Failla Vineyards opened their tasting room along the Silverado Trail in October of 2006. Failla is owned by winemaker Ehren Jordan and his wife Anne-Marie and the winery name is Ann-Marie's maiden name. Until they purchased this facility in 2004, they were a "virtual" winery without a tasting room or winery of their own - the first vintage was 1998. They are located almost directly across from the popular Rombauer Winery (look for the large US flag); some people even stop into Failla thinking its Rombauer! As of press time the only signage for this winery is their painted mailbox. Enter at the main driveway on the east side of Silverado Trail and follow the signs to the small gravel parking lot. Note the abundance of apple trees planted on one of the slopes; these were from previous owners who planned on producing apple cider. Failla is getting close to completing 12,000 square feet of wine caves; these are scheduled to be ready for the 2008 harvest. We will revisit once the caves are complete for an update. The tasting room is located inside the main house; note the very mountain/cabin like feel with the knotty pine and a stone fireplace. With a tasting room like this, its almost like you are in the mountains somewhere ...Lake Tahoe perhaps! They are set back from the main Silverado Trail against the hillside which makes for a very quiet peaceful location. This is also a historic property. The Silverado Trail was originally built in 1852 and was the first permanent north south Napa Valley road. You can even see parts of the old Silverado Trail which used to run through the property. The famous stage coach robber, "Black Bart" was actually apprehended on site in 1883. A side room with a thick piece of wood sitting on top of two wine barrels serves as the tasting counter or for a more personal tasting (small groups only) you can sit down with your tasting host. Allow at least 45 minutes. Outdoor tasting areas will be developed. How many up valley wineries do *not* make a Cabernet Sauvignon or for that matter, any Napa based wineries. Not many! Failla specializes in three wines, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Syrah all sourced from very cool weather vineyards. If you are looking for a "Pinot house" this is an excellent choice. Their winemaker holds several philosophies; one is to make wines that make you salivate upon the first taste and another is to source from cold climate vineyards which tend to have strong marine influences. These types of wines have lively acidity and are not solely huge fruit driven wines. As a result they tend to pair very well with meals and are quite popular at restaurants. Typically their wines are unfined and unfiltered for maximum color and flavor. Failla owns 85 acres in the Fort Ross area of the Sonoma Coast which can be extremely cold and foggy. They also source grapes from other high end vineyards in Sonoma and Napa. For a relatively small winery they produce a large number of wines. As a result we will focus on a select few that we enjoyed during a recent tasting. The 2006 Estate Chardonnay from the Sonoma Coast has a wonderful fruit driven nose, slightly flinty with hints of melon, pineapple and honeysuckle. The fruit follows onto the palate - lively acidity and a nice clean finish. The 2006 Viogner is sourced from Edna Valley in San Luis Obispo County. This wine has big aromatics, herbs and jasmine with a palate hinting of stone fruit (white peach, nectarine) and even a little citrusy marmalade flavor. The heart of Failla's wines are definitely their Pinot Noirs. Two of our favorites are the 2006 Pearlessence Vineyard and the 2006 Sonoma Coast. The Pearlessence has some very nice earthy and baking spice aromas which when left to open up reveal more of the fruit including currants and cherries. The Sonoma Coast is very well balanced with rich aromas of cherry intermixed with exotic spices and that wonderful terroir driven earthiness you find in some of Failla's Pinots. Syrah lovers take note - this varietal rounds out Failla's repertoire and is their "biggest" wine. The owner winemaker is young but already has a plethora of experience working at other high end wineries within the Napa area. There is plantable hillside acreage on site and Failla has near future plans to put in a small vineyard. Visit: www.faillawines.com

Quick Info Open to Public: No Appointments: Yes Regular Tours: No Hours: 10-4pm (call) Phone: 963-0530 Address: 3530 Silverado Trail, Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Fairchild Estate is a high quality producer of very limited premium red wines. They currently focus on estate grown Cabernet Sauvignon. In 1999 Larry Fairchild and his wife purchased premium land just above Lake Hennessy in the eastern hills above Napa Valley. Larry has a long history of building startups and managing entrepreneurial businesses including at one point an online company to facilitate the needs of wineries with suppliers of winery related products. This area is probably Napa's most sought after terroir that isn't yet an officially recognized sub appellation. It is in the Pritchard Hill area which is home to two of Napa's generally recognized seven cult wineries - these two are Colgin and Bryant Family. Fairchild's first release was in 2001. This is a unique location home to several other very premium vineyards and wineries. The lake provides a very unique moderating growing climate especially in the summer during the afternoons when the rest of this area is much warmer. This is a steep hillside vineyard planted to Cabernet Sauvignon clone 7 located in an area known to produce complex wines with intense flavors. The old adage that the majority of winemaking takes place in the vineyard is very true and maybe even more so in the case of a small vineyard focusing on premium wines such as Fairchild. The vineyard is small and so is the total yield with a typical year coming in around merely 1.5 tons/acre. As a result this is one of the smaller Napa prodcuers that we have met with on this project. Each wine is typically only produced in a quantity of merely 90 cases each vintage. That's not much! Larry has two very highly regarded people in the wine industry on his team; Jim Barbour provides all the hands on vineyard management and Paul Hobbs is the winemaker. Hobbs has a long history in the Napa area back to the early 1980's when he worked with Opus One and today he consults for local and International wineries and his wines are extremely sought after. During harvest, the grapes are all hand sorted, native yeast is used during fermentation and no pumps are used as gravity flow is how the juice is moved into the actual fermentation tanks. Their philosophy is to manipulate the wine as little as possible both during fermentation as well as during its aging. Attention to detail is key during the winemaking - hand picked French Oak barrels are used and the wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered for maximum flavors. We met Larry at lunch in St. Helena and tried his 2005 Estate vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (Sigaro). If you are looking for a premium elegant Bordeaux style wine, this is an excellent choice. It is a wine that contains a powerful nose of leather, a smokiness (think cedar) and black cherry. On the palate it reveals several depths of flavor, black cherry, black currant and undertones of vanilla. It contains a pleasing smokiness that lingers long after you swallow. Fairchild also makes another wine - the Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine differentiates itself from the single vineyard Sigaro in that it is blended with valley floor fruit. Visit: www.fairchildwines.com

Quick Info Open to Public: Private Appointments: No Regular Tours: No Hours: N/A Phone: 866 725-7503 Address: P.O. Box 807, St. Helena Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Falcor Winery released their first vintage in 1999 which at the time was a highly rated award winning Chardonnay. They have recently opened a fabulous new winery and tasting room in a corporate park just south of the town of Napa. This is one of a number of Napa wineries who call corporate and business parks their home. Falcor was founded by two attorneys from West Virginia who work for the same firm. Both are extremely passionate about wine. They often served depositions for their legal firm in the San Francisco area and as a result during these trips would visit the Napa Valley. After being inspired during several local tours and tastings they decided to partner in a winery. Through connections they found well known winemaker Ray Coursen who has made their wines since day 1. Ray owns Elyse winery and is a completely self made vintner having initially taken the path of working in the vineyards and then in a large wineries' tasting room before becoming a winemaker. Over the past 20 years Ray has made some very good connections with vineyard owners and is able to source very high quality grapes for all of Falcor's Napa & Sonoma wines. Combining the premium grape sources with Ray's long time winemaking experience produces delicious wines with an additional bonus being the reasonable pricing. As of press time they produce between 4000 and 5000 cases and 9 different wines. Falcor also is able to hold back vintages of wine so that their current releases are typically several years older than most wineries. For example the current vintage of the Cabernet Sauvignon we tasted was 2002 which we were tasting 6 years later at press time. They are well known for their Chardonnays and the 2003 current release (Bacigalupi vineyard from Sonoma County's Russian River region) does not disappoint. It is a pale amber color in the glass with notes of honey, crème Brule, caramel, some hints of nuts which follow through to the palate. It is a unique tasting very full bodied Chardonnay with a wonderful mouth feel. Their 2004 Sangiovese is a Super Tuscan blend (red wines from Tuscany, Italy that do not use historical blending varietals) with 88% Sangiovese and 12% Cabernet Sauvignon. The grapes for this wine are from Yountville and form a well rounded wine with a smooth elegant mouth feel. Spices, black licorice and black cherry flavors will coat your palate. Lastly their 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon is among the oldest current release of Cabernet Sauvignon that we have tried during our 400+ Napa winery tastings. This is not a bad thing as this wine has had more time to age. The fruit is from the base of Howell Mountain in the northern part of the valley. Lots of fruit in the nose carries over to the palate. Velvety tannins with a long finish. A kitchen has not yet been built; when its operational it will provide tasty delectable's to be paired with the wines. Falcor can also still be tasted at Napa Wine Co in their Cult Tasting Room. We will revisit Falcor for updated photos once the kitchen and furnishings are complete. Visit: www.falcorwines.com

Quick Info Open to Public: Yes Appointments: Yes Regular Tours: No Hours: 10-5pm Phone: 255-6070 Address: 2511 Napa Valley Corporate Drive #115, Napa Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Fantesca Winery is located on a very historical property in the less traveled Spring Mountain district, rising above the town of St. Helena. Grapes were originally planted on site in the 1860's and the property was part of the dowry from Caroline Bale when she married Charles Krug (names that are well known locally - reference the nearby Bale Grist Mill and of course Krug is one of Napa's most historic wineries). Fantesca is a special winery for a number of reasons, not the least of which is their premium wines....read on! The owners Susan and Duane Hoff were both working very high paced jobs at Best Buy and were looking for something that would allow them to slow down a bit and enjoy a more rural lifestyle. For three years they searched for property in Napa - they were specifically looking for planted vineyards with an established bonded winery. Finally in 2004 they located "the" winery and named it Fantesca after a popular character in traveling comedy shows during the Renaissance period in Italy. The hillside vineyards are separated into a number of blocks each with its own soil, water, rootstock or varietal characteristics. The vineyard is planted mostly planted to Cabernet Sauvignon and the only white they make (the Chardonnay), is sourced from the cooler Russian River area in neighboring Sonoma County. As of press time, well-known winemaker Heidi Barrett has come on board and 2008 was her first crush with Fantesca. When they bought the winery there were vintages in barrel from the prior winery (Shadow Lace); the first vintage released under the Fantesca label was 2002, and the first release totally under their control was in 2004. In their relatively short history of making wine they have already employed top winemakers - their original winemakers were the father son duo of Kirk and Nils Venge. Fantesca's main focus is on two wines, a Chardonnay and an estate grown Cabernet Sauvignon. Their bottles always stand out in a "crowd" - they are etched with diamonds in vertical patterns creating a unique textured effect. The 2006 Chardonnay is from Napa's Carneros region to the south and has great color, almost golden with beautiful tropical aromas and flavors including citrus and pineapple. The 2004 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is blended slightly with Petite Verdot which in this case helps flesh out the mid palate by providing additional structure and flavor. This is a very rich full-bodied wine with an appealing nose including smokiness that is integrated with fruit. It has a wide depth of flavor - from wild blackberries to elegant spices on the very long finish which lingers seductively. As of press time their entire production is about 1600 cases including minute productions of Petite Verdot (from their property) and a Pinot Noir from the Russian River area. These small quantity wines are typically reserved for wine club customers only. Susan's father has allergies to the histamines in big red wines so the Pinot noir is their tribute to him. As of press time they produce only 3 barrels of this incredible wine - with one of the barrels always reserved for Susan's father. Their 2006 King Richard Reserve Pinot noir is a fantastic wine. It has good weight for a Pinot with tons of berry aromas and flavors including raspberry and boysenberry. Spices are well integrated throughout the layered palate with just a touch of vanilla towards the finish. Of special note is their annual exclusive "Hands on Harvest" event. If you are looking for a unique small winery experience off the beaten path that includes lots of fun, good food and wine, this event is a good choice. It is the only open to the public event (by appointment) offered by Fantesca and is a great opportunity to meet those involved with this winery, those who are interested in wine and actually help with part of a harvest. Fuel out your day early with delicious breakfast delights and then head straight to the vineyards where your team will pick about 1000 pounds of Cabernet Sauvignon (sounds worse than it is as this usually takes under an hour). The grapes are then hauled to the winery for processing; you will help with the sorting after they have gone through the destemmer (Fantesca uses a rare triple sorting system to ensure only the highest quality grapes will see fermentation) and watch punch-downs and pump-overs (basic parts of winemaking during harvest). The on site cave was actually built during a time when Napa County had implemented strict controls on new cave construction. However one way around this was using your mineral rights in the name of digging a cave! The owner of the property at the time decided to "look" for silver and after digging a main tunnel through the mountain and several "exploratory" shafts he never found silver. Bummer. However at this point he had a very nice cave! Today this small but functional cave serves to age their own wines as well as several other wineries who custom crush on site. It also serves as a conduit between the actual winery and Duane and Susan's home. After the "hard work" of processing the 1000 pounds you will walk through this cave to their patio where you will be treated to a scrumptious catered lunch. This is a great opportunity to taste through the current releases as well as some of their limited quantity "special" wines. By the end of the day you will be a proud owner of a "harvest crew" shirt that boasts a truly fine quote, "it aint life until you put a girl in it" - a reference to the the girl that appears on all their branding. Also check out their "fortune corkies" - this is a very cool idea that Duane and Susan's young daughter came up with after eating at a Chinese restaurant...to put fortunes on wine corks. These feature short quotes about wine and love. Every year they have a contest in which they pick one favorite quote from fans, customers or other wine aficionados. Should your quote be chosen you will win a Magnum of their latest release! Fantesca is also the brains behind the very popular educational Adopt a Grape program. Essentially the premise of the site is to allow one to "adopt a grape" and follow its lifecycle online from bud break to its aging in barrel. Visit: www.adoptagrape.org for more details as well as some great videos. Visit their extremely informative website: www.fantescawine.com

Quick Info Open to Public: Private Appointments: No, Once a year hands on Harvest event, App Only. Regular Tours: No Hours: N/A Phone: 968-0890 Address: Spring Mountain Road, St. Helena Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Far Niente Winery (established 1885) is a real gem of a winery that opened its doors to the public in 2004 - for tastings and tours by appointment only. As of mid 2008 they now have solar power. Both land based and floating solar panels have been installed. You definetely won't see floating solar panels at any other Napa winery! You want high end excellent tasting wines - visit this winery. The winery property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This winery sits on 13 acres of very nice Southern USA style landscaping. Over 9000 azalea plants grace this property and April is truly the time of year to be here to see the gardens ablaze in a sea of pink. Far Niente is located at the end of a long tree lined driveway on top of a small hill just off of the Oakville Grade. The tour starts in the great hall - when you arrive you will see your name on a plaque with the other tour guests. Good photo op here. Tours then head downstairs to the fermentation area and into their over 40,000 square feet of tunnels. The caves are also built with incredible acoustics - in certain places the person speaking sounds exactly like they are using a microphone. Everything is absolutely immaculate in these tunnels including the perfectly stained wine barrels. Workers even run a string along the wine barrels to make sure all the barrels are lined up perfectly! The tour continues into the classic car collection - if you know your classic cars you will eat up this museum. Expensive one of a kind Ferrari's, Porche's, and other high end cars are displayed here. After the car museum you are then treated to the actual wines in the Founder's Room. This is a very small tasting room - the long table seats about 10. Your wines are already poured and your work your way through Chardonnay, the Cabernet Sauvignon and you finish with the Dolce dessert wine. Dolce is a proprietary winery within Far Niente - they have their own wine cave and they specialize in just one type of wine - a late harvest white blend. This wine is the "nectar of Far Niente" and you will never believe from its wonderful taste that the grapes used to make this wine are in various stages of ugly Botrytis rot when they are harvested! Nickel & Nickel, another local winery is also owned by the same family but is located just north of Far Niente on the St. Helena Highway. The main wines at Far Niente are the Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and the Dolce late harvest blend. These are incredible tasting wines but note that they are Ultra Premium wines so they are not cheap. Several wine clubs are available. For more information visit: www.farniente.com

Quick Info Open to Public: No Appointments: Yes Regular Tours: No Hours: 10-4pm (M-Sat) Phone: 944-2861 Address: 1350 Acacia Drive - Oakville Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Farella Park Vineyards is located about 4 miles east of downtown Napa. This is a family owned winery - Frank Farella purchased land here in the mid 1970's and now his son Tom Farella is the winemaker and manager. The total estate vineyard property is planted to 26 acres. Much of the vineyard is already claimed by other wineries, but Tom keeps select blocks for his own wines. He has a long history in the wine industry dating back to the early 1980's. The winery is located just off of 3rd Avenue (not to be confused with 3rd Street in Napa) and is situated on a hillside under many oak trees. Ask for the gate code when you make your appointment. When you pull off the main road choose the driveway that heads straight back and up the hill. The tasting is a very personal one on one experience with Tom the winemaker. A visit here is by appointment for serious wine enthusiasts and is arranged around Tom's schedule. Since Tom is responsible for most aspects of this winery and is also involved in other winery projects try to make your schedule flexible. During harvest his time constraints are of course quite tight. Here is a unique opportunity to meet with a long time Napa winemaker - someone who has seen a lot of changes in the valley. Typically you will taste a few wines in the "fireplace" room and then walk next door for a few barrel samples. He has a large variety of various wines at any one time in the barrel and this part of your tasting can be very interesting as you can try many wines in various stages. Tom makes about 1200 cases - this is not a huge winery and individual attention is given to every wine he makes. The price to quality ratio is quite good. One of the wines we tried had a production of merely one barrel! All their wines are meant to be eaten with food - and they are made with that in mind. They aren't the big "fruit bombs" that you might find at some of other Napa Valley wineries. They make a refreshing Sauvignon Blanc (their only white - one of the better Sauvignon Blanc's we've tried on this project - no oak used) as well a very reasonably priced Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, a delicious Syrah and their Alta, a Bordeaux Blend. The 2003 Alta is 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot. As with Tom's other wines, this is also available in very small quantities. Balance is the key to this wine with fruit, acidity and tannins. Rich layered fruit flavors are found on the palate and the tannins are delicate and do not overpower. Tom also maintains a popular wine related blog - visit: http://farella.typepad.com For their main website visit: www.farella.com

Quick Info Open to Public: No Appointments: Yes Regular Tours: No Hours: 10-4pm (varies) Phone: 254-9489 Address: 2222 North Third Avenue, Napa Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Faust is the brainchild of long time Chilean born Vintner, Agustin Huneeus. He has spent his entire career in the wine industry with connections to various wine growing regions that span the globe. In Napa he is most well known for opening the ultra-premium winery Quintessa and in fact Faust wine is made at Quintessa by the same winemaker. The name of this winery is based on an old German legend. Faust is a tribute to this old legend about Dr. Faust who was described in the German poet Goethes' work. In the story, Dr. Faust was tempted by the Devil to exchange his soul in return for youth, energy and passion. The comparison can be made to Agustin's renewed passion for making wine in a totally different manner than all his other endeavors. Throughout his wine career, and it has been a long one, Agustin has always produced wines with the intent to showcase great vineyards - in other words directly reflect the individual terroir of the specific vineyard's location. However this is not the case with Faust - the premise behind this wine is to ultimately showcase Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa. All fruit is sourced from Huneeus's own vineyards in Rutherford as well as from Coombsville, a slightly cooler growing climate found just east of the town of Napa. The same attention to detail that Huneeus gives his Quintessa wines is bestowed upon the Faust wines in the vineyards, during harvest and during the aging. They specialize in one wine each year - available in very limited quantities. The first vintage was in 2002. We tried their 2005 vintage - this wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and a touch of Cabernet Franc. The minor blending varietals will change depending on the vintage, but Cabernet Sauvignon remains the dominant varietal in every Faust wine. As with prior vintages this is a rich complex wine dark in color. An exotic combination of herbs, notes of cedar, blackberries & cherries will coat your palate. This wine is designed to be consumed now (its style is meant to be paired with food) or can also be aged - the tannins are moderate and do not overwhelm with some spices on the very long finish. Note that Wine & Spirits voted this wine #9 on their best restaurant Cabernet Sauvignons in the nation. Prices are mid range in comparison to Napa grown Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine is not available for tasting at Quintessa - the best way to purchase is directly through their website. Visit: www.faustwine.com

Quick Info Open to Public: Private Appointments: No Regular Tours: No Hours: N/A Phone: 963-2878 Address: P.O. Box 505, Rutherford Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Fife Vineyards (founded 1991) is an interesting winery in that they are spread out all over. Their home vineyards are located in the prestigious Spring Mountain appellation in Napa. Fife is owned by Dennis Fife; his former partner in the winery is the famed author, Karen MacNeil (author of The Wine Bible). In addition they lease the Redhead Vineyard in the Redwood Valley in northern Mendocino County. Their main production facility is located in Mendocino County on site of the Redhead Vineyard (pretty easy to see why its called this as it is situated at elevation and the soil is extremely red). We have visited this tasting room as we have done from San Luis Obispo to Sonora to Mendocino for other similar wineries with outside Napa tasting rooms who have strong connections to Napa. Fife also makes their Napa wines at a winery in the Napa Valley on Spring Mountain not far from their own vineyards. Their Mendocino County winery and tasting room might be a bit far to travel if you are taking in the Napa scene (80 minutes at least one way) so they are available to taste in not one but two locations in the Napa Valley! You can taste at A Dozen Vintners in the northern part of the Valley and also at the Cult Wine Central at Napa Wine Co in the central part of the Valley. Their Spring Mountain property encompasses 56 acres and is located between 1600 and 1800 feet and is planted to Bordeaux varietals. Their philosophy is find grapes with "character" based on specific terroir, do minimal handling from fermentation through aging and then blend to best bring out varietal characteristics. If you do make a visit to their Mendocino location note that the back of the winery is in a stunning location. The first words out of our mouth when we walked through the winery to their picnic are in the back was "this is certainly not Napa"! On a clear warm day you look right down onto Lake Mendocino. This is a great place for picnicking and or enjoying a bottle of Fife's wine. We have tried their wines here as well as at several trade tastings. Their prices are extremely reasonable including for the Napa grown and made wines. Ok, tell us what other wineries still have for sale a Spring Mountain Cabernet from 9 to 10 years old for such a steal in price?! Glancing at their price list we also found 8-11 year old Napa Valley produced Fife Rhone Blends priced extremely well. We recently tried a vertical of their Spring Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon starting with a 1999 vintage. This wine had aged very well, the tannins had smoothed out - color and flavor were right there and had not dissipated. That characteristic Spring Mountain ripe juicy blackberry, herbs and notes of cedar were still definitely in this wine. Other wines we can recommend are their Napa Valley Zinfandel, the 2002 Mendocino Syrah has an underlying note of spicy black pepper and their 2000 Scarlet is an elegant blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Their Reserve Merlot is often produced in very finite quantities. Get your hands on this wine if you can! All photos above are from their Mendocino County winery & vineyards. Visit: www.fifevineyards.com

Quick Info Open to Public: No, In the Napa area you can taste at A Dozen Vintners & Napa Wine Co Appointments: No Regular Tours: No Hours: N/A Phone: 963-1534 (Napa) --- 485-0323 (Mendocino) Address: P.O. Box 553, St. Helena -- Mendocino: 3621 Ricetti Lane, Redwood Valley Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Fleury Estate Winery is an appointment only winery for serious wine enthusiasts and collectors, located mere minutes from the sometimes insanely busy "wine strip" off of Highway 29. There is no sign directing one to this winery from the main highway - just a small copper colored sign above their mailbox. The owner Brian Fleury started this winery from the ground up in the mid 1990's - almost everything is done by Brian or his wife. He was a successful San Francisco Bay area businessman who passionately collected fine wine. There is a big difference between collecting fine wine and taking the jump into owning a winery and vineyards. Many business men from other fields who become winery owners often play a "background" role. Not so with Brian. He is completely self taught - he hired a number of vintners and wine educators, worked along side them and now is the full time winemaker for Fleury Estate. This is truly a passion, a family business and the tasting is usually with Brian himself. Fleury owns 50 acres spread over 3 vineyards in 3 Napa appellations - Rutherford, St. Helena and Howell Mountain. With a variety of unique sources, Fleury can focus on very terroir driven wines. The tasting typically is in the large "shed" looking building with the bright red doors. Note the bathrooms, you won't see bathrooms like this at any other Napa winery. They are huge wine barrels - and as a result is a popular photo spot. Besides current vintages you rarely leave a tasting here without trying a few barrel samples of future releases. You either taste inside a small elegantly decorated tent or at the marble table both of which are surrounded by barrels. This is rustic surrounded by elegance - a unique tasting experience for a Napa winery. It is a working winery. They also have a "cottage" tasting which is in a small restored historic house on site - note the beautiful lavender garden in front of this cottage. Brian's son is an artist and several of his paintings are available on site. Ask Brian about his "barrel blending" seminars - its pricy but you are dealing with extremely high quality wines and you get to keep the final blends when you are finished. Now to the wines! Their Pinot Noir is tops, we tried the 2006 vintage - it is one of the nicer ones we've tasted on this project and the vineyards for this are not even in the cooler Carneros district! Brian also makes a delicious Zinfandel/Cabernet blend. Several vintages of his Cabernet Sauvignons are also available for tasting - are very approachable and ready to drink now. Look for Passionne, a Bordeaux style blend which is among the most popular of their wines. Brian also makes a red blend Port. Total production is about 3000 cases. Visit: www.fleurywinery.com

Quick Info Open to Public: No Appointments: Yes Regular Tours: No Hours: By Appointment Phone: 974-9951 Address: 950 Galleron Lane, Rutherford Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Flora Springs is one of the few wineries in the main part of Napa Valley that has a tasting room situated in part of a shopping center. This is certainly one of the most unique architecturally designed tasting rooms in the valley. Its not easily missed and it simply goes by the mysterious name, "The Room". Tell people are you going to "The Room" and they will wonder what you are talking about! From the outside it almost looks like a "mini Hall Winery" with its undulating roof (down the street, the Hall Winery is in the midst of a huge construction spearheaded by architect Frank Geary). Auspiciously this tasting room opened on 8/8/8 which is a fairly lucky day in some cultures. The tasting room is across the parking lot from the Dean & Deluca wine shop which carry a number of Flora Springs Wines. The actual winery is located up on a hill at the west end of Zinfandel Lane just down the road from this center but this tasting room gives them much more exposure then their winery location. Winery tours at the estate (10 minutes from this location) are available by appointment and last about 90 minutes (see our review directly below). Flora springs is named after the Matriarch of the family, Flora Komes and is entirely family run. Their Napa vineyards were originally meant to be something to keep them "busy" during their retirement years! Today the 2nd and 3rd generations are actively managing the day to day operations at the winery. As of press time Flora Springs owns eight unique and diverse vineyards in the Napa area. Based on this total acreage they have too much fruit for their own use and end up selling about 3/4 of the fruit to other wineries. This allows them to choose the choicest blocks for their own use from each of their respective vineyards. Choose from several different tasting options - Flora Springs offers a healthy representation of wines for all tastes as well as for all budgets! An elegant modern tasting counter surrounds the pourers. Be sure to try their barrel fermented Chardonnay - they have been producing this since 1980 making them one of the older Chardonnay producers in the valley. This is a very rich wine that sees no malolactic fermentation with concentrated fruit flavors. White wine lovers should also consider their Solilogy Sauvignon Blanc (if not sold out). We also enjoyed their 2005 Trilogy - this wine is composed of the five primary Bordeaux varietals. It is a rounded full bodied wine with lots of concentrated fruit. The owners of Flora Springs also own Toad Hall Cellars - a proprietary wine produced at the same winery (not to be confused with Toad Hollow Winery in Healdsburg, CA) and information about their "reds only" wine club is available in this tasting room. First come first serve picnic tables are available in the back in a beautifully designed courtyard setting. For being right on Highway 29 in the midst of the busy wine strip, and being part of this shopping center you the courtyard feels miles away. It backs up almost to the vineyards and is a very peaceful area to spend some time tasting wine. They do have food and cheese pairings - ask for details. Want to see one of the smallest vineyards in the valley?! Check out the 3 rows of vines in the back of the courtyard - yes these do produce fruit. Lastly, Flora Springs is a partner in ReCork America where they recycle any used corks from their winery and this tasting room as well as act as a collection point for consumers who wish to recycle their used corks. Visit: www.florasprings.com

Quick Info Open to Public: Yes Appointments: No Regular Tours: No Hours: 10-5pm Phone: 967-8032 Address: 677 S. St. Helena Hwy, St. Helena Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Flora Springs Estate is located about 10 minutes from their tasting room at the end of West Zinfandel Lane. The estate dates from 1978 and is perched right where the hillsides leave the valley floor - there are great views. Flora was John's mother and Springs refers to the natural springs on site. Enter under their large arched sign over a bridge and head to the right - from here it is a short drive to the estate. We were here for one of their 10 annual summer lunches and tours with the owner John Komes. The entire event took about 2.5 hours; their normal tours usually last 90 minutes. The meal seemed to be popular for attractive young people trying to meet other attractive young people - but there were all ages present. John is a great storyteller and part of the attraction of this event is listening to him talk! While in the caves we sampled several different wines - just barely getting our teeth wet with their rosato. Then we sampled the same wine being aged in three different oak barrels - American, Hungarian & French. If you have never tried this before there is a huge difference between all three in the nose, the flavors and the overall characteristics of the wine. The type of Oak makes a huge difference! Lunch is in their courtyard built over an old tennis court - artistic vines made of steel line the front of the courtyard and beyond those lies the sea of the real vines in all directions. We had wine paired with each of our four courses. The two highlights for us were their Holy Smoke Cabernet Sauvignon and their Trilogy blended wine. Both have all the characteristics a smooth velvety high quality Napa red wine should have. After the delicious meal (Cucumber Sorbet, Lavender scented Bistro filet - well you get the idea!) John took time to pose with guests for photos and walked around the large table to meet everyone, one on one. One of his stories involved a friend who called him many years ago from nearby Pope Valley very excited as he saw a huge pig on site. He asked John's permission to kill the animal and John finally relented so his friend drove all the way back to Napa to get his gun and then back up to the property where the big pig was still in the same spot - his friend killed the animal. About an hour later John received a phone call from one of his neighbors who said "John, what the hell is going on up here - someone just shot my pet pig". So, one of their wines is now named the Wild Board Cabernet! Visit: www.florasprings.com

Quick Info Open to Public: No Appointments: Yes, Ask about their summer lunch series Regular Tours: No Hours: 10-6pm Phone: 963-5711 Address: 1978 W. Zinfandel Ln., Oakville Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Flying Horse Winery is owned by Bryant Morris who has been involved in the commercial construction business for many years. Same old commercial building designs? Not so. Bryant's specialty is in developing water themed commercial buildings and he is also the original developer of famed specialty park, Raging Waters. When an opportunity came along for redevelopment of an old Napa resort, Bryant purchased the Aetna Springs Resort a few years back in Pope Valley (eastern Napa County). Bryant has long been involved in a number of projects and chooses directions based on circumstances. When plans changed in regards to developing this site, he planted 24 acres of vines including Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Sirah. When you have the vineyards its time to make the wine! Flying Horse now leases just the land for their own vineyards. Their first vintage was released in 2003. After selling the Aetna Springs Resort Flying Horse purchased a beautiful stone ghost winery north of St. Helena. This building dates from 1880 and has been painstakingly restored. Approximately an acre of Cabernet Sauvignon is planted in the front of the winery. There is supposedly a cave on site and sample drilling and sonar has been conducted - sonar shows some sort of void but to date this has not yet been further explored. Perhaps this "secret" cave will be found and will be full of old wine bottles! The winery has not produced a vintage in well over 100 years and it remains to be seen if winemaking operations will be moved here at some point. We started our tasting with the 2007 Sauvignon Blanc which unlike many Napa produced Sauvignon Blancs that only see stainless tanks during aging, was aged in oak. It is not an overly fruit driven wine rather is crisp and clean with good body and rich mouth feel. The nose has notes of dusty stone, nuances of flint with pleasant honeysuckle aromas. As this wine opens up more, the nose acquires some aromatic pineapple notes. The palate has hints of kiwi, melon and dried apricot. The finish is clean with just a note of citrus flavor that lingers. We tried the 2003 and 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon; these are both 100% varietal wines made from several clones. Only the highest quality free run juice is used. Our favorite is the 2003. This is a dark deep purple wine that has a very fruit forward component both in the nose and on the palate. The bouquet shows ripe black cherry and blackberry which follows through to the palate. There are neat earthy nuances with saddle leather and tobacco towards the finish. This is a wine that has shown well with another year in the bottle and will continue to age gracefully. Nice structured backbone. The 2004 is slightly more restrained with earthy dusty aromas mixed with blackberry and plum. The blackberry continues to the palate, picking up some blueberry notes - also chocolate and hints of mocha. Both wines have the acidity and backbone to age for a number of years. The Flying Horse label was developed based on Bryant's passion with old carousels. He has restored a number of these over the years, most notably for Seaport Village in San Diego and Shoreline Village in Long Beach as well as a number of shopping centers. He has several beautifully restored horses in the actual ghost winery. All their wines are priced very decently. The winery is private and does not see visitors. They do have a wine club. For more information, visit: www.flyinghorsewines.org and www.flyinghorsewines.com

Quick Info Open to Public: Private Appointments: No Regular Tours: No Hours: N/A Phone: 965-1600 Address: St. Helena Highway North, St. Helena Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Foliex a Deux dates from 1981 and used to be located just north of St. Helena, but after it was purchased by the Trinchero Family in 2004 (also owners of Sutter Home), it was moved into the Napa Cellars winery. Foliex a Deux in French means "shared fantasies" - which if you keep in mind when trying their wine, adds a subtle exotic sensual feel to the tasting experience especially if you are tasting with someone you are attracted to. In order to taste their wine you have to visit Napa Cellars (see our description of Napa Cellars here). Foliex a Deux is one of the first few wineries located next to Highway 29 as you drive north from Napa. As a result they often see first time visitors to the valley who have no planned itinerary. The tasting counter is located in a non-descript building right next to St. Helena Highway and the wine tasting is casual & relaxed. Their tasting room in fact used to be the original barrel room on site. Upcoming plans as of press time, include some updating and renovation to the facilities. Folie a Deux makes two whites, a Chardonnay & Sauvignon Blanc and a larger selection of reds all reasonably priced between $12 and $30 per bottle. All of their wines are from Napa County with the exception of their Amador County Zinfandel. Amador county in the summer is generally warmer than Napa and is acquiring its own excellent reputation on the "zinfandel wine stage". We tried the 2005 vintage; this has a great fruity classic Zinfandel nose with lots of fruit on the palate mixed in with some subtle spices including cloves and anise. Their Napa Valley Cabernet is a big wine with lots of fruit on the front end and healthy tannins on the back end. They also make light fun Menage a Trois wines. Menage a Trois literally means "blending of three" and their three wines, a white, Rose & red, are a blend of three varietals. The winemaker here is also the winemaker for Napa Cellars. A tasting is either Foliex a Deux wines or Napa Cellars but you can certainly do both. Several complimentary tastes are also given. Also nice picnic grounds on the side of the winery next to their 3/4 of an estate planted vineyard. Visit: www.folieadeux.com

Quick Info Open to Public: Yes Appointments: No Regular Tours: No Hours: 10-6pm Phone: 944-2565 Address: 7481 St. Helena Highway - Oakville Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Folio Winemakers Studio is located at the old Mahoney Winery in the heart of Napa's southern Carneros region. What separates this from other wineries is the huge selection of wines that are always available for tasting at the tasting counter. As of our tasting, Folio is producing the following five labels, Hangtime, I'M, Oberon, Medusa, and Spellbound. They were also pouring labels they have no ownership in, but whose wines are made on site: Hunterdon, Mayro-Murdick, Rocinante and Trinitas. The owner of Trinitas actually owns the Meritage Resort in Napa and you can also taste this label there. Folio is owned by Michael Mondavi who is the eldest son of the famed Robert Mondavi. Michael's son Rob Mondavi is also very involved and is the President. Folio owns many vineyards and almost all of the wine is made from California grown grapes. The prices for their wines are extremely reasonable by Napa standards with most bottles priced between $15 and $35. The winery is located about 2 miles from busy Highway 12/121 and being caught in traffic is the ideal excuse to take a break and visit this winery! The tasting room is spacious and is located behind the main winery production facility. This property is literally surrounded by rolling hills planted with vineyards. It is the quintessential Carneros property. A tasting includes your choice of 6 wines from any of the labels that Mondavi produces as well a few of the non owned labels. They have one of the better selection of lighter wines that we have seen at any Napa winery. These include Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Blanc (we tried their 2006 vintage - lots of pear and melon flavors in this one), Chardonnay, Rose and several Pinot Noirs. We tried a Trinitas Cuvee (also a lighter style wine); this an amazing Old World blend of varietals you will never find at Napa wineries including Matara, Carignane, Alicante Bouschet, and Black Malvoise. We loved their 2004 Medusa Creekside Vineyard Zinfandel. They actually pour their Zinfandels last as these are among their "biggest" wines. We finished up with an elegant Non Vintage Medusa Zinfandel Port. It is a lighter style Zin Port that strikes a good balance between sweetness and fruit. Folio also imports boutique wines from around the world. Three websites you should be familiar with are www.foliowine.com (parent website), www.foliowinemakersstudio.com (winery tasting website), and www.noblemerchants.com (online merchant - selling their wines exclusively). Lastly Folio operates the Folio Enoteca & Winery tasting bar & cafe in the Oxbow public Market next to the Copia Wine Center in Napa. Along with the same wines served at their winery, you can choose from a delicious array of starters, salads other other delectables. We have visited this bar: click on the winery photos link above for pictures of this location.

Quick Info Open to Public: Yes Appointments: No Regular Tours: No Hours: 10-5pm Phone: 256-2757 Address: 1285 Dealy Lane, Napa Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Fontanella Family Winery is located in the southern hills of the Mt. Veeder appellation almost on the AVA dividing line between Mt. Veeder and Carneros. This location is west of the town of Napa - about 5 miles from Highway 29. Jeff Fontanella is the winemaker - he originally studied Bio Chemistry at UC Davis but ended up in the winemaking program after he became interested in viticulture and enology. After graduating he worked for several high end Napa wineries including Opus One and Saddleback Cellars. Jeff is a busy guy - as of press time besides his own winery he is also the consulting winemaker for several other high end Napa clients. This is a very unique location in Napa and one of the last relatively undeveloped vineyard lands in the area. Historically this was grazing land for cattle for many years and was never planted to vineyards until more recently. The winery sits just down from a country road which used to connect Napa with the town of Sonoma thus providing a shortcut to the current main highway that cuts through the Carneros region to the south. Today this sleepy little road is rarely used as it dead ends at private property and there is no way to cut through the hills. Just over the hills that border their property you will find Artesa and Folio Wineries. Fontanella Family Winery is located at an elevation of about 750 feet and is more sheltered from the cooling San Pablo Bay breezes that come across the Carneros to the South. The elevation here ranges from about 500-1000 feet - all rolling hills. These are the last hills of the Mayacamas Mountains (that form the north south spine of the west side of the Napa Valley) before they end in the relatively flatlands of Carneros. Jeff made wine commercially for several years before building this winery. Building new wineries in Napa is today usually a gargantuan task that involves significant paperwork and time. Fortunately, Jeff's wife Karen is a real estate lawyer and her knowledge about the permit process helped expedite things to the point that this winery was completely finished in merely two years. That is unheard of today in Napa! As of press time they focus on three different wines; Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel. We started our tasting with the 2007 Chardonnay - as they have no vineyards yet as of the time of this review, all fruit is sourced from various locations in Napa. This wine was fermented in barrel and stirred on the lees for 8 months. Only a certain percentage of the wine was allowed to go through Malolactic fermentation. This wine shows a richness of fruit and some weight on the palate. There are nice honeysuckle, lime and nuances of caramel on the nose with an expressive palate that shows mineralities, nuances of tangerine, and caramel. It is well balanced with nice acidity. The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon was sourced from Rutherford and Mt. Veeder. Note that every bottle has its own number on the back. The wine is crimson red in color and a bouquet that hints of sweet plum with floral nuances. The palate is rounded and smooth containing lots of fruit. The finish is somewhat smoky and very long. This is a good food fine. We also tried the 2007 Zinfandel (not yet released) - a day after it was bottled. They tend to bottle the Zinfandel early to mitigate the oak used on this wine, rather allowing the true varietal flavors to show. With Zinfandel, the harvest time can always be a tightrope as when to decide to pick. Jeff has seen this varietal go from juicy grapes to dried up raisins in merely a week. Not yet suffering from bottle shock we picked out notes of cranberry on the nose with nuances of dried fruit - and a palate that is extremely well balanced between ripeness, acidity and flavor. There are smoky Asian spices towards the finish. The winery has about 26 acres of which part of the land is suitable for vineyards. Plans call for planting several varietals on site - this part of Napa is good for Chardonnay, Merlot and specific clones of Cabernet Sauvignon. Their first commercial release was in 2005. A visit here is for serious wine enthusiasts (by appointment only) and has a feel of "old Napa" before all the new wineries and crowds arrived. This is a great location to visit from downtown Napa as they are maybe 15 or 20 minutes from the center of town. As you get closer to the winery, you drive on a narrow winding road through the country. Fontanella's winery is located right next to another new winery project - Renteria Winery has built caves and has upcoming plans to build an actual winery here as well. As of press time Fontanella is planning on opening their brand new tasting room (by appointment) in October 2008. Stay posted! The best way to acquire their wine is to join their mailing list. Visit: www.fontanellawinery.com

Quick Info Open to Public: No, Tasting Room opening October 2008 Appointments: Yes Regular Tours: No Hours: Call Phone: 252-1017 Address: 1721 Partrick Road, Napa Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Fotinos Brothers Winery as the name suggests, is run by brothers Tom and Chris and their wives Danielle & Leesa. This is a very good arrangement as Tom handles all the vineyard management and winemaking and Chris handles the marketing and business side of the operations. The Fotinos family has a long history in the Napa area. Their vineyards date from 1968 making them among the older growers in the Carneros region. In fact there were so few vineyards in the Carneros at this time, their small vineyard was about 10% of the total planted vineyard acreage. Think the Fotino's family has the history, Tom's wife Danielle is a 12th generation American and traces her roots back to the Mayflower ship and her great great grandfather was one of the original owners of a land grant in the Carneros region. Today Tom handles all the vineyard management on the 11 planted acres which includes a UC Davis and a French clone Pinot Noir as well as tiny bit of Chardonnay. This is prime Carneros vineyard terroir - with rich red alluvial soils. Tom takes a holistic approach to vineyard management and farms sustainably. He introduced ladybugs to kill pests rather than spraying, and is considering using hawks to keep birds away from eating the grapes after veraison occurs. For many years they sold grapes to other well-known wineries including Robert Mondavi, top Carneros Pinot Noir producer Saintsbury and more recently to Domain Carneros. They are 4th generation farmers as their great grandfather originally made wine for friends and family in Greece. Chris & Tom made wine for themselves for a number of years and one year gave some of their Pinot Noir to famed chef Thomas Keller of the French Laundry. He was surprised at the quality of this "private label" and encouraged them to produce this commercially. When this encouragement is coming from someone with the stature of Keller, it pays to listen! Their first commercial release will be the 2006 Pinot Noir from their estate vineyard and as of press time they also will be releasing limited quantities of Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from the Rutherford appellation as well as Pope Valley. They may be a "new winery", however take note that they have been making estate Pinot Noir since 1973 under a private label, so despite their first commercial release in 2006, this winery actually has accumulated significant experience growing and making wine from this varietal. They are a firm believer in releasing wine when it is ready to be released - rather than trying to get it into the market to make a sale. As a result, their wines always see at least a year in the bottle before being released. Their initial production is 500 cases but they have plans to increase this in the coming years. This is one of the few wineries we have tasted with before they even had a release on the market! As a result our tasting was of a variety of components from the 2007 vintage which will create the final blends (including the same wine aged in barrels from different coopers). Their Pinot Noirs have a smooth silky mouth feel to them which are very representative of their source terroir. The Dijon clone we tried was full of cassis and raspberry intermingled with various spices. Keep in mind the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon from Pope Valley was a very young wine when we tried it. It is dark ruby in color with already nice aromas; an interesting mix of dried fruit, ripe blackberry overtones and spices in the nose followed by cherry and additional spices on the palate including cloves and pepper. Look for their 2006 Pinot Noir to be released in Fall 2008 with the Cabernet Sauvignon to be released in late 2009. Fotinos Brothers supports a wide variety of charity organizations ranging from education to the humane society. Visit: www.fotinosbrotherswinery.com

Quick Info Open to Public: Private Appointments: No Regular Tours: No Hours: N/A Phone: 224-4464 Address: Napa Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Franciscan Oakville Estate is an aesthetically pleasing winery located on the east side of St. Helena Highway just north of the Rutherford Cross Road. Pull into the tree lined driveway and pass by the central fountain for parking. Icon Estates, the parent company also own the famous Robert Mondavi Winery located just down the road. Franciscan is known for their red wines especially their Cabernet Sauvignon. Several tours and tastings are offered including a vineyard tour, a sensory seminar, and also a tasting of blended only wines - call for reservations. The general tasting bar is open to the public and you can walk right in. The metal topped counter surrounds the main tasting area and like many large Napa Valley wineries, can be quite crowded at certain times of the year. The tasting room staff is quite friendly and as with any large tasting room in the valley, the less people tasting, the more positive the experience. Choose from three flights of tastings - each flight includes a souvenir glass. If you enjoy big red wines try their Altitude flight - these are all wines from their Mt. Veeder collection. Mt. Veeder Winery is part of Franciscan and is located at about 2000 feet in the western hills - sit in the gardens at Mondavi winery and look west - you will be looking in the general direction of Mt. Veeder. Mt. Veeder is its own separate winery but their wine is actually made on site at Franciscan. Their Veeder Reserve is a big wine using only the best grapes from their property. It is a full bodied wine strong in tannins with a long slightly peppery finish. Franciscan developed Napa Valley’s first 100% wild-yeast fermented Chardonnay - this was unusual at the time as the other area wineries were using cultured yeast, rather than the native yeast from the vineyards. Native yeasts are more temperamental than cultured yeasts and require careful observation. The grounds are nice to walk around on - many olive trees grow here. The fountain which sits in the middle of the circular driveway is a great spot for taking photos. Ask about joining one their "Expressions of the Vine" wine clubs - membership gives you perks and other benefits to additional Icon owned wineries. Visit: www.franciscan.com

Quick Info Open to Public: Yes Appointments: No Regular Tours: Yes Hours: 10-5pm Phone: 967-3993 Address: 1178 Galleron Road - St. Helena Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Frank Family Winery is located just east of Larkmead Winery at 1091 Larkmead Lane. Larkmead Lane is a sleepy narrow road that cuts across the northern part of the valley. There is a lot to say about this unique winery, especially in regards to its rich history. The winery was founded in 1884 and the building that still stands dates from this year and used to be home to Larkmead Winery (which is just down the road). In fact this original building is on the National Register of Historical Places and is worth taking a tour of in its own right. From 1952 until 1990 it was home to Hans Cornell and only sparkling wine was made here during this time. There are some blown up black and white photos hanging in their tasting room showing the old riddling racks and wine making operations during this time period. The owner of Frank Family is Rich Frank & his wife Connie. Rich is the former President of Walt Disney Studios and Chairman of Walt Disney Television and Telecommunications. This isn't the only Disney connection to Napa. Also note that Walt Disney's only child, Diane and her husband Ron own a Napa Valley Winery - Silverado Vineyards. Frank Family wines have won a number of awards - especially their Cabernet Sauvignons. Tasting is complimentary (yes, a rarity in Napa these days!) - there are two tasting rooms located in the yellow house behind the main winery and administrative offices. One of the tastings is for their "champagne" and the other is for their still wine. A private elegant sit down tasting room is enclosed off from the main tasting room. This winery was completely remodeled in 2008 and it has become one of the more photogenic wineries in the northern part of Napa Valley. As of our latest visit, Frank Family owns 330 vineyard acres in the Napa area, ranging from the cool weather Carneros (their Chardonnay comes from here), to Rutherford to the very little known Capell Valley region in eastern Napa County. They own no vineyards on site of the winery. If you enjoy sparkling wines or "Champagne" as Frank Family lists on their labels, start your tasting as soon as you enter the main house. Compared to the number of commercial still wine producers in Napa there is an extremely small number of sparkling producers. We enjoy sparkling wines and after tasting with 500+ commercial wine producers in Napa, something more unique always strikes up a fancy with our palate. That's right! This is one of the rare wineries in the valley that focuses both on sparkling and still wines and has separate tasting facilities for each. They make a very nice non vintage Blanc de Noirs from 100% Pinot Noir. Much of this wine's pinkness comes from the short time the skins were left in contact with the juice. This is a nice fruit driven sparkling wine - you will notice (unlike still wines), you can really feel this wine on the roof of your mouth. Nice melon and strawberry characteristics on the palate. In 1919 there was a treaty signed in Paris indicating that only producers from the Champagne region in France could bottle and label their sparkling wines as Champagne. The USA was in the midst of the early prohibition years and never signed this. As a result USA producers technically can bottle their sparkling wines with the word Champagne. As respect to the French most American producers do not. Frank Family, however does not export this wine and all their sparkling wines are labeled Champagne. Their "signature brut" is a well aged wine. Normally signature means your flagship wine and in this case this is one of their higher end sparkling wines, but it also takes on an additional meaning as the owner's signatures are printed on the label! They bottle this in a Cava style bottle (pronounced Kava - the name for sparkling wine produced in Spain) which means it won't fit in normal size wine shipping boxes! We tried the 1997 vintage which is 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay (current vintage had 11 years of aging by the time of release). There is a good citrus fizz going on in this wine, with some lemon and tangerine flavors. Keep aging this if you can resist drinking it! We found the Rouge (red sparkling wine) to be a real winner - red Champagne is not often found and theirs is a real treat. Again, this is a non vintage wine - its dark red with nice blackberry and raspberry flavors. For being so far north in the valley Frank Family can have one of the more crowded tasting rooms. The long time pourers are informative and friendly. In our several visits here, one word often rises to the surface about the typical drinking experience - that is the word "fun", and compared to some wineries an experience here is more about the drinking and tasting, rather than just tasting (and yes there is a difference!). The atmosphere is welcoming and very social with strangers often picking up conversations among themselves. Rich Frank is sometimes here as well - he does not run this winery from a distance which is great. The still wine tasting can vary but it typically includes a Chardonnay, Zinfandel and Napa Valley Cabernet. The 2006 Zinfandel is a winner - the somewhat subtle bouquet is misleading as to how packed in flavor this wine actually is. Great black fruit and spices abound. This is a juicy ripe wine. The 2005 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is a delicious vintage. It is soft, smooth and elegant with delicate yet structured tannins on the finish. If you remember tasting in their trailer type facility for many years - their new tasting room brings them on board with many of Napa's other elegant tasting rooms, not that the no frills trailer tasting was a bad thing! We hold some memorable moments from that old tasting room. Picnic tables are available directly outside the tasting rooms. Note that groups of 6 or more require appointments. Visit: www.frankfamilyvineyards.com

Quick Info Open to Public: Yes Appointments: No Regular Tours: Yes Hours: 10-5pm Phone: (800) 574-9463 Address: 1091 Larkmead Lane - Calistoga Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Frazier Winery is located just south of the main part of Napa Valley and just east of the city of Napa. The winery is in the Coombsville region which at press time is currently under consideration to be awarded its own sub appellation of Napa - either named Tulocay or Coombsville. All fruit is grown on the property and they specialize in premium Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Bill Frazier, a former pilot for United Airlines and a Virginia Tech alum purchased property here in the early 1980's; he started making wine as a hobby which then turned into a full time operation. His original vineyards were planted to Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot - at the time he was somewhat of a pioneer in this regards as Cabernet was not often planted in this cooler growing region. Additional acreage was purchased and cave was then built. This is truly a family run operation. Even Bill's kids have jumped into the wine business with a passion. His daughter is in charge of their marketing and his son is the vineyard manager. The property is in a beautiful location surrounded by low rolling hills, a horse ranch and the Napa Valley Country Club. The actual winery is located next to the gravel road before you start pulling up the hill to their caves. However, the caves are where the tour starts and where the tasting takes place which is in a very elegantly furnished room in one of the caves. If you stand in one part of the cave and speak you will be treated to almost perfect surround sound acoustics - when they hold "in cave" concerts, this is always the spot where the musicians are located. Their well-known wine maker is Kirk Venge. The wine making process here is very hand driven - non automated. Unlike large wineries who often pick an entire vineyard with one pass Frazier always picks many times during harvest, ensuring they are only picking the fruit that has the most flavor. After the fruit is picked it is then sorted 4 separate times, ensuring only the ripest highest quality berries go to fermentation. They have two labels - Frazier and their second label, Lupine Hill. Their Frazier Memento Cabernet Sauvignon due to its very limited production is typically barrel tasted and is only available for purchase at the winery (not even through the website). Only the highest quality fruit from the property is used to make this wine. The 2004 Memento vintage is extremely dark which is your first indication at how big this wine will be. Considering the juice sat on the skins for 42 days, this wine has great layers of flavor and good tannin structure on the finish. Buy enough of this wine to be able to cellar a few bottles! This was the first winery we tasted at upon resuming our Napa Wine project after being out of the country for two months. It was so good to get back to Napa Cabernets. There is a reason Napa Valley is famous for its Cabernets and it is wineries such as this one that do no harm to that good image. Both Cabernet Sauvignons under the Frazier label we are like drinking liquid velvet - big wines yet still very well balanced - wines that are meant to be paired with food (all wines we tasted were paired with cheese). Their Frazier Cabernets & Merlots are made solely with 100% free run juice - the highest quality juice you can get out of a grape. Frazier grows Petite Verdot and makes a very limited production of this wine for their wine club. The Frazier's recently planted a small block of their vineyard to Chardonnay and once this comes into production in the next few years will be their first white wine. Also check out their fancy kitchen within the cave. Special events can also be setup by appointment - inquire for details. Visit: www.frazierwinery.com

Quick Info Open to Public: No Appointments: Yes Regular Tours: No Hours: By App, M-Sat, 10-4pm Phone: 255-3444 Address: 70 Rapp Lane, Napa Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Freemark Abbey Winery is an Italian style looking winery with ancient looking stone walls and curved archways outlining large wooden doors. It is worth spending a few minutes just walking around the property - it is a very photogenic winery. The main building stores barrels of wine and is also used for production. They produce about 40,000 cases of wine a year. The large cozy tasting room is actually in a much newer building which is located adjacent to the stone building. There are some neat bits of trivia about this winery - it used to be called Tychson Cellars and was founded in 1886 by Josephine Marlin Tychson who actually became the one of the first women to own a winery in the entire state of California! The name of this winery was formed by combining the first names of 3 owners who purchased the winery in 1939. We enjoyed their Chardonnay from the Truchard Vineyard (from the cooler Carneros region). There is a lot of citrus and lime type aromas from this wine with almost hints of bananas on the palate. The finish is slightly creamy. Their flagship wines are the Cabernets but they also produce limited quantities of quite a few other varietals (both red and white). They have own two main vineyards in the valley and then source from other area vineyards, some have been sourced from for many years. A very nice tasting is their Library/Current Vintage Cabernet comparisons. As of press time they have wines for sale dating back to the late 1980's - not a lot of wineries in the valley have this. The comparison tasting features 4 Cabernet Sauvignons - two of which are the generally the same blend but about 10 years difference in age. This comparison tasting to the best of our knowledge is one of a kind in the Napa area - featuring much older wines against their newer counterparts. We tried their 1991 Bosche Cabernet Sauvignon - still very rich in color although a slight browning around the edges of the glass which is normal in wine this age. Great dark fruit palate characteristics on this wine with a long soft finish. Their 1995 Sycamore is a Cabernet Sauvignon / Cabernet Franc blend and is a slightly bolder wine with a larger tannin structure. Tasting sheets are given with spaces to take tasting notes under each wine description. They have a beautiful 2000 Edelwein late harvest Riesling and we were told they were the first winery to make a late harvest of this varietal in the Napa area. It is natural botrysized wine so it is only made during certain years depending on the weather and growth of the Botrytis spores. Visit: www.freemarkabbey.com

Quick Info Open to Public: Yes Appointments: No Regular Tours: No Hours: 10-5:30pm Phone: 963-9698 X241 Address: 3022 St Helena Highway North - St. Helena Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Frias Family Winery is owned and operated by Manny Frias and his family whose roots are from Mexico. This is one of the few Hispanic owned wineries within the Napa Valley. Manny grew up in San Francisco and fell in love with the Napa Valley during tasting trips in the 1960's - when Cabernet Sauvignon was several dollars per bottle! Finally in 1977 he was able to purchase 100 acres on Spring Mountain above the town of St. Helena. Today this vineyard is surrounded by high end vineyards which provide the fruit from several cult type wineries. Manny planted a very small portion of this acreage to vines in the early 1980's and would go on to make his own home wine. First and foremost they are growers and vineyard managers. Winemaking starts in the vineyards and spend significant time in their vineyards micro managing each vine. Their winemakers and wine making locations have changed several times throughout the years, but one thing remains consistent; the high quality grapes from their own vineyards. Soil types differ drastically from one block to the next and parts of their vineyard are extremely rocky. This "terroir" all makes for interesting complex wines. Their first commercial vintage was in 1991 although they had been making home wine since the mid 1980's. For about 10 years they concentrated on nothing but premium Cabernet Sauvignon and in later years planted small blocks of Cabernet Franc and Merlot on their hillside vineyard. We tried their very unique 2007 Rose. This is a varietal blend you just won't find anywhere else in Napa - Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Syrah. It is orangish pink in color. The aromatics hint of watermelon and strawberries which follow onto the palate. No bitter finish on this one that you sometimes find in select Rose's. Depending on your taste your palate may trick you into thinking there is some Residual Sugar but its totally dry. The Syrah brings a lot of fruit to this wine. The 2005 Red Wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and a bit of Syrah. This wine is well structured and has a rounded mouth feel. The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon is ready to drink now (we tried it not long after its release) and as soon as this wine hits your lips it explodes in blackberries, dark chocolate, and raspberry flavors (think raspberry filled truffles). Their overall focus is producing affordable fruit forward wines structured so they can be consumed early in their life. As of press time they are building a cave on property and eventually hope to hold select tastings. Visit: www.friasfamilyvineyard.com

Quick Info Open to Public: Private Appointments: No Regular Tours: No Hours: N/A Phone: 415 566-2419 Address: 275 Magellan Ave, San Francisco Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Frogs Leap was founded in 1981 and it is located on site of the old Adamson Winery in the Rutherford Appellation of Napa Valley. The original Adamson "ghost winery" dates from 1884. The winery does not have noticeable signs so look carefully for their sign painted on the white picket fence in front of their driveway. Tasting and tours are by appointment and take about 1 hour. If you are visiting during the months of May through the end of Harvest (October) be sure to reserve well in advance as their tours are quite popular. Not only has Frog's Leap farmed sustainably and organically since they started (they are one of the champions of organic farming in the Napa Valley), but their entire operations are "green". They were Napa's first officially certified organic winery receiving this certification in 1988. They have over 1000 panels of solar cells on 1/2 an acre which allows them to completely be off the grid, and all the gardens on site are also farmed organically. These cells when full producing provide enough power to sustain the electricity for about 150 homes. The main Hospitality Center building is LEED certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) which maximizes water efficiency, energy storage and recycled materials used in the construction. Note the normal looking gravel parking lot - little do most people know that a series of wells go down 250 feet below this parking lot and act as the heat or cooling source for their hospitality center. Confused on how this works - ask one of the staff! We've been here several times and it is always a peaceful experience away from the crowds you sometimes find at other Napa wineries. This is an excellent winery to visit during the spring as the winery is surrounded by beautiful gardens as well as a plethora of flowering trees and other plants. Hospitality is down to an art here - the staff is very helpful, friendly and knowledgeable. If you are visiting during the summer note that the bathrooms have lotions and Sunscreen. Perhaps you forgot your hat for the outdoor tour? Don't worry - they usually have a few hats on hand! If you arrive early for your tour you will typically be offered a Rose to sip either indoors on one of their plush seating arrangements next to the fireplace or on one of their rocking chairs outside on the deck. You start with a sit down introduction and your first tasting is in their beautifully renovated main building. This was the most diverse group we've tasted with at any of Napa's Wineries. We had 6 countries represented among 10 people in the group! Your guide will ask if you know their wine motto - it is "Time's fun when you're having flies!" The tour will walk you among their 4 acres of organically farmed gardens. These gardens produce year round but the springtime is the best to see the many vegetables, herbs and flowers. We even got to sample one herb which is used in making sugar and as expected, tasted just like sugar. There is so much space on the property that even if there are other groups of people walking around it never feels crowded. Unlike other Napa wineries a visit here feels like a trip to the farm - with all their other agricultural selections aside from the vineyards. Look for the big "red" building - this was built in the late 1800's and a visit here is one of the highlights of the tour. There are good views (provided the huge cellar doors are open) overlooking the property from the second floor. Note their wine corks - most of them say "ribbit" - this was originally conceived by the owner to "poke fun" at those who take wine tasting too seriously. The tour ends with every member of the group trying to shoot a basketball through their quite askew basketball hoop. If anyone actually puts the ball through the basket that person will receive a free 350ml bottle of their Sauvignon Blanc (one of their most popular wines) - this is quite novel - we haven't seen any other winery do something quite like this! Our favorite red wine is their Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine sees no new oak and the 2005 vintage very well reflects its Rutherford terroir with dusty and earthy aromas that lead to