#111: Field notes from Napa Valley

The pursuit of excellence and relentless beauty

Today’s newsletter finds you in the final hours of my trip to Napa Valley, one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to: a grand statement and not hyperbolic.

I feel like I say that a lot—attributed to my tendency to be easily delighted—but I’m already plotting my return. Three nights in Napa (tacked onto the end of a trip to Vegas to attend a BTS concert) was nowhere near enough time. The valley rewards those who arrive with a group of friends, a huge appetite, and a driver’s license, three things absent on this trip. I did visit three wineries, all intentionally different from one another, and left feeling thirstier to see more. There’s a reason my friend is heading back for a fourth visit. “There’s just so much to see, you’ll see,” she told me the day before I left.

At one point, I texted my sister that I felt homesick because it was simply too beautiful here. I stayed at the Auberge du Soleil, where you could easily spend an entire day doing absolutely nothing beyond lingering…