THE COMPLEXITY OF ALCOHOL
nocent. We started our trip at Michter’s Fort Nelson Distillery on
Main Street. The Urban Bourbon Trail leads to Evan Williams, Old
Forester, Angel’s Envy and moving on to Rabbit Hole in NuLu.
Off the “beaten trail” is the Bulleit Frontier Whiskey at the old
Stitzel-Weller Distillery. Four more distilleries round out the 10
distillers in Louisville. These include Kentucky Peerless Distilling,
Kentucky Artisan Distillery, Copper and King’s American Brandy
and Jim Beam Urban Stillhouse. It is the Main Street location of
several of these distilleries that makes the experience so fun. We
wandered into the Slugger Museum, as well as the Derby Museum,
and tried our hand at glass blowing at Glassworks. Unfortunately,
there wasn’t time to take in all of the museums or all of the great
restaurants in the neighborhoods around the various distilleries.
Louisville’s Urban Bourbon Trail has so much to offer and is gain-
ing national attention. I have found a number of aficionados of the
Trail in Pittsburgh, the home of the Whiskey Rebellion in George
Washington’s term. Vineyards where we found the most informative and friendly tour.
A balloon flight over Napa Valley is a real “highlight” of a trip to this
region. Gently moving at the speed of the wind gives spectacular
view of the vineyards and small towns below.
We followed up on the success of that trail in a trip to San Fran-
cisco and to Napa Valley where we found the Napa Valley Wine
Trail. This trail includes scores of vineyards in the 12.5 miles from
Kennedy Park, California to Yountville. While Louisville has 10 local
distilleries, Napa Valley has 10 sections that extend the experience,
just like the rest of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail outside of Louisville.
In Napa, each section has its own distinct feel. The sections include
Calistoga, St. Helena, Rutherford, Oakville, Yountville, Oak Knoll
District, Village of Napa, Vista Carneros, American Canyon and
Vallejo. Because of the French Laundry in Yountville, a number of
wonderful chefs have come to Napa Valley. The culinary scene has
become very competitive with some of the restaurants accepting
reservations a year out. The quality of the food, the preparation and
the ambiance of the restaurant all become elements of the culinary
competition. We had dinner at RH Yountville, a restaurant that
is part of Restoration Hardware. Needless to say, there were old
fashioned chandeliers, mirrors, and a full Restoration Hardware
attached to the restaurant. The food was of high quality but simply
prepared and handsomely served by the gregarious wait staff. The
village of Napa has five compact blocks of restaurants and shops. We
followed with a delightful tapas dinner at ZuZu and walked a block
to the Vintage Sweet Shoppe for chocolate and wine pairings. We
agreed that the pinot noir and salted caramel chocolate was the best. www.vintagesweetshoppe.com
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Louisville’s Urban Bourbon Trail and the Napa Valley Wine Trail
both celebrate the spirit of their internationally recognized products
but do so with fun. For Louisville, the combination of distilleries
with the museums, theaters and restaurants compares favorably
to the Napa Valley Wine Trail’s culinary and outdoor experiences.
These both are to be enjoyed best while sober.
Dr. James is the Senior Medical Director for Highmark Inc. in Pittsburgh, PA.
To learn more about Dr. James’ recommendations, visit:
https://kybourbontrail.com
https://www.vinetrail.org/
https://www.winetrain.com
http://www.trefethen.com
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Napa Valley is wide-open space with vineyards on both sides of
California 29, and offers more outdoor activities compared to the
city experiences in Louisville’s Trail. There are water activities along
the Napa River. A Wine Train runs parallel to California 29 allowing
passengers off and on access to a number of the larger vineyards.
We chose to drive, stopping at Mondovi and several other large
vineyards. Our favorite was the reserve tasting at Trefethen Family
Contact Michele R. Graham, CPA, MST
800.880.7800 • www.hsccpa.com
Louisville, KY • Evansville, KY
Parent of HSC Medical Billing & Consulting, LLC
OCTOBER 2019
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