Wine Country Getaway with Maven

On Mal: Boohoo Rea Pleated Ruffle Sleeve Top,  Gucci GG Marmont Purse, J. Crew Lookout Highrise Jeans, H&M Lace-Up Flats (old, similar linked below), c/o Dualitas Elixer Bravery Ring

On Whit: Zara Lace Top, H&M Quilted Leather Jacket (old, similar below), Banana Republic Faux Rabbit Fur Scarf, c/o Furla Mini Metropolis Bag

Photos by Ty

On Sunday we took a quick day trip to St. Helena c/o of Maven.  Maven is GM's new carshare app, which just launched in San Francisco.  There are pickups around the city (mostly near downtown), and once you download the free app and sign up, you can find a car and reserve it by the half-hour...there is no membership fee. We were surprised how cheap it is, without the membership, it actually makes it less than Zipcar.

We reserved a Cadillac for the day, and simply picked it up at the garage using the app to unlock the car.  On the way to St. Helena (about an hour and a half trip), we were thankful for the free 4g...although we had to call to get the network password.

After getting a bit of a late start, we went straight to lunch as soon as we got into town.  We had made a reservation at Farmstead, but after arriving a bit early we ended up just taking an available table on the patio. If you are ever in the area, go here. It is super tasty without the usual hefty wine-country price tag.  We suggest the cheddar biscuits (free if you check in on Yelp) and the Mac and Cheese!

After lunch we went tasting at some of the wineries. Between four of us, we split a couple of tastings (nice they let you do that). We took the day nice and slow, partially because we were full, and partially because none of us are big wine-drinkers.  Plus, Mal was DD, so was only taking a sip of each pour. We visited Hall Wines (love that Bunny Foo Foo statue), Opus One (they only make one wine a year, so a tasting is a full pour), and checked out the architecture but didn't taste at Del Dotto.

We wrapped up the day at Goose and Gander. This spot is super cute and cozy.  After being full all day, we decided to forgo traditional entrees. We had to try the duck fat fries, which is what drew us here to the first place, but these ended up not actually being our favorite part.  The octopus was so well done (and we usually don't like that texture) and beef tartar toast were both our surprise favorites.

It was a fun day, and it was so easy to drop off the car again.  Once we parked the car in the tiny garage spot (the most difficult part of the day), we simply marked our trip finished on the app!

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