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Page's first vintage was released in 1997 and he now concentrates on three labels, the Page, Le Nu and the Revolver. The Revolver focuses more on single varietal wines and Page Cellars is more Left Bank Bordeaux style blends. The Revolver theme as you may have guessed is western in nature with ghost towns, weather aged wooden buildings, guns and historical guitars from well known older musicians built into the marketing and packaging. The total production on all his wines as of press time is about 2000 cases with most of his wines coming in at merely several hundred cases. Some small wineries have several people involved with a case production such as this, not Page Cellars and it is a testament to Bryan's dedication and passion to wine in regards to managing this production. The one wine as of press time found under his newer Le Nu label is a Chardonnay called the "naked Chardonnay" which as Brian says "shows the pure varietal characteristics of Chardonnay". This wine is certainly that; it is unoaked, sees no malolactic fermentation and is in higher in acidity than you normally find with Napa Chardonnays. As a result this this is an excellent Chardonnay "food wine". Even the packaging follows the "naked" theme - glass stoppers are used rather than cork. The 2007 vintage shows some mineral notes both in the bouquet and on the palate with clean lean fruit from start to finish. The 2008 Sauvignon Blanc is blended with a touch of Semillon. Of note is the Sauvignon Vineyard Page sources from; it is the southernmost vineyard in Napa County - located not far from the San Pablo Bay. It is always nice to try a Sauvignon Blanc that contains some Semillon. The Semillon brings some very nice tropical aromas and flavors to this wine including an additional richness found on the palate. Notes of kiwi, melon and passion fruit bring layered flavors to the wine with a clean refreshing finish. All of Page's wines are unfined and unfiltered for maximum color and flavor. While many producers have automated to some extent the in-winery processes, not so with Page Wine Cellars. Everything is very much done by hand at the winery - literally, even most of the bottling. Small lot T-bins are used to micro-manage during crush and individual pickings are sorted by hand. They even use a hand crank basket press on their wines which allows Bryan to determine exactly when to stop crushing based on flavor, texture and color. Needless to say every part of his wine making is focused on that final quality in the bottle; his wines are literally hand crafted. Most of their grapes are sourced from well established vineyards in Carneros and Yountville. The 2005, The Fury is found under the Revolver label. Yes, there is a story behind the name of this wine but you will have to talk to the winemaker for that one. The Fury is predominately Cabernet Franc with some Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Verdot blended in. It is aged for 3 years in 100% New French Oak; you won't find many Napa Cabernet Francs with this type of oak program. This is a delicious wine that is big yet restrained at the same time with a fruit forward bouquet which continues onto the palate. Dark fruit flavors show including blackberry and black cherry. The finish is long, slightly dusty and with broad tannins. The 2005, "the Stash" is a predominately Cabernet Sauvignon blend with additional amounts of Petite Verdot and Merlot. This is a big bold layered red wine that should be extremely age worthy. It will coat your mouth red! Aromas of dark fruit, cocoa powder and vanilla lead to concentrated fruit flavors which include plum and black cherry. The finish is big and memorable with meaty tannins. It is recommended to decant this wine while it is still young and yes it is still very young at only 4 years. Page also produces other wines including a Proprietary red table wine, a Merlot and has plans to release a Petite Sirah. Joining their mailing list allows you access to first releases as well as small lot wines not offered to the public. In mid 2009 along with Cornerstone Cellars - Page Wine Cellars opened a public tasting room called "Yountville Tasting Station". This is located on the corner directly across from the Yountville Post Office. We visited soon after they opened and will make another revisit after the rest of the tasting room opens. Plans call for a VIP room, a library room and a small shop containing other food items. Currently they sell a fine chocolates, artisan olive oil, and a number of spices. Based on Bryan's culinary background they will offer sit down tastings paired with various foods - it is with food that Page's wines really come alive. Any tasting room that plays old Johnny Cash music during a tasting (as was playing during our visit) is already raised up a notch in our eyes! Serious wine enthusiasts may also consider making a special appointment to see the actual winery in Napa. Visit: www.pagewinecellars.com |
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Pahlmeyer Wine released their first vintage in 1986 - they currently make their wine at the popular Napa Wine Co in Oakville. They started producing wine at the Napa Wine Co in 1994 soon after Napa Wine Co underwent a huge renovation to accommodate production from wineries who do not actually have their own physical winery. This winery was started by Jayson Pahlmeyer a former attorney who once his wines started becoming popular, stopped his legal work and dedicated his full time to his wine. As with several other vintners we have meet with who worked in other industries before becoming vintners, Jayson started becoming hooked by the wine industry and slowly phased out his law practice. He made several trips to France to find some of the highest quality Bordeaux varietal clones and then took them back to California where he planted his own vineyard.
Today, besides running Pahlmeyer, Jayson stays busy growing champion size pumpkins with several entries in the famed Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Weigh-Off. The well-known master of Howell Mountain wines, Randy Dunn ran Pahlmeyer's initial wine making operations for several years and helped put this winery on the map so to speak. Other notables who have helped with the winemaking include Bob Levy, Helen Turley, and currently Michel Rolland. Timing is everything in wine - the producers for Disclosure, a moving staring Demi Moore and Michael Douglas were eating at Spago of Beverly Hills and they were served a bottle of Pahlmeyer's 1991 Chardonnay based on the sommelier's recommendation (only 40 cases were made of that vintage). They fell in love with this very limited production wine and as a result, it was used in a pivotal scene in the movie which ended up being the perfect tool for initially marketing this wine. Even today, the winery still receives phone calls about the wine then the movie shows on prime time television. Pahlmeyer has 80 acres in the Napa area as well as some property on the Sonoma Coast for growing their Pinot noir. In addition, they work with area growers and purchase grapes from a number of locations mostly in Napa. Their vineyards are typically severely crop thinned, so lots of fruit is dropped on the ground ensuring very small productions, the canopies are carefully managed to create just the right amount of sunlight and ensure the fruit becomes ripe but still retaining the acidity and pH balance. David Abreu is one of the "starts" of Napa's vineyard managers and Pahlmeyer sources from several of his managed vineyards including one of our favorite vineyards, the Thorvilos vineyard near Howell Mountain. Their 2005 Chardonnay is a delicious wine from their Ritchie vineyard which is fermented with 100% wild yeast and undergoes 100% Malolactic Fermentation. It is a wine well-balanced between acidity and fruit. The nose is very floral with lots of honeysuckle. Their 2005 Pinot noir was their first ever Pinot produced ...not bad at all for a first effort! This is a darker style Pinot with some mint on the nose and raspberry and blackberry on the palate. Their 2004 Red Table wine is their "big" dark inky wine"; it is well extracted with lots of color from the time spent on the skins. Again this wine is fermented with 100% natural yeast. It does not disappoint; it has more than 75% Cabernet Sauvignon so technically they could call it a Cabernet, but it is the four other Bordeaux varietals that give this wine its real full-bodied strength. There are strong notes of black cherry in the mouth with a well structured rich tannin backbone that ends with a slightly smoky finish. Pahlmeyer is well distributed nationally as well as in select markets in Asia and in Europe. You can often taste their wine in Napa Wine Co's "cult room". They recommend calling ahead to make sure their wine is available as the tasting room does rotate their wines from time to time. They are also found in select local wine shops in the Valley including V Wine Cellars in Yountville and St. Helena Wine Center in downtown St. Helena. Visit: www.pahlmeyer.com |
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The total estate encompasses 600 acres of which nearly 60 acres are planted to vine. Most of the estate is hillside with vineyards flowing down the sides of the Vaca mountains. In addition there are higher vineyards located behind the hills directly behind the winery. The winery itself sits right near Mt. George in the eastern part of the Coombsville region, a part of the Napa Valley that generally sees a cooler growing climate due to its proximity to the San Pablo Bay in the south and the influences of the daily fog. This site used to be the home of the old Cedar Knoll Vineyard and Winery founded in 1881 by Mr. Henry Hagen (Hagen Road is named in his honor). When the Palmazes purchased the property the old ghost winery was still on site which they have since restored. Like so many other wineries in the valley and beyond, the original winery was shut down due to Prohibition and this land was not used commercially for wine grapes until it was purchased by the Palmaz Family. Allow at least 2 hours for a visit here as well as additional time to get to your next appointment. The tour starts on the fourth floor and will walk you through several levels of the cave; everything during the winemaking process is conducted by gravity flow. This is the world’s largest underground reinforced structure which at 54 feet tall is quite imposing when you see it in person! When drilling a cave this size you are bound to hit something of interest underground and in this case they actually hit gold in the rock at one point. While not concentrated enough to mine commercially this is the first time we have heard of any cave in Napa Valley actually hitting natural gold underground! There is a viewpoint at the upper level complete with a hand touch console which controls many aspects of each tank including their rotation as they sit on a custom made belt system. Each of these tanks is "online" and you can also control the tank temperatures merely by touch. Other features include a huge wine elevator for transporting the large tanks between cavern levels, as well as the cavern's own water treatment plant; the ornamentals and other shrubbery on the grounds are watered entirely with this recycled water. This winery is completely underground and self contained. We have visited several times and during our latest visit Florencia Palmaz gave our tour. She has a great sense of humor and her insights into the wine industry really help complement the tour. Her family is originally from Argentina but have lived in the states for many years. Their fun room or as it is commonly referred to "the girls" room contains all their white wines. This is a separate room in the cave devoted entirely to white varietals. While Palmaz has focused their attention on making Cabernet Sauvignon they also make a number of white wines including Riesling (which tends to sell out rather quickly), Chardonnay and a delicious Muscat Canelli "Florencia". They are not fans of big oaky and buttery Chardonnays - you will not find that type of wine here. The winemaking and oak program is of course an important element in the style of wine. Rather their Chardonnay is made in a Burgundian style with cold fermentation as well as aging taking place in oak sur lie. As a result this wine has good weight but is not overly viscous. Citrus blossom show on the bouquet with clean balanced flavors on the palate including some notes of minerality. Their core wine is Cabernet Sauvignon and each vintage tends to be blended slightly with another Bordeaux varietal or two. During your tasting you will typically taste one of their slightly older vintages of this wine along with their current release. The 2002 is aging quite well showing notes of tobacco and leather along with rich blackberry aromas. Rich ripe fruit shows on the palate including a plethora of baking spice; the fruit is holding up very well and this should be a wine that will continue to age and evolve well. The "Gaston" Cabernet Sauvignon is their special wine and is made in very limited quantities during years where they feel the quality is worthy of releasing. This wine is named after Florencia's brother. The bouquet on the 2005 is decidedly all about the fruit; the palate is plush and smooth upon entry with some interesting notes of earthiness present. It is smooth, full bodied and well balanced with a long finish and does not show any harsh tannins. We have tried several vintages of their Muscat Cannelli dessert wine including the 2007. Not to be outdone by her brother, this wine is named after Florencia. It is light Muscat Cannelli that is not overly viscous, high in alcohol or high in sugar. Rather it is very clean and crisp and best served chilled. It is a very refreshing wine. There is a big floral bouquet on the nose with notes of honeysuckle and mineralities on the palate. The tasting is held in a special room within the cave winery and what an elegant room this is! You sit at a long table surrounded by stone arches. All wines are paired with cheese and other tasty specially prepared hor d'oeuvres including delectable's such as truffles or as we had during our latest visit, smoked salmon with wasabi infused caviar. For a winery of this size the production is currently around 6 thousand cases although they certainly have the vineyards and winery capacity to increase that at some point. Visit: www.palmazvineyards.com |
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Their focus is on estate grown Merlot (not too many Napa wineries doing this) with a small block of Cabernet Sauvignon planted which is always blended into the Merlot wine. Their production is very limited; they sell out every year and as a result sometimes there is only barrel tasting available. The winery is at the owners home and your tasting is always with Barbara; a visit here is typically reserved for customers or serious wine enthusiasts. The winery site is on top of the ridge accessible via a narrow windy gravel road totally off the beaten path. They are not setup for large groups (the tasting is very informal and personal) and you must call to make an appointment. The winery sits among Douglas fir trees; this area typically receives snow in the winter at least once a year. A winery overview is usually given from the deck of their home and then you proceed to the actual winery building below. On the way you will pass a lone Zinfandel grape which dates back many years when the land was originally planted to vineyards. They even still find old redwood stakes from time to time. This grape plant was inadvertently covered when the gravel road was put in a few years back but has shot up on the side of the road with new vines. It produces several bunches of Zinfandel grapes which every year are put into their Merlot wine for good luck! In regards to the high quality of their wines, there are two factors working in their favor each year, one is the terroir - they are in a superb microclimate for growing Merlot and the other is the great attention to detail that Barbara gives the vineyards throughout the growing season. This micro-management is also part of the harvest, as they pick many times during harvest, choosing only the grapes that are ripe at any given time. We tried a young Merlot (2005) still in the barrel; it is a big wine as are most of their Merlots, but at its early age is very approachable with a silky mouth feel and is already extremely well balanced. The tannins are well structured but not overpowering so they complement the long finish very well. The Merlot is always blended with a bit of Cabernet Sauvignon. Rich aromas are always present in their wines - this one has blackberry, chocolate, and mineral nuances. This was one of the wines early on in this project that when we tasted it we said "wow", this is an "it" wine! Their wines have been served at Presidential dinners in the White House in recent years. Check out the photos in the winery building of people holding their wine bottles in various countries. High ratings from prominent wine critics as well as recognition such as the Wine Spectator in 2003 voting them "wine of the year" have at times swamped this small winery with demand. The best way to acquire their wine is to join their mailing list, however you can sometimes find their wine locally at Backroom Wines in downtown Napa. Visit: www.palomavineyard.com Founder Jim Richards passed away in early June 2009 after a long bout with cancer. We wish Paloma all the best and continued success with their artisan wines. |
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This is a small operation and the owner is around some weekends (he and his wife often commute up from Los Angeles), and the winemaker himself is often on site; chances are you will be able to meet either the winemaker, Gianni or his wife during your stop here. A tasting is in their winery building/tank room (it is kept nice and cold regardless of the time of year) and perhaps some old Italian love songs will be playing when you walk in. Sit down at the table with all the wine bottles on top - they typically pour 6 wines which is only a small representation of the actual number of wines they make. The winemaker specializes in Bordeaux and Super Tuscan blends. As of press time they make entirely red wines; including one wine you will not find anywhere else in Napa. Out of over 500 Napa commercial wine producers visited with to date, this is the first Nero d' Avola wine we've come across. This is a very important Sicilian varietal and is often compared to the New World Shirazes. Paoletti owns 3 vineyards in Napa including the estate vineyard which is where this varietal is grown. The nose is somewhat subdued and doesn't reveal how big a wine this actually is! It has rich bold flavors and some interesting peppery notes and spices. They also make a rather uncommon wine in the Napa area which is a Rose of Sangiovese. Paoletti's version is delicious, light, fruity; a great pre-meal wine. One of our favorites is their La Forza which is a blend of 85% Sangiovese and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon; there are lots of great fruit flavors in this wine. Another interesting note is often they will be pouring older vintages. We've been here several times and have been able to try some of their Merlots and Cabernets 7 and 8 years old. You just won't find too many wineries in Napa pouring older vintages. The 2000 Merlot has that nice brownish tinge acquired from time in the bottle; it has aged very well while retaining its fruit characteristics. Also be sure to try the Non Plus Ultra, a Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec blend from "Lilia's Vineyard" in Calistoga. Touches of oak are in the aromas followed by rich plum, fig and other fruit flavors. Several vintage ports show up on their tasting sheet but are not actually poured. These ports are 20+ years old and you can buy them directly from the winery on site. Gianni has an office in Los Angeles and also operates the popular Italian Peppone Restaurant (www.peppone.com) just off of the 405 in the Brentwood Village (not far from UCLA). Their winery site is: www.giannipaoletti.com |
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Most wineries take their name from the owner's last name - not so with the Harris's. They held a contest to allow others to come up with a name. A gentleman from Calistoga suggested the name Paradigm which means an "example that serves as a pattern or model" or in the case of their wine, is a "pattern for perfection". The Harris's are long time Napa vintners having first grown grapes in 1964. It is very unusual to find those who started in the Napa wine industry in the 1960's still actively involved in the day to day operations of their winery. Such is the case with Ren & Marilyn - they both started growing grapes when they were young and today are often found at the winery. Ren, in fact usually is in charge of the tastings which are always kept to small groups (typically no more than 6 people), by appointment only for serious wine enthusiasts. They have 55 vineyard acres which surround the winery and as of press time focus on four different wines, Cabernet Sauvignon, one of those "of course" varietals, considering the fact that they are in the heart of Napa's Cabernet country, Merlot, Zinfandel (quite rare to find an Oakville Zinfandel producer) and Cabernet Franc. To give you an idea of the type of terroir in this area, nearby vineyards include Harlan and Opus One. They currently still sell the majority of the grapes from their vineyards to other high end wineries including Groth, Nickel & Nickel and Far Niente. We had a chance to walk part of their vineyard; the vines in the block we visited are planted much higher off the ground than most Napa vineyards - first, this makes it easier on the workers for harvesting the fruit and secondly allows for good airflow through the vineyards and a longer hang time (lower vines means the fruit is closer to the ground's influence which means slightly warmer temperatures over time). With the effects of global warming, perhaps other vineyards will start trellising like this. The tasting is in a small room in the back of the winery which has west facing views of the nearby Mayacamas mountains. There is a very long window inside this room with nice views overlooking the hills and vineyards. Check out the nice commemorative photos hanging on the wall from Thai Airways (their wine has been served on board) and from Yosemite National Park recognizing Paradigm's previous contributions to this park. The two wines usually being poured form the bulk of their production - the Cabernet Sauvignon and the Merlot. Both are stylish big wines, very approachable upon release and can easily be consumed now without having to cellar them although aging these wines is certainly not a bad idea! Those in the know, already know this: Paradigm is one of the best high end values in all of Oakville. All their wines are blended. We tried the 2005 Merlot (soon after its release) blended with 5% Cabernet Franc which helps provide some structure on the finish. This wine has great acidity and bright fruit with a nice earthiness found on the palate and a rounded full mouth feel. The finish is slightly spicy with soft tannins with flavor that lingers on and on well after you swallow. The 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon is blended with 8% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc. This beautiful wine shows very well in the glass; it is crimson red ruby in color with an elegant nose full of fruit aromas. The palate shows plum, blackberry and various spices. The mouth feel is so silky smooth anchored by delicate tannins. Paradigm's wines tend to age very well. Paradigm donates 1% of their total gross profits to an organization called 1% For The Planet - funds from businesses who participate in this are distributed to organizations protecting the environment worldwide. Paradigm was the one of the first ten businesses to participate in this and the only Napa winery involved. Also of note is a special project in which all vintners in the Oakville Appellation contribute finished wine from their individual vineyards to be blended & then bottled in 3 Liter bottles. These bottles are hand numbered, etched and a number of them are sold to raise money for various charities. This wine is made at Paradigm - there may be a bottle or two on site. Visit: www.paradigmwinery.com |
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Parador Cellars is run by Steve Ventrello who is also the winemaker. This winery started as a dream with visits to Spain and many tastings of various Tempranillo wines. He started thinking about how Tempranillo was such an under-rated varietal in California. During one trip to Spain he secured Tempranillo budwood from well-known vineyards in the Ribera del Duero and Rioja wine regions. He then had had it shipped to California. A friend has a large vineyard in Wooden Valley east of Napa and this wood was budded onto existing vines. Parador is a Spanish word and represents castles that have been converted to lodging. It also means a place to stop, rest and enjoy life.
Parador's wines are all about enjoying life with good food as they are meant to be consumed with meals. Steve has a long history of working within the wine business and has run a popular wine distribution company, Vintage Wine Marketing for a number of years. He learned the winemaking business over time and released his first commercial vintage in 1998. He uses all high quality Bordeaux based oak barrels for aging as well as the much larger oak Puncheons which allow the wine to age slower and longer. As a result, his wines see a minimum of 4 years of total aging from harvest to release. All their wines are unfiltered. We tried his 2005 Tempranillo. No new oak was used during the aging of this wine and as a result the varietal characteristics show in this wine very well. There are not a lot of Tempranillo producers in the Napa area and this is an excellent example of how this fruit can really shine. The grapes were not harvested too ripe so its not a major fruit driven wine high in alcohol, rather it has good acidity with structured smooth tannins on the long elegant finish. There are plum and cherry flavors on the palate along with a nice minerality. Also of note is their Reserva which is predominately a Tempranillo Cabernet Sauvignon blend. We enjoyed their 2004 vintage. This has a great nose similar to their main Tempranillo; it is a full bodied wine with notes of plums on the palate and structured tannins on the finish. This wine blend typically varies in the percentages that are used each year. Also of note is they make several Cabernets from fruit sourced from different area vineyards. They have good distribution in California (which is their main market), and are represented locally at Dean & Deluca in St. Helena and Enoteca in Calistoga. Additionally, while they are a small producer (as of press time, one of their wines is under 100 cases) they sometimes have older vintages available on their website priced very decently. Visit: www.paradorcellars.com |
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You either taste at the tasting counter, outside (covered patio has heat lamps) or at the sit down tasting tables. Listen for music which is played from outdoor speakers both in front and behind their main tasting salon. There is nothing quite like kicking back on one of their deep cushioned seats on the wood deck in the back on a warm late afternoon sipping Zinfandel watching the sun drop behind the Mayacamas mountains. You come here for one type of wine and one type of wine only - the Zinfandel. Your tasting experience will usually include a vertical of their predominately Zinfandel Cabernet Sauvignon blend simply called, Napa Valley Red Wine. Its difficult to find a blend quite like this at other Napa wineries. On occasion at Paraduxx, we have heard "newbies" to the wine tasting experience thrown off by this type of blend when they are used to only drinking wines of these individual varietals. These blends have pleasant Zinfandel type aromas with nice fruit flavors and integrated tannins. All of their their wines are blends and typically Zinfandel is at least 50% of the wine with Cabernet Sauvignon comprising the majority of the rest of the blend. We tried the 2005 Rector Creek Vineyard sourced from vineyards which are adjacent to the winery. There is lots of spice in this wine, nutmeg, cloves, vanilla as well as great cherry and raspberry flavors. In the same style as the Duckhorn tasting, your wine educator will bring you the wines on a metal tray paired with a few snacks. Their 10 sided fermentation cellar is the centerpiece of this winery and can be viewed as you drive in. Paraduxx also offers popular blending seminars. Ever see Walk in the Clouds starring Keanu Reeves? One of the scenes was filmed on site. Similar ducks (as with their Duckhorn label) appear on most of their wine labels & literature - the owner's last name is Duckhorn. Their "Postmark" collection contains very limited production wines. Visit www.paraduxx.com |
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Parallel is the only Napa winery with an association between Park City Utah and Napa Valley! Perhaps someone likes to ski in this partnership as Parallel refers to the lines first left after an initial run down ski slopes. The label is creatively designed and reflects these "ski lines". The winery is owned by 4 couples all who have an interest in wine. They met in Park City and have developed long term friendships that carried over into this mutual business. The owners have donated over 1 million to various charities and organizations in the Park City area. Their first vintage was released in 2003.
They specialize in a single vintage of Cabernet Sauvignon each year although upcoming plans call for a Chardonnay. Much of the fruit for their wine comes from their spectacular 62 acre vineyard which is located above Lake Hennessey. In addition, they have contracts with other growers in the valley. This is in the same general mountain area as other well-known Napa wineries including Colgin and Chappellet. The climate is in part dictated by the moderating influences of the lake below allowing very even growing conditions and moderated temperatures. Only 7 acres are planted in very well drained soils which when combined with their particular Cabernet clone produces very small grapes with rich concentrated flavors. No wonder this particular hillside area of the Napa Valley is so highly coveted by wineries. However even prime hillside vineyard properties have their quirks. One section of the vineyard is named the Turkey block as one year, one night before harvest a flock of wild turkeys descended and devastated most of this block. This is certainly not the first time we've heard of this happening in the Napa Valley! Philippe Melka has been the winemaker since day one (named winemaker of the year in 2005 by Food & Wine Magazines) and so has Jim Barbour in capacity as their very highly respected vineyard manager. All their wine is made at Fantesca Winery on Spring Mountain above the town of St. Helena. We tried the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon which is blended with 8% Merlot & 1% Petite Verdot. This wine is dark ruby in color with a rich complex nose that includes floral and black current characteristics. The elegant mouth feel is soft and full bodied with black cherry, chocolate and a cigar box type smokiness that completes the finish. Unlike all other Melka produced wines that are priced towards the upper end of Napa Cabernet Sauvignon pricing, Parallel's wines are very reasonably priced, often described as 'mid range'. Due to the overwhelming response they received to earlier vintages (based on price to quality ratio) they have now established a mailing list. Lastly, their 2006 lot earned the 9th highest bid at Premier Napa Valley, a trade only fundraiser held annually in February. Not bad for a winery that did not exist several years ago! Visit: www.parallelwines.com |
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Parry Cellars is not the smallest overall production winery that we have visited in the Napa Valley, but it is certainly one of the smaller ones. However, they are the smallest single vineyard/one winery producer in the valley. Their 1/2 acre vineyard sits slightly above the Silverado Trail in the north part of the valley. It was planted by one of the most respected vineyard management companies in the valley - Abreu Vineyard Management. Before the Parry's purchased this property, the grapes from this vineyard were being used in a Pahlmeyer Red wine. Pahlmeyer is a premium Napa based winery.
Parry Cellars focuses on one wine only, a 100 % Cabernet Sauvignon. The same winemaker (Andy Schweiger) has been with them since their first vintage in 1999. Their wine is made at Schweiger Vineyards which is located on the top of nearby Spring Mountain district. The owners have a local well-respected vineyard manager who oversees the vineyard and they also personally keep a very close eye on how the vineyard is grown and managed (thinning, dropping fruit, pruning, etc). With a vineyard this size you can provide excellent micromanagement in all aspects. We tried a vertical flight of their wines from 2002 to 2005. It is always neat to experience how different vintages have unique characteristics which make each year's wine very recognizable from the other years. In this case the vintage makes even more difference as the fruit is from the same source every year and their vineyard is so small. In addition, the same oak aging program is used each year. The one thing that all their vintages have in common is smooth silky tannins as their property and the specific planted clone do not produce monster wines. These wines pair very well with food, are well balanced and a pleasure to drink. Our favorite is their 2002 (yes we are a sucker for wines that have some additional aging); it has an elegant light nose with hints of blackberries on the bouquet. The 2003 was their current release as of press time. Their wines typically see about 20 months in French Oak which includes a combination of new and used, and then another almost 2 years in the bottle. These wines are aged well before they are released. With a production of about 200 cases annually they have very limited distribution. You can find their wine on the wine list at Redd in Yountville and LA Toque in Rutherford as well as select restaurants in SF, LA, San Diego, Las Vegas, Washington DC and parts of Connecticut. Parry Cellars has a mailing list which you can join on their website. Visit: www.parrycellars.com |
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Patricia Howe Wines own what is among the smallest bonded freestanding winery structure in the USA (certainly in Napa). The city of Napa has a regulation that allows residential home owners to bond part of their house for commercial wine production. Typically this is one's garage with a chain link fence separating the bonded winery from the rest of the garage. In this case it is a stand alone winery building in the back yard that tops out at 104 square feet! As Patricia says in response to the typical home "garagist winery", "my winery is shediste"!
Patricia has a long history of being around and working with sparkling wines in the Napa Valley. While working towards her degree at UC Davis she was already working at Domain Chandon. After graduating in 1983 she worked at Chandon full time as a research enologist and then became winemaker and technical director of their entire winemaking program. During her time at Chandon she also had unique opportunities to work in France at Moet Chandon and Domain Chandon in Australia as well as with small lot wines in Napa. Patricia's Pinot Noir is made in a champagne style - the alcohol levels are very well managed - both vintages are between 12.2 and 12.5. The tiny freestanding winery translates into minute productions. Patricia made only 50 cases of the 2007 Pinot Noir and 20 cases of the 2008. Patricia sources most of her fruit from Carneros but has also used fruit from Suisun and the Sonoma Coast. These are wines she enjoys to drink - balanced, with lower alcohols and food friendly. The 2008 despite having similar acidity (titratable acidity) to the 2007 is more of a food wine. The nose is earthy, slightly dusty with notes of blueberry and cherry. The mouth watering palate is slightly tart (though not unripe) with flavors of raspberry and cherry. The 2007 unfortunately is sold out; this wine is delicate, rounded and drinks beautifully by itself. The tannins are plush and soft - this is an elegant wine. Patricia made a change in the oak program between the two years, as well as sourced different fruit which in part contributed to to differences in vintage. The winery is bonded number 16019 which as Patricia says is a name of a comet. This name serves as her label for the Pinot Noir. The tasting of her sparkling wine is a waiting game at this point. The Napa Valley Brut 2007 and Napa Valley Rose 2007 are set to be released sometime in 2012; we will taste and review those here once they are released. While certainly not the focus of her operations (that would be the sparkling wines), Patricia has produced several vintages of vinegar to date. The vinegar is made from additional "base" wine that is made for her sparkling program. Her "red wine" vinegar is made from both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and her "wine vinegar" is made from the classic sparkling varietals with a lesser percentage of Pinot Noir. Both vinegars have intense flavors and higher acidities - this is a case where "a lot" goes a long way! Patricia recommends these for salads, marinades and because of the higher acidities she has been able to use the vinegar for pickling cucumbers. The vinegars are sold in half bottles but larger quantities can also be ordered. With such a small production and space for the crush, everything is done on a smaller scale. She uses half sized barrels, a small press and a tiny tank. Most everything is done by hand including the harvest, the crush and even the riddling (turning the bottles of sparkling wine) and their disgorging. All her wine is available direct - either through the website or by calling her. The vinegar is also available direct with local distribution in Vallerga's market in the Redwood Plaza near Highway 29 in the city of Napa. For more information visit: www.patriciahowwines.com |
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As you enter the wine salon, the receptionist greets you and immediately you are made to feel right at home. A visit here is definitely not the typical crowded experience you would have at the more touristic wineries along Highway 29; a visit here is for serious wine enthusiasts. The actual tasting salon is a small intimate room in which your group, typically no more than 8 people will sit down with the wine connoisseurs. It is an intimate personalized experience that is all about the wine. Like many commercial wine producers these days, Patz & Hall was a "virtual" winery for many years (founded 1988), meaning they did not own an actual physical wine facility. Rather they purchased all their fruit from select growers and made their wine at another winery. However, Patz & Hall built their own winery in the town of Sonoma in 2007 (in neighboring Sonoma County). This is a winery that still owns no vineyards; all of their grapes come from select typically family owned growers. These growers are extremely important because without these high quality grapes, you don't have premium wine. Patz & Hall tries to keep their vineyard sources constant allowing them to develop working relationships with their growers and really get to know the fruit sources. While most of the vineyards they source from are in Sonoma County they source from two of the most highly regarded vineyards in Napa's cooler Carneros district the Hyde and the Hudson vineyards. The original founder James Hall and Donald Patz met when they were both working at Napa's Flora Springs Winery. Their wives are also extremely involved with the day to day operations. As with a number of other vintners in the valley who started out small they both worked second jobs until their wines started to become "noticed". However, unlike most area wineries Patz & Hall specializes in two wines only - single vineyard designated Chardonnay and Pinot noir. As of press time they make 15 different wines! Your tasting typically includes 3 Chardonnays and 3 Pinots paired with cheese and several small delicacies. This is a great time to ask questions about the wine and your wine educator will also explain the differences in each of the vineyards. Several of these wines are only available for tasting here or through their wine club, i.e., they are not distributed. Our Pinot noir recommendations are their Alder Springs (a rich wine from Mendocino County hillside grown fruit) & Burnside (Sonoma Coast vineyard). For a delicious Chardonnay try their Zio Tony Ranch Chardonnay (Russian River area of Sonoma County, a top Chardonnay growing region). Patz & Hall also puts on the "Salon Dinner Series". These are intimate three-course, wine paired dinners that are always limited to small groups and are always hosted by two of the owners. Visit: www.patzhall.com Wine with Tony |
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Pavi Wines was founded by a husband wife team, Pavi and Rob. Besides the obvious reason for the name of this winery, Pavi pays homage to her strong Italian heritage and all their wines are made from Italian varietals. Rob is the winemaker and has a long family history in the wine industry. Rob was past CEO of the well-known Napa Wine Co and naturally his wines are made here and is where we met him for this review. Pavi specializes in three very affordably priced wines, two Pinot Grigio's and a Dolcetto and if you know Napa wines, these are not varieties you typically find at area wineries. As a result, it is always refreshing to taste some "lesser" known area varietals. We tried their 2006 Pinot Grigio sourced from various California vineyards. You won't go broke with this wine as it is amazingly priced. It has the viscosity, weight and character of a Pinot Grigio that is priced much higher.
We also tried their flagship wine which is their Napa Valley Pinot Grigio. The fruit for this wine comes from the Oakville and Carneros appellations. This blends grapes from a warmer with a cooler growing climate. In addition, the grapes are harvested at different sugar levels throughout the harvest to best obtain flavors and show the varietal characteristics. This wine is aged Surlie (aged on deposits of dead yeast and other wine matter formed after fermentation which helps provide additional flavors). The end result is very nice. The wine has a viscous mouth feel with lots of floral tropical flavors in the aromas. Drinking this wine can magically whisk you off to Hawaii or some other exotic tropical place! It has more depth of flavors than their California version with some pear fruit characteristics on the palate. Dolcetto is a northern Italian varietal rarely made in the valley. Pavi's version is characteristic of how this varietal tastes but with ripe California grown fruit. Its a nice easy everyday drinking wine that is somewhat fruity with raspberry and cherry flavors. Both their grapes for the Napa Pinot Grigio and their Dolcetto come from certified organic vineyards. Look for several other interesting varietals to be released in the near future including Vin Santo which is a sweet Italian dessert wine and a Super Tuscan blend. Rob is actively involved in several Italian winery projects as well as with the Vines of Mendoza, in Argentina. You can taste Pavi Wines in Napa Wine Co's Cult Tasting Room (they have their own identifying plaque and tasting section on the counter). Visit: www.paviwines.com |
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PB Hein Vineyards is owned and operated by Paul Hein a 5th generation Napan whose family has wine making roots dating back to the early 1870's on Mt. Veeder in the Mayacamas mountains which form the north south spine between Napa and Sonoma counties. In fact Paul has records that show his family had an operating winery in 1871 with vineyards totaling 29,000 vines. If Paul is ever able to acquire that property he could advertise his winery was founded in 1871- that is only 10 years after Napa's first winery, Charles Krug!
Their first commercial vintage was in 2005. Paul has no formal training in wine making and started making home wine in 2002. A next door neighbor who owns a small vineyard said to Paul, "you do everything, do you make wine?" The answer at the time was no, but here was the opportunity to learn how, literally handed to him. After producing home wine for several years and taking some top honors at various competitions Paul's friends started encouraging him to make wine commercially. Any new varietal that Paul plans on making commercially he will initially make as home wine, often testing different barrels to determine quality and complexities between each of the lots. He always works with very small lots during this time to also prove the quality of the vineyard sources - usually around a ton at a time. His winemaking is a throwback to old world techniques with more manual labor and less mechanical intervention. As a result there are no mechanical pump overs, the punch downs are all conducted by hand and only small lots are used for fermentation. Paul is also active in the management with the vineyards that he sources from; besides his own vineyard he makes critical decisions on other vineyards as when to drop fruit, canopy management, and when to pick etc. We recently caught up with Paul at his winery south of Napa in the middle of an industrial park where he makes his wine in the same facility as two other vintners. Paul is a busy guy who is involved in a variety of projects; the latest one involves building automation into parking garages in San Francisco. Paul was bottling on the day we visited and the winery was a buzz of activity. His first vintage was a Syrah and each year the types of wines vary depending on the fruit sources he is able to acquire. However Paul owns 47 acres near Howell Mountain in the northern part of the Napa Valley, part of which is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon. As a result, his Cabernet Sauvignon fruit source remains constant each year. Eventually Paul would like to build a winery on site. We tried the 2007 Rose of Syrah sourced from a vineyard near Suisun City - east of Napa County. This is a fairly robust Rose and made us think of grilled meat for the pairing. The nose has notes of crushed black pepper leading to lots of fruit on the palate including pomegranate, fruity raspberry and dried currant notes. There is so much fruit flavor in this wine you might even think there is some residual sugar - not so, its completely dry. The 2004 Charbono was grown near Howell Mountain. Charbono is an interesting varietal that is sometimes described as rustic in nature. It grows well in the northern part of the Valley where during the summer growing season you often have very hot days with much cooler nights. It thrives in terroir with these large temperature fluctuations. If there was ever a candidate for a wine that pairs well with grilled or BBQ wild game this wine is it! Only 175 cases were made. It is a dark inky wine with pleasant aromas with good fruit up front leading to a dusty, cigar smoke like finish. We tried the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon from barrel; Paul's vineyard is planted to two different clones, both of which are co-fermented. It is a dark wine with dark fruit aromas on the bouquet with notes of chocolate. It is layered with a soft mouth feel and there are nice earthy qualities on the palate. The fruit entry is smooth with the finish sporting structured tannins that are completely in balance. P.B. Hein also makes two completely different styled Syrahs - we tried both of the 2005 vintages. The Trailblazer from the North Coast is a very soft rounded wine - a great everyday wine. The Trailblazer Napa Valley Syrah is a much larger wine with some serious structure. As a winemaker it can be fun to make two different types of wine despite using the same varietal; as a consumer it is neat to see how the terroir and winemaking style produces wines completely different from each other both in aromas, flavor and structure. A western artist has designed several of Paul's labels. Michael Swearngin's website is: www.contemporarycowboy.com As of press time, PB Hein produces about 1200 cases. Visit: www.pbheinvineyards.com |
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A visit is on a very limited basis for serious wine enthusiasts and you will always meet with the owners or winemaker. Craig Becker has been their winemaker since day 1. What is nice is before he became Peacock's winemaker he was already familiar with Spring Mountain grown fruit having previously worked at nearby Spring Mountain Winery; today he consults for a number of area wineries. As with many of his consulting jobs, his focus is on hillside grown single vineyard produced wines. As with a number of Spring Mountain Cabernet Sauvignons we have tried the local terroir is very well represented in Peacock's wines. We tried their current release which at the time of this review was 2004. This wine is dark and inky in color and is very representative of concentrated Spring Mountain fruit, layered in flavor but not overly tannic. This is a very smooth wine with an extremely long finish. The nose is elegant and opens the more you leave it in the glass. Mocha, vanilla and fruit make this a very aromatic wine with the fruit following onto the palate including cherry and plum with notes of baking spices and subtle hints of oak towards the finish. The tannins are definitely there but do not overwhelm, rather they complement this already very well balanced wine nicely. Native yeasts were used during the fermentation and the wine was unfiltered. You cannot miss their wine as the label is a large colorful peacock with feathers that take up most of the label. You can find their wines at various local Napa wine shops and they are distributed in select markets nationally. Total production is merely around 600 cases. Visit: www.peacockfamilyvineyard.com |
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We've stopped in several times and found that the walk-in tastings are "timed" which means when there is an opening at the tasting bar, the host will escort you and other people who are waiting back to one of their tasting bars. Until there is an opening, most people typically hang out in the retail room. The main tasting room in the back of the winery behind the large stained glass window is quite nice as it is spacious with beautiful cut Brazilian Quartzite marble lining the counter as well as the floor. The marbled iron ore in this rock will actually glow in the dark at night. Also note the beautiful antique stained glass window which dates from 1906. A variety of wines are typically available for the tasting. The tastings are rather structured if busy and usually take 15-20 minutes. During a recent visit we started the tasting with their 2006 Carnival which is actually the first wine ever made at Peju back in the early 1980's. This wine is made from French Colombard and now here is a varietal you rarely see from a Napa winery! In this case they source from vineyards located in more northern Mendocino County. This is a white wine varietal sometimes compared to German Rieslings. It is both creamy and crisp with notes of red apple and a lemony citrus quality. There is just a hint of Residual sugar. The 2007 Peju Pink is a Rose wine most decidedly pink in color. That is only part of the reason for the name as 25% of the proceeds from the sales of this wine are donated directly to breast cancer research and during the first year this wine was released, they donated over $64,000. The image of one of the ladies in their stained glass window appears on the label. It is a very unique blend of Zinfandel, Chardonnay, and Colombard. It is fruity with aromas of strawberry, kiwi and watermelon with stone fruit flavors including nectarine and peach. As one of their employees says about this wine, "Chill it, fill it, kill it"! The 2005 Syrah is light on the oak with lots of fruit flavors and a characteristic spiciness that's not really found on the bouquet, but more so on the palate especially towards the finish. Peju has made a name for themselves with Cabernet Franc. The 2005 vintage has notes of chocolate floral nuances on in the bouquet and is smooth and rounded on the palate. It shows nice flavors of plum and blackberry. Part of the experience at this winery is visiting with the people pouring the wines - Alan Arnopole, "The Yodelmeister or rapper, will sometimes be singing or performing in the tasting room. He's one of the few people in Napa to consider a tasting room a personal "stage" and is a "Peju tradition". He will sing about most anything, often on the spur of the moment with quickly composed lyrics! Peju owns and manages over 450 acres in the valley which gives them some serious property to play with. They offer wines for all tastes ranging from several not often produced white varietals, to the big deep reds such as their Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, and they even produce a Zinfandel Port for those who have a sweet tooth. Rotating art exhibits on display are usually from prominent San Francisco Bay area artists. You can take a "self guided" stroll around the property taking in their various gardens & art displays. This is a "fun" winery and and attracts people from all over who want to not only taste good wine but to have a "fun experience" as well. Visit: www.peju.com |
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Perata Vineyards has a long history in the Napa Valley dating back to the mid 1940's when the grandparents of David Perata purchased land in what is now the Stag's Leap district. Today the Perata's own 45 vineyard acres in the Yountville appellation and sell a majority of their grapes to other area wineries. In the early 2000's they started holding some of the fruit back for themselves and released their first commercial vintage in 2003. We had a chance to walk much of their vineyards with David; their property lies just below the Silverado Trail, east of the town of Yountville.
The vineyards are separated into blocks based on clones or soil types and the soils do vary quite a bit from the fertile valley floor soils to cobble strewn old creek bed soils. Great attention to detail is given to the vines and the owner David Perata is also the vineyard manager. They have already drawn up plans to build their own physical winery set among the vineyards and as of press time, this should be completed within several years. Perata employs long time Napa winemaker Gary Galleron as their winemaker. Gary has a long career working at stellar Napa wineries such as Chateau Montelena, Grace Family, Hartwell and Vineyard 29 among others. Perata currently produces merely several hundred cases of each vintage, but they have the vineyard sources to increase this and once their physical winery is built, look for production to increase. They were able to hold back their first release to allow an additional year of bottle aging which is of course very nice for the consumer. Their wines to date have been 100% Cabernet Sauvignon although they do have some nice older Zinfandel vines planted so perhaps one day we will see a wine from this varietal. We tried their 2003 Yountville Estate 100% Cabernet Sauvignon (this is their first release). It is dark violet in color and you know this wine is layered as soon as you get a whiff of the aromas. Deep chocolate and cedar on the nose follow with great fruit flavors including plum and blackberry. The cedar creeps back in on the finish as well as some mild toasted oak. For 100% estate grown Napa Cabernet, this wine is priced very reasonably. We also tasted their 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon from what they call the Frank's Vineyard (named after the grandfather) and is a combination of several Cabernet clones. This is a lighter version of their 2003 with lots of fruit in the aromas and on the palate with a finish that is very smooth and soft. Visit: www.peratavineyards.com |
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Peter Franus has been involved in the Napa wine industry since late 1979. Originally from Connecticut he moved out west to attend UC Berkeley where he earned a journalism degree. His first exposure to Napa was when he was in his late teens though a friend's family but it wasn't until later that a passion for wine began to develop. Not satisfied with being an educated wine consumer, he went back to school at Fresno State in their viticulture and enology program. Soon after Fresno he worked at several area wineries before starting at Mt. Veeder where he worked as winemaker for more than 10 years. During his time here, he became familiar with mountain grown fruit and especially Zinfandel which soon became a varietal favorite. As a result of his exposure to Mt. Veeder he worked with the Brandlin Vineyard, a very historic in part Zinfandel vineyard located at about 1200 feet on Mt. Veeder. If the name of the vineyard sounds familiar, it is because it is owned by Cuvaison Winery (Brandlin Cabernet Sauvignon).
As of press time the vines are more than 85 years old and are some of the oldest vines still in production on Mt. Veeder. As a result their production is very small. Peter's first commercial release was none other than Zinfandel in 1987 and he has worked with the Brandlin vineyard every year since 1991. He knows this vineyard and what it is capable of. Sitting outside at Laird Family Estate Winery (where Peter makes his wine) this vineyard is rather noticeable. Look to the west and spot a single tree in a saddle in the hills and you have the exact location of the vineyard. The 2007 Sauvignon Blanc is from two vineyards in the cooler Carneros region. This was tank fermented and then left to sit on the lees in the barrel for 3 months which helps contribute a slight creaminess to the wine while still retaining its crisp component. However no new oak is used, rather Peter wants to focus on the varietal characteristics of the wine. This wine is not overly filled with citrus components that you sometimes find in Sauvignon Blancs, rather you may find pineapple, melon and even ginger. There are good mineralities anchoring the pleasant finish. The 2005 Peter Franus Red Wine is an alluring gem that is very dark in color. The elegant nose starts off slightly floral in nature with the core of the palate being all fruit including blackberry and cherry. Spices start on the mid palate and finish slightly spicy and smoky with just a kiss of toasted oak. The 2004 Peter Franus Zinfandel (merely labeled PF on the front of the bottle), is from the aforementioned Brandlin Vineyard. While the majority of the varietal in this wine is Zinfandel it is actually a field blend which includes small amounts of several other varietals including Charbono, Mourvèdre, & Carignane. The first word out of our mouth when we tried this was "delicious", which is a word Peter has grown accustomed to hearing about his Zinfandels! The nose is elegant with notes of graphite, dried fruit, and red cherry. There are some briary characteristics with deeper notes of blackberry, chocolate and just a touch of vanilla. As the nose opens up it you find even more fruit aromas. This is not a spicy Zinfandel either in the bouquet or on the palate. It is extremely well balanced. There are rich fruit flavors along with cedar box spices, toasted oak and earthy components. The finish is balanced, rather lengthy, rich and warm. Peter also makes a Napa Valley Zinfandel which unlike the Brandlin gives him more blending flexibility and is not always sourced from the same vineyard. While the Brandlin is his flagship Zinfandel the Napa Valley Zinfandel is more of a "drink now" with food styled wine. Oh and we haven't yet mentioned that their prices are really quite reasonable. They have rather good distribution in parts of Canada - you can find their wine locally at Backroom Wines in Napa and Groezinger's Wine Shop in Yountville or online. Visit: www.peterfranus.com |
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Initially fruit was sold to several premium local area wineries including the well-known Cabernet house, Silver Oak. After just a few years of seeing high end wineries purchase their grapes, the Phelans decided they wanted to make their own wine. Not a bad choice! The well-known winemaker Bob Egelhoff was hired and he has been with them since day 1. Bob's time is not spread too thin as he consults for only a select handful of premium area wineries. This is important as it allows him to really devote extra time to the core projects that he manages. Phelan's vineyards were developed and are carefully maintained and monitored by Arlene - everything from detailed watering schedules, to fertilizing to canopy management. The owners are so tied into their vineyard they never schedule vacations during the actual growing season. They specialize in one wine and that is a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon; it is available in several bottle sizes. All fruit for this wine comes from their vineyards; nothing is sourced from elsewhere. Note the copper colored lining on the actual label. It is representative of Arlene's husband who has been in the copper business for many years. The logo is not the upper 1/3 of California cut off - rather the jagged section represents the slopes of Mt. George, site of their vineyard. We enjoyed the 2004 vintage of this Cabernet. It is a very deep, dark colored full bodied wine. The aromas hint of toasted oak and chocolate with the dominate part of the nose showing black cherry. It is smooth in the mouth with notes of plums and other berries. This wine is perfectly balanced in tannins and acidity and can easily be consumed now although it has the structure to age for a number of years. Despite this being a private winery - their wines are available for tasting to the public at the popular walk-in Vintners Collective in downtown Napa. Visit: www.phelanvineyard.com |
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Their first vintage is from 2005; they produce one wine each year which is always a high end Cabernet Sauvignon called "Date Night". In order to understand why this wine is named Date Night you must know the story behind the name. What is Date Night? It is a night reserved for once a week where couples (married or not), take time to themselves away from other distractions whether its at a restaurant, an evening in a library or just time together somewhere out of their normal day to day lives. This wine is a tribute to Suzanne and Shane's "date nights" where some of their biggest decisions have been made including the decision to start this winery! Oh and with a name like this, this wine is very popular for Valentine Day gifts and other romantic occasions. Since 2005 they have used the same fruit from the Temple Family Vineyards in eastern Napa County in Pope Valley. Their wine is Bordeaux in style from vineyards that are entirely micro-managed and farmed organically. Each year they typically produce merely several hundred cases. The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon is all about the fruit without being a fruit bomb. It has a delightful nose with seductive aromas that include blackberry, dark chocolate and hints of sage. The entry is immediate and pronounced; delicious flavors of blackberry, black currant with pleasant notes of toasted oak form the mid palate with just a note of spice on the finish. This wine is very approachable at a young age and is oh so smooth from start to finish. The finish lingers and is anchored by ripe tannins that are in balance with the rest of the wine's profile. One sign of a great wine is its balance. This wine is perfectly integrated in aroma, flavor and structure. Ted Osborne is one of the most under-rated winemakers in the Napa Valley. He is not a celebrity winemaker, someone to go out and hit all the wine maker dinners, seek publicity, garner press and find himself in the spotlight. Rather he prefers to let his work show for himself and his wine's certainly do that. He has a plethora of International experience with stints in Bordeaux, South Africa and Australia as well as working locally at Storybook Mountain, Pina Cellars and running his own label, Olabisi Wines. Phifer Pavitt has done what a number of small boutique wineries have not been able to do; they have successfully utilized the power of viral marketing on the web and have ridden the wave created by wine bloggers and other online journalists. Their marketing philosophy is actually rather simple; if people enjoy their wine they will tell others. So far this is a philosophy that has been very successful as much of their wine is sold entirely through word of mouth via the Internet. Phifer Pavitt has already received great reviews and the 2005 vintage was voted as one of the Top 100 Wines of 2008 by the San Francisco Chronicle. They have a mailing list, distribution in Los Angeles and you can find their wine locally at ACME in St. Helena or Solage Resort in Calistoga. Visit www.phiferpavittwine.com or for something easier to remember go to: www.datenightwines.com |
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Understandably their philosophy is that winemaking starts in the vineyards and as a result they spend much of their time effectively managing the various hillside blocks. Their winemaking style is minimal manipulation rather letting their work in the vineyard show. There is a saying that Syrah likes a hillside view - well Cabernet Sauvignon does quite well with hillside views and this winery proves that point well! The Togni's first purchased the property in 1975 and the first vines were planted in 1981, having since been replanted several times as needed. All hillside vineyards are located around 2000 feet. Yes, they do get a bit snow in the winter. Almost half of the property is planted to vine leaving the vineyards surrounded by much of the natural forested land. There is a nice natural balance to the property and they farm sustainably as much as possible. They have even installed solar panels. Along with select nearby Spring Mountain land their property was planted to vineyards in the 1880's. In fact, they found one of these original vines still living and have nurtured it back to health; it grows in the corner of one of the vineyards. Philip Togni is entirely a self contained winery and that is somewhat rare to find in Napa. By this we mean they handle all the vineyard management, wine making, bottling (no mobile bottling trucks here) and shipping and handling. All wine in bottle is even stored on site and then for the most part shipped from the winery. In addition, they don't buy grapes, they don't sell grapes. All wine is from the estate. The winery and storage is built into the hill which helps keep things cool even in the heat of the day. Consistency is key here - with a large number of harvests under their belt, they know what works and what does not. They also know the prime parts of their vineyard. High end yeast is used for the fermentation - the free run and the pressed juice are kept separate from each other until their final blending and bottling. Only French Oak is used from a variety of select coopers. Their wines are released soon after bottling with the caveat to the consumer being "age for best results! Togni's wines age extremely well and only become better after being in the bottle for a number of years. They don't encourage drinking the wines upon purchase - lay them down..10, 15, 20 years! Their specialty is Cabernet Sauvignon blended in approximate proportion to the varietals planted on the property. As of press time the majority is Cabernet, with Merlot and small amounts of Cabernet Franc and Petite Verdot. Togni also produces a second label called Tanbark Hill. This is named after a prominent hill near their property that you can even recognize from much further south on the valley floor. This wine is not made every year and when it is, is only produced in maybe several hundred cases. In addition, a tiny amount of an obscure varietal (for Napa), Black Hamburgh bottled under the Ca' Togni is produced as a dessert wine. More about this shortly. We tried a number of wines from barrel including both free run and pressed juice from their 2006 and 2007 vintages. The older vintages were of course already more polished with a better integrated tannin structure. As expected, the free run wines were more polished than the bigger "pressed wines". The free run vintages we tried had very nice earthy aromas to the elegant bouquet with rich concentrated fruit flavors. With such young wines you get hints of how well these will age and the quality that is intrinsically part of Togni's terroir and wine. To the best of our knowledge they are the only commercial Napa winery to produce wine from the Black Hamburg varietal. Out of 500+ Napa winery reviews, this is only the second time we've seen this grape being used in Napa. It is a fairly large grape, almost table grape sized that is planted to merely 1/4 of an acre on site. As a result you can well imagine there is just not much of this available. The Togni's pick these grapes quite late so that the brix (sugar level) does a real number on their refractometer's meter (high sugar content)! This particular grape requires extreme manual labor, especially when some of the fruit gets to this late stage and is wrinkled and shriveled. Manual removal of the fruit has to occur even after it has gone through their de-stemmer. Then individual grapes are removed; those that are bird pecked or have served as food sources to wasps. This wine is then aged for 5 years before it is even released. We tried the 2007 vintage from barrel. Wow! It has amazing floral characteristics with great viscosity on the palate. Wonderful layered aromas and flavors of red ripe lychee. While young, this wine is very fruit forward - give it time to age and it takes on more of a tawny characteristic. Philip Togni is one of the few California wineries represented in Robert Parker's book, The World's Greatest Wine Estates. This book features 175 of the world's most accomplished and spectacular vineyard estates - only 23 from the USA are represented and it is a great honor for Togni to be included. Also of note, is a blind tasting that occurred in Brussels, where some of Belgium's best professional wine tasters rated California and Bordeaux wines. Togni took top honors over all the other wineries represented and the tasters even thought they were a French producer! You can find information about how to join their mailing list via their website. Current releases are always released to the mailing list first. Also every year, they release a 10 year old wine in limited quantity to their mailing list. Besides the mailing list some of their wine is exported to Europe and Asia, most notably Japan. Total production varies but is usually around 2000 cases. Visit: www.philiptognivineyard.com |
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The tasting room is very low key; it is in their barrel room, which from the outside has "shedlike" appearances. The tasting counter is portable. A tasting here is reminiscent of how Napa used to be and you won't find fancy architecture, reflecting pools or famous artwork. Now, with all that said, its glaringly obvious you don't need all those extra's to produce top notch wines. Pina produces some of the nicest Cabernet Sauvignons that we have tasted in Napa Valley. We've tasted a ton of wine for this project and it is extremely rare when all the wines at a particular winery fit our palate like a glove such as with Pina. You come here for their 100% single vineyard designated Cabernets because that is all they make, ie no blends. They source from 5 select vineyards in Napa. They planted each of these vineyards and have provided the vineyard managment since day 1 (they own the Rutherford and Oakville vineyards). This is a small winery with only about 4000 cases produced annually and some of their wines are produced in quantities of merely several hundred cases. Typically they sell out way ahead of when the bottles are ready to be released to the public so you have to buy "futures". As a result, depending on the time of year your tasting may be from barrels only. There are a few qualities characteristic of Pina produced wines - rich aromas and flavor, smooth refined structured tannins with very velvety overall mouth feels. A couple highlights; the 2005 D'Admamo Vineyard is by far their most produced wine. The 2005 Howell Mountain has wonderful earthy aromas, almost dusty. The palate is rich yet refined and is extremely well balanced with notes of blackberry and chocolate towards the finish which is long and slightly smoky with just a touch of toasted oak. The wines from their Oakville, Rutherford and Yountville vineyards are produced in quantities of typically no more than several hundred cases each vintage. Come to the winery to buy these! The 2007 Wolff vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon from barrel was already drinking very nicely merely 9 months after fermentation. If we had to choose one word to describe this wine it would be "rich" ...in aroma and flavor. Their wine club is appropriately called "Tilda" after the accent mark over the "n" in their name. Visit: www.pinanapavalley.com The Pina's talk about their winery: |
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There is an old radio commercial for milk that you may have heard if you grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area - "cows in Berkeley, mooo", Berkeley being a very urban environment. Chardonnay grown in Stag's Leap? Ha, Stag's Leap is an appellation known entirely for its Cabernet Sauvignon and it is surprising to find 2 acres of two French clone Chardonnays grown on a small hillside behind the winery. This is one of maybe 2 blocks of Chardonnay grown in the entire Stag's Leap district! These particular clones and growing climate produce an intensely flavored Chardonnay. Try approximately 180 cases - that is nothing as far as production goes and this wine very quickly sells out every year. The release date is usually in May or June and its best to call the winery for exact dates for this Le Petit Clos Chardonnay. A tour is recommended if you have the time (allow 1 hour 30 minutes). The tours are geared to the lowest wine education level of the attendees and covers a wide variety of topics ranging from vineyard management, to barrel aging, to fermentation and more. You will see their winemaking facilities, caves, and end your tasting in their small sit down tasting room next to their wine library. They also offer Reserve Cabernet Barrel tastings, their Sunday Food & Wine Paring Seminar and even a Cabernet Cave Dinner. You are in the heart of the Stag's Leap district...try their Cabernets! Choose from two tasting flights - their current release and an all Cabernet Sauvignon selection. They offer several Cabs from their own properties ranging from Oakville, Rutherford, Howell Mountain to Stag's Leap. We thoroughly enjoyed the Andrus Reserve; it is not cheap but is a multi layered rich wine that really delivers the fruit flavors. Their most popular and by far most produced wine is the interesting Chenin Blanc - Viognier Blend. It has great aromas and flavors, and talk about an excellent price! Ask to see the film titled "Discriminatory Practices at Pine Ridge" which is all about how they discriminate against the grapes to make superior wines. All tours are strictly by appointment only. Visit: www.pineridgewinery.com |
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You drive in to PlumpJack along a very narrow winding road right through the vineyards. Theoretically no tour buses and limo's are allowed so theoretically group sizes should be small at the tasting counter, however there are often Limos & buses in the parking lot and the tasting room can really fill up at times especially on Friday afternoons and Saturdays. The winery is small as far as Napa Wineries go; the tasting counter is intimate and there is a gift shop adjacent to the tasting counter. There is always a high energy vibe at the tasting counter which if crowded spills outside the door onto the grounds. Plumpjack is wildly popular with the late 20's, 30's and 40's crowd. No appointments are necessary - just drive in. Plumpjack is a pioneer in the valley in the use of screw cap enclosures rather than corks. There are several benefits to this type of closure including no problems with corkage and hopefully more and more wineries will start using these as peoples "perceptions" of screw caps on wine change. We tried several wines including their delightful 2006 reserve Chardonnay. Compared to most area wineries you pay a bit more for this Chardonnay but its worth the price. It undergoes no Malolactic fermentation, sees little oak during the aging and is not "oaky" or buttery, rather it is a crisp Burgundian style wine with lots of pineapple and pear notes in the nose and on the palate. Their 2005 Syrah comes from Stagecoach Vineyards high on Atlas Peak as well from the cooler Carneros region. Blending fruit from two radically different vineyards has its advantages. The Carneros fruit provides the backbone and structure to the wine and the Stagecoach vineyard gives it the overall pleasing fruit aromas and flavors. Their Reserve Cabernet is a monster wine that is well balanced which seems like a contradiction to say this in the same sentence. However in this case the huge tannins are well balanced by the incredible fruit and acidity. PlumpJack has a sister winery in the Angwin area on Howell Mountain - Cade Winery; the tasting experience there is more private, oh and with stellar views too!. PlumpJack is active in the Northern California philanthropy scene & supports a variety of charity organizations. Visit: www.plumpjackwinery.com Wine with Tony |
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Polaris Wines | Tweet
is a relatively new wine venture but is based upon many years combined experience in the wine industry among its general partners Bernard Portet and Don Chase. Bernard's son is also involved - as their National sales manager. Wine education for Bernard started early on - his father was a technical director at Chateau Lafite Rothschild and Bernard grew up tasting each vintage. In 1970 he was hired to search for a premium location to grow and make wine and came to the Napa Valley. He determined the site location for Napa's Clos du Val Winery, their initial vineyards and was their co-founder and founding winemaker in 1972. It was his first vintage (1972) that was one of only 6 Cabernet's selected for the now historic famous Paris Tasting of 1976. Ten years later in 1986, the same wine in a rematch took first place. After 38 years at Clo du Val Bernard "retired" but when one has been involved in the wine industry for so long - "retirement" is often just an excuse for a short break. With such a lengthy history in the valley, Bernard has cultivated a number of vineyard relationships over the years and was able to secure fruit for the Polaris wines from good vineyards in Oakville, Rutherford and Carneros. Today, while not actually making the wine directly - he oversees their winemaking - and plays an active role in some of their source vineyards and certainly their harvest decisions. The name Polaris is commonly referred to as the north star and ties in well with Bernard's interest in sailing. Two wine brands are currently produced under the Polaris name - Heritance (focusing on Napa fruit) and Nandu - (the name for a bird about the size of an Emu in Argentina) which focuses on Malbec from Mendoza, Argentina. Their Napa production currently focuses on two wines, a Sauvignon Blanc and a Cabernet Sauvignon. The labels on each wine show three important numbers, 1-9-4 - the 1 for the Portet family, the 9 represents their nine generations of making wine (Bernard's family has owned vineyard property in France dating to the late 1600's), and the 4 represents four continents that Bernard has made wine on (Europe, South America, Australia & North America). His style of wines has not wavered over the years - he was trained in classic French winemaking and continues to strive for that style. As he says, "my wines are a reflection of culture" referring to France where meals are usually accompanied by wine. In the early 1970's at Clos du Val, he was making wines that were balanced and meant to pair with foods; these wines were also blended to try and bring out additional complexities. This was opposite to many winemakers at the time who were trying to preserve varietal characteristics (single varietal wines) and were trying to highlight the richness of the Napa fruit both in the aromas and on the palate. Bernard believes in "defining a wine label over the years by continuous style" rather than trying to keep up with stylistic trends. He strives to produce balanced and elegant wines that are not overly powerful. These are wines that have good acidity and lower alcohol levels. Polaris wants to showcase a vineyard's location rather than over-riding terroir, preferring to highlight influences from individual soil types and varietal characteristics. One should be able to appreciate where the wine originates from and tell its a Cabernet Sauvignon from other varietals. The 2010 Sauvignon blanc includes 9% Semillon. This wine is made in the French Graves style - the Semillon adds pleasing floral and tropical notes to the bouquet as well as some weight or what Bernard calls "fleshiness" to the mid palate and finish. The nose shows notes of tangerine and other citrus, and as it opens more tropical notes come forward including honeysuckle and passion fruit. It takes some time for the aromatic contributions of the Semillon to develop in the glass. The wine has some weight yet retains a nice "freshness" or crisp character. The finish lingers nicely for some time with tropical flavors including guava. The 2010 Heritance Cabernet Sauvignon contains 8% Merlot. Initially as the wine opens in the glass notes of spice, a smoky characteristic, forest floor and mushroom notes show. As the bouquet opens it reveals more fruit - more elegant in style rather than a rich dominating bouquet which can overwhelm the nose. The entry is rather soft but by the mid palate you can tell there is some complexity to this wine - more black fruit than red shows. Bernard compares this wine to a rugby ball - its soft and smaller on the front end, rounded and bigger in the mid palate and again soft and smooth on the finish. It certainly can help to keep the price affordable when your production is more than several hundred cases. Some of the more affordably priced wines for quality in Napa that we have discovered have been in the 5,000 to 15,000 case range. The Polaris wines are definitely among some of the top quality to price values in the Napa Valley. Production for the Heritance label is currently around 5000 cases with national distribution. For more information visit, www.polariswines.com |
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The winery dates from 1897 and was one of the few Napa county wineries to stay "open" during part of prohibition. The typical story of such wineries is that they produced Sacramental wine during prohibition for church use. Not this winery - through their connections they sold wine to a network in Chicago who then supplied the wine to Al Capone's speakeasies and brothels. The winery stopped selling wine after Capone became more and more lawless, but to outside sources it appeared the winery was closed during prohibition! The current owners purchased the winery in the late 1980's and have preserved its history very well. You pull in on the short gravel road; the small tasting room is to your left. The staff is very friendly; you will find a totally relaxed atmosphere, complimentary tasting and a large selection of wines greet you at the tasting bar. All wines are aged in their hand dug cellar dating from 1909. Many of their wines have won top medals in statewide competitions. All wines are sourced from their estate vineyards, some of the vines date back to the 1940's. Their selection is somewhat atypical of Napa wineries which is not a bad thing as this is somewhat refreshing! Look for Old Vine and Late Harvest Chenin Blanc (usually only an acre is reserved for this late harvest gem) as well as a yummy Sangiovese Bella Rosa, a light Rose made by the French Saignee method of bleeding off the juice, a Merlot, and their very smooth well balanced Zinfandel port. Most of their wines are extremely reasonably priced by Napa Standards - between $10 and $50/bottle. Ask about the backyard events held at the actual winery which include music events, and BBQ's, especially their popular Spring BBQ usually held at the end of May, which features good food, barrel tastings, a tour, lots of wine and tons of fun! Visit: www.popevalleywinery.com |
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A number of varietals are planted on site including Syrah, Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as Cabernet Franc and Malbec. Aside from the crush pad, the winery is entirely underground in their 17,000 square feet of caves. At the time of our visit, the caves were completed with additional inside work still in development. Also of note is during the tunneling of the caves a large piece of sandstone fell from the ceiling of one of the tunnels. It contained a bunch of fossilized footprints indicating this location was actually a shoreline millions of years ago. This is one of the most technologically self contained wineries within the Napa Valley. It is state of the art. Tom has a background in the computer software industry and has put a lot of thought into this winery especially into the computer algorithm controlled systems. Four large tunnels lead from the surface to strategic parts of the cave providing air flow when needed - anemometers are stationed outside both entrances providing wind speed measurements and the inside is completely climate controlled and adjusts for various factors including humidity, temperature and external conditions such as cave doors being opened and closed. Large fans and humidifiers are stationed at each entrance. In addition all tanks are located under automatic computer controlled punch down devices which can be moved from tank to tank as they are located on rails. Small fermentors are used and with the help of technology they can track specific vineyard blocks or even specific vineyard rows all the the way from vineyard to fermentation to aging. This type of technology combined with winemaking allows them to track things such as problems in a specific part of their vineyard, fermentation and aging data. This technology is not only represented in the cave but in the vineyards as well. While most wineries have one watering system for the vines, Porter Family has two. The second "targeted irrigation" system is designed to place water on only weak or young vines, thus avoiding waste of water on all the vines. Their first every vintage was 2005 and was released in early October 2008. The entire initial production is fairly small at 300 cases but this will be ramped up over the next few years. Their main focus is on Cabernet Sauvignon but they do make other red wines. We tried their 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon; this is blended with Syrah from two different vintages and just a touch of Merlot. Their Syrah is an intense rich fruit and adds some nice structure, mouth feel and dark color to the wine. This is still a young wine of course but is already showing nicely with blackberry, cassis and notes of plum towards the finish. The finish is long and intense, one of those finishes that go on and on! We also tried the 2005 Merlot - merely 1 barrel of this wine was produced. It has an elegant nose and the palate is all about cherries and licorice. Tastings are for serious wine enthusiasts and at some point a retail outlet may be opened in the Napa area. A mailing list is available. For more info as well as some neat cave and other winery photos visit: www.porterfamilyvineyards.com View video from Cellar Angels: |
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Portfolio Winery is a joint venture between a husband and wife team (Luc and Genevieve Janssens) in Napa who run all the operations for this winery out of their "garage" located next to their home. The term for this type of winery is "garagist". We have visited a number of "garagist" wineries in the valley, as Napa County will let you bond your garage for winemaking purposes. This is the finest and most functional garage winery we have seen. The crush pad is located on site (all the other garage wineries we have visited do not have specific crush pads), the barrels are aged in temperature & climate controlled rooms, Portfolio does not even own a pump, so everything is gravity fed (thank goodness for forklifts!), and the owners are involved in every step of the production including punch downs at 2am in the morning during the fermentation! They use all new French Oak for the aging of the wine. Their wines are bottled without fining or filtration.
Their Cabernet Sauvignon fruit has been sourced from the same block of the well-known Hendry Vineyard since their first release in 1998. The Hendry Vineyard has a unique growing climate in that the temperature is very moderate; it is never too hot or too cold. This provides a very consistent growing and ripening temperature for the vineyards. More recently they are using a new vineyard addition to their "Portfolio", the Detert East Vineyard set on the Oakville benchland, one of the ideal areas for growing Cabernet Franc in Napa. Luc and Genevieve walk the vineyards where their fruit is sourced many times after veraison occurs and have the final say for when the grapes are picked. As a result of top notch vineyard sources, their excellent garage winery, and attention to detail, the wine produced here is of extremely high quality. A single vintage is produced each year, never more than 250 cases and it is always a Cabernet Sauvignon based wine blended with Cabernet Franc. Their first vintage was in 1998. We tried their 2004 vintage; this is an elegant wine with deep garnet colors. It is very full bodied with notes of graphite, spice and black fruit and coats your palate with its silky tannins and complex flavors. You may pick up on just a hint of the new French Oak used in the aging. The Cabernet Franc adds excellent structure to the finish which lingers well after you swallow. Their wine is very popular in Japan. You can find it locally at Dean & Deluca Wine shop in St. Helena and it is often served at Redd and La Toque restaurants. Genevieve has a long history of winemaking for Robert Mondavi Winery and is currently director of their wine making operations. Luc is a well-known artist who is one of a handful of photographers in the world working with Photogravure, a photographic printing process that dates back to 1816. His works are found in collections worldwide. He also runs an exceptional charity, The Lao Foundation which is building clinics along the Mekong River and providing medical services to those in need in a number of locations in Laos. The number of projects funded and supplies donated is amazing. Several of their websites you should be familiar with are: www.portfoliowinery.com, www.laofoundation.com (the Lao Charity organization), www.portfoliogravure.com (photography/art) and their son George and his partner Anja's wine charity: www.worldwinetour2010.com |
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Aaron earned his undergraduate degree in Enology from UC Davis having actually lived in Davis before attending college there. His first foray into winemaking in the valley was under Napa legend John Kongsgaard at Newton Vineyard. Later Aaron moved to France where he earned his Masters Degree in Viticulture from the Université of Bourgogne. Upon returning to California he landed a dream job at Beringer as their "International winemaker" flying to countries such as Chile, Italy and France to make wine. He has been the head winemaker at St. Clement and at Quintessa and now much of his time is in demand as a consulting winemaker for mostly premium Napa producers. During a recent tasting at his self titled estate, "Chateauneuf du Pott" high in the woods of Mt. Veeder on a gloomy early Spring day we sampled three of his current releases. One walks into Aaron's house and quickly spies the stack of thick Oxford Dictionaries. No he is not a dictionary salesman in his spare time but rather is a "scholar" of the dictionary and maintains a keen interest in the English language. The names of the wines all have historical relevance and there are some rather in depth stories behind the names. Nearly all of the wines Pott creates are premium Cabernet Sauvignon from various locations within the Napa Valley; one Cabernet Franc is also released each year. The 2007 Kaliholmanok Spring Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon also includes small amounts of Cabernet Franc & Petit Verdot from the same vineyard. This vineyard (Bel Canto) is on the highest point of Spring Mountain at well over 2000 feet. Aaron remembers walking the ground with a well known viticulturist. This individual drove up to the top of Spring Mountain (one winery has shirts that say something like, "I survived the drive to the top of Spring Mountain" and ran his hands through the soil and simply said, "plant this". If only all vineyard planting decisions were that simple. The wine takes its name from the local Wappo Tribe. "Kaliholmanok" literally means "naked woods people friendly" - let your imagination do the wandering in this case - helped a bit by the wine. The oak complements rather than contrasts with the fruit. Lingering touches of vanillin complement the smooth finish. This is dark wine with an elegant nose; it is somewhat perfumy showing both red and blue fruit with an interesting hint of wet rock. The entry is soft and shows black fruit including currant and black cherry. This wine finishes smooth with the fine-grained tannins balanced harmoniously with the fruit. Finding the balance between elegance and power or richness is a line Pott walks well and this wine is certainly a prime example of this. The 2007 Cabernet Franc is from a 1/2 acre block on rolling hills in Coombsville near Mt. George. This wine came about because of a lunch in Paris. Aaron was eating lunch with a friend drinking some exquisite Cabernet Franc. He bet his friend that he could make a Napa Valley Cabernet Franc in the style of Loire Valley while his friend said he would fail and the wine would be more Bordeaux in style. The short story is that Aaron failed at this attempt and had to pay up after creating the wine! The end result is a Cabernet Franc that is more Bordeaux in style. Cabernet Franc can be very aromatic and as this wine opens the bouquet reveals an amazing complexity of aromas. It shows pleasing floral and herbal aromas with just a touch of earthiness - rather than having a spicy component as some Cabernet Francs have in the nose. This wine is rounded and elegant on the palate with good acid balance. It is not a dense overripe Cabernet Franc - in part attributed to the vineyard management and harvest decisions. The 2007 St. Ralph the Liar is 100% Howell Mountain fruit - all Cabernet Sauvignon with just a touch of Cabernet Franc. Dark fruit shows on the bouquet - blackberry and black currant. The mid palate is rich yet rounded and completed by broad but balanced tannins. This is a classic mountain Napa Cabernet Sauvignon yet without those classic big tannins that Howell Mountain wines are known for. Note: You can now taste Aaron's wine at the collective tasting room -Ma(i)sonry in Yountville. The easiest way to order the wine is through Pott's mailing list but it is also found in local wine shops from Backroom Wines in Napa to St. Helena Wine Center in St. Helena and Enoteca in Calistoga. For more information and to join the mailing list visit: www.pottwines.com or view a number of his wine related articles posted on the Atlantic Monthly here: www.theatlantic.com/aaron-pott |
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The Prager's have a long history in the Napa Valley. Jim Prager is from Orange County, California and grew up among the agriculture of this part of the southland, back when it was really Orange County with its orange groves and other agricultural products. He visited the Napa Valley for the first time through one of the wine and food societies he belonged to, and had a great personal tour with Jack and Jamie Davies the owners of the esteemed Schramsberg Winery. During a mid life crisis, foolishly thinking he could make wine cheaper than he could purchase it, he moved to the Napa Valley and produced their first crush in 1979. Initially most of their production was dry table wine. Lucky for us this soon changed and they started focusing more on what all "sweet" tasters love - alcohol that is rich in flavor and sugar. All responsibilities for the winery operations are handled by the family with Jim's sons and daughters having taken over the day to day operations. The total annual production is between 3500 and 4000 cases. Tasting is in an intimate room surrounded by literally hundreds of US dollar bills and other paper currencies from around the world. You walk through their barrel room to reach the tasting room. This room is always crowded when we stop by and is always a hub of conversation and laughter. The typical question that usually is first asked is "why did you start putting money on your walls?" - the typical answer is someone a long time ago first stapled a $1 bill to the wall and it caught on from there. Write your name on a bill and come back and collect it when you re-visit this winery. Consider Prager a bank that pays no interest! Their small tasting room often gets crowded but no advance reservations are required. Several picnic tables are available outside of the winery. Unlike many Napa Valley wineries, typically the wine makers themselves, are here serving you the wine or at least family members. Custom Etching and their wine labels are all done by family. Our favorite, is their Royal Escort Vintage Port which will age well for many years. In fact, we have one in our cellar, hopefully getting even better and will open it for a very special occasion. Also try their delicious chocolate port candies as these go really well with their wines! Looking for still wines? Yes, Prager does make a Petite Sirah and a very sweet late harvest Riesling. Prager has been our only Napa Valley Winery to make our 9+ year old Tips of the Month list (Jan 2007) - on our sister travel site. Visit: www.pragerport.com Wine with Tony |
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What a gem this place is. This winery has been the reason a lot of folks make the short trip up to Spring Mountain. They have provided good publicity for the Spring Mountain district and if you come up to visit this winery you might as well visit some of the other 20+ small wineries in the area. Many of the wineries in this district are within 10 minutes of each other. Due to its fantastic location there are excellent views and on a clear day you can see into parts of 6 or 7 counties including all the way to Snow Mountain (covered in snow in the winter) - about 80 miles airline to the north. We highly recommend the tour, allow about 90 minutes. You will start with a tasting and if the weather permits will spend much of your time in the vineyards. 23,000 square feet of caves tunneled into the hillside provides a place to do additional tasting if the weather is bad. You might even see the Clydesdale Horses that help out in the steeper vineyards during harvest time. Note that their tours are especially popular around and during harvest time, so be sure to reserve well in advance during these times. Their philosophy is that the majority of winemaking begins and ends in the vineyards and that blending multiple vineyards adds complexity to the wine, rather than using fruit from a single vineyard. They are able to harvest individual blocks as they ripen and nothing is ever mass picked. Unlike many area vintners, they believe in using all neutral oak during the initial stages of the aging of their red wines and then based on each barrel and flavor profile they will add in individual new oak barrels as necessary. The idea behind this is they want the true expressions of the vintage and varietals to be expressed rather than have the new oak take over in the early stages of aging. They have a variety of soil types on the property including a very red rocky soil which is perfect for wine grapes. In addition, there are breezes which come through keeping the mildew and other diseases at bay. They are above the fog for the most part and the growing season is extremely long with harvest often going into late October and early November. Just up the gravel road past the new winery you will see picnic tables in a peaceful setting under the oaks with stellar views of Mt. St. Helena and the surrounding hills. On a bright Spring or Summer day, it doesn't get any better than this - click our photo link above to view some of these gorgeous views. This is a family owned winery that was started by Jim (now deceased) and Carolyn Pride and today it is very much family run with Carolyn's children working in active roles. Both Jim and Carolyn came from farming backgrounds and the winery was going to be their retirement project. It has certainly grown significantly since those early years; their first commercial vintage was in 1991. Jim was the founder of the well-known Pride Institute. Ask any dentist about this institute and they will have heard of it. They introduced many, what are now common practices in the dental industry and provided management and consulting services for dental offices. The original ranch was planted with grapes in 1869 and there are the remnants of a "ghost winery" on the property. Their wines have long won top awards at wine competitions and one of their walls is covered with Presidential certificates for when their wine was served at White House functions. The tasting room is elegantly decorated with a hand painted mural above the mirror behind the tasting counter. The tastings vary but usually include at least one white wine and the rest reds. All wines made are from their estate vineyards. During our recent visit we tried the 2007 Viognier. This wine has a nice phenolic grip and weighty mouth feel without being over oaked; the reason is despite being aged sur lie in oak, all neutral barrels were used. Viognier by itself is a very aromatic wine and this wine offers enticing floral and tropical aromas. Some wines are produced in such limited quantities that they are typically only available to mailing list members on a first come first serve basis. One is their estate Vintner's select Chardonnay - we tried the 2006 vintage. This wine has great golden color with honeysuckle and lime aromas with notes of caramel on the palate with nuances of toasted nuts and assorted spices on the finish. Often a vertical of two vintages will be tasted side by side. Pride's red wines age very well and it is interesting to note the differences both in aroma and flavor even with just a year extra of bottle aging especially so with the Merlot we tried. They produce very nice Cabernet Sauvignons and a Cabernet Franc. Also be sure to try their Mistelle de Viognier, this is a wine you won't find elsewhere in Napa Valley; it is juice of Viognier grapes fortified with white brandy which makes a very interesting dessert type wine. Serve very cold for best results! Visit: www.pridewines.com |
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focuses on very small production wines from the Napa Valley - with an emphasis on the Coombsville appellation (east of the city of Napa). The winery is run by Ted Henry (the winemaker) and his wife Lisa. Ted went to UC Davis (one of the premier wine education schools in the country) without knowning what he wanted to major in. After taking a baisic introduction to winemaking class he was hooked by tghe wine bug. Ultimately he graduated from UC Davis in 1999 with a degree in winemaking. He came right to Napa after graduating and has been working in the valley since. In 2005 he released the first vintage of Prime Cellars. In regards to their name - "prime" can mean the following and is defined on their own website as: "1. first in excellence, quality, or value: a prime example 2. of the greatest relevance or significance: a prime artifact 3. of the greatest commercial value: prime real estate" Definition 1 and 2 certainly applys to the type of wines they are striving to create - and of course one of the most important aspects of high quality wine making is a sense of place or as they define in #3, "prime real estate". Their "sense of place" is predominantly Coombsville - currently Napa's newest sub appellation. While generally accepted that Coombsville is a cooler growing region and "up valley", Coombsville has many micro-climates especially on the east side of the region against the warmer summertime slopes of the Vaca Mountains. Wine from this region is surprisingly complex, soft and layered in flavor and typically not vegetal on the nose or on the palate. The wines from Coombsville can have both elegance and strength. Ted originally wanted to put the name Coombsville on a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon as a tribute to "place" - but he started making the wine before Coombsville was an approved AVA and was not able to get approval. He looked for "naming" inspiration in another place. Any local grapegrower is familiar with the "California Grape Acreage Report" presented annually by the United States Department of Agriculture. The county of Napa is designated District 4 in this report and is from where this wine takes its name. With the closing of the nearby District 4 tasting room, also in downtown Napa any confusion about the name of this wine has been eliminated. The 2010 Napa Valley Chardonnay is a clean, crisp wine focusing on fruit and natural acidity. This wine was interestingly enough made in thirds - 1/3 new oak, 1/3 used and 1/3 in stainless steel. It was not allowed to go through its secondary malo lactic fermentation. Bright fruit shows on elegant yet somewhat muted bouquet - citrus and notes of green apple complete the finish. Stylistically this is the opposite of another Chardonnay we had tried earlier in the day - big, bold, creamy - a wine as a stand alone desert. This one is not that - it screams for food. The 2008 District 4 is predominately Cabernet Sauvignon with some Cabernet Franc. Aromatically this wine shows bright lively fruit - much of that coming from the Cabernet Franc. The nose is "pretty" and slightly floral with notes of rose petal and some subtle spice. Good acidity, good flavor and fairly delicate tannins round out the pleasing finish. The 2009 Coombsville is the bigger of the two red wines - it 100% varietal. The nose shows some peppery notes and as it breathes more fruit is revealed. This wine has good structure and character. It is a wine you can certainly lay down for a few years. After a number of years of making wine without a retail presence, Prime Cellars moved into the existing Trahan tasting room in downtown Napa. This part of town is centrally located - easily within walking distance to many hotels, restaurants and other tasting rooms. When you want to take a half day off from driving - this is a good place to start. Both wines from Prime Cellars and Trahan Winery are available. Here it is common to meet and taste with the owners who are both the winemakers for their respective brands (besides Ted & Chuck the tasting room only has one employee). This is a totally different tasting experience than you may have at the larger Napa Wineries. Here you often get to meet and taste with the owners who are both the winemakers for their respective brands. A number of wine makers prefer to stay behind the scenes and it is always a pleasure when you meet winemakers who have an genuine interest in meeting their clients and don't mind the customer interaction part of the wine business. Their total production is under 1000 cases. Visit: www.primenapa.com |
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They own 120 acres of vineyards, part of which surround the winery as well as the high end Rutherford Benchland Hewitt vineyard, set back against the edge of the Mayacamas mountains, just west of the actual winery. They also source fruit from other high end Napa vineyards of which they are in long term contracts ensuring consistency of fruit. As of press time they currently produce about 60,000 cases with their Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon forming about half of the total production. Despite their fairly large production by Napa standards, they don't make a lot of different wines, rather focusing their efforts on Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. During our latest visit, founding winemaker Tom Rinaldi gave us a tour of their production facilities located directly behind the tasting room. Harvest had already started and stacked bins of Sauvignon Blanc were sitting in the back waiting for processing. Tom was also founding winemaker at Duckhorn Vineyards and spent 22 years with them hand crafting Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot among other varietals. His philosophy as a winemaker is to use premium Napa Valley grapes, made in traditional styles while at the same time combined with state of the art technology to produce wines that are true to their varietal characteristics as well as terroir sources. Choose from 3 tasting flights ranging from a Napa Valley tasting to the Single Vineyard to their Reserve wines. Several of their limited production wines are only available at the winery. Their 2007 Estate Sauvignon Blanc is blended with 7% Semillon; it is a clean crisp very fruit forward wine. Nice aromas of pineapple, and citrus with lemon twist and tangerine flavors continuing onto the palate. The 2004 Merlot has luscious ripe fruit with chocolate cherry on the palate and a slightly spicy finish. The 2005 Beckstoffer Vineyards To Kalon Cabernet Sauvignon is our favorite. You can't go wrong with To Kalon fruit. This vintage has a beautiful bouquet that hints of rich ripe fruit with underlying notes of cassis. The 2004 Hewitt Cabernet Sauvignon is a classic Cabernet, the type of Napa Cabernet's that attract Cab lovers worldwide! It has good structure, flavor acidity and ageability. If you can resist drinking it now, definitely sit on this for a while as it will only develop and continue to improve. Smoky cigar type aromas intermingle with ripe fruit and the palate is all about black fruit with black cherry and blackberry. The finish is slightly smoky and dusty. They even produce a non vintage Zinfandel Port. If you enjoy big dessert wines rich in flavor and alcohol this is a good wine for you! A bit of chocolate combined with rich fruit aromas and flavors make this a winner. The varietals in this wine are not typically found in Napa and as a result they source from select vineyards in certain parts of California. Try Ruby Cabernet (a cross between Cabernet Sauvignon and Carignan), Tinta Madera, Touriga, and Souzao and you have a Portuguese styled Port made from California fruit. Visit: www.provenancevineyards.com |
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Punk Dog Wine produces affordable wines meant to be enjoyed and consumed at the time of purchase. With statistics being thrown around about how most wine is consumed within an hour or two of purchase, this makes a lot of sense! In addition, they focus on non-traditional red varietal blends. Their first vintage was in 2001. It is always refreshing to find a winery that is not named after the owners' last name and this winery certainly satisfies that! It is named after owner Eric & Lisa Gordon's strong but small dog (named Sophie) who they affectionately call the "mischievous mascot". This dog was bred for cattle and sheep herding, it has a lot of energy, and its nickname at times is "punk" hence the name for their winery. Based upon the chosen name, their wines are all about having fun; the owner is the winemaker and as he says, "take your fun seriously". Case in point: one year the owner-winemaker was not able to secure high quality fruit and as a result did not make any commercial wine. The quality of fruit is of the utmost importance in wine-making and he did not want to compromise the quality of his wine. Punk Dog focuses on two wines each year, Sophie's Riddle and Sophie's Romp and each wine is completely different from the other.
Eric's background is in Biology and he has worked in both Alaska and Florida. It was during a trip to the Napa Valley on vacation where he was bitten with the wine bug like so many people are. Unlike most people who come to the Napa Valley for vacation and then return to their daily lives, Eric packed up everything and moved out here! When you have the passion you can find work in the industry and Eric soon found himself working at various area wineries. He has worked with some of the best in the business including Kirk and Nils Venge, Philippe Melka and Marco DiGuilio. All their production is done in a small warehouse in a business park in South Napa. Their fruit is sourced from high quality area vineyards. We tried their 2004 Sophie's Romp from a barrel sample towards the end of its aging. It is a three varietal blend (Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Merlot). This wine sees three years in oak before it is bottled and the extra year really helps the wine come together. The nose has cedar aromas with hints of oak and big fruit flavors. It is a very dark wine with great structure. This wine is "big" with well-managed tannins and it is neat to let it open up and to see how the flavors change over time. Sophie's Riddle is definitely a lighter wine - with a blend that you rarely see from the Napa area. Try to solve the riddle of this blend, which appears on the bottle's label. The blends often change each year depending on available fruit sources. The winemaker/owner and his wife also used to run a Napa wine lounge called Stave which aside from the Copia Wine Center (now closed), contained Napa's only enomatic automatic wine dispensers. Punk dog has a mailing list which you can signup for online. Visit: www.punkdogwines.com |
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is the result of a business partnership between winemaker Mitch Cosentino, a grocer broker, a real estate developer and an oncologist. Mitch enjoys both wine-making and golf (both interests shared by the partners) and he and these three friends decided to focus on small lot wines that are handcrafted to be enjoyed on their own or with food. Mitch has been making wines since 1980 (started in Modesto) and then later moved to the Napa Valley and founded Cosentino Winery. While Mitch still consults for the winery up valley that carries his name, he is no longer directly involved as an owner. pureCru wines released their first wine in 2009 - their focus is on Napa wines from local vineyards however they are not limited to just Napa and some of their wines are sourced from other parts of Northern California. pureCru wines do not own any vineyards, rather they source the grapes from premium vineyards that Mitch has come to know during his long winemaking career in the valley. The tasting room is located in a small courtyard behind Oenotri Restaurant just off of 1st First Street in Downtown Napa. The main tasting room is open by walk-in - a smaller adjoining room can be reserved for private tastings, pairings and or lunch. Because Oenotri is located here, (excellent Italian cuisine) - pureCru also pairs some of their wines with Oenotri's smaller plates. The 2010 100% varietal Chardonnay sees no secondary fermentation and was fermented in barrel and then aged in stainless before bottling. This wine shows aromas of ripe pear, some spice with a clean crisp and light palate. The wine has excellent acidity with the fruit showcasing itself on the fairly rich finish. The 2010 Purety is a wine made with almost an equal blend of Sauvignon blanc and Semillon. The wine aromatically shows notes of green apple, honeydew melon and lesser notes of tropical fruit. The palate is crisp, clean with good acidity from the Sauvignon blanc tempered by the fruit contributed from the Semillon. The 2007 Sangio Vetta is a blend primarily of Sangiovese with smaller amounts of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. While this wine could be called Sangiovese, Mitch feels it is best represented as a blend. The name "Sangio Vetta" means Sangiovese at its peak or pinnacle and the blends will vary depending on the vintage. The nose is sweet, slightly jammy - almost liqueur like leading one to believe this wine might be fairly sweet on the palate. There is some residual sugar but its presence is small enough so that it is more in the background. The palate shows mostly red fruit including cherry, cranberry and perhaps a hint of Rhubarb. The 2009 Secret 7 is only partially a secret - it is 100% varietal Cabernet Sauvignon that is a blend between clone 7 and a "secret clone". Of their wines we tried, this is the "biggest" and most complex. The nose shows red and blue fruit (blueberry) with a well layered palate. For being a big wine, it is pleasantly well balanced - and the tannins are are also well managed. Only 97 cases of this vintage were made. Total production each year is around 3000 cases. Wines are offered by the glass and bottle as well as a flight selection. This tasting room stays open until 11pm on Friday and Saturday nights and a visit later in the evening is more like coming to a lounge - a sit down, rather than a tasting at the bar. For more information visit: www.purecruwines.com |
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