I have a secret. I’ve lived in the Bay Area almost my entire life, but I’ve never been to Napa. Maybe it’s because I’m not a big wine drinker, but for whatever reason, I never made it a point to visit. That all changed yesterday, though, when I drove up and spent the day there with friends. The wineries we visited were just as pretty as I expected, but the real highlights were the perfect weather and the rolling hills everywhere that looked like a scene straight from a postcard. And the food! The food. We started off at Bouchon Bakery where I tried their legendary macarons (yum) and ended at Dean & Deluca, the mecca of gourmet goodness. Everything in the store was exquisitely arranged, and we found all the perfect items for our picnic lunch.
In the picnic basket: a guide of what to pack
We spread out towels by the creek at Bale Grist Mill Park and sat in the sun eating, chatting and dipping our toes in the water.
Now that the weather’s getting nice, I can’t wait to have more picnics. Here is, in my humble opinion, one of the most perfect picnic spreads of salty, sweet, light and hearty:
1) asiago baguette
2) prosciutto
3) green and black olives
4) Cheese! (Cowgirl Creamery Mt. Tam, brie, and Humboldt Fog)
5) French potato salad
6) curried cauliflower (similar recipe here)
7) strawberries and blackberries
What are your picnic musts?
Last modified: January 10, 2019
4 Replies to “In the picnic basket: a guide of what to pack”
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Bouchon! Be still my heart. What flavors did you try? I tried the peanut butter and jelly, the pistachio, the caramel and the orange-lemon macaron. To-die-for! Glad you had a happy picnic 🙂
this looks fantastic. napa is so fun. i do need to make more visits and definitely have as many picnics as possible as the weather warms up. great ideas on what to pack. looks like a great weekend.
Great style, i love the way you do it. Thanks for the shot!
Beautiful spread! I love all of the items on your list – Mt. Tam & Humboldt Fog are unreal! Have you ever tried Humboldt Fog's cousin Truffle Tremors? It's delish.
Personally, I would go for a non-flavored baguette, but that's the cheese counter worker in me :.) I love throwing a sheep's milk cheese into the mix, too – maybe an aged manchego or Abbaye de Bel'loc.
I'd like to take a trip to Napa soon. I've done the Apple Hill wineries, but never Napa (as an adult – I went once with my mom and sister for some picnicking etc).
Glad you had such a good time. How was the wine??