|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Sign In / Register |
|
|
A winery actually existed on site dating from the 1880's. Georges and his wife purchased the property in 1900 and they soon built its capacity up to 3x its original size. Prohibition was the last nail to be hammered into the metaphorical coffin for most wineries in the United States. Not so with BV, rather they somewhat thrived during this trying time in the wine industry as they had a National contract for producing sacramental alter wine for churches. Look for their large billboard along Highway 29 just south of the winery announcing their presence. This winery has a large distribution and falls under the class of "touristy" wineries. For a quick major contrast in types of winery facilities visit BV and then visit Elizabeth Spencer across the street - one of the smaller walk-in tasting room buildings in Napa Valley. If you visit BV from late morning onwards your olfactory nerves will be tempted by the delicious aromas wafting out from the massively popular Rutherford Grill, located next to the winery. You can often find BV wines in many locations across the country including major supermarkets. They are very well distributed. Their main tasting room is in a nice small round wooden building. A complimentary taste is always given of a Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc when you walk into the main tasting room - before the regular paid tastings. This tradition dates back to George's wife Fernande who believed in always offering their visitors a glass of wine as soon as they walked in the door. BV makes a number of different tiered wines ranging from their Signet (most often found in restaurants nationwide), to their Napa wines, to their coastal estate wines. Their Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignons are very popular and often end up in collections to be aged for a number of years. This is a wine they have made every year since 1936, with the exception being 1944 when a fire destroyed much of the winery. It is a wine that has ended up in top collections and at number of well-known functions over the years, including at the White House and for Hollywood events including the Emmy awards. All reserve wines are tasted in their high class Reserve Tasting room, located across the parking lot from their main tasting room. Note the imposing statue of Andre Tchelistcheff which stands near the entrance. Compose your photos looking up so he towers over you. He is a "Wine God" in the Napa Valley and did much for the local wine industry as winemaker and soils expert as well as working for BV for many years. He was a major force in perfecting their wines including their Pinot Noirs and is still referred to by some employees as "the Maestro". As with several of the older larger Napa wineries their barrel room also contains huge redwood tanks for fermenting large lots of wine. These are in fact still used today. BV owns a large number of Napa Vineyards ranging from southerly Carneros to Calistoga in the north. However, the main vineyards are located behind the winery and still are the heart of their Private Reserve label. When we walked in to their Reserve Room asking to take a few photos in their reserve room, they said ok, as long as we were not spies from nearby Mondavi...nice! Some items from the small gift shop that used to be located downstairs have been moved upstairs. The reserve and main tasting rooms are favorite stops for Limo tours. Visit: www.bvwines.com |
 |
|
|||||
Comments (0)Sort Comments by:
Oldest First |
Newest First
No comments found.
|
|||||||
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
 |
||
|
|
||||||
