Are you craving a unique wine tasting experience? Maybe you’ve already seen your fair share of wine caves and barrel rooms and are searching for something new and unlike a typical wine tasting. Well, bust out your Levis and boots and visit Shadybrook Estate and Napa Valley Trail Rides for a horse riding adventure through the vineyards.
Riding horses through Cabernet vineyards, looking out upon the Coombsville landscape to miles and miles of more vineyards, was honestly a dream come true. This weekend I tried out Shadybrooke’s “Ultimate Ranch Experience” which includes a trail ride through their vineyards on the Rapp Ranch and ends with a beautiful tasting on their winery terrace. You all know I’ve certainly done a lot of tasting and have seen many different types of experiences, but I have to say, this was a first for me! Seriously such a unique and memorable experience. I felt like I was in a romance novel, except the only thing that was missing was a hunky cowboy. Haha. Next time I’ll see if that can be included 😉
Overall, I would describe the trail ride as therapeutic, relaxing and extremely joyful. I felt such a sense of serenity – there’s just something about being one with nature, ya know? Plus my horse, Cash, was awesome. I didn’t want it to end! Taylor, our riding instructor, also incorporated history of the property and the winery story into the ride, along with just being fun to hang out with – she was the best!
If you’re wondering if you need to be experienced in riding a horse, the answer is no! They make it very easy, plus the horses are very well behaved – except for stopping to snack on grapevines along the way. But let’s be honest, if I were a horse I’d do the same.
Upon finishing our trail ride, and now being transformed into legit cowgirls, we walked over to the terrace to start our tasting. Holy moly, what a view! The wine was equally as impressive. Shadybrook is extremely small production – around 2,000 cases, and they only sell direct to consumer, with their membership making up most of their sales. They have two labels, both equally delicious, Shadybrook Estate (all estate fruit & super small production) and Rapp Ranch (estate & sourced fruit). I was pleasantly surprised with their Chardonnay, as you all know I’m a red wine gal. I absolutely loved their Rapp Ranch Cutter’s Reserve, a Petit Verdot driven blend and their Shadybrooke Estate 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon. Those two wines alone will make you join the club.
Insider tip: Make this your first stop for the day of tasting. Being intoxicated and on a horse isn’t the best decision. 🙂
If you find yourself looking for an extremely unique wine country experience, kick up your boots and check out Shadybrook Estates and Napa Valley Trail Rides. Yeehaw!
Such an awesome post, I’m going to have to check out this winery for myself!
Your horseback ride through the vineyards looked like so much fun! Definitely must stop by Shadybrook Estate one day!