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3 Doors Down is a "garagiste" winery located within the town of Napa. The city of Napa allows one to actually bond part of your garage and driveway as a winery which is what 3 Doors Down has done. We have visited a number of garagiste wineries within Napa, but this is definitely one of the smaller ones! This is a Napa winery well under the radar with a lot of potential. They are completely family run - the Italian Isola family manages the winery ranging from grandfather Charles who has made homemade wine for a long time, to his two sons Joseph and Lee and John the grandson. Their first commercial vintage was in 2002 however they have made home wine since 1995 entering at various statewide and county competitions. As John says, eventually the judges became "tired" of seeing them take all the gold medals and started encouraging them to make wine commercially. Their first vintage of home wine was from one of Napa's most well known highly regarded vineyard sources - lets just say this particular vineyard provided some fruit for a winery which won during the famed Paris tasting of 1976. Not a bad source at all when you are making home wine! Encouragement to start their own winery also came from friends who had enjoyed their wines for a number of years - plus giving away your wine for free only goes so far. Does this story sound like another Napa based Italian family winery? The Buonchristiani's started in their Napa garage and now their wines are among some of Napa's finest.
Many winemakers name their winery after their last name so it is always refreshing to find a winery that is creatively named. No there isn't a connection to the rock band 3 Doors Down, rather, their bonded winery is actually three doors down from one of the owner's homes. A side benefit of this name is they will always appear at the top of any Napa winery list! Their primary focus is on Napa grown Cabernet Sauvignon. They have been able to source fruit from vineyards in similar terroir locations from an area in the southern part of the Silverado Trail. As a result their fruit sources have remained fairly constant since the first vintage. We tried the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon in bottle and the 2006 vintage which as of press time was not yet released. The 2005 is a dark wine that has a nose which initially is somewhat flinty with hints of pine pitch aromas and dried herbs including flower petals. After the wine has had time to open up, the aromas evolve more into a rich fruit driven bouquet. The palate follows with lots of nice fruit, dark cherry and blackberry which ends smoothly with a finish that is slightly smoky and spicy. The mouth feel is very rounded and smooth. The 2006 brings forth aromas that are a veritable spice box with nice cedar notes and a bit of white pepper. Note that as of our tasting, this wine had not yet received its final blend. This is a fruit forward wine with nice touches of black cherry and licorice - the finish is slightly smoky and dusty. 3 Doors Down also sources fruit for a second wine - as of press time they have a Sonoma County Merlot - nice touches of vanilla and oak on the nose follow through to the palate. Because their production is so incredibly small this is a winery that you almost have to know someone to get access to their wines - however with very limited distribution within the Napa area, they best way to secure their wine is via their website. You can find the wine locally at the Soda Canyon Store on South Silverado trail - just north of the town of Napa. Oh, and their prices are some of the most affordable in the Napa Valley! Visit: www.3doorsdownwinery.com |
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This tasting room is very well organized - and the names of each winery are listed above the bottles of their wines. At press time, wine from the following Napa area wineries are served here: Adams Ridge, Carrefour, Eagle & Rose Estate / Skyhawk Cellars, Gallery which adjoins the wine bar and allows for easy access between both businesses. This gallery features sculputure and all original works including oils and acrylics. They also own a sister gallery in Utah. Visit: www.adozenvintners.com |
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Acacia is owned by the Diageo Chateau & Estate wine group which is one of the largest wine & spirit companies in the world - this is the same company that owns Napa based BV Coastal Estates (BV Vineyards), Sterling & Provenance and in fact BV has vineyards planted right next to theirs. Acacia has over 85 acres planted in this part of the Carneros near their winery - planted to mostly Pinot noir. In addition, they have an even larger vineyard minutes away, called Winery Lake near the di Rosa Art Preserve. There are great views of the San Pablo Bay from their driveway and on a clear day you can look at the tall buildings of San Francisco way in the distance. As with many Carneros based wineries their specialty is Pinot noir and Chardonnay; some of their Pinot vines are among the oldest in the USA. After tasting all the Cabernet Sauvignons up valley (one of our favorite varietals by the way), it is always nice to find a high end Pinot noir producer. A few wines are made in such limited quantities the best way to acquire them is directly from the winery. Such is the case with their Viognier - the 2007 is a nice summer wine - we can see why this varietal is sometimes blended with specific red varietals. The aromas are excellent and very fruit driven - honeysuckle and white peach with other stone fruit nuances. Great fruit follows to the palate with additional tropical flavors. Two delicious but different styled Chardonnays are their 2005 Winery Lake and the 2006 Sangiacamo. The Winery Lake is a rich palate - very golden in color - almost a caramel crème Brule aroma. The Sangiacamo is our favorite of the two - everything about this wine is well balanced - it is creamy but not buttery, and is a slightly lighter styled wine than the Winery Lake. Notes of mild citrus flavors and just a slight mineral nuance complete the finish on the wine. They produce so many good Pinot's using various styles, its hard to pick a "favorite". The 2005 Lone Tree Pinot noir has a nice floral nose with notes of dried rose petals. It is spicy with black pepper, blackberry and red cherry on the palate. One of our favorite Pinots is the 2005 Beckstoffer Vineyard. The darkness of color hints at this wines complexity and full bodied palate. It is very "big" for a Pinot noir, is layered in flavor and aromas. The nose is fruit driven with some spices. The richness of fruit hits all parts of the palate and the finish is slightly spicy and smoky. Also of note is the relatively new Horseshoe Bend Russian River sourced Pinot noir. Lastly, a special dessert wine is the 2006 late harvest Chardonnay. With just the right amount of sugar, fruit and acidity this wine is well balanced. Its crisp and not cloyingly sweet. The nose is very fruity with pear and stone fruit aromas - nectarines perhaps. Purchases of their Acacia Marsh Chardonnay are for a good cause - proceeds from the sales of this particular wine directly benefit the restoration of the nearby marshes through the California Department of Fish & Game. This wine is sold exclusively at the winery and goes into a fund called "Wines for Wildlife". Did you know Acacia actually made some sparkling wine in the 1980's with some also produced up until the late 1990's. As of press time they had a 97' Brut Sparkling available for purchase. Visit: www.acaciavineyard.com |
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At their old location ACME quickly ran out of storage space especially during the hot summer months when wine is shipped less often. To remedy that problem, they have installed 200 private, secured, and climate controlled wine storage lockers. This is the only wine shop in the Napa Valley we know of that offers this service (we've personally visited most of the ones in the valley); its a great idea. We recently had a chance to tour these - some of the lockers are for short term rental and some are for more permanent use. Each metal locker holds about 10-12 normal size cases. ACME also focuses on tracking down boutique high end small producers who often later go into semi-cult status because of their very limited production, quality and demand. In fact several small wineries essentially got their public start by selling wine entirely through this wine shop before they became more recognized. ACME is an excellent choice if you are trying to find these types of wine or find out who are the latest "hidden treasures". We have been to their shop several times and in browsing their large shelf collection hanging on the wall (a central part of this wine shop), invariably we always find several "new" producers not yet on our radar. As David says, it is always a challenge to keep up with the Napa wine industry, even for those who live in Napa Valley and are totally immersed in this wine culture! The store also contains interesting varietals and wines from around the world to spice things up for locals as well as those with an International palate. Interested in wine clubs but are always put off by the limitations and requirements imposed? Perhaps ACME's "Do it yourself" wine club will change your mind! You are the buyer - you get to choose the wine you receive based on the varietal, appellation, country of origin and price limits. In addition you choose as few or as many bottles of wine to receive each month. Want ACME to select the wines? They do offer other wine club options including the "Under the Radar" club, the Kahuna Club (in which price is no objective), and Pulse which was originally intended for those working in the wine industry but now is available to anyone. However, aside from all these services, customer service is their primary focus. Looking for a shopping cart on their website? You will not find it. Their philosophy is they want to talk to and get to know their customers - it personalizes things and makes for much better relationships both from a customer and the wine shop's point of view. When you visit, look for the rusted facade which gives the outside of the building a very unique look. Enter the front door and proceed to the right to the large A anchoring the door handles. The inside of the shop is well laid out, clean and totally free of clutter. Several chairs and a table make this a good spot to relax. Parking is tight on Fulton Lane but ACME has specially reserved parking spots in the parking lot directly behind the store. ACME also produces their own wine label available for tasting or purchase at the store. This is called Shelter and we have reviewed it here. Visit: www.acmefinewines.com |
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The tasting at their winery during the 4 days/year they are open is located in a historic old redwood barn. It is truly a farm barn as it looks very old and rustic. Because of their limited days per year when they are open, this is always one of the most popular stops during the Taste of Carneros events and should be visited early in the day before the barn gets too crowded. They specialize in four wines all grown from their Carneros Estate - Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot noir and Syrah. In fact they make two distinct Pinots; the Regulus and the Proximus. Continuing in the sprit of this winery to use Latin, the Proximus Pinot is made in very small quantities and as they say is "the best of the best"! Proximus in Latin means "closer" and Adastra uses that term to mean "closer to the stars". We tried the 2005 vintage (less than 200 cases). This is high end, low production Pinot at its finest. Its a rich layered wine full of fruit including plum and cherry with a tantalizing spicy finish. In general, their wines are reasonably priced - our favorites are their Pinots. Up for Croquet in the Carneros? Try playing some croquet at their garden court located just behind the main winery house or take a quick tour of their gardens behind the actual winery. Visit: www.adastrawines.com |
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families and released their first vintage in 1991. Note the image of the acorn woodpecker that appears on their label. This is a very common bird found on their property which makes a very distinct sound. A visit here is for serious wine enthusiasts who typically have tried their wine somewhere else. As of press time their production is extremely limited coming in at about 500 cases. That is tiny! The winery facility is located beneath the owner's home and is slightly set back into the hillside so it retains a year round cool temperature and if you visit during parts of July and August you will see why this is important due to temperatures often reaching 100+. Six acres of vineyards are planted just below the winery to Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. These are the two varietals they focus on with a vintage of each released every year. In-laws also have vineyards in Rutherford and they have sourced fruit there in the past to make Chardonnay and Merlot. They use a variety of oak barrels including French, Hungarian and American. The philosophy behind this is that each type of barrel helps bring an added complexity to the wine - and if you have ever tried the same wine aged in different barrels, you will know that the type of barrel used can have a dramatic affect on the actual wine. We tried the 2004 Syrah and the 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon. The Syrah has aromas that are deep and layered including chocolate and some cedar. The mouth feel is smooth, rounded and silky - with notes of cherry and blackberry on the palate. The Cabernet Sauvignon also exhibits very soft, smooth and silky characteristics with some violets, herbs and earthiness on the nose which slowly dissipates as the wine opens up. This wine has great fruit on the palate including cherry, blackberry and hints of black licorice. If we had to choose one word to describe these two wines it would be soft and smooth...ok, two words then! These wines can easily be consumed by themselves but will pair very well with a variety of food. As as result they are mostly distributed in restaurants by the glass in very select markets. Incidentally their price to value ratio is among the best in the Napa area. Great prices, excellent hand crafted wine - not a bad combination! Visit: www.aetnaspringscellars.com |
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The 2004 Cielo is a Tuscan style blend with Merlot as the dominant varietal but also contains Cabernet Sauvignon and touches of Sangiovese and Barbera. As with their other wines, only small quantities are available. The Cielo had a production of only 194 cases. The one thing that makes this wine fairly unique is it is not made every year; it is only made during years where the quality of the grapes are superior. The nose has appealing aromas of raspberry, red cherry and just a touch of vanilla from the oak aging. This wine is very dark and full bodied with a touch of spiciness that hits around mid palate and continues into the very long finish. With reasonable yet structured tannins at this age and lively acidity this wine will also age very well. The 2005 Tresca Cabernet Sauvignon has 10% Cabernet Franc blended in - the blends and varietal additions usually change from year to year. Tresca means "intrigue" in Italian and its easy to see why customers are intrigued with this one. It is their most popular wine and was their original commercial release. We can see why with its balanced palate and smooth and silky mouth feel. The Lusso blend is supposed to be excellent however it was sold out at time of our tasting. It is their 100% Reserve Cabernet Wine - the beautiful label was designed from a painting by Margaret Keane who is well-known for her paintings of people with large eyes. She has been painting for over 50 years. While not cheap now, if you have the budget, get your hands on some of her works - with such a unique style her art is only going to go up in value. Also of note is the Vino2 glasses they use for the tastings. These solid "wine aeration glasses" have a large "dent" in the side - this is for "breaking" the wine - which allows for additional aeration of the wine as you swirl and actually makes a splashing noise. It is always interesting when we find a new type of glassware; this is the only winery out of 500+ we have visited to use this unique type of wine glass. You can purchase them at the time of your tasting. A visit is for serious wine enthusiasts and is always held with family members. This is as personable a tasting experience as you will find in the Napa Valley. Allora loosely translates to "whatever" in Italian. Visit: www.alloravineyards.com |
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The tasting room is open and airy - the tall ceilings help in this regard. The white marble topped tasting counter forms 3/4 of a square. A few limo groups had totally filled all sides of this counter when we last visited...so we just squeeze in and look at home. Their tasting flight typically includes 4 wines. We started our tasting with a 2005 Chardonnay. It has a nice bouquet with hints of butterscotch, pear and banana (don't always find this flavor in Chardonnays!). It is oak aged - on the palate you may find lemon lime notes with honeysuckle and a slightly roasted nut flavor. The 2007 Rose is an unusual blend that includes Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petite Verdot and Cabernet Franc. There are not too many Rose's like this in the Napa Valley. It is very dark pink with floral aromas of dried rose petals, cherry and chocolate. The palate surprisingly contains very concentrated flavors compared to the typical lighter style Rose's that we are used to drinking. Wild strawberry and raspberry flavors are anchored by delicate tannins. We tried both the 2004 and 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon blends. Both wines are delightful and elegant, great for pairing with foods due to the bright fruit and lively acidity - the 2005 is actually smoother and slightly softer. Both feature very ripe fruit - we picked up raspberry, blueberry and black cherry on the palate. The Proprietary Red Wine blend unfortunately was sold out at the time of our visit and is in high demand. They make a late harvest Sautern style Sauvignon Blanc / Semillon blend to die for. There are only a select few wineries in the Napa Valley that make a wine like this and Alpha Omega's 2004 version is killer. You have to be careful with the Sautern style wines - sometimes they have an annoying minerality presence towards the finish which in our opinion is a defect (however some people enjoy this). This wine does not have this - its all about the fruit and the balance. As it is a young wine it is light golden/yellow in color - age this and it will turn a nice amber dark gold in the bottle. This wine is extremely well balanced which keeps it from being cloyingly sweet. Nice stone fruit aromas include apricot and peach - with minor hints of coffee. The fruit flavors follow to the palate picking up a little pineapple, lemon and honey. Despite this wine being sold out, there is hope; they do release a vintage each year! Alpha Omega is a winery owned by winemakers who have many years of experience in the industry and 2006/2007 was their flagship year - it would be wise to buy a few bottles and keep them for your collection as the price of these bottles 5 to 10 years from now most likely will be a lot higher than they are now. Total production is about 6000 cases. The famed French blending master, Michel Rolland consults for Alpha Omega and helps in their final blending decisions. We saw an interview with Michel - he says he tastes between 30,000 and 35,000 different wines a year. Whew, what a job! Check out their blog: aowinery.spaces.live.com and visit www.aowinery.com |
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Napa attracts people from all over the world due to its fine wine and excellent cuisine. It seems like it is becoming rarer when we find a vintner who actually grew up in Napa and has historical family ties to the valley. Such is the case with the Altamura's; owner & winemaker Frank Altamura has a long history of winemaking in Napa and his wife Karen has had this property in her family since the 1850's. Frank started working in the vineyards right out of high school and gained invaluable experience by working with some of the Napa notables who already had established careers in the 1970's and 80's - vintners such as Randy Dunn, Ric Foreman, and Chuck Wagner. Having grown up in the Napa Valley but trying to plant vineyards in an area with few existing vineyards, Frank found himself identifying soil types on his property similar in nature to those found in some of Napa's high end terroir regions - i.e., Howell Mountain, the Rutherford Bench, Mt. Veeder, etc. Once the soils were identified this allowed him to tailor the particular rootstalks and clones to each soil type. As of press time they are putting the finishing touches on a new winery building. The outside is all stone, quarried from the many rocks strewn over the property. Plans eventually include a new tasting room right next to Wooden Valley Road. The actual winery is located about 1/2 mile in on a gravel road which winds its way past the vineyards. Your tasting here will be in their cave. Altamura concentrates on Sangiovese and their flagship wine, the Cabernet Sauvignon - both of which have been well received by some of the best known wine critics. Altamura has made extensive use of a new French Oak aging program and their wines often will stay in barrel up to an additional year or so compared to the typical wineries. Their production is about 5000 cases. Besides their two main wines they also make a very nice Sauvignon Blanc which is available only at the winery and from their website. Compared to traditional Sauvignon Blancs, this wine is very untraditional. It sees 18 months of oak which contributes to the oak in the nose, but the actual wine does not have that "over oaked" taste. For you Nebbiolo lovers - Altamura makes a delicious wine of this varietal. It is very smooth yet complex and goes well with most foods. Typically they do not open this wine unless you specifically request it, as it is made in such a low production. Most people have never heard of this varietal unless you are a serious wine enthusiast or have visited Italy; there are just a handful of Napa area wineries producing it. All their wines are straight varietals, i.e.., no blending. 2005 Their Cabernet Sauvignon is a big wine, with concentrated flavors; it has strong structured tannins and a very long finish. Visit: www.altamura.com |
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As of press time, their 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon was current release making this among the older of the current releases we have tried. Their philosophy is to give this Cabernet some additional bottle aging as well as providing a slightly aged wine for the consumer, as most consumers of everyday drinking wine will consume the wine within hours of purchase! This wine has 10% Merlot blended in mainly to enhance the mouth feel and aromatics. There is a touch of vanilla and spices on the nose and a very soft rounded mouth feel. This is a perfect everyday affordable Cabernet Sauvignon. Want an even more affordable Cabernet Sauvignon? Try their second label called Olema - the first release was 2005. Of note are their prices; they are extremely reasonable for Napa standards and as of press time you can buy the Olema Napa Cabernet for under $20 a bottle. Hmm, maybe 2 or 3 wineries we've visited have a Napa Cabernet at this pocket pleasing price point! How many Napa wineries source Pinot noir grapes from Mendocino County - not many! With great flavor and structure to this wine, as well as a production of merely several hundred cases, Amici tends to sell out rather quickly. The owners of Amici also spend significant time in Bordeaux France, and often rent out their villa there and in Napa. In Napa the "villa" is a Tuscan styled luxury home located in the north part of the valley near Calistoga. It is called Domaine Beau Soleil (site of one of their vineyards) and you can view details here: www.winevillas.com Visit: www.amicicellars.com |
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Spencer is a guitarist for a Rock and Roll Band called Noble Rott which tours nationally. He continues to perform, compose and record music. His wife Amizetta who the winery is named for is a direct descendant of Pocahontas. This is a very low production winery and their entire concentration is focused on three types of Cabernet Sauvignon based wines. Spencer started out selling fruit to other local wineries and making small quantities of wine himself. In 2002 this changed and from that point on all grapes on the estate have been used for their own wines. As of press time, total production is about 2000 cases. Bob Egelhoff is their well-known winemaker and his attention to detail on producing these high quality wines really shows. His focus is on ageable wines yet at the same time, can be consumed now, so they are well balanced and not overly tannic. A typical visit is usually with Bob or Spencer; they will give you some background information about the vineyards and you will have a chance to barrel taste in their small cave (one of the smaller Napa caves we've seen). During the initial drilling of the cave they were forced to stop as they ran right into a large spring - the water from this is now used on site. As Spencer says "when you want water for a winery you cannot find it - when you don't it is everywhere!". The very elegant well-stocked tasting room is in the adjacent winery building. We highly recommend their Vigneto Reserve Cabernet - Spencer pulled out a bottle of the 2004 vintage and said "this is the good stuff". We can see why, this is an elegant well-structured rich hillside Napa Cabernet - representing the best of their select wines. The mouth feel is soft and smooth with a lingering finish still full of fruit flavors. Their other two wines are the Estate Cabernet Sauvignon and a red Meritage blend. Interested in viewing how wine is typically produced. Check out Amizetta's high resolution image timeline on their website which details bud break through harvest to bottling. Visit: www.amizetta.com |
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Ancien's grapes come from several vineyards in Napa & neighboring Sonoma County including Carneros, Sonoma Mountain, Napa Valley & the Russian River. These are all high end appellations for sourcing "cooler climate" varietals. The vineyards that surround the winery were originally planted in the 1960's and the famous Andre Tchelistcheff (of BV Vineyards fame) walked the property and provided consultation. Both owners have lots of experience with Burgundian varietals including Chardonnay and Pinot noir and they used to work for many years in local Champagne producing wineries. Their wines are all made in low production and can be found in some of the area high end restaurants. We tasted their 2005 Carneros Pinot noir - lots of blueberry and blackberry flavors up front, some touches of minerals with light spices at the finish. The spices and notes of chocolate complement the fruit rather nicely. Some of their Pinot noirs are served at the famous French Laundry in Yountville. Visit: www.ancienwines.com |
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Your tour and tasting will be with Todd, his wife Ronene or their winemaker. It is a one on one event that typically lasts from 2-8 hours - often running 4-5 hours. If your tasting is with Todd, this is by far the longest tour/taste you will take at any Napa Winery. If you do not want to be rushed set aside at least a half day for a visit. The entire purpose of the tour is educational - you will be shown the vineyards, the wine production facilities, the caves and taste through a wide variety of wines in their larger cave from both barrel and bottle. They welcome questions about winemaking, production, growing - really anything related to wine! Now that you know about a "typical" visit - should you want additional more in depth information consider signing up for one of Todd's wine making seminars. These events cover the main aspects of the vineyards, fermentation and aging, bottling and much more. Their current release Chardonnay is typically offered during the tasting. They were one of the first wineries in the area not to use Malolactic Fermentation on their Chardonnays, which typically results in a less buttery creamy wine. Todd told us that often those who arrive and say they don't like Chardonnay leave with bottles of this wine! We also tried the crisp 2005 Sauvignon Blanc (sourced from Lake County) & then tasted through a short vertical of their delicious Pinot Noir. Their Right Bank is an interesting blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc that has a very smooth mouth feel yet is richly concentrated with good fruit flavors. The Eloge is their Bordeaux styled predominately Cabernet Sauvignon blend. Todd also runs one of the most prestigious Napa area labels called Ghost Horse; it is usually sought out by extremely wealthy collectors. There are several labels within this brand and a current release bottle typically starts at $1000 and easily runs up to $5000/bottle. Just the price puts this label above the typical bottle price of the 8 or so Napa "cult" wineries. All Ghost Horse wines are 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Membership to this wine club is very exclusive and ensures you access to a variety of interesting perks including participating with Todd in some of his adventures. Also, forgot to mention there are two tiers of membership to this wine club, one starts at $500,000 and the other is a million dollars. Also ask Todd about the many worldwide wine events that he conducts and participates in. The Ghost Horse website has an inspiration opening scene - visit it here: www.ghosthorseworld.com and about Anderson's Conn Valley: www.connvalleyvineyards.com |
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Try their Sangiovese - we tried their 2006 vintage. It is a very well balanced wine and you may find some slight oak and cherry flavors on the palate. Another wine worth mentioning is their Brut Champagne made from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. Very few wineries in the valley make a sparkling wine - theirs has some interesting hints of toast and raspberries which when mentioned together sound like an odd combination, but it really works with this wine! We also found the Merlot and their limited release Port to be very good. Wine buses often like to stop here and like other popular walk-in wineries the tasting room can become very crowded. You can walk around to the back of the winery. If the weather is good, chairs and tables are available in the courtyard not far from the rows of grapes. A membership in their wine club offers you tickets to their member only parties (there are lots!), a chance to meet Mario and other benefits. Winery apparel and Mario Andretti books & souvenirs are available. Looking for a private wine tasting experience? Andretti offers this as well as a number of other private tour options including a winery tour, vineyard tour, a blending class, and a sensory class. Visit: www.andrettiwinery.com |
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Peter first fell in love with the Napa Valley while attending college at USC in Los Angeles. During a trip north in 1973 to attend a USC Stanford football game (which for you football fans USC won the game in a 1 point squeaker), his friends took him north to Napa for some wine tasting. Knowing next to nothing about wine he soon became taken in with the industry. His career path was outside the wine industry until 1999 when he retired from law in San Diego. During the mid 1990's he spent 2.5 years looking for a prime piece of hillside Napa property before settling on the totally undeveloped brush covered land on some of the highest slopes of the Diamond Mountain Appellation. The trail to the vineyard is short and ends at a deck that affords one 180 degree views of the Napa Valley and nearby mountains including the tallest, Mt. St. Helena. This is about as personal a tasting experience as you will find in Napa Valley. This winery produces one vintage each year - a delicious Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine will always be predominately Cabernet Sauvignon based but the other varietals in the blend will change depending on the vintage. There are several clones planted on this hillside vineyard and during the wine making, each clone is treated separately. As a result, the individual clones are fermented and aged apart from each other - this gives the winemaker additional options when putting the final blend together. For instance if there is a block of the vineyard that isn't up to their quality standards, it will be left out of the final blend. This wine has a loyal following. It tends to receive a bit more age then many wineries' current releases. We tried the 2003 vintage. It has a solid backbone, rich in black fruit including cherry with a wonderful smooth mouth-feel. It is what you expect of high end Napa area hillside grown fruit. Peter also has a background in geology and each part of the vineyard was carefully planted based on soil type in relation to which varietals would grow the best. Ask about his special tastings - either a lunch or dinner is prepared by himself with several area wines included as well as a vertical tasting of his own Cabernets. We had a peak at his menu and the entrees are sure to make your mouth water from the Gran Padano Italian cheese to the dry rubbed Chateaubriand. These events are available by appointment from mid July through the end of October. Visit: www.andrewgeoffrey.com |
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Andrew Lane has a long history of producing wine in Napa - dating back to 1978. They used to produce home wine and enter these in the state and county fairs and picked up a Best of Show award for a Sauvignon Blanc in 1983 at the well-regarded Napa Town & County Fair. Andrew Lane was founded by David Dickson who named the winery after his two sons. In actuality this was the original Napa "Frog's Leap Winery," as inspiration for this name came after one harvest when the founder was reading "Frog & Toad's Big Adventure" to his children, all the while frogs were making noise outside near the cellar. As Paul Harvey says, now you know the rest of the story. Fortunately there is more to the story. After years of home winemaking within the family, Andrew started their commercial production with the first vintage released in 2002. Unfortunately right when they were getting off the ground their inventory was destroyed in the now infamous warehouse fire in Vallejo. Bowed but not broken after the fire, Andrew moved all their operations to the current location. He is the head winemaker and currently handles all sales. They work with only small family owned vineyards in Napa - some of these contacts date back 30+ years. As a result, they know the fruit and terroir sources extremely well. Today they focus on Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and a Gamay Noir, a relative of Pinot Noir. Now here is a varietal which used to be one of the most abundant varietals planted in Napa County. Over time it fell out of favor and today there is just 2 or 3 acres of this varietal planted within Napa and Andrew Lane sources from one of the last remaining vineyards. This is not their most produced wine due to the small 1+ acre vineyard they source from, and as a result it often sells out rather quickly. We tried the 2006 vintage - tasting notes on the Gamay Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc coming soon, as we are currently back logged on tastings. Tastings at the winery are held on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Inquire about special wine events which are held on a limited basis. Total production is about 2000 cases; you can find their wine in select markets in Texas, Florida and New York as well as locally - The Wine Garage in Calistoga, St. Helena Wine Center in the town of St. Helena and JV Warehouse in Napa. Visit: www.andrewlanewines.com |
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over and there is nothing you can do but make wine! Resistance to the "Napa Allure" is futile. Their winery was built with their current production in mind which is slightly less than 1000 cases. As a result, it is a very small winery but perfectly fits their size and they have no plans to significantly increase production. The cellar room is located about 20 feet deep and is completely isolated from the surrounding water table which rises quite high during the winter months. Their vineyards sit on prime soil for growing Cabernet which in this area is a gravel based sandy loam soil. Grapes from nearby vineyards are often used in other wineries' higher end offerings. As neighbors sold already planted vineyard property Anomaly jumped in and purchased several small blocks of land. Their vineyards are somewhat sheltered because of the horseshoe shape of the surrounding mountains which effectively protects their location from frost. The vineyards are planted to four clones of Cabernet Sauvignon with smaller amounts of Petite Verdot and Cabernet Franc which are used as blending wines. Steve was the original winemaker. Their current winemaker is young, has lots of passion and Anomaly is one of his first head winemaking projects. Anomaly specializes in one high quality Cabernet Sauvignon each year; their first vintage was in 2000. We tried their 2004 vintage. Wow, what a nice approachable rich Cabernet Sauvignon. This is a food friendly wine that melts in the mouth. It has perfectly balanced tannins with rich complex fruit and a very pleasing velvety finish. You may find hints of cherries, cocoa and some other herbal notes to this vintage. There is no reason why you cannot age this wine and their early 2000 vintages are drinking very nicely right now. Anomaly's wines can be found locally at JV Wines in Napa and at the nearby St. Helena Wine Center and Dean & Deluca Wine shop (both in St. Helena). Anomaly is also involved in a variety of charity organizations. If you are interested in this wine and winery, join their mailing list online. Visit their main website: www.anomalyvineyards.com or their very informative often updated blog: http://anomalyvineyards.blogspot.com |
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| Anselmo Vigne has vineyards located in the hills above the Silverado Trail not far from Darioush and Signorello Wineries. Anselmo "Steve" Simi is the owner - he grew up helping his parents make their home wine. He looked in the Napa area for over 10 years before he found this ideal location to grow Cabernet Sauvignon. The land was site of an existing vineyard planted in the late 1980's. At the time of the purchase the production was over 5 tons per acre which is not the tonnage you need for high quality wine and in the ensuing years he brought production down to under 3 tons per acre. Steve spent hundreds of hours working and improving the vineyard property and infrastructure. The vineyard is well drained with rocky clay loam type soil. Great attention goes into maintaining excellent exposure of the grapes to the sun so that ripening is even. Their first release was in 2002 and they concentrate on a 100% varietal Cabernet Sauvignon each year. Their total production each year runs merely several hundred cases - and quality is of the utmost importance here. Any years in which the "juice" does not make the quality cut will not be used, or less juice will be used and a vintage may not be released or will be released in lesser quantities. Respect for the quality of what is released is often hard to find at winery that mass produces wines. Plans are developing for possibly a second wine but as of review time in 2008 this wine has not yet been released. We tried their 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon. The nose is full of fruit including cherries and red currants - the mouth feel is soft and silky, the mid palate has tones of chocolate and tobacco and the finish leaves you only wanting more of this wine. Their Cabs are priced rather reasonably for fruit from this particular area of Napa Valley. Also note that one of the owners is a classically trained painter and sculpture and her works appear on some of their promotional material. Visit: www.anselmo-vigne.com | |
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For a winery with an open to the public tasting room, their total production is very low - usually in a given year they will be around 2000 cases with the majority of that being their Cabernet Sauvignon. As a result, their other wines are made in quantities of usually just several hundred cases. Look for good Pinot Noir, Viognier and their Odyssey which is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cab Franc and Merlot (all from their hillside vineyards on Atlas Peak). They chose to make Viognier because when the site was purchased this varietal was already planted. They also source fruit for this wine and we hope they continue to make it each year. Like desert wines - try their sweet Dulcinea (2004) which is a botryisized blend of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc. Lute Olsen the popular coach of the University of Arizona Basketball team considers this winery among his favorite. He's spent many hours lounging outside next to the pool sipping wine. It’s not hard to see why! Visit: www.arger-martucci.com | A revisit is planned - major update coming by end of Oct 2008. |
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Both Sandi and John were extremely busy with their consulting and vineyard work but had building a winery in the 1980's. Finally the time came and they took the plunge in the early 1990's. Their first commercial vintage was released in 1992. Arns winery is small and their total production is about 1000 cases of which the majority is their estate Cabernet Sauvignon. They also make two other wines, a Syrah and a Napa Valley Cabernet. All their wines are 100% varietal. A visit here is for the serious wine enthusiast and a tasting is typically with Sandi or John and if the weather permits is held outside on their patio overlooking the vineyards. Their Syrah is one of the more elegant Syrah's we've had during this project. It has the Syrah characteristic smokiness and pepper flavors but these do not overwhelm the wine. Their estate Cabernet Sauvignon is our favorite. Characteristic of their vineyard, this wine is very dark and inky in color. The 2004 vintage is a smooth high quality Napa Cabernet - with notes of cherries in the aromas and more anis as the wine starts to open up. The palate has nice notes of chocolate and dark cherry. For an off the beaten path personal tasting experience, sampling high quality hand crafted wines, it doesn't get much better than this. Visit: www.arnswinery.com |
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From their outside porch on a clear day you can see the skyscrapers of San Francisco far in the distance, several Bay area bridges, Mt. Tamalpais, Mt. Diablo, the San Pablo Bay - and in the foreground, the di Rosa Art Preserve and Domain Carneros. Artesa has very nice grounds including modern statues, waterfalls, and a serene inner courtyard. After you climb up the steps from the parking lot you will walk down a long path to the entrance - across what appear to be square concrete pavers. You are walking directly on top of their barrel room so if your footsteps sound a bit hollow, there is a good reason for it. They also have a wine members only tasting room - visible from the outside so you can see who is inside. However, we recommend they take the next step in VIP room windows like the one in the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. The Kodak has installed "soft glass" so that when you walk past the outside of the room, the windows instantaneously turns fuzzy and you cannot make out the features of those inside. However at certain angles you can see who is inside; this is done so those outside of the VIP room have at least a glimpse of who is inside there, but at the same time gives the VIPS their privacy. Tours at Artesa are given daily at 11 and 2pm sharp. A tour which includes a tasting takes about an hour and weather permitting starts outside on their porch. Check out the statue of the Madonna in their central courtyard. You won't see many Madonna's with braids like this one has. Also note the very unique reflected image of this Madonna that is seen indoors - which varies in location depending on the time of year and the sun's angle. The tour covers the winery & Carneros history, and includes a stop in their production facilities. Their barrel room is one of the larger ones you will see in Napa Valley. Oh, and Benedictine monks are continuously chanting which adds an "old world" flavor to a stop here. Perhaps this soothing music is even good for the wine as it ages, who knows?! Our guide was a Carneros local and grew up before the rolling hills were covered in grapes - this entire area used to be sheep and dairy farms. Lots of art decorates the inside and outside of the winery. This art is the brainchild of Gordon Huether who has been the resident artist at the winery since 1997. He has his own studio just north of the town of Napa - visit: www.gordonhuether.com Choose from two tasting flights including their "classic" and the Limited Release & Reserves. Despite having a number of tasting counters on site, summer weekends can get pretty crowded. We recommend spending the extra $5 to taste their limited releases. Saunter over to the wine bar after you pay for your tasting at the main entrance. Their Limited Release wines are very smooth and very drinkable now. Excellent Sauvignon Blanc - the 2005 Reserve has rich aromatics and a wonderful creamy mouth feel - fruit includes melon and pear with notes of caramel and vanilla from the oak aging. There is a pleasant nuance of ripe banana that lingers on the finish. Other nice wines are the 2006 Carneros Pinot noir, the rich concentrated fruit flavors of the 2004 Reserve Merlot, a Cabernet Franc and their very food friendly Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. True to their Spanish roots Artesa produces an Albarino wine - we know of only one other Napa winery producing this varietal. Pick up a copy of their monthly newsletter - recipes, wine info & more! Visit: www.artesawinery.com |
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The winery sits in a bucolic location totally surrounded by vineyards just north of Tubbs Lane (near the Old Faithful Geyser). As a result of its location this is one of the most northerly based Napa wineries. We always like visiting this part of the valley as there are less people, less traffic, and the wineries are much more spread out. Tasting, while by appointment, is informal and enjoying their wine is a very pleasant experience. This winery has finished major renovation and upgrades - the gardens and outdoor landscaping were redesigned and Bob Pecota's old house was converted into a tasting area. Weather permitting, the tasting will be outside on the patio near the pool otherwise it will be inside their cozy tasting room. Atalon is known for merely two tiers of wines: a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and in addition a hillside grown Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. However, note that their first white wine, a Sauvignon Blanc was released in 2008. The Napa Valley vintages we tried were all very well balanced with soft smooth tannins. There are definitely some noticeable differences based on terroir and the hillside grown fruit versus the valley floor. The hillside grown wines tend to be bigger in structure with rich very ripe fruit flavors. The grapes used in their wines come from several premium vineyard locations in the Napa Valley historically known to produce very high quality grapes. There are nice views of the vineyards and nearby hills from the wooden deck in the covered fermentation area. Also note the handprints of Bob Pecota in the concrete (former owner). We refer to the two "C's" which are the best bicycle friendly areas in Napa Valley. These are Carneros to the south and Calistoga here in the north. Bicyclists will find these small vineyard surrounded roads a joy to ride especially considering this part of the valley sees less traffic then much of the rest of Napa Valley. A bike rack is available in front of the winery for parking. Visit: www.atalon.com |
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