Summer Fav: Frozen Grapes

It some how still surprises me that we never tire of grapes in our house. We work with grapes and we love to eat them too. We go through 10 lbs of table grapes a week, easy. At harvest time, we have to regularly clean out the bottom of our washing machine as it fills up with grapes (of course, there’s debate about whether that’s from being out in the fields or the kids’ mess).

During the summer, one of our family favorites is enjoying frozen grapes. We bring them home, wash them, remove them from their stems and lay them out on a baking sheet and stick them in the freezer for a few hours, then collect them in a ziploc bag for snacking. They don’t last long. For grown-ups, they’re great to drop in your glass of wine to keep things cool at the end of the day (pseudo sangria?) and then enjoy the booze infused fruit at the end. For the kiddos, there a sweet, easy, healthy treat.

Hot Air Balloons

Note - this post was originally published 08.05.2014

One of our favorite things about Napa Valley in the summer, is the chance to watch hot air balloons pass over head early in the morning.  Beautiful colors gliding over the vineyards.  One of these days we'll be the people in the balloon at dawn's early light, but for now we're the ones in the vineyard, looking up and enjoying the view.