Saint Valentine would have loved this past February.

He’d have felt like he had never left: people still killing each other in a struggle to be free!  And he thought the Romans were mean, but he never met Mubarak’s & Gaddafi’s thugs.

But that’s a world away from Napa;  here it’s always about love.

Tomorrow is March first, and we are unofficially in SPRING time here: lush green hills, bright sunshine splashing on brilliant yellow mustard.

March is perhaps our favorite month in Napa. Not only are the fruit trees in bloom, but it seems like the whole valley is coming to life.

Spring buds burst by March in Napa's sunshine.

We stop pretending that this is really Winter; even the Weathermen can’t get Mother Nature to snow on us. Oh sure, she gives us a cold snap to keep us from breaking out the shorts and halter tops, but she can’t wipe the smiles from our up-turned faces.

We bring our guests in from their cold, snowy homes,  wrap them in our buttery soft sheets and introduce them to our old friends: Wine, Women and Song.  Okay, so they generally bring their own women, but we DO re-introduce them. Of course we have the gentlemen warm their hands by the fire first.  And the women get to take a nice long soak in our two person spa tubs.

We feed them body and soul.

Breakfast is so big at the Beazley House it discourages lunch and makes dinner more an obligation to spare our Napa Valley Chef’s feelings.  And we’re not talking ham ‘n eggs here. Carol Beazley’s breakfasts would please Julia Child!

There’s Mediterranean Polenta with pesto and cheesy scrambled eggs, or Sun-dried Tomato Potatoes with perfectly poached eggs. These delicacies are always accompanied by fresh fruit and a cheese plate and a multitude of muffin recipes.

Many of our guests stay multiple mornings, but they never have the same entree unless they beg.  We’re wimps for whining.

Maybe that’s why our guests keep coming back year after year: after 30 years we provide the will power to still be here for them so they can.

Traditionally January is the month for fresh starts and planning those all important get-a-ways. We’re doing our part to help you discover new places to make memories.

After 30 years of wine tasting experiences you’d think we would have just about exhausted the list of places to go and people to see. But no, not in the Napa Valley!  After all, there’s over 150 wineries to visit and over 435 wine brands.

It was wicked fun! And like most things it gets better when you involve your friends. In fact our friends at Beau Wine Tours arranged the whole day.

Knowing, as we do, there’s nothing like experience to shape a memory, Beau invited us to try their fantastic Napa Valley Daily Limo Tour and lunch.  Our driver and guide was Bill Boerum who was fantastic!

Mark Hawkins hosting our Beazley House group in Failla's cosy hunting lodge.

Our first stop of the day, was at the quaint Faille Wines – a hidden gem off the Silverado Trail specializing in Bordeaux-style wines. We were greeted by Mark Hawkins. whom we immediately recognized, but couldn’t quite place. Turns out we have several mutual friends. And Mark had been to the inn during our famous Facebook Meetup on July 29. He proceeded to pour us one delicious Pinot Noir after another. We immediately thought of half a dozen of our guests who will LOVE Failla and Mark.

Bill next whisked us off to Ehlers Estate just north of St. Helena. Founded in 1886, this lovely old stone winery is steeped in history. Here we were greeted by Maria Newman, who we first knew from  over 25 years ago at the Napa Valley Coffee Roasting Co. Now, Maria is a mom and the tasting room manager at this wonderful winery.

Maria showed us a new way to prepare our glass for a taste.

Ehlers Estate is a very unique winery. Their French owners pour all of their proceeds from their wine sales into the Leducq Foundation to support international cardiovascular research.  This means they concentrate on making the best possible wines they can (and DO!) and aren’t slaves to some fat corporation.  And the wines Maria poured us proved the wisdom of this point.

Bill brought in our lunch which was from The Girl and the Fig restaurant in Sonoma. And Maria let us enjoy it right in the tasting room (an exception for us and due to the weather). The wines paired beautifully with our feast of generous sandwiches and two different salads, plus dessert. Magic!!

Our next stop was Sullivan Vineyards and our old friend Asa Baird. How popular is this winery? They were SOLD OUT of their wines! Proving it’s good to have friends, Asa poured us wines from their library and THEN gave us the bottles. After a relaxed tasting  and extra warm greetings from Za-Za, the golden lab, Asa  introduced us to Sean Sullivan, the oldest son and general manager.

Off to our fourth and final destination, off the Silverado Trail, in the heart of the Stags Leap District, Ilsley Vineyards climbs east into the Vaca Mountains. Originally planted by the Downey family prior to 1900, the Estate vineyard now consists of 17 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon, 3 acres of Malbec, 2 acres of Sangiovese and 1 acre of Petite Verdot.

Ilsley Vineyards has been producing fine wine for 50 years!

Al Carravajal, married to Janice Ilsley, poured just enough wine to keep our attention until he could coax Ilsley family patriarch Ed into joining our curious group. Ed and his wife Sandy raised three children on the old property who are all involved in this FAMILY run winery. At Ilsley, the label of “family winery” isn’t a marketing strategy; it’s a way of life.  The work is divided between three third-generation siblings and their spouses.  Each has a full time job and works for the family business as a labor of love. The proof was in our glasses.

Set in the shadow of the palisades of Stag’s Leap, Ilsley Vineyards has views that are nearly spectacular as their lovingly made wines.

Pleasantly buzzed, we were gently taken back to the Beazley House by Bill from Beau Wine Tours which reminded us yet again of  why we chose Beau to re-introduce us to our fantastic Napa Valley!