, a CD player, and heated seats too. The wood trim was very high end, and the other finishes were really luxurious. I did feel that the leather was not as high end as one would expect, but I might be spoiled since I have super nice Nappa leather seats in the Volvo S60 R-Design.
I asked the driver to open the sunshade so we could take in the views from the panoramic moonroof. Our driver was very friendly, and she provided us with excellent service! Our first stop was the Chateaux at Domaine Carneros. Carneros is an area in between Sonoma and Napa. Our driver opened and closed the doors for us as one would expect on such a fancy tour. LOL. There was a button however for the passenger to have the car automatically close the doors should a security risk arise. LOL. The last few seconds of the door closing and latching was done automatically once she closed the doors. I felt like I was in the "Beast," which is the limo POTUS rides in. The doors were so heavy, and the latching mechanism was really neat. It was like we were a celebrity couple or a Head of State riding around in a secure vehicle. I did ask if this Rolls Royce was armored or bullet proof. It was not.
Our next stop was Artesa Vineyards which is built high on hills above the vineyards of Napa. The winery is really beautiful! Once we arrived, we saw there was a long stair case to take us up to the tasting room. The climb up to the top was well worth it since the views alone were spectacular. Their wine is great too!
A friend of mine from my previous company, Wendy, arranged a private signature tasting for us since her and her husband are members there. We were greeted by two glasses of a Spanish brut that is from their parent winery in Spain. Afterwards, we tasted five other wines including their limited release Cabernet. We were quite impressed, and we ended up getting a bottle of their limited release 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon with bright notes of plum, black licorice, blackberry, and a hint of tobacco. Before leaving, Joy and I made sure to take in the views of the surrounding vineyards.
Our driver was waiting for us at the bottom of the stairs after I texted her that we were ready to go. I felt like I was a head of state doing a departure ceremony as we descended down the stairs. She pulled the Rolls Royce up and opened the door on my side as Joy and I made our walk down the stairs. The driver asked if she could help carry the wine we bought. Once we were both inside the car, the driver whisked us away for a tour of the vineyards around Napa.
We stopped in the Stag's Leap area to take pictures with the vineyards in the background. She showed me how the Spirit of Ectasy hood ornament retracts by itself at the touch of a button on the key fob. The Spirit of Ectasy is the symbol of Rolls Royce! It is a woman who is "flying."
For dinner, we went to Gott's Roadside at Oxbow Market in Napa. I knew the owner, Duncan, a long time ago. Him and his brother owned this chain, but his brother also owned Joel Gott wines. Gott's Roadside is a high end "burger and organic shake" restaurant. We both enjoyed our gourmet burgers, and I got a blueberry organic shake. Our driver waited for us as we dined. Joy found a fancy deli too to get some duck spread.
After dinner, we headed back to the Sonoma Airport. Once we got back, we saw that the super car tour was returning at the same time. I was able to check out the Aston Martin and Lambo, but I really wanted to sit in the Aston Martin since I am a James Bond fan! She took pictures of me in the car!
PS:
I got Joy this fruit tart also when we
went to my parent's place the
night before her birthday.