Honeymoon Series —Day 4: Hess Collection, Raymond, and a Dream
Day 4 of our Napa honeymoon back in 1998 unfolded in a way that felt both relaxed and quietly consequential.
We decided not to go to San Francisco after all. The thought of the car ride, parking, and then wandering around a crowded city didn’t sound especially restful. Switching gears felt like too much, so instead, we stayed put. The only real downside was the weekend traffic with everyone in town for the holiday. Once we got past that, as you can see from our honeymoon journal excerpts below, it turned out to be another perfect day in Napa.
Hess Collection: Where an Idea Took Root
We started early at the Hess Collection, a vineyard tucked into the hills west of Napa Valley. It’s known for its art collection, and for good reason. The pieces were beautiful, and the idylllic setting didn’t hurt either.
What stood out most, though, was a slideshow about grape growing. It was practical and detailed, focused on the realities of vineyard work rather than the romance. Partway through, Scott said—almost casually—that it made him want to quit everything and move out there to work in the vineyards. It made enough of an impression that he even noted that wistful thought in his journal that day.
At the time, it landed as an idle vacation comment. We laughed about it and moved on.
After the slideshow, we did a side‑by‑side tasting of the Hess Select wines and the Hess Collection reserve wines—Chardonnay, Merlot, and Cabernet. Tasting them next to each other made the differences obvious. Both of us were impressed.
Raymond, Markham, and St. Clement
Raymond was our next stop. There was no tour, just a tasting. As had happened earlier in the day, Scott mentioned that he was in the wine business, and we were given a complimentary tasting.
I liked their reserve Chardonnay, though I slightly preferred the creamier Hess Collection Chardonnay. The Raymond Reserve Cabernet, however, was exactly our style at the time—big, berry‑driven, and immediately appealing.
After Raymond, we took a short walk, which ended up being more relaxing than expected, before heading to Markham.
Like Raymond, it was tasting‑only and complimentary. We enjoyed the wines and the views.
Our final stop was St. Clement.
The vineyard itself is beautiful, set dramatically on the side of a hill with an impressive view. The scenery alone made it a worthwhile visit. We enjoyed the wines, too.
Looking Back Now
At the time, Day 4 felt like a pleasant but unremarkable day—good wine, beautiful places, a lot of driving.
Looking back, it’s hard not to return to that moment at Hess: Scott, sitting through a slideshow about grape growing, casually saying he wanted to quit everything and work in the vineyards.
Years later, he didn’t quit everything. But he did end up working harvests, learning in vineyards, and eventually making wine.
What felt like a throwaway comment was, in hindsight, a sign of things to come.
The next honeymoon post will be about Day 4, when we visited one of our favorite wineries from that trip, Clos Pegase, along with Chateau Montelena and Mount Saint Helena. For the full honeymoon itinerary, check out this post.
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Cheers from the lake!
—Niki and Scott
