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Greg has enjoyed wine since college and after a rising corporate job at Bank of America he decided to dramatically change careers and took a $7/hour job as a cellar grunt. From here he started learning more and more about how to make wine and then started making his own at Etude Winery in the Carneros region. In 1992 he constructed T-Vine Cellars. Greg was a one-man show for many years making the wine and handling all the sales and marketing. Today he still handles the Northern California circuit selling wine out of his van. We visited during the best time of year to see a winery in action which is during harvest and T-Vine was bustling with grapes fermenting in bins, juice in the tanks and bunches being de-stemmed. As Greg told us, he is a winemaker who truly loves to taste his own wine. He is a very hands on winemaker often tasting the wine during its aging and working on various blends. Some of his winemaking influences come from Southern France including aging wines in oak for less than a year. He believes in letting the fruit show itself as the main component in his wines, rather than introducing additional flavors from oak. Greg offers quite a number of various wines and all are reasonably priced by Napa standards. We tried several wines which had almost finished their primary fermentations including a Petite Sirah which from our early taste appears that the final product is going to be fantastic. T-Vine produces about 4500 cases a year and makes a large variety of hand crafted varietals including a beautiful Grenache. Greg was the first Napa vintner to make wine from this varietal. This varietal is not often found in the valley which is a shame considering its strong fruit flavors and the several Grenaches we have tasted from Napa have been excellent. We also tried their 2005 Primitivo which was the first vintage of this varietal produced under the unique Psychedelic Rooster label. This is one label that you won't forget after seeing it the first time! The Primitivo is only available from the winery and is a blast of concentrated fruit flavors complemented with subtle nuances of toasted oak. Being a Napa based winery you almost have to make a Cabernet Sauvignon and T-Vine does - however as of press time their latest Cabernet is sourced from neighboring Sonoma. The vineyard source is one of Sonoma high end terroir historical sites; it is the hillside Monte Rosso vineyard which was founded by Napa's Louis Martini in the late 1930's. You know a bottle of T-Vine wine by the back label. It always reads, "My favorite days in life are nothing special, rather those in which I find joy in the ordinary rhythm of my existence… those in which I am simply content in my place." Both of Greg's long time employees also have their own very small labels, Voces and Simpatico. Visit: www.tvinecellars.com |
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We've seen a number of wineries named after dogs, but this is the first one in our Napa odyssey that is named after horses. Their "mythical" horse appears on all their labels. As of press time they focus on 4 wines. All their wines are fermented with native yeasts. We tried their 2005 Chardonnay; this is a gorgeous wine that shows a nice golden color in the glass. It is usually their first wine to sell out due to its limited production and popularity. The grapes sourced for this wine are also used for another local wineries' high end Chardonnay. This wine is barrel fermented for a lengthy 17 months and for a long portion of that time is not stirred during the aging. The thinking behind this is that if you stop agitating the wine you will better preserve the inherent citrus characteristics. As of press time, they make an extremely small quantity of Merlot (under 100 cases). They produce two Cabernet's each from the two aforementioned vineyards. Their Two Rivers vineyard is very affordably priced with hints of blackberry and mint on the nose and ripe cherries on the palate. The 2004 Oakville Cabernet is their high end Cabernet; it is already a well balanced wine with flavors of licorice and even hints of black fig. Let this wine age for a few years and you will see what the Oakville terroir is really capable of! The tannins do not disrupt and only add depth to the long finish. You can find their wines locally at ACME Wine Shop and Dean & Deluca, both located in the town of St. Helena. Visit: www.tamberbey.com |
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This winery is not flashy, hyped up or into crowds. There is absolutely no sign off of Silverado trail and as a result you drive by their driveway and just assume it leads to someone's house (which it does!). You must make an appointment for a tasting and groups need to be small. A tasting here is for the serious wine enthusiast. Tasting is at their ranch style house located on the side of a hill at the end of the narrow winding driveway. If the weather permits tasting is outside on their deck. This is as intimate a tasting as you will find in Napa Valley- the owners sit with you and are the ones pouring and discussing their wine. They make two delicious but highly different chardonnays. Our favorite is their Hillside Chardonnay. We tried the 2003 vintage which is a very full-bodied Chardonnay with nice fruit driven aromas including apple, citrus and some tropical characteristics. The nice weight on the palate is carried by great fruit layers which carry over from the bouquet. Their total wine production is about 500 cases which classifies them as extremely small. Sitting in the heart of Stags Leap district you would be crazy not to make a Cabernet Sauvignon and they make several delicious ones especially their 2002 Reserve. The fruit for this comes from an upper part of their vineyard which is steep and terraced. The fruit is small producing concentrated flavors which are reflected on the palate. Dark fruit reigns on this wine with black cherry and black licorice with some smokiness and dusty characteristics towards the finish. Subtle notes of vanilla are also present, imparted from the new French Oak during barrel aging. Their Cabernet Sauvignons are rich, soft in tannins and ready to drink now, yet have the bright acidity and structure to ensure that they could also be aged for a number of years. Visit: www.taylorfamilyvineyards.com |
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Tayson-Pierce Wines are owned by Eric and Susan Rothchild. At first impression you may assume some link between the famous French wine family but a second glance reveals a difference in spelling of the last names. Eric is from New York and made the move to the Napa Valley fairly recently. He has long nurtured a passion for wine which has passed from consumer, to hobby to a commercial producer. He was introduced to wine by his grandfather who made home wine. Then in his teens he started collecting a variety of different wines and later started keeping journals with his own tasting notes. Eric remembers being fascinated with terroir, different wine regions and wine styles. Travels took him abroad where he would visit wineries and seek out winemakers to help further his wine education. His passion for wine is noted on every bottle: "For the terroir - vines, grapes, wine - for the love of life".
Eric is an eye surgeon who divides his time between his practice in Florida and his home in the Napa Valley. He moved to the valley seeking a lifestyle change in 2005 and quickly moved into the wine industry as 2006 was the first year he made wine commercially. Such was his passion for wine that attended the UC Davis 2 year program and graduated with a degree in winemaking and viticulture. He is often in Napa checking on the wine, tasting and helping with some of the winemaking decisions. Jeff Ames is his winemaker along with Kian Tavakoli. Jeff is one of a number of underrated young winemakers in the valley. He's been turning out top wines for his own label Rudius and several other producers. While fairly young, Kian has already built up an impressive resume of working at local wineries. He spent several years working with Cabernet Sauvignon at Opus One, then was head of Clos Du Val's wine program and more recently ran Crushpad's Bordeaux varietal winemaking (a custom crush winery in San Francisco). Today he spends his time consulting for a number of local artisan producers. While part of Eric's house is bonded for commercial wine making purposes his wine is currently made at nearby winery. The focus is on limited production wines, often with single vineyard sources. Their first vintage and release is a 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon and a 2007 Chardonnay. A Pinot Noir will be released in 2010. This is truly artisan winemaking, each wine is currently only available in small quantities, around 100 cases of each varietal. The 2008 Chardonnay is a Burgundian styled wine from the Alder Springs vineyard in Mendocino County to the north. This vineyard is much sought after and several other Napa producers also source its fruit. Its a vineyard at altitude with an elevation ranging from 1750 to 2700 feet. This wine saw both new French oak as well as stainless steel tanks during its aging. The wine did not completely undergo full malolactic fermentation; it reached about 65%. This wine is pale straw color in the glass. The bouquet is slightly flinty which evolves to more fruit as the wine opens. There are notes of mineralities, orange zest, honeysuckle and citrus blossom. The mouth feel is soft and rounded with just a slight viscous touch. The body is light to medium in structure - notes of melon, red apple and hints of graphite are found mid palate with just a subtle note of spice towards finish. This is a balanced wine throughout - the finish is clean and quick. The 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon is 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot. The vineyard sits on an alluvial fan deposited from the nearby Mayacamas mountains and the soil is gravel loam. This wine blends four Cabernet Sauvignon and three Merlot clones. The nose immediately shows darker fruit aromas, white pepper, black spices, tar & leather. More black fruit shows than red fruit on the palate including blackberry; the flavors are layered and complex. The finish shows robust but balanced tannins which integrate well with the fruit. Both the fruit and wood tannins linger for some time along with hints of coffee bean. It is a complex wine now. However wines like this have the potential to age very well and this should develop some wonderful complexities in the bottle over the next 10 to 15 years. If you are drinking this young decanting is recommended. The name of the winery comes from the names of their children. Already Tayson Pierce has found good placement locally - at The Farm at the Carneros Inn and at Meadowood. In addition you can taste the wine at St. Helena Wine Merchants, next to Dean & Deluca. Much of their distribution is direct, via their website. For more information visit: www.taysonpiercewines.com |
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Teachworth is a private exclusive wine estate located in the hills of the Diamond Mountain District. It is run by Joan and Walter Teachworth who relocated to the Napa area to enjoy a slower lifestyle and merely drink the world famous wines from this region. However as a number of those who have relocated to Napa in the past, what we call the "Napa Allure" kicked in and they soon decided to try and make similar high quality wines to what they had been enjoying from nearby wineries. Walter and Joan have enjoyed good wine since the 1970's. At that time they refined their palates by drinking renowned French producers Chateau Lafite Rothschild and Chateau Latour. Of course back then, they were spending under $10/bottle for these wines - umm yeah!
This is one of the smallest producers in the Napa area as their typical annual production is a little over 100 cases. Three wines are made - one each from their two vineyards and a final estate blend from both vineyards. Two distinctly separate organically grown vineyards with specific soil and sun conditions on the property make their final 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. These distinct vineyards, despite being located so close to each other produce different styled wines. These two vineyards are called Rattlesnake Hill and Manzanita Ridge. Both steep hillside vineyards total almost an acre so the availability of high quality hillside fruit is very limited. During one recent year they produced merely one barrel of wine due to a mass infestation of wild turkeys which devastated their almost ripe crop. The estate has some of the best views in the valley and is exquisitely landscaped with azaleas and rhododendrons, six waterfalls cascading down past the steep lengthy driveway and a beautiful reflecting pond surrounded by tall palm trees. The entrance to their very small cave even has waterfalls running creating a nice ambience under the surrounding oak trees. Each of their two vineyards are fermented and aged separately until the final blend which occurs just before bottling. We tried a vintage directly from the barrel; the Manzanita Ridge has a stronger nose of the two wines with a lot of depth in the fruit flavors. The Rattlesnake Hill was already well layered and completely fills the mouth with nice hints of blackberry and subtle chocolate overtones. Despite being very young wines of course, they both are already showing nuances of how they will be tasting in several years. Teachworth has the luxury to age their wines in New French Oak for 30 months and then another year or two in the bottle before releasing them commercially. As a result, their wines have really been properly aged before even being released to the consumer. Their wines are sometimes found in higher end wine shops in the Napa Valley. Join their mailing list online and view their website: www.teachworthcabs.com |
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Teaderman Vineyards is owned by Stan and Patti Teaderman. Stan is a long time resident of Napa - since 1947 who has been exposed to viticulture and the wine industry for most of his life. He co-founded a propane gas business (headquartered in Napa) and also runs one of Napa's premier barrel storage facilities for premium wineries (Napa Vintage Storage). Their 14-acre vineyard was purchased in 1978 to help satisfy Stan & Patti's long time passion with wine and is located in the heart of Oakville; this is prime Napa Valley vineyard terroir. As a long time Napa grower and vintner, Stan's enthusiasm and energy regarding his own wine is clearly evident, almost as if he was just starting out in the industry! His nearby neighbors are Silver Oak, Groth and Screaming Eagle. This land was never planted to vine and initially Robert Mondavi helped them develop the vineyard which was planted entirely to Sauvignon Blanc for one of Mondavi's wines.
Seeing how nice this wine was, Teaderman held some of the fruit back for themselves and released their first commercial vintage in 1995. However, since they are in the heart of Oakville, they are in prime Cabernet Sauvignon country. Furthermore, consider the fact that they have the same gravel soils and similar terroir to nearby Groth winery who under the winemaking skills of Nils Venge produced the first 100 point rated Cabernet Sauvignon from Robert Parker. Also in the late 1980's and early 1990's a nasty little bug called phylloxera infested a number of Napa's vineyards. At this point the timing was right and they converted over half of their vineyard to Cabernet Sauvignon and sold these grapes for a number of years to a nearby winery. Then in 2001 under the tutelage of the late Justin Meyer of Silver Oak Cellars, released their first vintage. Today Teaderman employs two well-known Napa winemakers. Nearby Silver Oak's philosophy regarding aging has rubbed off on Teaderman. Their wines are aged much longer than most Napa wineries and typically receive at least 2 years in the bottle before being released. The Teaderman's and their winemakers taste the wines over a period of time to determine when they are ready to be released based on aromas, flavor, balance and the wine's overall integration. Not many wineries are able to have this type of lengthy aging program, but this is certainly not a bad thing from a consumer point of view. The 2004 Sauvignon Blanc is a golden straw color with nice mineral notes on the bouquet which open up to more honeysuckle and tropical aromas. The palate is slightly creamy but not too much so. This wine sits on the lees for 4 months which helps contribute a certain amount of creaminess. There are nice flavors of citrus and tropical fruit overtones. There is just a touch of vanilla on the finish and the wine is certainly not over oaked; it is extremely well balanced. A yeast commonly used for Champagne wines is used and the wine was bled into the barrels slightly sweet where it finished its fermentation. In the same philosophy as their Cabernet Sauvignon, their Sauvignon Blanc is also allowed to age further and at the time of our tasting this wine was their current release already at 4 years old. We started our tasting of the Cabernet Sauvignon with the 2001 vintage which was their first commercial release. Time in the bottle has treated this wine very well. It has an elegant fruit driven nose with notes of dill; the core of the palate contains rich fruit including blackberries and blueberries with supporting layers of tobacco and leather. The mouth feel is wonderfully balanced with tannins that are well integrated, smooth and silky. You will see some sediment in their Cabernet Sauvignons and the reason for this is they are minimally filtered which helps maintain maximum flavor. The 2002 is their current release. The nose is slightly less fruit driven than the 2001 vintage and contains nuances of mint and other herbs. The palate is slightly tart with lively acidity. In our opinion, this is the nicest of the three vintages for pairing with food. The 2003 while young by Teaderman's standards is drinking extremely well and we tried it before it had even been released. There is a rich concentration of fruit both on the nose and on the palate. Very earthy aromas representative of their particular terroir grace the bouquet along with notes of tobacco and vanilla. The smooth soft palate is well layered with flavors of blackberry and black cherry. The tannins, while delicate are well integrated into the wine and help support the lengthy finish. Teaderman produces only a total of about 1000 cases annually. As a result they are extremely selectively distributed through specific national markets. As of press time they are distributed Internationally in Japan, mostly in Tokyo. We should also mention for the type of inherent quality in these wines the prices are very reasonable. Their wines have been well received at high end restaurants throughout the USA. You may also signup for their mailing list. Visit: www.teadermanvineyards.com |
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The wine is very Bordeaux in style in that the grapes are picked at lower brix, the alcohol is lower and it is refreshingly not the huge fruit driven Cabernet's that you can commonly find in the Napa area. This is a wine shows best when paired with food. Tedeschi's Cabernets typically see 36 months in oak which is longer than many wineries, but the wines are not oak driven by any means. The reason for this is his barrel program incorporates mostly neutral French Oak and some American oak. In this regards, the focus of the winemaking is to show the pure expression of the actual vineyard. In addition these wines are not fined before bottling. Emil is the winemaker and this is a "garagist" winery as Napa County allows winery garages to become bonded within the town of Calistoga. We tried their 2003 and 2004 vintages. Both wines are made in the same style with similar palate structure. They are very food friendly wines. Both vintages have subtle noses with hints of plums and blackberries on the palate. These wines have finishes that are smooth and very long. The 2004 wine is ruby color in the glass. The bouquet is elegant and shows more red fruit aromas than dark fruit including raspberry and red currant. The aromas also hint of rose petal and graphite. The entry is lean with a medium to full bodied palate. This is a balanced wine throughout with a nice touch of tartness - including plum and cranberry. There are slightly spicy notes of oak as well as a smokiness towards the finish. Dusty tannins complete this clean and pleasing finish. The Tedeschi Vineyard has great natural acidity which helps make this an excellent food wine. Today, it is somewhat rare to have a Napa Cabernet Sauvignon under 14% alcohol and this wine is at 13.5% This is about as boutique a winery that you can find in Napa with their total production hovering around 280 cases each year. As of press time they do not currently distribute outside of Northern California however they will ship to a variety of states. You can find their wine locally at Dean & Deluca in St. Helena, Cal Mart in Calistoga. Tedeschi does see visitors on a limited basis by appointment only. This is a very unique opportunity to taste with the owner and winemaker at his small winery. A visit here is like going back in time in Napa - "old Napa" if you will. You drive in through rows of grapes and weather permitting conduct your tasting outside, next to the vineyards and next to the actual winery. Calistoga and vicinity is certainly one of the most bike friendly regions in the Napa Valley and Tedeschi welcomes bike visitors. Raffine, a fine artisan chocolate manufacturer based in the San Francsico Bay Area uses some of Tedeschi's Cabernet Sauvignon for one of their chocolates. For more information about this company visit: www.raffinechocolates.com and for more information about Tedeschi Family Winery, visit: www.tedeschifamilywinery.com |
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Temple Family Vineyards released their first commercial vintage in 2004. Four generations of family roots go back to East Texas dating from the late 1800's where they were among the first businesses to sustainably manage and farm timber. In fact, they have been recognized and have received a number of awards for their conservation and farming practices. Fast forward to 1987 and to a different agriculture crop with wine grapes. This is when the first family member moved to the Napa area and purchased hillside land with vineyards just east of the Silverado Trail (near what was already prime planted vineyard land). In 1995 they purchased a large ranch in the Pope Valley area (Lakespring Ranch), east of Napa Valley and planted part of this to vineyards. This was before Pope Valley had the wine growing reputation that it has today and providing fruit to other wineries was a harder sale. Not so today - Temple Family continues to sell the majority of their fruit to very high end boutique Napa area wineries and Pope Valley is slated at some point to become its own Sub Appellation of Napa.
The Temple Family has been instrumental in working on getting this sub appellation approved. Today, the winery is run by a brother sister team. Both their Napa and Pope Valley vineyards are managed by Arthur Spencer, son of the owner. Their organic and sustainable farming practices continue from their timber background and are now applied to the vineyards. In addition Arthur has a background in soils and also as a wildlife biologist. Huge valley oaks were left with the vineyards being planted well outside their shade and root limits so as not to competitively interfere. Having the space to do this is ideal as the quality of the grapes are not affected at all. With a monoculture crop such as wine grapes, the Temple Family knows the benefits to having healthy soils and employing overall sustainable farming practices. As of press time, they specialize in a single vintage 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Total production is typically under 1000 cases. All fruit for their wine comes from the Pope Valley vineyards. Cabernet Clones 7 & 8 are used in this wine which are clones that produce incredibly small berries with rich concentrated fruit flavors. Despite their vineyards being mostly flatland, their vineyard has a reputation of producing "mountain styled fruit" in a valley location! Pope Valley vineyards have long hang time and the fruit generally ripens very evenly. Their wines are unfined and unfiltered for maximum color and flavor. The 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon has a nice nose of violets, lavender and just a hint of pine pitch and as the wine opens up the bouquet becomes more fruit driven. This fruit continues to the palate including flavors of black cherry that lead to a very long finish. The 2005 (current release) is a wine that is very rich and concentrated in flavor. It is a little bit more jammy than the 2004 with a nose that is more fruit driven. The palate contains a depth of flavor including plum, blackberry, black licorice. Towards the finish you will pick up some interesting mineralities (terroir driven) as well as subtle hints of oak. Velvety but structured tannins anchor the beautiful finish. Temple Family has plans to produce other wines including a Cabernet Franc and possible a red blend. You can find their wine locally at JV Wine & Backroom in the town of Napa or via their website. Visit: www.templefamilyvineyards.com |
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The current owners Angus & Margaret Wurtele had always enjoyed visiting the Napa Valley and were interested in "retiring" here. When you combine retirement with starting a new winery, the word "retirement" loses its meaning rather quickly! When they purchased the winery, it needed a lot of work; they totally remodeled and added a state of the art wine making facility. Angus used to manage one of the largest painting and coatings companies in the USA which is now called Valspar Corporation. The winery is named after his father whose first name was Valentine. Two separate vineyards are located here, the Wurtele Vineyard with its 35 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon and the Terra Valentine Vineyard which is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon as well as smaller amounts of other Bordeaux varietals. Terra Valentine is about 10 minutes from the town of St. Helena off of the narrow windy Spring Mountain Road. Call reception from the gate phone and then drive in about 1/2 a mile to the actual winery. You will begin with a short tour of the facility and then end in the beautifully decorated tasting room where you will sit down and enjoy several excellent wines. Lots of beautiful stained glass windows can be found throughout the winery, these portray various Roman and Greek mythology. The oak paneling in the tasting room was originally destined for the Hearst Castle in San Simeon and was brought over from Europe. The original owner Fred Aves came into ownership of this and installed it himself. Terra Valentine makes a number of red and white wines including several wines with grapes sourced from the Russian River area (Sonoma County). Their nice Pinot noir is aged sur lie, un-fined and lightly filtered; it has a good mouth feel with cola cherry, raspberry and spices on the palate. Their Sangiovese blend appropriately in Italian is called Amore; also look for their Cabernet Franc and an excellent Wurtele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. All their wines are very affordably priced by Napa standards. Older Cabernet Sauvignons are also typically available for purchase from previous vintages. Looking for a romantic valentines party at Napa's only winery of the same name? Look no further than Terra Valentines' annual Valentine's Day bash. Visit their website for more details: Visit: www.terravalentine.com |
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The Terraces comprise 120 rolling hillside acres which is mostly planted in vineyards of which the grapes are sold to other Napa wineries. However, the owners make about 1200 cases of wine from what they consider to be from the best vineyards on the property. 1200 cases is not a lot and typically demand far outpaces their supply. This location is on the site of a 125+ year old quarry - this stone was used in many older buildings in the nearby town of St. Helena. There used to be another winery here around the turn of the century and several historical buildings remain. Typically one of the owners or their one employee will drive you around in one of their two 4wd "mule" carts, which are great for attacking the steep slopes of the property. If you are on a tour with Timm its a great experience as he will explain in depth a lot of the viticulture that goes into making great wine. He will actually take you out in the vineyards for individualized tours. You won't find this type of individualized tours with most Napa Valley wineries. There are excellent views of the valley and looking over to the western Mayacamas mountains from their upper most vineyards. Be sure to ask to see their vinegar aging stone house (called the Acetaia) as they make Balsamic vinegar each year and their oldest vintage has already aged for 11+ years. The vinegar is aged in special wood barrels imported from Italy. They showed us the proper way for tasting vinegar - put your hand out palm down, raise your thumb and they will squirt a bit of the excellent tasting vinegar on the back of your hand which you will then lick off. As they say in Italy and as Sharon indicated "we make it for our grandchildren" - as this type of Balsamic Vinegar becomes "exceptional" after a minimum of 25 years of aging! Some of the high end Balsamic vinegars in Italy have been aged at least 75 years! The Terraces released their first vintage of wine in 1985. Tasting is upstairs in a modern tastefully decorated room. We really enjoyed their Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon. They also make Petite Sirah and a Chardonnay. Their Zinfandel clones actually trace back to grapes planted on the property in the 1800's. Their Cabernet clones are from two high end area wineries, Caymus and Grace Family Vineyards. Their wines were originally made at Caymus until they were able to open their own modern winery on site in 1991. All pricing is quite reasonably for small hand crafted wine - especially by Napa standards. They have a small guesthouse on site reserved for customers - inquire about pricing and availability. For a private stay, it doesn't get much better than this! Visit: www.terraceswine.com |
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Thirteen is run by four partners all who coincidentally have their own labels (Brookdale Vineyards, Renteria Vineyards, Reynold's Family Winery, and Thomas Knoll). Those in the wine industry sometimes quench their thirst with a good beer and it was over beer that the idea for this winery was discussed. Thirteen is very unique in the Napa Valley in that they are the only winery bottling a wine that has grapes taken from all of Napa's sub appellations. What an excellent way to sample a wide variety of the different terroirs in Napa Valley in one bottle!
Each wine taken separately has its own unique colors, aromas and flavors and when you combine them all you get a decidedly rich complex wine. Their motto is "The parts are great, but the sum is even better". When this winery was founded there were 13 sub appellations in the Napa area so their first few vintages were appropriately titled "Thirteen". As of press time their are now 14 sub appellations and their later vintages are called "Fourteen". One of the partners runs a fairly large vineyard management company in the valley and has access to very high quality vineyards from all the sub appellations. One of the other partners is the winemaker (Steve Reynolds who runs Reynolds Family Winery and is where Thirteen's wines are actually made). One ton of fruit is harvested from each sub appellation and all fruit from each vineyard is fermented, inoculated and aged separately from one another until the final blending. Once the final blending occurs the wine will undergo further aging in bottle before it is released. Only one vintage of this wine is produced every year; we tried their 2004. This is a very well balanced smooth wine with a velvety mouth feel. The tannins are well managed and only enhance the long slightly smoky finish. The aromas contain a lot of fruit with also some hints of cedar. Thirteen often donates cases of wine to some of the main Napa area charity wine events. Look for the somewhat hidden numbers 13 and 14 among the "vines" on their labels. One of the partners owns the Soda Canyon Store located towards the southern end of the Silverado Trail and you can find their wine for sale there, as well as at Reynolds Family Winery. Visit: www.13appellations.com |
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Three Clicks is made by winemaker Bruce Devlin and his wife Danielle both of whom met at UC Davis when they were studying viticulture and enology. There are a select number of husband wife winemakers in the Napa area and Bruce runs the winemaking operations at Ballentine and Danielle is head winemaker at St. Clement which just happens to be across the street from Ballentine. As with a number of young winemakers in the Napa Valley, both have loads of international wine experience ranging from Europe, to Australia to South Africa. After 10 years of working for other wineries they decided to branch out and form their own label which is a story we've heard from a number of winemakers who eventually get the itch to make their own wine. The name Three Clicks has an interesting story which relates to wine. In the 1930's a journalist said that he was the first one to take a sip of alcohol legally after having a telegraph operator send out a 3-click warning revealing that prohibition had been repealed.
As of press time they focus on two varietals they both enjoy; Sauvignon Blanc and Petite Sirah. At the time of this review each wine is produced in tiny quantities, around 125 cases. This definitely makes them one of the smaller producers in Napa. They source from selected area vineyards based on terroir, microclimate and types of clones and varietals available. Their first commercial vintage was in 2006. We tried this vintage of Sauvignon Blanc served chilled and at this colder temperature nice aromas dominate including pineapple and peeled lychee fruit, with nice flavors of lemon and lemon grass characteristics on the palate. This wine is crisp in flavor and well balanced with a nice finish. It saw stainless tanks and neutral oak for a short time. We tried the two components that will form the final blend for the 2007 Petite Sirah. These come from two individual Calistoga vineyards each of which bring individual characteristics to the wine. The wine from the Citron Vineyard is inky dark in color, is full bodied with a more viscous palate and the Branham vineyard produces wine which is very fruit forward, with a structured tannin backbone. Combine them and you have a wine that can stand up to some aging but can certainly be consumed at the time of purchase. They have come up with a clever motto to describe the screw cap enclosures used on both wines. These enclosures ensure no cork taint and they describe there use as "giving tradition a new twist". Perfect! You can find their wine locally at ACME Wine Shop in St. Helena and in very select markets in California, New York and Washington DC. Visit: www.threeclickswines.com |
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Attention to detail in the vineyard is key here and Linda is continuously managing all aspects of the vines year round. Over the years with her long history of working in the vineyards Linda has picked up many of the state of the art vineyard management practices that she now employs on her own vineyard. Pulling leaves to provide just the right amount of exposure during the ripening season is key. Each vine is individually managed based on its vigor and other factors. Timing is everything in vineyard management, especially with dropping fruit during the ripening window. Only the "best" fruit is allowed to fully ripen. The vineyard ripens at about the same time and they can selectively pick specific vineyard blocks, doing all their harvesting on the same day. This vineyard tends to be among the earliest ripening of the Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards in the Oakville appellation. With nearby vineyards that include Screaming Eagle, Showket, Rudd and Dalla Valle it is no wonder that another nearby vintner has coined the term "Magic Hill" for this unique Eastern hillside part of Oakville! Linda purchased this property in 1987 and planted it to vines in 1989. Tierra Roja actually made wine for 3 years in private wanting to perfect their style as well as deciding which vineyard blocks to use. Note the plow that is featured on the label. It is a testament to how the property used to be farmed as well as a tie in to FFA (Future Farmer's of America) which Linda was a part of and still supports in a variety of ways. Today rather than using a horse and plow, cover crops are used in between the rows and the entire vineyard is managed by hand. The 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon was their first vintage, which we had the privilege of trying. All fruit for this wine is from Linda's vineyard, it is 100% varietal and only 160 cases of this wine were produced (all sold out - but look for future vintages via their online mailing list). This is a special wine that has the "it" factor. It is a wine that is easily on par with any of the best Napa Cabernet's that we have sampled on this project; the "it factor" has that special richness combined with elegance that is not often found but when you do, it is a special treat. The 2004 is a deep dark ruby red wine which is seamless on the palate. By this we mean it is rich, but elegant with great balance. The nose has seductive aromas of very ripe fruit including blackberry interwoven with a cedar box of spices and nuances of a beautiful earthiness that is representative of this particular terroir. The broad expressive flavors of fruit are immediately felt on the palate and you may even pick up some mineral notes towards the finish that lingers leaving you only wanting more! Based on the small acreage and the fact that Tierra Roja does sell some of its fruit to other vintners, their production will always be extremely small. The best chance to enjoy their wines is to join the mailing list and note that their release date is usually in September. Several high end restaurants in the Napa Valley also carry the wine. Sometimes Linda puts on private vineyard clinics in which she discusses Viticulture and how vines are managed. During these clinics you get to actually tie, prune, sucker and or thin some of the vines. Tierra Roja also supports a variety of non profits with their large format bottle charity program - including Vine Village. Visit: www.tierraroja.com |
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Their main vineyard grows on the valley floor and is near glass mountain, which is appropriately named after the shiny black obsidian rock in the area. During a recent vineyard tour you could easily see lots of this rock scattered among the vines. One side of the vineyard is bordered by what is probably Napa's only peach orchard and the other side backs up against the Napa River. Their other vineyard is also valley floor but it actually sits up on a small knoll with extremely rocky soils. In this regard, despite the vineyard being located on the valley floor, it is almost more like a hillside vineyard based on the soil type. Here is an interesting bit of trivia based on old newspaper records - one of the wind machines in the middle of their vineyard was the first wind machine installed in the Napa Valley. When the Titus Family purchased the property many varietals that don't exist in Napa were already planted on site. These are varietals you may not have heard of, Mondeuce, Burger, and Golden Chasselas. With both the foresight as well as a previously acquired taste for Bordeaux varietals, these are the types of grapes they replanted in the early 1970's. Currently several of the older varietals are dry farmed. Ruth and Lee had four sons and today two of the sons, Eric and Phillip are running the winery. Today it is somewhat rare for a vineyard of this size to be managed "in house" rather than hiring one of the numerous area vineyard management companies. However by managing the vineyard themselves they have complete control of all aspects of their property. In addition, they both grew up on the property and know the vineyard nuances like no one else. It is Eric's job to deliver high quality grapes to his brother Phillip, who has been their winemaker since day one. They released their first commercial vintage in 1990 and even after all these years of producing high quality wines, they are still one of Napa Valley's best kept secrets! Visits are typically for wine club members or very serious wine enthusiasts as they don't maintain a tasting room. The old farmhouse next to the vineyard almost sits on Silverado Trail, it is that close to the road. Their focus is typically on blended estate grown red wine (although they do have a bit of Sauvignon Blanc planted which as of our latest visit is not being made commercially). The 2006 Zinfandel is blended with Petite Sirah to fill in "any holes" that Zinfandel might have as well as add some nice coloring. This is a lively zesty wine not the least bit jammy. It has briary aromas including blackberry and raspberry leading to a "fun" fruit and spice driven palate that leaves you only wanting more. Their Cabernet Sauvignon is the "flagship wine" and is always blended with several other Bordeaux varietals. Their 2005 vintage is a winner. The 2005 Cabernet Franc has good structure, lots of fruit and a long finish. You should also be familiar with their limited quantity production wine simply called "Lot 1". During an event we heard several people say this wine was their first experience with Titus and that after tasting it they were quickly sold on the quality! Usually only 100+ cases are produced with most going directly to their wine club; the 2004 vintage is a big wine that is a very unique blend of Petite Sirah and Petit Verdot with a touch of Zinfandel and as you would expect from these two "big" varietals when combined, produces a wine of power and strength and dark color. However the tannins do not overwhelm, rather they are integrated nicely and what you will most likely take away from this wine is the delicious fruit flavors of plum and blackberry. Titus tries to make red wines that are full bodied and balanced and the vintages we tried, match this criteria perfectly. There is no winery on site of their vineyards as all their wines are made at Chappellet on Pritchard Hill, in the hills east of Rutherford. They also produce a very limited olive oil made from a number of different olive varieties that surround parts of the property. Be sure to ask about their wine club which can be personalized to match your tastes - in other words unlike other area wine clubs you are not locked into what the winery decides to ship you. Also of note is their pricing - based upon Napa standards it is rather reasonable; this good price is passed on to the consumer based upon the fact they have owned their vineyards for a long time and your not going to find a fancy expensive winery/tasting room on site! That is just not their style. Lastly, if you have a number of extra hours in your day be sure to check out the Titus TV section on their website starting with Harvest 2008; the very cool often entertaining and educational video clips feature Eric & Phillip Titus with real behind the scenes coverage of what actually happens during harvest. You can view this directly here: www.ustream.tv/channel/titus_tv When the videos are being filmed live, viewers are able to submit their questions real time. Their main website is here: www.titusvineyards.com |
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Toad Hall Cellars is owned by John Komes and his family; if the last name rings a bell it is because this family is also synonymous with Flora Springs Winery. They produced their first vintage in 1984 which was merely 10 cases of a Chardonnay...talk about scraping the bottom of a wine barrel! Today, production runs about 1200 cases (still relatively small) and focuses on three wines; two Pinot noirs and a Cabernet Sauvignon. Toad Hall was started by John as a side project to his family's Flora Springs Cellars. Toad Hall owns several vineyards; their original vineyard is 6 acres just off of Highway 29 in Rutherford planted to Cabernet Sauvignon and they also have a 10-acre vineyard in the Carneros region planted to Pinot noir.
We tried the 2006 Willow Pond Carneros grown Pinot noir. This is from the old Martini clone that was originally more commonly planted in this region. The wine is a typical lighter style Carneros Pinot. It is good every day drinking wine with aromas of strawberry and herbaceous notes including tomato leaf with a palate containing raspberry, cola and even hints of chocolate. The richer more intense Pinot noir is their Lavender Hill. We tried the 2006 vintage. John says the Carneros region will become even more well known for Pinot noir as different clones are planted such as the Dijon clone used in this wine. The Lavender Hill is a darker red color with some nice earthy and floral aromas on the nose. The palate is layered fruit fruit fruit! Raspberry and cranberry flavors are immediately present with a very smooth finish. As with many of John's labels if you dig a bit, they often reveal a personal story. We've met with several hundred winemakers on this project and hands down, John is definitely one of the best storytellers in the Napa Valley. Before Toad Hall owned their Carneros property John told a real estate agent he wanted to buy property in this region. One weekend, the agent called him up and said "John, you have to look at this piece of property right away". Apparently the owner was busted in a Marijuana raid and needed to sell as soon as possible. Well short story told, John ended up making an offer and purchasing the land soon thereafter. Lavender Hill Mob, an old movie from 1951 starring Alec Guinness, was one of his father's favorite movies, and there you have the name for this wine as well as the name of this particular vineyard. Lastly we tried the 2005 Bodacious - to know the meaning of this wine you have to know the irreverent story behind the label. Lets just say the name of this wine was created after a swimming party featuring a number of well endowed ladies and that this wine is very "full-bodied". In the past this wine has been a Cabernet/Merlot 50/50 blend but the 05' vintage is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from their small Rutherford vineyard. French and American Oak were used during the aging. This wine is rich in flavor and aroma and there is an underlying exotic spiciness to the flavor. Black cherry and dark chocolate coat your palate. The finish is long with very well balanced tannins. Note the very unique label. It is a depiction of a maze, a pictorial testament if you will to the endless maze of permits and regulations that are part of owning a winery and making wine! Trust me, you won't see a label with that intent on any other Napa bottle of wine. The name of the winery comes from John's wife who is a former librarian. Astute readers with knowledge of children's books will recognize right away that "Toad" is one of the main characters in the book called "The Wind in the Willows". Toad Hall Cellars is private but their wines are available for tasting at the Flora Springs Tasting room on Highway 29. You may also find their wines locally at Backroom & Bounty Hunter in the town of Napa. www.toadhallcellars.com |
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This is one of the best very few remaining examples of pre WWII vines and grape growing in Napa Valley - no trellising is used here at all, rather the vines are "head trained" so the vines drape over the center of the plant. You won't see the "wires" that almost all the other area vineyards use in their trellising systems. Additionally, the vines are dry farmed- the soil is tilled to 5 or 6 inches in depth which acts as an insulating layer and keeps the deeper soil somewhat moist even throughout the hot summer months. If its dry, pick up some of the soil in your hands as we did. Its rich and very fertile. Tofanelli was never one to to use herbicides and pesticides - they've stayed true to their roots so to speak and are among the longest organically farmed vineyards in the valley. You don't need to be cerfified if you know you have been farming organically since day one on a vineyard that is fairly sizeable. Tofanelli specializes in two wines - Zinfandel and Charbono. Not a lot of wineries in the Napa area make Charbono and theirs is an excellent example of what you can do with this fruit. The 2005 vintage is balanced and the tannins are well managed and despite it being high in alcohol content the alcohol itself doesn't actually overpower the wine. The 2005 Zinfandel is a rich wine and if you let it sit for a while it will really open up both in aromas and on the palate. It explodes with fruit flavors yet also retains an elegant side. Nice blackberry, black cherry and a characteristic Zin spiciness. Just look at the varietals they grow - Charbono, Semillon, Carignane, Grenache, Mondeuse Noir and Cinsault. Yes, this vineyard is in Napa! We guarantee you won't find this type of varietal selection at any other Napa vineyards. Local high end wineries recognize Tofanelli's commitment to quality and purchase fruit. Wineries such as Turley, Spottswood, Schrader, Orin Swift, Neyers and Duckhorn have all purchased fruit from Vince. He has a bonded winery in the back of his home but makes his wine at a nearby winery. You can also arrange to do your tasting at the actual winery but if the weather permits we highly recommend the vineyard tasting experience as there is no other experience in Napa quite like it. Give Vince a call to make an appointment: www.tofanelliwine.com |
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Tom Eddy Wines was founded by in 1991 by Tom Eddy, owner and winemaker. He is a graduate of UC Davis in 1974 with an enology degree and worked at several well known Napa wineries including Christian Brothers (now the Culinary Institute of Greystone in St. Helena) and Inglenook - now Rubicon Estate. Along with winemaking he would often travel throughout California looking for high quality vineyards that could be sourced by Napa wineries. He has also consulted for wineries in other states and even as far away as Venezuela. His philosophy of looking for the best vineyard sources regardless of location has carried through to his own business. As a result, Tom Eddy is a rare small winery that sources fruit from multiple states (California & Oregon) as well as Internationally (New Zealand).
As of press time he sources all fruit for their wines but recently planted his own 1 acre vineyard which will be devoted to a single vintage high end Cabernet Sauvignon. His vineyard is one of the most northernmost vineyards in Napa County even a bit further north than Storybook Mountain and once completed, this will be Napa County's northernmost winery. He and his wife were looking for hillside property and after 15 years of combing several of Napa's well-known hillside appellations they found this spectacular piece of property. The surroundings will always remain natural and undeveloped as the site is surrounded by property within the Napa Land Trust. In fact his property straddles the county line (Sonoma/Napa) and when planning for his wine cave and winery had to seek approval from both counties. A wine cave is in the works and future plans include building a winery on site. As of press time, Tom Eddy has several different wines, the Tom Eddy Napa Valley (Cabernet Sauvignon), Elodian a tribute to his wife Kerry's heritage, TENZ (New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc), and the TEO - Tom Eddy Oregon (Pinot Noir). The Elodian is not your normal Napa label; the multiple sea tortoises give this away. Kerry has a long history of working in the wine industry but this label is more a tribute to her ancestors who sailed from Nova Scotia to the gold fields of California during the gold rush. Along the way they were stuck in the doldrums and ended up anchoring at the Galapagos Islands where they caught a number of large sea turtles. Eventually they arrived in San Francisco very late in the season, poor and almost penniless. After trying to sell anything they thought was valuable, they noticed some of the Asian restaurant owners got word of the turtles and at that point the turtles proved to be their most valuable possession! Tom Eddy makes two totally different styles of Sauvignon Blanc. We tried the 2007 TENZ. This is a delightful wine with a Maori influenced label and is sourced from the Marlborough region of New Zealand's South Island. Despite having the vineyard source located on the other side of the world Tom travels on site and is directly involved in the major vineyard and winemaking decisions. All winemaking for this takes place in New Zealand. He picks the fruit for this a little bit later than many of the nearby vineyards ensuring slightly riper fruit and a nice acid balance. This wine has zesty aromas including herbal qualities and notes of lemon and lime. Drinking much more Sauvignon Blanc from Napa than from New Zealand it was pleasant to pick out the Litchi fruit flavors on the palate along with some of the citrus flavors carried over from the aromas. The finish is very crisp and clean. In contrast is the 2006 Monterey County sourced Sauvignon Blanc. Tom knew about the high quality of these grapes but was unable to get his hands on these because a local Napa hillside winery was sourcing all the fruit for this wine. Then one day the vineyard owner called Tom and said the fruit was available. No looking back, Tom jumped at the opportunity to make this wine. The aromas are decidedly floral, honeysuckle and tropical with a rounded palate that includes notes of grapefruit, gooseberry and other citrus. The Willamette Valley in Northern Oregon is a recognized area for producing high end Pinot Noirs. Tom is not the only Napa producer with connections to this area - Tony Soter, founder of the Napa based Etude Winery has a winery nearby. Tom Eddy produces two Pinots, both from the Monk's Gate Vineyard with the difference between the two wines being in the types of barrels used and length of aging programs. The vineyard owners purchased land next to a monastery; two monks used to hunt for mushrooms on site but with the vineyard in the way of their mushrooms they were blocked access. The vineyard owner saw them looking over his fence several times, and after he found out what they were interested in, he built a special gate! Cute stories aside, this vineyard produces some excellent fruit. The Elodian 2006 vintage is an easy drinking well balanced Pinot. There are notes of strawberry and cherry on the palate with some interesting spices and just a touch of vanilla on the finish. The 2006 Oregon Pinot Noir has a bigger body than the Elodian; the mouth is full of layered fruit. It is a rich decadent wine with some nice flavors including cola, cherry and raspberry. Great finish! Only 70 cases produced. Tom makes two Cabernet Sauvignons. A wine to get your hands on is his 2002 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon; this sees an extra year in bottle and barrel (all French oak) and as a result has had good aging before its even released. This 100% varietal wine is made from free run juice only, from predominately hillside grown vineyards. As with all of Tom Eddy's wines this is extremely well balanced. It is a teeth staining inky dark wine with aromas of freshly picked blackberries and mouth filling flavors of berry fruit, mocha and exotic spices towards the finish. Just the right structure of natural acidity and tannins will ensure that this wine will age very well. Tom's wines can be found at most of the wine shops in Calistoga as select wine shops in the rest of Napa Valley. Visit: www.tomeddywines.com |
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Lauren comes from Southern California and has always been interested in gardening. Before her involvement with Tom Scott Vineyard she had no prior vineyard experience or specific knowledge within the wine industry. Each earned their viticulture degrees later in life and have both jumped into the the management of their own small vineyard with a dedication to detail and micro-management that is quite rare in the valley (where the majority of vineyard owners hire out vineyard management companies). We recently had a chance to walk their vineyards - the Scott's realize that the majority of winemaking starts and ends in the vineyard; their vines are meticulously maintained and it clearly shows. Both Tom and Lauren are equally responsible for the entire management of their vineyard. By this we mean they do everything - they planted the entire vineyard, put in all the vineyard stakes themselves (including welding over 2000 metal pieces for their trellising system), and are responsible for cover crop decisions, pruning each of their 2000+ vines, picking decisions and canopy management. Their vines are all head trained and cane pruned while keeping an eye on the previous years growth patterns which are used to help make decisions concerning future crop loads and cane management. They try to maintain a balance between crop load and canopy production which always varies somewhat as each vine is micro-managed on a case by case basis. Balance in the vineyard equates to balance in the wines. They practice "no till farming" - with a permanent cover cover and always use a lightweight tractor to avoid compaction of the actual soils (alluvial in nature, with parts of the vineyard being extremely rocky). They are the *only* commercial producer that we know of in Napa whose entire production is currently focused on a true single vineyard field blend where fruit from the various varieties in the vineyard are combined together to produce the wine. This is a Bordeaux styled wine. As Tom says, "let the vineyard show you what it will do". The wines are a certainly a true expression of their vineyard. Their site is planted primarily to Cabernet Sauvignon with also Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Every year the percentages of each varietal in the final wine differ slightly based on the crop that nature gives. There is no sorting before fermentation - the Scott's want a true expression of their vineyard's range of flavor and do not want to limit this by pre-sorting fruit. With field blends there are no blending trials. In addition there are no acid adjustments made during the winemaking and native yeast is used to kick off the fermentation. This is winemaking at its finest...and simplest. Their winemaker since day one has been Bill Ballentine; Bill is a third generation Napa winemaker who learned the art of winemaking from his grandparents. Today Bill specializes in winemaking for premium very limited producers including one of our favorite wines in the valley, William Cole. Their first vintage was released in 2003 with the 2004 and more so the 2005 vintage reflecting their own vineyard management practices. When you try their wine, the differences you will notice are based on the vintage. The style of their wines strikes a nice middle ground between wines with huge structure that need laying down for a number of years before being palatable and those wines that are ready to drink young. Their wines have great natural acidity, as well as structure and they will only continue to evolve new complexities in the bottle. Their wines appeal to a variety of tastes; both men and women. A typical year will see a production of merely several hundred cases. We tried a vertical from 2003 through 2005. While still young wines, additional bottle age treats their wines well; they only become smoother and more complex. There are no hard edges in Tom Scott's wines. The 2005 is very balanced from start to finish - the nose is elegant and ripe but not overly so. Fruit driven aromas are present followed by a palate showing black cherry and baking spices with a hint of mocha rounding out the super long finish. The 2003 and 2004 have completely different bouquets from the 2005 - both of these earlier vintages show some neat mineralities and dusty qualities on the nose representative of their specific Yountville terroir. The 2004 is a soft, supple, voluptuous rounded wine from start to finish. Cherry, blackberry, various spices and hints of tobacco show on the palate which has an almost creamy mouth feel. If you think the 2005 and 2004 vintages are smooth, try the 2003! And as each wine states on the back of the label, "no barn was harmed during the making of this wine"! Barn Burner is the name of each wine and is named after the brilliantly painted red barn that sits towards the back of their vineyard. With the focus being on the vineyard and the wine itself, you will never see a big showy label on Tom Scott's wines. The name of the wine and the vintage is all that appears on the front of the bottle. Their barn dates from 1936; more recently Tom gutted and renovated the entire building. Today it is definitely one of the nicest "barns" in the Napa Valley! Solar panels on the roof generate most of their vineyards electricity needs. You can often find their wine at two premium wine shops in the valley, ACME in St. Helena and V Wine Cellars in Yountville. The best way to acquire their wine is by joining their mailing list. Visits are on a limited basis and are typically for mailing list members or for serious wine enthusiasts. For more information visit: www.tomscottvineyard.com |
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Topaz Late Harvest as the name indicates is one of these rare Napa wineries that exclusively specializes in one type of wine - in this case a Sautern style late harvest Sauvignon Blanc Semillon blend. There are maybe 3 wineries within Napa that specialize exclusively in late harvest botrysized wines (Noble Rot) and a handful of other wineries that make this type of wine along with their main production. Talk about a niche market! We have tried this type of wine from most of the Napa producers making it and can say without a doubt, Topaz is one of our favorites. In fact we are drinking away on the 2003 vintage as we write this. Jeff Sowells is the winemaker and owner whose roots in the Napa Valley go back to the late 1970's. He started out in the cellar seasonally working harvests for select wineries and over time picked up winemaking knowledge in the field as well as through UC Davis and Napa College.
He later started a mobile vineyard lab converted from an old mail truck! He called his mobile business, "Zymurgy" which is the word that describes the branch of chemistry dealing with fermentation as well as often being the last word in the dictionary. Or as Jeff translates, this means as the winemaker he has the last word. Topaz is his birthstone and also resembles the color of the wines. His first vintage was in 1986, which makes this winery one of the oldest continuing Napa based producers of this type of wine. He was making wine for Ann Macauley, a vineyard owner with a small less than 2-acre vineyard of Sauvignon Blanc who always wanted to try making a late harvest dessert wine. Unfortunately Ann passed away in a tragic car accident on the way back from San Francisco before this wine was even bottled. Jeff ended up purchasing the wine in barrels from her estate & has made the Topaz wine continuously since 1989. We had the privilege of tasting two incredible wines, his 1989 Topaz and the 2002 DLX. Special mention must be made about the DLX, their high-end label (first vintage 1997). This wine is not made every year - (only made 4x in 10 years) and is only produced when the quality of fruit meets Jeff's highest quality expectations. In this case these are often the ugliest looking grapes you will ever see. Botrytis spores turn grapes into a moldy looking grayish black color and the grapes used for the DLX are the epitome of what looks like "rotten fruit"! However there is an unparalleled rich aromatic and flavor profile to his 2002 DLX that is not often found in these types of wines. This wine is perfectly balanced, slightly viscous with bursting ripe fruit flavors and layers of honeysuckle and peanut brickle. We haven't yet mentioned that this wine pairs perfectly with blue cheese and dried figs. We also tried his 2nd vintage, the 1989 Topaz. The older vintages change their color dramatically when compared to the newer vintages. The earlier wines are a deeper brownish color while the newer wines are more yellow and amber. These wines have tremendous aging potential. As the wine ages it takes on more nutty type characteristics. This vintage was full of toasted almond aromas with some caramel and peanut brickle on the palate including fresh bees wax and faint hints of various herbs. Three things about the Topaz wines we tried: they are *not* cloyingly sweet and syrupy, in other words they are extremely well balanced between acidity and sugar. In addition I have found orange peel aromas and or flavors in similar types of wine. Who wants the taste of orange peel in their late harvest desert wine! Certainly not me and we did not find these characteristics in the Topaz wines we tried. Lastly some of these types of desert wines have strong mineral notes especially towards the finish. Some people may like this, but we feel this detracts from the natural fruit flavors of the wine. You don't find these in the Topaz wines. Production varies from year to year depending on the harvest and climatic conditions and is usually extremely limited - 500 to 1000 cases total. They are only distributed within California. You can find this wine in many of the wine shops in the Napa Valley and very select high-end restaurants. Topaz has been served at the US White House, Chez Panisse in Berkeley and can be found in Napa at the well-known Auberge du Soleil. Visit: www.topazlateharvest.com |
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Toquade Wines as of press time produces a single vintage single vineyard Sauvignon Blanc each year. This very small wine producer is owned and operated by Christine Barbe whose winemaking history dates back to 1991 in her hometown in Bordeaux France. During her time as a Doctoral student at the Bordeaux Institute of Enology she worked with a number of people who were passionate about Sauvignon Blanc, and as a result she learned the finer nuances of how to taste for ripeness and when to harvest to ensure the best possible aromas and flavor. She was hired by the Gallo Family Winery and came to California in the mid 1990's and also spent some time in research and managing vineyards at Robert Mondavi Winery.
The name Toquade is a tribute to Christine's French heritage - it is French and means "craze" or "infatuation". This would be an appropriate label for many vintners who have a focused passion towards winemaking, and in this case reflects Christine's own passion towards the Sauvignon Blanc varietal. Her first commercial vintage was in 2006 which at only 100 cases is already sold out. We initially tried the 2007 vintage which had a production of merely 200 cases. All fruit for this wine was sourced from a high end organically grown single vineyard in Yountville. Yountville is Napa Valley's "sweet spot" for growing this varietal and we have sampled a number of delicious Sauvignon Blanc wines from this appellation. The vineyard is on the valley floor and contains deep soil and deep roots - all dry farmed. The wine is made in a French style; with slightly higher acidity and the focus being on the characteristics of the fruit, both on the bouquet and with the flavors. No oak is used in the fermentation or aging of this wine. It is aged sur lie for 6 months with frequent stirring of the wine and lees. As a result, this helps impart a roundness and richness to the actual mouth feel. The wine is straw colored - the bouquet has pleasant notes of lime, grapefruit and other citrus aromas. As it opens up in the glass tropical floral nuances become more pronounced. The palate is slightly creamy in nature, is well balanced with pleasant tropical flavors including lychee. The finish is clean and crisp with a hint of mineral notes. This wine will pair wonderfully with shell fish, Thai food or a variety of other sea food pairings. Updated vintage: The 2008 Toquade is pale straw in the glass with a bouquet showing mineralities and pronounced citrus aromas including lemon lime and tangerine blossom. This is a leaner styled atypical Sauvignon Blanc (for Napa Valley) that shines best when paired with food and is perfect for tasting with a variety of cheeses. Like Toquade's earlier vintages this wine saw no oak and was aged in stainless steel barrels on the lees for 7 months. Weekly stiring helped create some of the mid palate structure and weight. Christine's Sauvignon Blancs are not the riper fruit picked at higher brix wines that are commonly found for this varietal. Rather she picks at a lower brix and stays away from the influence of oak, prefering to show the varietal expression rather than any winemaker influences. The palate shows green apple and lemon zest with red grapefruit nuances towards the finish. This wine has lively acidity, and carries some nice weight throughout the body. As of press time Toquade is one of just a handful of Napa wineries focusing entirely on a white varietal. Christine is looking for additional vineyard sources and in the future may also offer a red wine. The wines are only distributed in California and locally you can find them at V Wine Cellars in Yountville and several area restaurants. Toquade has a mailing list. Visit: www.toquadewines.com |
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TOR Kenward Family Wines was founded in 2001 by Tor Kenward and his wife Susan. Tor spent many years as an executive at Beringer Winery before "retiring" and jumping into building his own label and wines. Keep in mind that former winery employees never really retire! During his time at Beringer he had access to some of this winery's best vineyards and would make a barrel of wine each year. His focus for TOR Wines is on single vineyard high end Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. For some of his vineyards, Tor has a vineyard management company but he is personally very involved in the actual farming decisions which include thinning, dropping fruit, pruning and the canopy management. As a result, this winery plays a vital role in the key decisions that take place within the actual vineyards. The old adage comes to mind here, 90% of the winemaking is done in the actual vineyards.
We tried their 2004 Wente Clone Chardonnay from the Durell Vineyard located in a slightly warmer area than the Carneros region due to its more northerly location. The Wente clone is known for its small berries and concentrated flavors. This wine typically is fermented using only natural yeasts and sometimes can have a very long fermentation period lasting up to 7 months! This particular Chardonnay has a beautiful golden hue in the glass, it is very floral on the nose with a deep rich honeysuckle aromas with hints of peanut brickle in the mouth. It is a wildly popular restaurant wine and is available by the bottle at the French Laundry in Yountville. We also tried two of their Cabernet Sauvignons, each one totally different from the other. One is their 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon from the Cimarrossa Vineyard at about 2100 feet on Howell Mountain. This is a big wine but is certainly drinkable now; it exhibits the minerality and earthiness that you often find from Howell Mountain fruit with structured tannins on the finish. Their 2005 To Kalon Cabernet Sauvignon is their first vintage from this vineyard and hopefully won't be the last (for obvious reasons, if you are lucky to to actually taste this wine). You may have heard of the To Kalon vineyard as it is very historical and produces some of the highest quality fruit in Oakville. This wine has a big mouth feel yet is refined and elegant with a palate that is all about the fruit. Flavors of black cherry and black licorice will seductively coat the insides of your mouth and these concentrated fruit flavors are balanced by good acidity and tannin structure. TOR has a second label called ROCK which are wines solely made from varietals grown in the Rhone Valley in France. The name of this label is tribute to the huge amounts of rocks found in certain vineyards in the Rhone Valley as well as found in the nearby vineyards that Tor sources fruit from. These wines are mainly Syrah's and Grenaches. TOR is not open to the public but they do make appearances at a number of select wine tasting events including the very nice Taste of Howell Mountain, held each year, usually in mid June. We've attended this event several times and tasting their wines is always one of the highlights. Visit: www.torwines.com |
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Tournesol is owned by Bob and Anne Arns (no relation to Arns Winery on Howell Mountain). Their 10 acre vineyard site is planted in what is some of the finest terroir for growing wine grapes in the Napa Valley that has yet to gain sub Appellation status. This is the region of Coombsville, located just east of the town of Napa. Work is currently being done to gain AVA status for this region and perhaps it will be granted by 2010. Their vineyard is in the south eastern part of Coombsville against the hills of the Vaca Mountains. Coombsville is generally known for being a cooler region as it is located in the southern part of the Napa Valley closer to the moderating affects of the San Pablo Bay.
However the part of Coombsville where their vineyard is located is in somewhat of banana belt and gets warmer then other areas in this southern part of the valley. It has its own unique microclimate. In fact on the day we visited the site we had driven down from Oakville in the morning which you would think would be warmer than Coombsville. Not on this day as by the time we reached the eastern part of Coombsville to the vineyard site the temperature was considerably warmer than Oakville. Their vineyard location sits about 300 feet above the valley floor. While not necessarily a steep vineyard the site is full of rocks. Bob spoke of having a D7 Caterpillar come in to "rip" the vineyard and make some serious effort in breaking up and moving the large rocks. There is a shelf of rock that sits just under the topsoil in parts of the surrounding terroir. Needless to say, the vines have to struggle to become initially established. The vineyard was planted in 1999 soon after the Arns' purchased the property. Well regarded viticulturist Mary Hall (now manages Harlan Estate's vineyards) chose a variety of rootstalks and clones to match the specific micro terroir regions on the property. The vineyard is planted to the five primary Bordeaux varietals. No fruit is sold from the vineyard - only the highest quality fruit is used in their final wines and a typical vintage sees just under 1000 cases. The vineyard management is very much a hand operation from managing weeds to pruning, dropping fruit and harvest. In addition the vineyard is managed sustainably with much thought and effort given to the impact on the soils as well as the nearby water sources (there is small creek next to the vineyard that runs all year in part from a spring higher up in the hills). The name Tournesol is French for "turning to the sun" and in part ties in to their vineyards' exposure (east to west) and how sunflowers turn their "heads" from east to west throughout the day. Bob has lived in "the city", San Francisco for many years and currently runs a successful law firm. He has been passionate about wine for a long time and selected this site specifically for its vineyard potential. This is not a story of someone who moves to the valley without the intent of getting into the wine industry and then becomes pulled in by the "Napa Allure". Rather this site was specifically selected for its unique terroir. At the time of their initial purchase it was not planted to vine. While not actually having a physical winery on the property their wine is made just "down the street" at a nearby winery by winemaker Ken Bernards (he has made their wine every year since the first vintage). Their focus is on two wines each year a Cabernet Sauvignon based Bordeaux blend and a Cabernet Sauvignon. The more and more we taste of Coombsville fruit the more we are impressed by this region; Coombsville is producing high quality wines that rival anything from up valley and Tournesol's wines are no exception. The 2005 Proprietor's Blend shows elegant red and dark fruit aromas as well as black fig, a bit of smokiness and a touch of cedar. The entry is soft and somewhat misleading as to the power that follows; the palate quickly leads to complex flavors including blackberry, plum and blueberry. Vanilla bean and espresso notes show on the finish which is supported by delicate fine grained tannins. At the time of our tasting this is their current release; the additional bottle age has treated this wine well. The Proprietor's Blend is always unique each year as it is blended with the best combination of varietals from each particular vintage. Their intent for future vintages of their Cabernet Sauvignon is to produce this wine so that it is blended with additional Bordeaux varietals. However the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. It is a noticeably bigger wine than the Proprietor's Blend. This is a wine that evolves very well in the glass especially on the nose. The bouquet is initially all about the fruit, mostly dark in nature. Over time notes of dusty powdered brown chocolate, cocoa and a unique minerality show. The mouth feel is juicy and rounded throughout with a structure that shows broad ripe tannins on the very long finish. The mid palate shows briary blackberry and notes of black cherry. While showing good structure, the finish is not out of balance. This is an age worthy wine but is certainly approachable now. Because of the low production distribution is limited - currently mostly between select locations in Napa and San Francisco. You can find the wine locally at Mustards Restaurant, Bottega Ristorante and Napa Style. Visit: www.tournesolwine.com |
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He asked around about this varietal and was recommended to visit Vincent Arroyo winery which was known for their delicious Petite Sirahs. Unfortunately he was told this winery is located on Tubbs Lane and after driving back and forth on this north valley road he gave up and headed south. Fortunately he saw the sign correctly identifying Arroyo's location on Greenwood Ave. Long story short, eventually he ended up working at Vincent Arroyo while simultaneously taking wine classes at Napa Valley College and making the commute back and forth between the valley and San Francisco...four hours of driving each day, working and then studying - majorly intense. This incredible dedication and passion has paid off and today Trahan produces five different wines. The 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon was his first vintage and had an auspicious romantic beginning as this was released for the first time at his wedding! We had the privilege of barrel tasting through all his 2007 wines, starting with his Chardonnay. This is from Carneros grown fruit, was barrel fermented, saw all American oak during its sur lie aging, and did not go through the secondary malolactic Fermentation. The results are very true to the varietal with tons of flavor, a slight creaminess, with toasty notes towards the very clean crisp finish. The palate is decidely an expression of the fruit characteristics of this varietal. The barrel samples were all young wines of course, not yet polished but the one that really stood out was the Merlot. It was already full of great fruit, big but not "in your face big" with a rounded mouth feel and a smooth finish. Trahan also makes a 100% varietal Petite Verdot. This wine started out aging with the intent to be simply used for blending. This varietal can scream tannins by itself but in this case the tannins are very well managed and the aromatics spectacular. Also look for their very drinkable Napa Cabernet Sauvignon and a Pinot noir. As Chuck says, "our customers become part of our family" - this is very true for small boutique wineries in which the individual relationships with customers are extremely important and valued. Come check out the coolest winemakers in the valley. Chuck and his partner Ted (owner of Olabisi Winery) now run a tasting room in downtown Napa within a short walk of the Napa Town shopping center. This tasting room is setup like their home as well as a winery (note the stacked wine barrels). The tasting room is comfortable and relaxed, Chuck's dog is often lying; overall this is very low key pleasant atmosphere for wine tasting. Chuck or Ted are always pouring (they have no employees). This is a totally different tasting experience than you may have at the larger Napa Wineries. Here you always get to meet and taste with the owners who are both the winemakers for their respective brands. Both Trahan and the Olabisi wines are poured here; you choose a number to taste from their provided list. For more information and to join the online mailing list visit: www.trahanwinery.com |
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The Trefethen family purchased this winery in 1968 and they own 600 acres in the Napa Valley making this one of the larger private wine land holdings in Napa Valley. The original owner was CEO of Kaiser Companies (huge project oriented company - Hoover Dam, Shasta Dam, Oakland-SF Bay Bridge, etc). This winery has been generationally handed down & John & Janet Trefethen and family now run the operations. John Trefethen, the current owner used to land his Piper Cup airplane along the long driveway until the "powers that be" found out about this and forced him to use the county airport! Trees that line the road today, are certainly not conducive for landing a plane anymore. The actual winery building is the only surviving example in Napa Valley of a 3-story wooden gravity flow winery. Even if you don't taste the wines (which would be a shame), its worth coming here just to walk the grounds and see this historic building, both inside and outside. They have tours, typically one in the morning and one in the afternoon but these are not always held. Certain tour guides focus more on specific aspects (history, winemaking etc) but are open to any interests and questions you have about the winery. Advance reservations are necessary for these tours. The inside of the winery is very elegantly decorated with several tasting counters available should it get busy. A wine library on one side gives wine enthusiasts the opportunity to taste rare and older wines. There are many things that set this winery apart from other larger Napa Valley wineries, but one is they have never purchased grapes from anyone since their inception. All fruit comes from their own land which produces their wonderful estate wines. They have an excellent very dry Riesling, and a Viognier. If you like Chardonnay try theirs - in the past they've been voted as having the "best chardonnay in the world" at the World Wine Olympics in Paris. They also have a good variety of reds including the high end HaLo named after combining the first parts of their two children's names. Two options for wine tasting are offered, their Estate and Reserve Tasting. They have two wine clubs - pick up a brochure in their main tasting room for more info and also their free winery newsletter called "Off the Vine". Trefethen has been site for the filming of the TV Show, Easy Entertaining. Visit: www.trefethen.com |
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Tres Sabores means "three flavors" in Spanish which represent the Terroir or soil type, the Artisan (winemaker) and of course the Varietal (type of grape). We enjoyed the 2005 Rutherford Zinfandel as we walked through the Zinfandel rows of grapes while Julie explained the natural farming techniques that she uses on the property. She was one of the earliest of the modern day vintners in the Napa Valley to use organic farming practices. The 05' is a delicious vintage with great Zinfandel aromas followed by spicy white and black pepper notes mixed in with the fruit flavors. Her 2005 Rutherford Perspective Cabernet Sauvignon is also delicious and is a good representation of the local terroir. Tantalizing fruit flavors are represented in this wine with a very smooth silky mouth feel. Weather permitting you will taste outside under the olive groves where there are great views of all the grape rows spread out before you. She also makes a "Fire-Roasted" Zinfandel Marinade which has an interesting story behind it. She had a bunch of wine (2000 cases which is a significant amount for a small winemaker) stored in a Vallejo warehouse which was destroyed in a fire a few years ago. Most people would have merely cut their losses and moved on or even went out of business, not Julie. Her "Porque No?" Marinade (which means Why Not, in Spanish) is a "have lemons, make lemonade story!", as she used the wine that was destroyed in the fire as a key ingredient in her Marinade (it is quite tasty by the way!). We've seen stacks of these available as soon as you walk in the Oakville Grocery in Oakville as well as in other boutique shops around the valley. Julie also makes olive oil from the olive trees that grow on the property. The Porque No wine is a very unique blend, affordably priced and a good "party wine". Visit: www.tressabores.com |
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If you are looking for a good Cabernet Franc come here; this varietal is slowly becoming more popular as a stand alone wine in the Napa area. Their 2005 version is full bodied, smooth and has a delightful nose with aromas of berries and black cherry. It does not have the "vegetal" characteristics you sometimes find with a different style of Cabernet Franc. In addition it is interesting to note some background characteristics of this wine. The orientation of the vineyard rows and trellising expose some of the fruit to the morning sun while some receives lots of warm afternoon sunlight. As a result parts of each row were fermented and aged separately until their final blend. It is 100% Cabernet Franc. Want to make your own Cabernet Franc blend? A neat feature of this winery in regards to this wine is they offer what is called a "Blending Box" in which they give you the "morning" and "afternoon" wines along with a pipette and graduated cylinder. Pretty cool eh?! Their 2004 Cabernet is a silky earthy wine with lots of fruit on the palate. It drinks well now but you can also age it for many years. Visit: www.trespassvineyard.com |
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Tricycle Wine Co is the perfect name for this winery as they own and operate three unique labels, Kazmer & Blaise, Molnar Family and Obsidian Ridge. Their initial label was Kazmer & Blaise and their first vintage was in 1998. Kazmer & Blaise is their limited production label (typically around 200 cases) of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Obsidian is by far their largest produced label and the grapes for this wine come from a vineyard in the Red Hills AVA of Lake County. The other vineyard they own is in the Carneros region of Napa and is planted to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. One very unique aspect of this winery is they own their own Hungarian cooperage. Out of the 600+ commercial Napa wine producers that we have visited and tasted with, this is the first one that can lay claim to that! This has its unique advantages as they can choose only the choicest of the barrels produced. In addition, this particular cooperage uses oak which are among the most tightest grained barrels on the market.
We tried several 2006 wines from barrel. We started with their 2006 Kazmer & Blaise barrel fermented Chardonnay which will be their first vintage. We were honored to have been the first person outside of the winery owners to have tried this! It undergoes full Malolactic Fermentation but the wine is not buttery or creamy as you sometimes expect from a wine that has gone through full ML. Rather is has crisp overtones, floral qualities and is full of excellent fruit flavors. Diacetyl is a natural by product of fermentation which can contribute a buttery and creamy flavor to the wine. When you add sulfite at the end of fermentation, this kills the bacteria that would normally continue feeding on the diacetyl. So, if you allow a window of time between the end of fermentation and when you sulfite the wine, you give the bacteria time to consume the diacetyl which effectively decreases the amount of buttery flavor you have in the final wine. The Carneros region has a lot of clay type soil, but their Carneros Pinot Noir grapes are grown in a very gravely type soil which is found at the base of a hillside. Their version is well on its way to becoming a robust Pinot, with lots of good fruit in the mouth and a finish that is sporting nice structured tannins. We also tried a Syrah from their Red Hills vineyard in Lake County. They were pioneer growers in this part of Lake County which is now its own AVA. The Red Hills is a very unique vineyard as it sits above 2600 feet which makes this one of the highest vineyards in the north coast area of California, and much higher than all vineyards in Napa County except for one on Mt. Vaca. Visit www.theelevationofwine.org which they founded and is an International High Altitude Viticultural and Winemaking Symposium. In addition the soil at the Red Hills is literally full of black obsidian rock. In fact sections up to 9 feet of this rock had to be cleared before they could plant the actual vineyards! This wine has lots of blueberries in the nose and palate and you can certainly taste a bit of smokiness in the flavors. All three labels are made at Domain Carneros. You can find their wine locally at JV Wine in Napa, the St. Helena Wine Center in St. Helena or by joining their mailing list online: Visit: www.tricyclewineco.com |
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Trinchero Winery is one of several Trinchero family Napa owned wineries which include the famous Sutter Home brand (original founders of White Zinfandel), and Napa Cellars in Oakville (where the "new" Folie a Deux Winery is housed. As of press time, Trinchero Winery is undergoing major development which is supposed to be completed in 2009. The new winery is operational and serviced its first crush and harvest in 2008 which will be followed by a hospitality & culinary center to open in June of 2009. The last phase includes the construction of a new one-story tasting room and retail outlet. Once everything is completed all major components of the estate will be located in a courtyard type setting with the buildings right next to each other. We will re-visit once the major construction has been completed, however while there is "dust in the air" the current tasting room is open. Choose from one of two tasting flights, or if you are feeling adventurous and have a designated driver, go for both! They offer "the guiding light" which are white and lighter bodied wines and then the "bold and beautiful" which features their estate red wines. The flight of red wines is a good opportunity to sample the same vintage Cabernet Sauvignons, side by side from different vineyards (all 100% varietal). This gives one a perspective on how select vineyards can produce completely different wines - both in aroma and flavor. We tried all 2005 vintages. The 2005 Stagecoach Cabernet Sauvignon is our favorite. The aromas have nuances of baking spices and cinnamon with elegant fruit notes. This wine is medium to full bodied with layers of flavor and a very smooth clean finish. The Chicken Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon comes from Rutherford. Spicy aromas with hints of vanilla lead to a very approachable palate with raspberry and red currant flavors. The finish is slightly smoky or earthy if you will. The Main Street Cabernet Sauvignon is an elegant wine both in bouquet and flavor. It is a great food wine. A small gift shop adjoins the current tasting room. To see the progress of construction click on the "new winery" link on their website and then scroll down to the webcam link. Their beautiful new production facility is operational with additional phases still being worked on including the hospitality center. We can't wait for the day when all the construction is finally completed! We drive by here often and sometimes stop in for a quick glance at the construction progress. Click on our winery photos for the latest. Also check out their fun online "world wine challenge" quiz and see if you have the Napa knowledge to make the cut! Visit: www.trincherowinery.com |
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As of press time, Trinitas makes a fairly large variety of all reasonably priced wines. They source fruit from select vineyards from a variety of locations in Northern California, including Napa. In addition their own vineyards grow above the cave at the resort which extends all the way to the main highway. They have a variety of Bordeaux red varietals planted on site as well as a bit of Chardonnay which is the varietal that grows in the extremely rocky soil directly above the cave entrance. In fact there is a "wine walk" you can take. From the entrance to the cave proceed up the steps to the left and take the short trail that leads among the vineyards. Pause for reflection at the Madonna statue near the chairs. The actual tasting room is located at the Meritage Resort which is located south of Napa near where Highway 12 meets Highway 121. This is one of the very few tasting rooms located at a resort within the Napa Valley area. This is actually a great idea as many people who stay here are coming to Napa for wine tasting and why not have a tasting facility on site! For reference the cave and tasting bar is located on the south part of the property - drive through the front entrance and park towards the back of the property and then walk to the actual cave (located across the street from the gated swimming pool). This cave system sits 40 feet underneath the famous Napa Wine Press statue which you can see from Highway 12. It is a fairly large cave at 20,000 square feet. Besides the cave tasting bar, there is also a fancy underground spa with underground pools, treatment rooms and little cave "relaxation" grottos. We've been in many wine caves in Napa, but this is the first spa cave we've visited. For resort style amenities it doesn't get much better than this. Take a dip in the pool, head over for a massage or spa treatment and then right across from the spa you have the wine tasting cave. Also note the elegantly decorated wine cave next to the tasting room; this is often used for special events. As of press time, the tasting bar offers 16 different wines to choose from. The tasting flight allows you to pick any 4 wines from the list which includes several whites, a large number of reds and also a late harvest dessert wine. Considering this is the "Napa Wine Project", during our latest tasting we carefully selected mostly Napa wines to review from the list. However we were hearing good things about several of their other wines from other tourists tasting next to us. The 2007 Sauvignon Blanc is crisp with aromas of green apple, grapefruit and honeysuckle. The finish is very clean. The 2005 Pinot noir from the nearby Carneros appellation is like drinking candy! It is a delicious rich Pinot with very fruity aromas and a wonderful mouth feel. The mouth feel is silky and smooth with cola, cherry, nuances of cedar and spices on the palate. The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the smoother Cabernet Sauvignons you will try (sourced from Oakville) with almost a violet and floral character to the nose with some of these floral qualities carried onto the palate. It has a nice long smooth finish. The Revelation is their Late Harvest Cuvee which is a blend of 4 red varietals all from old dry farmed vineyards. The 2005 version opens with an explosion of perfume and candied fruit type aromas on the bouquet. Rich fruit is represented on the palate - not overly sweet but fairly well balanced. You do not need to stay at the resort to visit the spa or cave tasting room. Visit: www.trinitascellars.com |
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The winery is in a 100+ year old restored barn and the very neat & clean wine caves are built into the hillside under the vineyards. Walk on the hill between the grape rows above the caves for some great views of the rolling vineyards and winery complex. The owners live on site and either they or their long-time winemaker will typically show you around and conduct the tasting. As of press time, they make 12 wines one of which is the Roussanne which you are not going to find at many Napa Valley wineries. This wine is light and crisp and with good acid balance. They also produce a wonderful Zinfandel with grapes from their own Carneros property. Zinfandel in Carneros? Now there is a statement not often heard of when speaking of this cooler growing Chardonnay and Pinot noir producing region. However Tuchard's Zinfandel vineyard is grown in a small canyon fairly well sheltered from the cool winds that often blow in this area. In this same grain they have grown Cabernet Sauvignon successfully in their part of the Carneros region for over 30 years! South west facing more protected slopes are the recipe. Their 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon has been blended with a bit of Cabernet Franc which adds a complexity of flavors and spices to the wine as well as a nice rounded smoothness and structure to the finish. Also look for their Tempranillo and late harvest botrysized Rousanne. They participate in the April & Holiday weekends in Carneros activities and this is a good time to meet the owners and winemaker. Food and drinks are often provided at this event which is casual and a great way to socialize with other wine enthusiasts as well as meet the owners and winemaker. View: www.truchardvineyards.com |
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Tuck Beckstoffer Wines currently operates a number of labels including 75 Wine Company, Mockingbird, Semper Wines, Victory Vineyards, and Vinifera. This winery was founded by long time Napa native Tuck Beckstoffer with their first commercial release coming in 2004. However for serious Beckstoffer followers, Tuck commercially made some now much sought after Cabernet Sauvignon in the late 1990's. A little history is also in order. Tuck's father is Andy Beckstoffer who after moving to the Napa area in the late 1960's would later go on to establish Beckstoffer Vineyards. Today the Beckstoffers are Napa's largest Independent family growers providing top notch fruit for a number of well known wineries. They have acquired several historical vineyards over time and their fruit is in extremely high demand among premium wineries. The Beckstoffers choose their vineyards carefully, selecting excellent terroir, but then also carefully micro-managing the vines and implementing leading viticultural practices. Not only do they own a number of a Napa Vineyards but they also own and manage vineyards in other Northern California counties including Lake and Mendocino. If you spend any sort of time in the Napa Valley you will definitely see some of their vineyards and signage.
Tuck Beckstoffer's specialty in the wine business is farming; he grew working among the vines and quickly learned to recognize high quality vineyards. As a result he very carefully selects premium sites for his own wines and based on his family's vineyard management company he has a plethora of vineyards to choose from. You will never find bulk wine used for any of his labels, even the entry level wines. Their focus is on over-delivering quality of wine at a reasonable price. Over time Tuck has established invaluable contacts with local farmers for single vineyard sources as well as having the luxury of being able to use fruit from some of the Beckstoffer's holdings both in Napa and beyond. Their 75 Wine Company wines are named in honor of 1975 which is when Tuck came to the Napa Valley. One "value" wine is their 2007 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc. This is a crisp clean all tank aged single vineyard wine from the organically farmed Block House Vineyard, Napa's oldest Sauvignon Blanc vineyard. It undergoes no malolactic fermentation. The nose is very clean with notes of cut grass, green apple and hints of tropical aromas. The wine stays crisp and lean throughout the well balanced palate. The 2007 Niveus under their Vinifera label is a delightful blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. Some of the nicest Sauvignon Blancs we have tried in the Napa area are typically blends and this wine is no different. The keyword to this wine is more. More fruit, more creaminess, more aromatics and more flavor. It was aged in French Oak, was aged surlie (helps bring out a more viscous rounded mouth feel), and malolactic fermentation was not allowed to occur. The richness of the mouth feel makes a pleasing impression with various stone fruit flavors including white peach, nectarine and apricot. There is also a nice long finish. The Beckstoffers are pioneers in the Red Hills Appellation in Lake County having developed a number of vineyards in this high elevation location. Lake County is north of Napa and boasts the cleanest air of any county in California. This is also home to a developing vineyard industry where land is still much more affordable than say the Napa Valley. As Tuck says, "the Red Hills have the possibility of being what Oakville is to Napa, but for Lake County". Oakville of course has the recognition and long history of grape growing - the Red Hills just became an appellation in 2004 and growers are still finding out what this area is capable of and fine tuning their viticulture practices. This appellation sits between the Vaca and Mayacamas mountain ranges; both ranges also form the North South borders of the East and West sides of the Napa Valley and are hotspots in Napa for growing premium Cabernet Sauvignon at elevation. Their vineyard in the Red Hills runs from about 1500 feet up to 2600 feet - the highest points of this appellation are slightly above 3000 feet, certainly much higher than what you will find in Napa. Tuck spoke of the challenges of starting a vineyard in this area. Boulders of obsidian half the size of rooms were removed...or if you prefer another comparison, the size of cars. The shallow soils in this region are red and extremely rocky all composed of black glassy obsidian rock and gravel and there is excellent drainage. These are the perfect stress soils & conditions (or lack of soil) for growing Cabernet Sauvignon! Their 2005 100% Cabernet Sauvignon (75 Wine Co label) from their Amber Knolls Vineyard in the Red Hills Appellation is an ideal expression of terroir and is representative of what this area can produce. In addition this wine has an excellent price to quality ratio. A touch of toasted oak intermingles with ripe fruit on the nose with a palate full of dark black fruit containing notes of blackberry and black cherry. There is also a neat earthy component to the wine with notes of crushed rock and mineralities with a rather smooth finish anchored by smoky dusty tannins. The 2005 Vinifera 100% Cabernet Sauvignon was sourced from two of the best appellations in the heart of Napa's Cabernet Country, Oakville and Rutherford. Tuck spent over 2.5 years searching for vineyard sites that met his exacting specifications. Cabernet Sauvignon from these two appellations often run $75 and higher. Not so with Vinifera - its priced under $40 and as of press time is their most produced wine. As with Beckstoffer's wines the core focus is to deliver a quality wine at a reasonable price. This wine clearly does that. It is an excellent food wine showing bright fruit and lively acidity. Its balance is the key to pairing with food - not one component dominates. The nose is elegant and refined leading to a palate bursting with red cherry and red currant flavors. Structurally this wine is also in balance; it also has a pleasant lingering finish. Tuck Beckstoffer's wines have fairly good distribution nationally as they are currently found in about 40 states. In addition they are found in select parts of Canada and Asia. Locally you can find their wine at Dean & Deluca. For their portfolio of wines, visit: www.tbwines.com |
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The winery has quite the assortment of odds and ends lying around - the old tractor which provides the name of their one wines, metal statues, and the old Tractor Shed which is now their tasting room. A nice cozy tasting table is setup inside and if weather permits you can also taste outside. Tastings are poured from the small 350 mL bottles, however all wines are sold in the normal 750mL bottles. The estate bottled Cabernet Sauvignon is excellent; it is very dark in color full of spices in the nose and on the palate as well as containing flavors of blackberry. Also be sure to try their Old Vine Cabernet Sauvignon. Old Vine isn't a term normally used to describe Cabernet Sauvignon (usually reserved for Zinfandel), but age has not hurt this wine! The 2002 was current release when we tasted which is a bit older than most wineries' current vintage which is not a bad thing. It has had additional time in the bottle but will easily cellar for another 10-15 years. Their wines have been served at several White House functions and sports celebrities often enjoy their wine (sometimes poured at San Francisco 49er's events). The great baseball player Joe DiMaggio also loved their wines and he spent short vacations on the property. Be sure to walk around the property a little bit; nice planter beds now serve as home to their vegetable garden. The same gardener that manages the wonderful gardens at Kuleto Estate is also in charge of the gardens here. Besides at the winery you can find their wine locally at several wine shops including the Wine Garage in Calistoga. Visit: www.tudalwinery.com |
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A taste here is very relaxed and weather permitting is outside on a patio shaded by the oaks overlooking the small winery. For a low production winery Tulocay makes large variety of different types of wines. We started out with their Pinot noir - this is not a rich dense Pinot as you might find with some of the Carneros Pinot houses, rather it is made more traditionally and is very elegant both in aroma and on the palate. The Pinot noir is partly what Tulocay is known for and was one of the first wines they started producing. Most of his grapes come from long term relationships he has established over the years as he owns no vineyards himself. Bill makes several nice Cabernet Sauvignons which pair well with foods including the single vineyard Cliff Cabernet Sauvignon (produced every year since 1981). The 2002 has very nice color with a nose containing notes of smokiness and hints of oak. There is nice fruit on the palate with good structure. The mouth feel is smooth and the tannins are not gripping. His Casanova Zinfandel is one of the best wines he makes, but the last vintage of this is 2002 and is only available for purchase at the winery. The fruit source for this wine was key as it was from that magical little red hill in the eastern slopes of the Oakville Appellation, where you find all "high end wineries" - Dalla Valle and Showket among others. Not to worry too much, Tulocay makes another Zinfandel from Amador county grown grapes. One aspect which differentiates Tulocay from almost all Napa wineries is the wines here are typically 3-4 years older than other wineries' current vintages and at press time all the wines we were tasting were six and seven years old. Not a bad thing for a consumer - to already have the wines aged! One other nice thing is that these wines are not priced higher despite the additional aging. Even Bill's new releases, the Napa Cabernet's based on quality are extremely affordable. Their philosophy is wine should be enjoyed by family and friends, rather than as a social status to show off. Be sure to visit the "cave" which is actually a C-Train storage unit, but it does contain a "flying bat" to help make this "cave" more authentic! The winery is small but you can take a quick tour and Bill has accumulated a great deal of wine making knowledge over the years. Visit: www.tulocay.com |
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Turley Wine Cellar's tasting room is not located in Napa Valley, rather it is located in Templeton, CA in San Luis Obispo County. We go to great lengths to visit any Napa winery that has a tasting room outside of Napa and as a result, we made the long 5 hour trek south to Templeton in the heart of the Paso Robles wine country on California's central coast. Turley's primary focus is on high quality old vine Zinfandel and they have a very good selection of unique Zinfandel wines available at the tasting room. The owner Larry and his winemaker have rightly earned the moniker, "Zin Masters". Most of the wines available for tasting are Central Coast wines, however you can request tastes of their Napa wines. The winery is located about 3 miles west of the 101 on Vineyard View Drive; the 101 exit is located about 7 miles south of the town of Paso Robles. The intimate tasting room is to the left of the parking lot next to the building that houses the huge steel tanks. Turley purchased this existing winery (the historic Pesenti Winery) because of two reasons: this is a very good area for growing Zinfandel and for the very old Zinfandel vineyards that came with the winery. We tried several 2005 Zinfandels including their Juvenile and Dusi vineyard Zins. Both wines are very bright in color with lots of fruit on the palate. These two wines are made from their Central California vineyards. You can also try a Napa Valley Howell Mountain Zinfandel. This is a darker wine that has great depth and structure. It is more jammy than the other two previously mentioned wines and contains hints of pepper in the nose. The finish is long and elegant. Turley's wines characteristically are rich and concentrated with good weight and rather high alcohol levels. They also make several other varietals including Petite Sirah, a unique white wine blend, and a delicious Charbono from Napa's Tofanelli Vineyard. The wine industry attracts people from all walks of life, even former baseball commissioners. Turley sources Zinfandel fruit from Peter Uberoth's nearby vineyard. Library wines dating back to 13 years old can be purchased at the tasting room. Turley's winemaker is the same for both their St. Helena and Templeton wineries and he in fact commutes between both wineries! This would be a crazy commute in a car; fortunately he is a private pilot. Turley maintains a very popular mailing list but currently the demand exceeds their production. Once you join this list it will be an impatient wait until space becomes available! Visit: www.turleywinecellars.com |
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However, historical meanings aside, this name was conveniently the last name of the original founder William. He was an architect from the San Francisco Bay Area and in fact designed the current winery building as well as Napa wineries, Cakebread (there are some obvious similarities in the two winery buildings) and Newton. Turnbull produces a variety of wines including several delicious Cabernet Sauvignons; their "boldest" most complex flavored Cabernet Sauvignon is the "Black Label". The 2004 is a Bordeaux blend...well almost - there is some Syrah added as well! This wine has a big mouth feel and drips with chocolate, cherries and plums and has a finish of great length. Turnbull's main winery & tasting room is in a wooden building which some visitors confuse with their neighbor Cakebread located right next door, also in a wooden somewhat similar looking building. In fact both buildings were designed by the same architect. An outdoor patio is also available and looks over the vineyards. Tasting typically includes 3 wines including their much coveted Cabernet. Enter the small tasting room from the parking lot through a vine covered walkway. Notice the signature Turnbull classic car which you can see from the patio directly across from the tasting bar. As this winery sits close to the main highway, is well established and is on the "Napa Wine Strip", it can get crowded here on the weekends. The pourers are very friendly and well versed in the local wine industry. Its not easy when you have 15 people in front of the tasting counter and only two pourers. Try their Barbera; their 2004 vintage was their lowest produced commercial wine. Not many Napa wineries even make a Barbera and Turnbull does an excellent job. The reserve tasting room contains a gallery of prominent photographers including Ansel Adams; the works do rotate about every 6 months. The owner of Turnbull actually has the largest private collection of Ansel Adams photography in the world. The reserve room is only open from Friday through Sunday and their Black label red wine is paired with assorted cheeses and chocolates. Special tours can be arranged with advance notice. Visit: www.turnbullwines.com |
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Two Wives . We have visited many wineries during this project and every once in a while we stumble across a very unique winery. This is one of those wineries. It is run by Christine Madrigal and Elizabeth Trujillo. Each of the "two wives" is married to a Napa winemaker who in turn has their own individual wine labels/winery. Michael Trujillo runs Karl Lawrence and Chris Madrigal runs Madrigal Winery. Since being married, Christine & Elizabeth have become very familiar with the wine industry and have made many wine contacts within the Napa area. Despite both being mothers and juggling all the responsibilities that comes with this, they decided to start their own winery. They do not have any employees and run the entire operation themselves. Their first commercial vintage was a 2004 Sauvignon Blanc and this was their only wine until a Rose was released in 2006.
They source fruit from very high quality vineyards which have remained the same since day 1 so they are consistently getting excellent grapes. We tried their 2006 Sauvignon Blanc. It is a light crisp easy to drink wine that would pair very well with seafood. It is soft wine yet has crisp characteristics. The nose is very floral with hints of orange blossoms followed by flavors of ripe grapefruit on the palate. Recently it placed very high at a blind tasting competition exclusively for Napa produced Sauvignon Blancs. There were some very well-known Napa wineries present at this competition whose bottle prices were all more than Two Wives. We also tried the 2006 Rose, named "Pink". This wine is of course pink (pink is one of the owner's favorite colors) and is predominately made from Merlot grapes with a touch of Syrah blended in. It is a semi-sweet Rose which is unique in the Rose market where most of the Rose's are dry. That being said, it is not a dessert wine as the residual sugar is not as high as you would find in the dessert wines. It can be consumed by itself or with food and it pairs especially well with spicy food. This wine is all about the fruit with raspberry and pineapple guava characteristics on the palate. Also of note are their prices. Compared to the typical wine prices for Napa produced wine, their wines are very affordable (under $20). Today, Christine and Elizabeth are extremely focused and passionate about their business. They often participate in charity events for The Breast Cancer Fund, www.breastcancerfund.org and are using their wines to raise awareness about this disease. You can find their wines locally at Dean & Deluca & Sunshine market in St. Helena. Besides USA distribution, they are selectively distributed in Canada & Japan. Visit: www.twowives.net |
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Tastings are currently complimentary (as of our last update in July 2009) and include several Merlots from different years as well as their very limited production Pinot Noir (when available). Twomey is family owned; this same family also owns Silver Oak Winery. We tried several vintages including their wonderful 2000 vintage. All their Merlot's are typically blended with a small amount of Cabernet Franc. All of their grapes are from their own vineyards. The primary vineyard for their Merlot (all planted with French clones) is located in the Soda Canyon area in the South East side of Napa Valley. They also own the "West Pin" vineyard on the Sonoma Coast which produces the grapes for their Pinot noir. This winery practices what is called Soutirage Traditional which is essentially a very labor intensive process of decanting wine from one barrel to another barrel using gravity flow (no pumping). This is very interesting to watch - a valve is attached to one end of the barrel and then the barrel is tipped slightly so the wine begins to flow out. Using a light and a glass to catch the wine as it flows, they are able to see sediment as soon as it appears and this is when they stop the flow. This is done up to 6x to the barrels during an 18-month period. To our knowledge only one other winery in the Napa Valley uses this technique. We tried several vintages of Merlot including their beautiful 2003. This is a strong Merlot, with deep garnet colors and a great nose full of plums, cherries and blackberries. The mouth feel is well rounded and smooth. The tannins on the finish are silky and do not overpower or destroy the balance of this wine. Their Merlots are extremely popular with restaurants nationwide, especially steakhouses. They also make a Sauvignon Blanc which is grown on their estate vineyard next to the winery. The tasting room is modern and intimate with a small curved tasting counter - barrels of wine can be seen adjacent to this room. A wine glass is included with every tasting and unlike some other wineries you are given a clean glass not the one you used for your taste! As at Silver Oak, these wine glasses are wide, thin rimmed and tall...very nice glassware! Twomey also runs a beautiful tasting room just west of Healdsburg in neighboring Sonoma County and is one of the few Napa wineries with another tasting room outside of the valley. We have also visited this other tasting room; there are great views from this all glass enclosed tasting room which overlooks pristine vineyards below. Click the thumbnail above for photos of both their tasting rooms. Visit: www.twomeycellars.com. |
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