What To Eat & Sip On
Bubbles, brews, beats, blue skies, and delicious bites…BottleRock Napa Valley 2018 was a great time! The festival entertained more than 120,000 attendees and took place in Downtown Napa over Memorial Day Weekend.
According to Bruno Mars, BottleRock is also known as “the fancy Coachella.” The festival brought together hundreds of world renowned musicians, celebrated chefs, vintners, brewers, and distillers. Not only does it feature the world’s biggest bands and artists, but also the hottest up-and-coming musicians. I enjoyed wandering the grounds, discovering new brands/artists, and taking in good vibes!
Over 80 musical acts were presented on five music stages over the three day festival. One of my favorite performances was by the one-and-only, Bruno Mars who put on a Vegas-style show where Bruno and his band danced in unison and sang awesome tunes like “24K Magic,” “That’s What I Like” and his Mark Ronson collaboration, “Uptown Funk.”
Snoop Dogg and E-40’s performances were awesome and very entertaining! Lukas Nelson captivated the crowd with his incredible voice and unique skill, playing the guitar with his teeth.
Now, let’s talk about the must-have items to eat & drink!
Being a lover of Hendrick’s Gin, I stopped by their three-story bar featuring awesome cocktails and entertainment. It was fun to see people dressed up in Hendrick’s Gin fashion and juggling from different levels of the bar! I enjoyed a new cocktail each day. First day, The Sun God…very light & refreshing and featured Hendrick’s Gin, lillet blanc, fresh cucumber, lemon, and soda. The second day was the Butterfly Effect with a lovely ombré purple hue. It featured Hendrick’s Gin, jardesca, aperitiva, chateau liquor, lemon, and butterfly blossoms. Very fun and festive!
Being a frosé lover, I had to try JaM Cellar’s frosé – it was amazing! Could drink that frosé all day!
The festival had so many iconic restaurants from Napa Valley and beyond. When in Napa Valley, one must go to Bouchon Bakery, always a line but well worth the wait! I stopped by their booth in the VIP Village and picked up a goodie bag with all of these delicious gourmet bites:
- Brie L.T. (truffle butter, brie cheese, arugula and tomato marmalade on a ficelle baguette)
- A summery Steak & Charred Corn Salad (grilled steak, charred corn, arugula, piquillo peppers, fromage blanc, roasted red onions, radishes, and espellete pepper vinaigrette)
- The exclusive BottleRock Shortbread Cookie, complete with tie-died fondant
- Bouchon Bakery Beignet Bites dusted with cinnamon sugar
Some other good eats included the S’Mores Bar by San Francisco based, FK Frozen Custard, the steak sandwich from Cole’s Chop House in Napa, and pizza from Oak & Rye in Los Gatos. Now, I’m hungry thinking about all of the delicious food!
It was my first time attending BottleRock and highly recommend it. BottleRock will return May 24-26, 2019. Tip: Make sure to get your tickets as soon as they go on sale because they are in high demand!
See you at BottleRock 2019!
So jealous! Wish I would’ve gone!!! Next year for sure. Love all your photos and write up.
Wow, what a great event! Thank you for sharing your amazing experience!!! Nice photos:)
I agree with you, Bouchon is well worth the wait in line. A must go to when in Napa Valley. I want to try some frose’
Sounds like an event not to be missed. I will plan on going in 2019. I wonder who will perform next year. They sure had the best of the best this year.