R.H. Harrison Family Cellars is run by Roger Harrison who has a long history at Beringer Winery working on their Nightingale Wine Project. He was trained on making Botrysized wines (noble rot) by the husband wife team of Myron and Alice Nightingale when they were at Berigner. This husband/wife team has near mythic status at Beringer and all the late harvest wines Roger makes for Beringer carry their name on the label. For Beringer's Nightingale wine he grows all the Botryitis spores himself on cultures that have been continuously grown at Beringer since the 1970's. If you've never seen advanced stages of botrytis cinerea covering grapes you are not missing much. It looks like rotting fruit and you think to yourself how can these grapes end up being in a wine that tastes so incredibly good?! Talk about being niche within the wine industry. There are only a handful of wineries in the Napa area who make this type of wine. RH Harrison Vineyards is a very unique winery in Napa as their entire production is focused on Botrysized late harvest wines. The first vintage was in 2006. Unlike the wine Roger makes for Beringer he is at the whim of mother nature with his late harvest wines. He does not grow the Botrytis spores himself, rather he lets nature take its course. This is more risky as Botrytis spores need certain conditions late in the year to actually grow and some years they do not develop at all, and or do not develop to the extent that you need. Other trials of being a late harvest only winery are harvesting well after the rest of the vineyards in the valley have been picked. Roger lost a significant portion of one of his recent harvests due to flocks of birds who devastated one of his vineyard sources within a matter of a day or two. All his Sauvignon Blanc comes from the Gamble Vineyard in Yountville which has some of the most sought after Sauvignon Blanc fruit in the Napa area. We tried his 2006 late harvest Sauvignon Blanc. This wine is best served at about 45 degrees and will of course open up and produce slightly different flavors and aromas as it warms up. This is a delightful wine that was tank fermented with lots of notes of honey on the nose. Ripe apricot and flavors of pear appear served at this temperature with hints of sage appearing on the palate as this wine warms and opens up. We also had the privilege of sampling a 50/50 blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon which had not yet been bottled. This label will be called Nobility. It was tasting excellent at this young age with a nose that was more oak driven then the final product will be. This wine spends 18 months in oak and then another year in bottle. By the end of its year bottle aging, the fruit flavors will come around and the oak will subside. Based on Roger's work at Beringer with their late harvest wines, it can be theorized that his own wines will age extremely well. The older vintages usually gain in color turning more amber and nutty flavors including caramel and crème Brule will come out in these older wines. You can find their wine locally at JV Wine in Napa and the St. Helena Wine Merchants in St. Helena. In addition you can taste their wines in the open to the public collective called Wineries of Napa Valley, located in downtown Napa. Also visit the website: www.raharrisonfamilycellars.com

Quick Info Open to Public: Private Appointments: No Regular Tours: No Hours: N/A Phone: 815-3569 Address: P.O. Box 5933, Napa Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Ramian Estate is run by Napa vintner, Brian Graham who originally is from Texas. His path to wine comes after earning a degree in architecture from Texas Tech. However soon after graduating he started working in wine stores and then as a wine buyer. Bitten by the wine bug at this point, with a career in architecture quickly fading in the rear view mirror he sold everything he owned save for what could fit in 2 suitcases and moved to France. He then he enrolled in the University of Bordeaux and worked several harvests in Burgundy and Bordeaux. Gaining valuable winemaking experience from a European point of view, Brian was ready to put his knowledge to the test in a prominent wine making region which is how he soon found himself in Napa. One of the professors at Napa Valley College was nice enough to let him in to his class 5 weeks after courses had already started - after Brian cold called him in the middle of the quarter. As Brian learned from some of the high end Chateau's in France, the primary aspect reflected in the wines were the hardships of the actual vintage - was it a cold year, hot year, lots of rain etc? Everything else remained consistent from year to year from the type of barrels to vineyard sources. As a result, Ramian tries to lock up long term contracts for most of his vineyard sources. The 2005 Grenache Rouge is sourced from Lake County (North of Napa county), from 60+ year old dry farmed vines. Don't be fooled by the light appearance of this wine - this color is in no way indicative of the actual structure of the body and palate. It is extremely hard to find a Grenache from a Napa producer due to the fact there just isn't much of this varietal grown in Napa and Napa wineries have to source from elsewhere. This wine is a winner with a smooth rounded mouth feel - great fruit including strawberries and cherries. It is quite versatile - chill it for hot summer days or enjoy at room temperature for more moderate weather. Brian has been intrigued with wine history for a long time and this theme is carried throughout his different wines. The La Mora is a unique red blend of Dolcetto and Nebiollo. The name La Mora can be traced back to the 15th century when Pontiffs would bless the wine, and they would shout "La Mora" after tasting a particularly delicious wine - this literally means "a beautiful day with beautiful wine"! Brian imported budwood from several well-known estates in Italy and it now grows in the Sierra foothills. The Nebiollo provides the structure and tannin backbone for the wine while the Dolcetto fills in the mid palate with some nice fruit and chocolate characteristics. The nose is very elegant with almost earthy qualities and hints of raspberry and cinnamon on the palate. The Chapter series are proprietary Bordeaux red blended wines - in which the chapter number changes each year. We tried Chapter 5, the 5th year Brian has made this wine (2005 vintage). There is a nice sweetness in the elegant bouquet, some vanilla and cherry fruit followed by a big mouth feel full of complex layers of flavor - blackberry, coffee, toasted oak and chocolate - with an extremely long finish. There is a ton of life in these bottles of wine, and will age quite nicely. Brian is also a firm believer in building core blends and then adding to these blends as needed during their time in oak. This is rather than vinifying everything together immediately after fermentation. The thinking behind this is if you have wine that is not as high quality as the rest, you have a chance to isolate that wine during later blending rather than making the final blend right after fermentation. Look for his high end reserve wine, a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon named J.Garret after his son. Merely 2 barrels of this wine were produced! As a small winery, Ramian has a lot of flexibility to produce small lots of various varietals. We also barrel sampled some delicious fruit including a Viognier/Roussane (nice weight on this wine already), and the Two Petites, which is anything but Petite. This is a blend of Petite Sirah and Petite Verdot - want a huge wine with an explosive mouth feel - this is the wine for you. Ramian's wines are very easily identifiable. There is no label on the bottles, just a small black circle with a white R in the middle. This "label" is actually a replica of the R key from an old Smith Corona typewriter. All Ramian's wines are produced in small quantities, typically under several hundred cases. They make their wine at Silenus Vintners, a wine making and tasting collective located just south of the town of Yountville. Silenus has a full tasting facility and you can taste Ramian's wines as well as other producers there. Visit: www.ramianestate.com

Quick Info Open to Public: Private, Taste at Silenus Vintners Appointments: No Regular Tours: No Hours: N/A Phone: 287-2721 Address: P.O. Box 5898, Napa Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Raymond Vineyards was founded in 1971 by Roy Raymond and his two sons with their first harvest in 1974. This family has a long history in Napa Valley dating back five generations to the 1930's. When Roy arrived in the Napa Valley he was hired as a cellar "rat" at age 18 at Beringer Winery the year after prohibition. Beringer was one of those select few Napa wineries that were able to stay open during prohibition by making sacramental and medicinal wine and the year after prohibition they were hiring additional employees in anticipation of an increase in production. While at Beringer he met and married Martha Jane Beringer. Yes, there is number of cross winery marriages in the valley even today! After Beringer sold in the early 1970's the Raymonds were able to purchase 90 acres just south of the town of St. Helena which surrounds their current winery. Land in the valley was certainly much cheaper back then. Today they also own vineyards near Jameson Canyon - (south east of Napa in a cooler growing climate), and another small vineyard just north of the winery. They also source fruit from a variety of other vineyards in the valley ranging from Carneros in the south to Calistoga in the north. This is very much a family owned and operated winery with members of the 5th and even 6th generation involved and at the time of this review - the original owners son, Walter is the head winemaker. This is the only winery open to the public on Zinfandel Lane; it is located just a few miles south of St. Helena. While you can sometimes see the traffic of Highway 29 from the winery, the feel here is anything but the busyness you often experience on the "wine strip" south of St. Helena. Today there are several buildings on site - the one closest to the parking lot that looks like a 50's style ranch house contains the modern looking tasting room. In the early 1990's additional barrel storage and winemaking facilities were constructed. As of press time they have scaled production down somewhat, focusing more on their core business - high quality wine from Napa. As a result they ended up with unused space as well as extra tanks. These are now being put to good use as a variety of small wineries without physical winery facilities now make their wine here. This is all state of the art equipment - Raymond has taken a further step for small wineries. They provide a full time consulting winemaker devoted to just helping out their custom crush clients. Choose from two tasting flights - one is heavier on the whites and lighter wines and the second is predominately reds and their small lot wines. They produce four distinct labels - the Napa Valley Reserve (Flagship wines), Limited Edition Wines (small lot production - typically only available at the winery and are produced in quantities of 50 to 500 cases - as of press time, all very reasonably priced), the R Collection (premium vineyards from various statewide locations) & their Amberhill (everyday drinking wines). They offer more of a variety of wines than most area wineries but their focus is on Reserve Cabernet Sauvignons and they offer several for tasting. The 2004 100% varietal Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon is a winner. There is a reason people talk about Rutherford dust. This wine has it - with initial aromas offering up notes of crushed rock, mineralities - a neat dustiness intermingled with the fruit. It has a smooth and supple mouth feel full of ripe layered fruit including blackberry and black cherry. There is just a touch of mocha and spice from the oak on the finish. Also of note is their "Generations" Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2004 vintage is rich and layered in flavor and strikes a nice balance between acidity and structure. The bouquet has floral notes with very ripe fruit aromas including blackberry and blueberry. Elegant chocolate and pepper are interwoven with cherry and blackberry notes. This is a fairly big wine but with a structured finish that doesn't overwhelm, is quite approachable now. If you enjoy dessert wines, try their Late Harvest Chardonnay, titled "Eloquence". This wine is not made every year and is made from some of the ugliest grapes you will ever see. If you've never seen advanced stages of botrytis cinerea covering grapes, you are not missing much! This is a type of mold that needs to be on the grapes used for making this type of wine. It looks like rotting fruit and you think to yourself how can these grapes end up being in a wine that tastes so incredibly good?! The 2005 vintage is a rich wine both in sugar, flavor and alcohol. Tropical aromas including honeysuckle are found on the bouquet and tropical notes also continue in flavor to the palate. There are also notes of apricot, raisin and a satiny honey caramel nuance towards the finish. It even comes in its own unique box - deserving of a wine with this name. Dessert lovers also look for their Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc. Tours must be reserved at least 24 hours ahead of time and leave every morning at 11am - a visit involves seeing the actual winemaking facilities and barrel room (its huge) as well as provides information about their rich and unique history. The tour ends with a tasting in the main tasting room. Look for the colorful onyx countertop. Private events can be reserved and are held on the grounds of Roy Raymond's original home which now also serves for wine club functions. Raymond is distributed in select markets in all 50 states. Visit: www.raymondvineyards.com

Quick Info Open to Public: Yes Appointments: No Regular Tours: No, Yes for Tours only - at 11am, Regular Tours: No Hours: 10-4pm Phone: 963-3141 Address: 849 Zinfandel Lane, St. Helena Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Realm Cellars released their first vintage in 2002. They source fruit from several very high end vineyards located within and around the Napa Valley including the Crane and To Kalon vineyards. These are the type of vineyards that have instant name recognition with anyone within the Napa wine industry. This winery is run by four partners whose mission is to produce limited amounts of wines in very high quality. High ratings of their wines by industry leaders are a testament to their mission. Their wines tend to be high in alcohol typically in the mid 15% range and they focus on big red wines including several Cabernet Sauvignons and several red blends. During a recent tasting we tried their 2005 The Tempest Napa Valley Red Wine. This vintage is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petite Verdot. It is a very inky dark wine, with high fruit flavors and definitely some notes of chocolate on the palate. Some of the fruit for this wine is sourced from the Coombsville region near the town of Napa. We also tried their 2005 Farella Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. Again this is the Coombsville located vineyard and the red rocky soil combined with the cooler weather of the south Valley and the particular clone produces a big wine! While being a huge wine that will do well with aging, it retains a smooth mouth feel. Lastly look for a new wine called The Absurd which combines the best 'juice' from each year. Visit: www.realmwine.com *Major* update planned with revisit.

Quick Info Open to Public: Private Appointments: No Regular Tours: No Hours: N/A Phone: 967-0226 Address: P.O. Box 544, St. Helena Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Red Cap Vineyards is owned and operated by the husband wife team of Tom and Desiree Altemus. They manage a 6 acre vineyard nestled among the Ponderosa Pine trees, high on the ridge line of Howell Mountain at about 1900 feet. Tom has become a vintner in a fairly short amount of time. His first introduction to Napa was when he was working at IBM in the San Jose area; a number of business trips allowed him to try fine wines. Making a complete career change in the late 1990's Tom enrolled in the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco and after graduating soon thereafter started working at some of California's finest restaurants from Los Angeles to San Francisco. It was during a stint at a restaurant in St. Helena where he met his current winemaker. In 1998 he and his wife purchased land on Howell Mountain - much of it was literally covered in a dense thicket of brush. After securing all the necessary permits, they planted the vineyard in 2003 and released their first vintage in 2005 which was merely 50 cases. With production this limited, the wine of course does not go far! 2006 will be their first official release and total production as of press time has been increased to over 200 cases. Tom also sells fruit to several high end Napa wineries and as a result has the ability increase his own production down the road. Once you have seen the soil of these vineyards you will quickly determine how they decided upon the name Red Cap. The soil is very red, lava in nature. Also note the swinging boy on the label. Tom & Desiree have three children and were inspired to create a label such as this one to "...represent the spirit of wonder and fun that we all try to embody on a daily basis." Tom's true passion is in the vineyard - as he says, "this is his best job to date"! We can see why after visiting - the vineyards are in a very peaceful location and are surrounded by tall pine trees; this is hillside Napa at its best. During harvest he often picks at staggered intervals and harvest can easily reach a month or more. The reason being is Red Cap only picks when the fruit is ripe and often this may mean picking just several rows or blocks of the vineyard. As a result, all wine is fermented in small lots with whole berry fermentation (no jacks or stems) and punch-downs are done by hand. Some of Napa's hillside wines can be quite tannic - not so with Red Cap's Cabernet's. Native yeasts are used, the fruit is picked perfectly ripe and cooler longer fermentations are directed. The typical aging is 20 months in French Oak. Coming from a culinary background Tom understands the importance of pairing food with wine. The 2006 vintage is a perfect food wine; it is not an in your face Cabernet Sauvignon, i.e., huge fruit bomb and as Tom says, it has a "power combined with elegance". All their vintages are 100% varietal Cabernet Sauvignon from the 3 distinct clones that are planted on site. We tried the 2006 about a month after bottling - so this wine still had some time before being released. However, it was already drinking quite nice with bright lively fruit and great acidity. The wine is dark ruby in color with a nose showing notes of cocoa, cherry cola and floral nuances. As the bouquet opens up even additional layers of fruit aromas are released. The palate is rich with cherry and plum and just a touch of vanilla from the oak. Their oak program is structured to not dominate, rather to let the varietal characteristics show. The finish lingers with notes of spice; the tannins are structured, in balance and delicate. This is not a bad showing at all for a first vintage! Locally you will be able to find the wine at the St. Helena Wine Center in downtown St. Helena or also consider joining their mailing list on line. Visit: www.redcapvineyards.com

Quick Info Open to Public: Private Appointments: No Regular Tours: No Hours: N/A Phone: 965-1145 Address: Angwin Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Regusci Winery is family owned and was revitalized in 1995 - they actually opened to the public in 1998 producing their own high quality estate wines after years selling their grapes to other area wineries. Regusci has been in the same family since 1932 which is the year they were originally founded. The property has been agriculture based for many years - in the early days hay, corn, prunes and walnuts were farmed on site. Old timers even talk of drag racing their cars down the long driveway! This winery sits on a beautiful piece of property with great views of the Napa Valley through the olive trees and in spring the scent of mustard surrounds the picnic area. You drive about 1/2 mile east of Silverado trail to reach the actual winery which sits at the edge of the Palisade hills just above the valley floor. An old ghost winery is on the property; this hand cut stone building dates from 1878 and is very well preserved. All stone for this building came from the nearby valley floor. This is an extremely photogenic winery. You can still see the old chisel marks from the cutting tools in the stones behind the tasting room counter. The tasting will vary depending on wines available but always includes their Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. One note about the oak aging program here - they strictly use American Oak. A tasting also typically includes Chardonnay and Estate Merlot or their very limited Estate Zinfandel. They make a very nice Rose of Cabernet Sauvignon. It is darker than a normal Rose with good structure and for a wine of this style packs some nicely concentrated flavors. You are in the Stag's Leap District - you have to try their Cabernet Sauvignon. They make two versions, one is blended and their 2004 Angelo's Hillside vintage is 100% varietal. Their hillside Cabernet is made during only select years where the quality of the "juice" is at the caliber they are looking for. As a result they have only made this wine 4x in the past 9 years. Sometimes you would think American Oak would dominate a wine and in some cases it certainly does - however there are many factors with regards to oak aging, cooper, toast, length of aging time, age of barrel etc. This is a very well balanced wine with concentrated flavors including some black cherry. Very knowledgeable friendly staff, the winemaker may even stroll in as he did when we visited. As a humorous side note, this is the only winery we've ever been to in which we saw about 10 people walk out of the tasting room with beers in their hands! We thought they were tourists - but they were hard core wine drinkers within the wine industry and were actually "washing out their mouths" with some beer (in between tasting) - incredible! Total production of all wines is about 5000 cases. Visit: www.regusciwinery.com

Quick Info Open to Public: No Appointments: Yes Regular Tours: No Hours: 10-5pm Phone: 254-0403 Address: 5584 Silverado Trail, Napa Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Relic Wines was started by Michael Hirby & Schatzi Throckmorton. Michael has an interesting story of how he ended up working as a winemaker in Napa. He was in college in Colorado when he found out one of his classmates owned a restaurant, interestingly named Primativo. With a restaurant name like that they are sure to have a nice wine list and Michael ended up working as the sommelier and gaining valuable insights and tasting knowledge of Domestic and International wines. He eventually moved to France to take a job at a winery but just before he was to start he was informed there was no job available. Talk about a shock! He stayed in France longer and eventually found his was back to the USA and to Napa. He arrived in the area without knowing anyone, having housing lined up or having a job and fortunately found Behrens & Hitchcock winery high on Spring Mountain. He served as their assistant winemaker learning valuable winemaking information from owner Les Behrens and then branched out on his own and today runs Relic and also is winemaker for several other boutique wineries. Schatzi also moved to Napa after college on the spur of the moment and now is the General Manager for Behrens & Hitchcock & Erna Schein. Note the name of this winery and its connotation. One of the common meanings of the word "relic" is an historical association with something in the past. Relic Wine's philosophy is tied into how wine has been made for many years. Depending on the wine, racking (siphoning the wine off the lees) is kept to a minimum and contact is made with the wine during the aging only when necessary. Out of 450 + Napa wineries we've visited to date Relic is the first one to mention to us that they crush grapes by foot stomping (the original method). Don't worry everything is well sanitized before hand! A number of wineries in Spain & Portugal and other parts of Europe still use this method. Relic sources fruit from Napa County as well as from Alder Springs in northern Mendocino County. Many wineries in Napa of course source their Pinot from the Carneros region or maybe the Sonoma Coast or Russian River in Sonoma county but the Pinot Noir from Alder Springs has its own unique characteristics. First of all its grown at elevation (vineyards up to 2700 feet) - try finding that elevation in Napa County and you will come up empty, with steep hillsides and specific soil types. Nice cola / cherry flavors are often representative of Pinots from this region. It is a fairly popular vineyard for select wineries and locally Patz & Hall & Behrens & Hitchcock have used fruit from the Alder Springs Vineyard. We had a chance to taste many of the component barrels that would form the final blends for their Pinot Noirs, the Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. Following the theme of the winery name, their predominately Cabernet Sauvignon blend is named Artefact. This wine is dark with great aromatics; could the 30% Petite Verdot have something to do with this! And there is also 10% Syrah blended in. The one released vintage we tried was the 2006 hillside grown Richard Perry Vineyard Syrah. This is a big wine, dark in color and rich in flavor. There are nice exotic big aromas on the nose including violet, black cherry and hints of dark chocolate. The Syrah for this wine was not maxed out as far as ripeness is concerned which helps contribute to the beautiful nose. The fruit follows right onto the palate and finishes with moderate and well structured tannins. Unfortunately this is the last vintage from this remarkable vineyard - but Mike has many contacts within the Napa wine scene and can find other high quality vineyards. Their total production is quite small usually between 450 - 700 cases annually. Locally you can often find their wines at ACME wine shop in St. Helena. Visit: www.relicwines.com

Quick Info Open to Public: Private Appointments: No Regular Tours: No Hours: N/A Phone: 967-9380 Address: PO Box 327, St. Helena Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Renard is owned by long time wine veteran Bayard Fox and his wife. Bayard is the winemaker and his wife designs the labels. Bayard was born in France and has a connection to French styled wines; today he works for a French Cooper and is able to visit France from time to time and he also worked a harvest there early on in his career. Renard is somewhat of an anomaly in the Napa area, because while they make their wine in Napa and source several varietals from the Napa Valley, their specialty is Syrah and other Rhone varietals. As a result their production is very "atypical" from the normal grown Napa varieties and this is uniquely refreshing (especially in our position after tasting through hundreds of Napa Cabernet Sauvignon - which by the way is one of our favorite varietals). Much of their fruit comes from hillside cooler climates in neighboring Sonoma County to the west and the Santa Ynez Valley to the south in Santa Barbara County. What other Napa based wineries offer such an array of non traditional Napa wines? Choose from Syrah, Grenache, Roussanne and Viognier. These are among some of the better value to quality wines being produced from Napa - and this includes their most expensive wine, the Napa Cabernet Sauvignon (more about that in a bit). We started with the 2007 Rose Table Wine which is primarily Grenache. Grenache is an interesting varietal in that it produces huge amounts of fruit which for a variety of factors can have a hard time ripening evenly. This wine is clean, crisp with lively acidity and fruit including notes of watermelon and wild strawberry. The 2006 Roussanne is a weighty viscous wine that is a brilliant dark yellow color. As Bayard describes; it has a certain "phenolic grip" or "white wine tannins". This "waxiness" characteristic is typical of a Roussanne and is noticeable as soon as it hits your palate and is a wine that really shines with some food; it pairs well with a variety of cheeses or fish. It is blended slightly with Viognier which brings additional aromatics to the bouquet and a hint of apricot to the palate. Stone fruit, honeycomb and a slight nuttiness are also found on the palate. The 2006 Grenache is from Sonoma County. This is a rather "big" Grenache from its voluptuous aromas to fruit and plethora of spices on the palate. This is a wine with very nice acidity. Since Syrah is their specialty, Renard always has several Syrahs available, all sourced from very unique vineyards. The vineyard sources are carefully selected by Bayard and each site brings special terroir characteristics to the wines. Our favorite is the 2005 Kick Ranch Syrah (look for the gavel on the label - the owner of the vineyard is a lawyer). This a very dark inky wine from a vineyard that sees a fair amount of fog which helps ensure a long hangtime. As a result the fruit is very well developed and on the palate it is rich and layered in flavor. There are two sides to this wine - the big layered fruit and an elegant side represented with the elegant floral like aromas and soft mouth feel with silky tannins. The 2005 Tres Ninos is a predominately Cabernet Sauvignon blend with Petite Sirah & Syrah, all sourced from well-known winemaker Elias Fernandez's small vineyard in the northern part of the Napa Valley. Elias has three kids who always help with the picking hence the name, Tres Ninos. For the quality of the vineyard and fruit this wine is priced remarkably well. It has both structure and softness. Lots of fruit bursts to life in the nose - plum and black cherry with some herbal notes and this ripe fruit follows right onto the palate with a touch of spiciness from the Syrah. While taking their winemaking and vineyard fruit sources very seriously, from their labels, you can obviously see that Renard has a sense of humor and do not take themselves too seriously. All their tasting notes on the back label start out with nice tasting note descriptions and then end with 'and blah, blah, blah'. Nice! Let your own palate tell you if you enjoy the wines or what flavors and aromas you find. For most of their winemaking years, Renard was without a tasting facility. However in recent years they make their wine at Silenus Vintners, a wine making and tasting collective located just south of the town of Yountville. Silenus has a full tasting facility and you can taste Renard's wines as well as other producers there. Visit: www.renardsyrah.com

Quick Info Open to Public: Private, Can taste at Silenus Vintners south of Yountville Appointments: No Regular Tours: No Hours: N/A Phone: 265-9061 Address: Napa Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Renteria Vineyards is owned by Salvador Renteria and his son Oscar. Salvador immigrated to the USA from Mexico in 1962 following his brother up the continent to work a harvest. Soon thereafter he landed a job at Sterling, managing their vineyards and while there helped clear the land at the top of the knoll where Sterling Vineyards now sits. Early in his career he also helped oversee initial vineyards for well-known area wineries such as Beaulieu Vineyards, Clos Pegase, Cuvaison and Silverado. Later in his career he managed premium vineyards for cult wineries such as Screaming Eagle and Dalle Valle. It is a story told several times over in the valley where someone comes to Napa without any experience and many years later is considered a leader in his or her respective part of the wine industry. Such is the case with Salvador. He started his own vineyard management company in 1987 and his son Oscar took over the day to day management in 1993. Today they are the second largest vineyard management company in Napa Valley and as a result have many fine pieces of real estate to source their grapes from. Some of the vineyards they source from were originally planted by Salvador and today yield very low quantities of intensely flavored grapes. Their first vintage of wine was in 1997. Also of note is their new caves were recently constructed in the hills of the southern most part of the Mt. Veeder Appellation in the Mayacamas mountain range. We recently had a chance to see these caves - this is in a relatively undeveloped vineyard part of Napa just north of the Carneros region. Only one other winery is in this area. Upcoming plans call for the construction of the actual winery building. Karen Culler is their winemaker - we have tasted most of the wines that she makes for other wineries and it is always a treat to sample her wines. Renteria focuses on two varietals, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon. Only one other winery we have visited during our Napa odyssey focuses on the same two varietals and they are Dovetail Vineyards. As of press time Renteria makes two Pinot Noirs - one from the Russian River area in neighboring Sonoma County and the other from the Napa side of the Carneros district. We tried the 2004 Carneros Knittel Vineyard. This has great Carneros fruit flavors including lots of strawberry (also in the aromas). Let this wine sit for a while before serving as it needs time to open up, the mid palate is velvety which balances out the stronger tannins on the finish completing a well balanced wine. Several Cabernets are represented including hillside grown fruit from Mt. Veeder and Stag's Leap. Also of note is Renteria has two other labels: Salva Tierra which means "salt of the earth", which is Oscar's wife's maiden name and Tres Perlas, named after their children - Magnum versions only). The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Salva Tierra is a rich wine with soft tannins definitely ready to drink now. Renteria's prices are typically quite reasonably by Napa standards. Visit: www.renteriawines.com

Quick Info Open to Public: Private Appointments: No Regular Tours: No Hours: N/A Phone: 253-7686 Address: 1106 Clark Street, Napa Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Retro Cellars is owned by the husband wife team of Mike and Kara Dunn. Perhaps you recognize the last name - Mike's father Randy is a winemaking and vineyard pioneer on Howell Mountain. Mike is currently cellar master at Dunn Vineyards and makes the Retro wines here. Both Mike and Kara have been involved in the wine industry for many years - Kara works with several wineries in regards to their sales and marketing including running this part of the business for Retro Cellars. She is the daughter of notable Napa vintner Robert Pecota. Mike grew up in the cellar, is the winemaker and also helps manages the vineyards. This is truly a family run affair - even their son had a hand in the business - he designed the artwork for their label. This is a unique opportunity to try wine from a very small producer who focuses exclusively on a single Petite Sirah wine each year. As of press time, this wine comes from the Park Muscatine vineyard on Dunn's own property on Howell Mountain. This 3+ acre vineyard was planted well over 60 years ago and the yields are extremely low - try 1/2 a ton to a ton per acre. Normally vintners would pull out these vines but Retro has been able to save some of the vines by carefully nurturing new suckers to grow and eventually produce when the main part of the vine has died. In addition, they replant new vines as necessary. The vineyard is located at an elevation of about 1800 feet. We recently had a chance to walk the vineyard and we can see why the yields are low. Some of the vines hardly have any fruit set - some vines have just a few clusters. The vines have no trellising, the spacing is quite wide as was favorable during the years when it was originally planted. The soils are reddish and very rocky - this is good terroir for growing these types of grapes. For many years the fruit from this vineyard was sold to notable Napa wineries such as Stag’s Leap Winery, La Jota and Elyse. Fortunately Mike was able to convince his father to let him use the grapes and Retro released their first commercial vintage in 2003. We tried the 2004 - you know this wine is going to have some structure just by looking at it. It is seriously dark - then take a whiff of the nose. It is seriously big! Rich aromas of dark chocolate mingle with blackberry and hints of smoke. The palate is juicy, spicy and dense with tons of fruit. There are notes of leather, graphite, tobacco and nice blackberry nuances on the mid palate. The tannins are gripping and chalky with a finish that lingers for quite some time. This wine is a meant for a big juicy steak. The 2005 which at the time of our tasting was almost released has even more fruit than the 2004 vintage. Unfortunately it will be difficult to find as only 125 cases were made. As expected this wine is just as dark as the earlier vintage. Earthy aromas lead to a rich core of blueberry and blackberry on the palate - great acidity and again big structure on the finish. It will be very interesting to see how these wines age and evolve over time. As you can see, Retro is the perfect name for this wine and vineyard - a retrospective if you will which taken as its literal definition is "looking or directed backward". The name is a tribute to their family as well as a throwback to earlier days of winemaking in California. Methods that used to be common in the wine industry but are no longer common are still "in vogue" at Retro Cellars; head pruned vineyards, managing the vineyards yourself (we've seen stats that up to 80% of Napa's vineyards are under the management of vineyard management companies), make the wine yourself and never pick when the sugars are too high. Looking for additional fruit and to increase production, Mike planted another acre nearby (appropriately titled Los Abuelos) - using bud wood from the parent vineyard. Their total production is merely several hundred cases with very select distribution in just a handful of states. Locally you can find the wine in Groezinger's wine shop in Yountville and Backroom Wines in the town of Napa. Visit: www.retrocellars.com

Quick Info Open to Public: Private Appointments: No Regular Tours: No Hours: Phone: 965-1042 Address: Angwin Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Revana Family Vineyards is owned by Dr. Madaiah Revana who is from Houston, Texas. He grew up however, on a farm in India which perhaps provided the initial background to enter a specialized agricultural specialty such as the wine industry. He acts as managing vintner whose main focus is to provide the resources and dedication to ensure only the highest quality wine is produced. Revana is located on the east side of St. Helena Highway just south of Lodi Lane. It is a fairly new winery as the land was purchased in 1997 and planted soon thereafter. All fruit comes from this estate vineyard (although they are looking at producing wine from an Oregon property at some point). Their vineyard directly behind the winery is 9 acres planted to several clones of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petite Verdot. These two additional varietals are often used to bring additional complexity and improve the finish on their Cabernet Sauvignons. Despite being relatively small at only 9 acres, their are many different soil types spread throughout this vineyard and their rootstocks and plantings have been adapted accordingly. They do make a Rose of Cabernet but without a doubt, their main focus is on Cabernet Sauvignon. When you taste you will try different vintages of their Cabernet Sauvignon. It is the only wine that appears on their price sheet. It is made in extremely low quantities and vintages tend to sell out fast. Such is their focus on this one wine, they have taken many steps to ensure this wine is of the highest quality. Dr. Madajah has assembled an A class caliber team of wine related professionals including one of the more respected vineyard management companies in the valley to their well-known winemaker Heidi Peterson Barrett. Heidi has a long history of making wines for some of Napa's most prestigious cult wineries and still is winemaker for a select few including her own label La Sirena (you may see a few bottles of this around the tasting room). She has a masterful attention to detail and it really shows in their rich flavorful Cabernets. Visit: www.revanawine.com

Quick Info Open to Public: No Appointments: Yes Regular Tours: No Hours: 10-4pm Phone: 967-8814 Address: 2930 St. Helena Highway North, St. Helena Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Reverie Winery is a small winery producing ultra premium wines located in the northern part of the Valley just south of the town of Calistoga. It is owned by Norm Kiken and family. Norm was sitting in a dentist's chair on the East Coast waiting for a root canal when he read an article about wine in one of the obligatory magazines you always find in waiting rooms at dentists offices. Most people do not find inspirations in dentist offices but that day Norm found inspiration in a most unusual way. He plunged himself into studying and tasting wine from that day forward, although it did take him more than 20 years before he moved to Napa and started the winery. They are located about 1.5 miles in on the narrow winding Diamond Mountain Road just up the road from von Strasser Winery. Their vineyards are all located on fairly steep rocky soil - perfect terroir conditions for producing high end wine! All fruit for their wine comes from this estate property. There are not many wineries who will see visitors by appointment in the Diamond Mountain Appellation and these two wineries are the only wineries in this particular area. Might as well visit both when you are here! All Reverie's wines are estate grown with the utmost attention to detail during the growing and winemaking processes. In addition, all their wines are unfiltered which often leaves a better representation of the true varietal taste in the actual wine. Typically you will walk around the property during your tour - with a stop in their small working wine cave for a taste at the long table in the back. Note the realistic cave painting on the doors of the cave - but be sure not to walk straight into it! Reverie has beautiful grounds designed by the late Evelyn Kiken who was a Master Gardener. A visit here, regardless of weather always stops in their circular redwood grove (yes umbrellas will be provided if you don't have one). If the weather is nice, your tasting will be here otherwise you will spend much more time in the cave. Typically you will start out your tasting with their Sauvignon Blanc and the Chardonnay both fermented in stainless steel tanks. They produce great complex hillside grown Cabernet Sauvignons especially their "special reserve" which meets their strictest requirements for only the best lots and blends - you can really pick up an earthy and mineral component to this wine and the tannins at the finish are well structured. We tried the 2004 vintage - its a wine built to age with a lot of structure not only on the finish. Big fruit including blackberry and black current is complemented with subtle herbal and cedar notes. Reverie is well-known for its ASKiken brand which is typically a 5-varietal Bordeaux blend. The owners last name is Kiken, and well, you get the rest! A shirt with this name on it even appeared in one of the front covers of Rolling Stone Magazine. We tried the 2005 vintage. This wine represents ripe fruit on the palate, black cherry, raspberry - perhaps a little plum - hints of oak and spices finish with tannins that are alluring and not overwhelming. The owner's son who is often at the winery runs a wine event service (www.butterflywineevents.com). Ask about their "wine quiz" for a possible bottle of free wine! For more info visit: www.reveriewine.com

Quick Info Open to Public: No Appointments: Yes Regular Tours: No Hours: Call Phone: 942-6800 Address: 1520 Diamond Mountain Road, Calistoga Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Reynolds Family Winery is located just south of the Soda Canyon store on the east side of Silverado Trail. It is on the site of an old chicken ranch. Hmm...wonder if the vines have good soil here?! The owners live in the house in front of the winery - keep driving all the way back until you reach the actual winery. The main tasting room building is located in a beautiful setting - a graveled patio and tables overlook the pond and sometimes music is piped outside during tastings. The tasting room itself is modern and cozy; it is a great place to hang out on a cold winter day next to the blazing fireplace. Their wines are approachable and are food friendly. We found the aromatics on the Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon to be subtle and elegant not actually revealing the complexities and richness of flavor on the palate. Steve Reynolds, dentist turned vintner, is the winemaker and he released his first vintage in 1999. All fruit is sourced from high quality vineyards which they manage except for the Cabernet Sauvignon which comes from their own property. Their Cabernet Sauvignon is actually a blend of 3 Cab clones, the common 337 and 4 and the not so common Weimer clone which was originally developed at UC Davis for shorter growing seasons such as on the east Coast, but this clone actually thrives in the Napa area. Not every winery in Napa Valley makes a Pinot Noir - Reynolds makes a delicious well-balanced one grown from vineyards in the cooler Carneros region. Their 2006 Chardonnay is a creamy delight, it undergoes no malolactic fermentation, the aging is in neutral oak (isn't buttery, just creamy) with tons of fruit on the palate including some tangerine and pear. Also be sure to try Persistence, Steve's trademark Cabernet Sauvignon blend. It is by far the biggest of the reds we tried full of spices, black cherry and hints of chocolate. Reynold's is most well known for their Estate Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2004 vintage does not disappoint. Note the nice use of the Centellino decanter attached to the wine bottle for their Merlot...don't see these at many Napa wineries. We love their label for the reds which is a single mustard bloom...so simple yet elegant. As of press time, their production is about 7000 cases and some wines are sold only at the winery. The owner is also involved in several other interesting winery projects which we have reviewed, including Thirteen (wine made from Napa's 14 sub-appellations, and another label called Naughty which is tentatively slated to be tasted at Reynolds by mid summer 2008. Visit: www.reynoldsfamilywinery.com

Quick Info Open to Public: No Appointments: Yes Regular Tours: No Hours: 10:30-4:30pm Phone: 258-2558 Address: 3266 Silverado Trail, Napa Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Richard Perry Vineyards dates from 1988 when the owners Richard and Sheila Perry planted 20 acres in the Coombsville region just east of the town of Napa. The vineyard location is all hillside with most of the vineyards terraced. It backs right up against the large Napa Valley Preserve so the nearby land will never be developed and will retain its natural state. The Perry's purchased the property in the late 1970's and at the time weren't sure what this would lead to as they did not have a background in vineyard management. Fortunately their nearby neighbor is the Caldwell Cave Winery and over time the owner John Caldwell gave them invaluable advice about vineyards and was the original impetus to become grape growers. For many years they sold the grapes to other area wineries such as Rombauer and Newton. Then in 1997 a winemaker at Rombauer who was already purchasing their fruit noted the high quality of the vineyard sources and mentioned they try making their own wine. As a result their first vintage was made at Rombauer in 1997. Today they focus on two varietals, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Two French clones are used for their Cabernet Sauvignon, 15 and 337, each of which contributes its own character and complexity. We tried the 2005 Syrah. This is a rich juicy mouth watering wine that is well layered on the palate. The word approachable can easily be tagged onto a description of this wine. The aromas are fruit and spice driven with blackberry and white pepper followed by more blackberry and blueberry on the palate - some chocolate and spices form a smoky incredibly long finish. The mouth feel is super smooth anchored by a well structured tannins. The 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon is 100% varietal and the nose is a mix of plum and cherry with an exotic cinnamon and all spice characteristic. Let this wine open up before drinking - additional aromatics and flavors will creep out. Chocolate, spices and a flavor that can only be described at ripe blackberry juice still covered in dust is present - nice terroir characteristics. All their wine is made at the state of the art new Porter Family Winery. A large vintage is a production of about 1800 cases. You can taste Richard Perry wines at the first rate tasting collective, Vintner's Collective, located near downtown Napa. Visit: www.perryvineyards.com

Quick Info Open to Public: Private, You can taste at Vintner's Collective Appointments: No Regular Tours: No Hours: N/A Phone: (209) 728-9345 Address: Napa Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

RigArt Garage Winery is not open to the public and yes, as the name implies this winery is run directly out of a garage. As a result, this was one of the oddest Napa tastings we have done...sitting in the garage in the dark watching residential traffic cruise by the neighborhood streets! We have since visited a number of "garagist" wineries in Napa, but in fact this was the only one where our tasting was actually in the bonded garage winery. Crush is done on the driveway and 1/2 of the garage is separated with a chain link fence. A small number of Oak barrels are aging wine inside the garage. As of press time, this is probably the first write-up of this winery as they just received their winery bond in 2007. Unlike some counties, Napa county will actually issue a winery bond to a garage. This was the first Napa area garage winery that we visited on this project. It is run by Dean who has been making home wine for a number of years. Dean toured the world working on the sound and light shows for popular bands and was never home that much. This of course makes it hard to make wine but more recently he has started limiting his time abroad. He concentrates on a Syrah with plans to produce a Cabernet Sauvignon. His first vintage was only 70 cases and the per bottle price is very reasonable. The grapes for his Syrah come from a small vineyard on the west side of the southern part of the Silverado Trail. Syrah is a wine that can exhibit a huge range of characteristics in the final product. We tried this wine - for you Syrah lovers who like a lighter wine with a lot of fruit in the flavors and aromas this is the wine for you. It is easily drinkable by itself or with food - especially seafood. It has a very nice strong fruity nose with hints of cranberries, raspberries and even some black figs. The finish is quick and leaves you wanting more which is not a bad thing! RigArt will only ship within California - or if you are in the Napa area you can buy RigArt wine at Groezinger Wine Merchants in Yountville (Phone: 707 944-2331) or visit RigArt's website: www.rigart.com

Quick Info Open to Public: Private Appointments: No Regular Tours: No Hours: N/A Phone: 963-4661 Address: N/A Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Rios Wine Company was founded and is owned by three brothers Manuel, Rafael, and Alberto, as well as their second cousin, Jesus Hernandez. Jesus's wife is their winemaker - so as you see, this is truly a family affair! All have grown up in the Napa industry, and starting in their teens worked in the vineyards. Shared involvement in the wine industry, a strong family background and a passion for wine led them to forming this winery. Today Manuel runs Rios Farming Company and his two brothers and cousin work with him. Rafael is a partner in Napa Valley's oldest law firm and one of his specialties is vineyard and winery related law. Their first commercial vintage was released in 2005 and as of press time they focus on a Sauvignon Blanc and a Cabernet Sauvignon. Additional plans call for producing other varietals and down the road possibly opening their own tasting room somewhere in the valley. Their wines are bottled under the Solovino label which which literally means "one wine" in Spanish. The story of how they arrived at this name is based on family history...and a horse. Solovino was the name of their grandfather's horse. Their grandfather lived in the Mexican state of Michoacán and one day this horse totally disappeared. A year went by and they just figured they would never see this horse again. Another year went by, then 6 more months and while they were relaxing in their house one day they heard a terrific noise; the front porch swinging doors came crashing open. Here was their missing horse, walking right inside their house - still attached to a hitching post! All fruit for the wines are sourced from select area vineyards which are under the control of Manuel's vineyard management company. With over 750 acres under his management, he has a rather large selection from which to pull high end grapes. We recently met for a tasting with Rafael - who handles much of the marketing and sales for their fairly new winery. The 2006 Sauvignon Blanc (sourced from Yountville) was aged for 7 months in neutral French Oak and aged sur lie. As a result it has a nice weighty mouth feel. The aromas are all about the fruit - both tropical aromas as well as citrus with a few minerality notes. The palate is well textured and balanced between acidity and fruit. Apple and tangerine flavors linger. The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon (sourced from Rutherford) was aged for 20 months in French Oak. Delightful fruit driven aromas fill up the glass including blackberry and black cherry. There is just a hint of vanilla and spice from the oak aging. The body is full and very juicy - with layered flavors of blackberry, dark chocolate and cassis. The finish is elegant and smooth with structured but delicate tannins. In addition, this wine is priced very reasonably based on the quality. As of press time the wine is mostly distributed within Northern California and the total production is under 1000 cases. You can find their wine locally at JV Warehouse in Napa, the Sunshine Market in St. Helena and the Wine Stop in Calistoga. Visit: www.rioswine.com

Quick Info Open to Public: Private Appointments: No Regular Tours: No Hours: Phone: 942-1276 Address: N/A Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Ritchie Creek Vineyards is one of the oldest and more isolated wineries in the Spring Mountain District. It sits at 2000 feet and sometimes in the winter can receive snow. The vineyards are planted in soils that are extremely thin and rocky and as a result stresses the vines more than say the valley floor grown fruit. This produces rich concentrated flavors as well as much lower yields. Combine that with the age of most of the vines (over 30 years) and the yields become small indeed. The owners Pete & Maggie Minor originally started planting their grapes in the late 1960's when there were less than 30 wineries. They are still owners and their first vintage was in 1974. Their driveway off of the top of Spring Mountain Road is a shared driveway for other area wineries & residences & contains many forks in the road - stick to the forks that contain the signs for their address (4024) and their name. The actual winery is located below their residence down a very narrow somewhat overgrown gravel and dirt road. There is parking for 1 or maybe 2 cars and the turn around is somewhat tight. Their production is very low and due to their location they are only setup for very small groups and serious wine enthusiasts. All tastings are by appointment only - they may not offer tastings in the winter or summer (spring and fall are better times to get hold of the owners Pete & his wife Maggie). This is a rare tasting where you get to meet with Pete, one of the long time winemakers in the valley who is still actively involved in his own winery. Tasting is at the small winery that Pete built (Pete is the winemaker and vineyard manager) - you are surrounded by native vegetation, many chirping birds and tall fir trees; you are in a forest! Bothe-Napa State Park backs right up against his property and this only ads to the natural ambience of the area. The actual Ritchie Creek starts on site and flows all the way down to the Napa Valley floor. When we visited we sat down at a table next to the actual winery with Pete and tasted his 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine is blended with Merlot is all estate grown and is very well balanced. Pete also makes a very nice Pinot Noir with some floral aromas and deep berry flavors. Here is one varietal you will not find in Napa outside of this winery - Blaufrankisch which is native to Austria. Ritchie Creek only has a few rows of this varietal and as a result the case production is extremely limited. Visit: www.ritchiecreek.com

Quick Info Open to Public: No Appointments: Yes, Hours: Spring/Fall is the best, but do call Regular Tours: No Hours: Phone: 963-4661 Address: 4024 Spring Mountain Road, St. Helena Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Road 31 Wine Co , formerly Green Truck Cellars, is owned and operated by Kent Fortner. As with several other small wineries we have visited with, he is a wine man show..err, one man show - vineyard manager, the winemaker, and sales guy. Nothing like having the vintner show up in his green truck with bottles of his own hand crafted wine available for sale. The specialty of this winery is merely one vintage produced each year of a stellar Pinot Noir. This Pinot is made from several vineyards in and around the cooler Carneros region of South Napa. One vineyard is even south of the Carneros region. As of press time Kent makes only about 700 cases each year and typically sells out quickly to his mailing and distributor lists. Most winery owners name their wineries after themselves; last names, first names, middle names, name combinations - we've seen it all, but not Kent! He had the refreshing idea to initially name the winery after his truck - which is green and yes, despite the winery name change is still in use! Road 31 pays homage to a rural gravel road which runs by both his mother and father's family homesteads in Kansas. The green truck was actually willed to him by one of his grandfathers. A tasting is very informal - Kent says "don't show up wearing a tie". The tasting is always held with Kent at White Rock Winery where he makes his wine. You will taste through several "future vintages" from his barrels in the small cave and then taste current vintages from the bottle. We tried his wine from the barrel merely several days after it had finished fermenting - but it had not yet gone through malolactic fermentation. At this stage it is a very rough wine which gives one a great perspective on how far this wine actually comes before its ready to be bottled. The fruit really shows in his wine - which is complemented by a combination of French and Hungarian barrel aging. We tried the 2005 vintage - nice notes of cherry, cola and mocha on the nose followed by a juicy palate rich in flavor and spiciness. Be sure to visit his website as well as his PLOG (Pinot Blog). As Kent says with confidence "reading about wine is not nearly as good for your soul as drinking one!" "Truckers" is the name you earn when you join the mailing list - as this is the best way acquire the wine once it is released. His distribution includes mostly California but also Vegas, parts of Utah, New York & New Jersey. Visit: www.road31.com

Quick Info Open to Public: No Appointments: Yes Regular Tours: No Hours: Call Phone: 649-1200 Address: Napa Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Robert Biale Vineyards was founded in 1991 by four partners including Robert Biale. The Biale family has a long history of farming in the Napa Valley dating back to the late 1930's after they originally immigrated from Italy. They initially started farming Zinfandel only and sold the grapes to be used as bulk wine. Today about 70 years later, Zinfandel is still the main varietal that Robert Biale is known for. While their Zinfandel's have the structure and acidity to age, these wines are meant to be consumed now. The wine comes from their own vineyards as well as from small vineyards contracted in Napa, Sonoma, Lodi and Contra Costa counties. One of Biale's specialties is working with very old vines - and a number of their wines are sourced from very unique old vineyards. The modern wooden winery is located just north of the Napa City limits. Note the interesting signage when you drive into this fairly new winery facility. The speed limit is 5 and 1/2 MPH (bet you wont see that speed limit posted at any other Napa wineries!), and note the sign on the tree that says "Watch for Black Chicken". There is a very interesting story behind this sign which ties into one of their wines. When Robert Biale was in his mid teens he made wine, but because of his age could not sell it. Party lines were the norm in those days and he was concerned people would find out an underage person was selling wine. As a result, he coined the term "Black Chicken" which he told only his customers about and they would mention this on the phone when they wanted to order his Zinfandel. So when someone ordered his typical farm items - usually eggs and prunes and they mentioned wanting some Black Chicken he automatically knew they wanted his wine and it was "safe" to sell it to them. Unfortunately for his customers in later years his wife was never initially privy to the "code words" and she would tell customers she could sell them white chickens but not black ones! Zinfandel is a grape that doesn't typically ripen evenly. As a result, after veraison the Biale's have to continuously keep a close eye on the vineyards and will often walk row by row removing green fruit or other grapes what will not reach their maximum maturity. Today Biale Vineyards makes the Black Chicken Zinfandel and it is by far their most produced and popular wine. The 2006 vintage is full of rich fruit, blackberry, raspberry and black cherry. Good spices present on the palate and even slight notes of vanilla. The mouth-feel is nice and soft as well. One of their other Zinfandels is the Party Line Zin - its a lighter somewhat less complex wine than the Black Chicken - made for drinking now - more an everyday wine. Some of their fruit comes from the oldest Zinfandel vines in the Napa area. In addition to Zinfandel they also produce very small quantities of Petite Sirah, Syrah (under the Hillclimber label), Barbera, and Sangiovese. A special note about Barbera - we challenge you to find other Napa Barbera's - it will not be easy! This wine comes from a small vineyard in Calistoga which contains the oldest Barbera vines in Napa County. Their wine club is even named after the infamous "chicken". The tasting room is in the back of the winery - the outside porch is surrounded by the vineyards. The tastings are relaxed, informal, personable and very down to earth. Forget about ordering online - the customer winery relationship is very important to Robert Biale - new customers become new friends. In the outside shot that you might live in the town of Napa, Robert Biale will deliver wine for free. This goes back to their original farming days when they were not delivering wine but rather fruit, walnuts and other agricultural products. Visit: www.robertbialevineyards.com

Quick Info Open to Public: No Appointments: Yes Regular Tours: No Hours: 10-5pm Phone: 257-7555 Address: 4038 Big Ranch Road, Napa Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Robert Craig Winery is actually located at an elevation of almost 2300 feet high up on Howell Mountain way up on the north east side of Napa Valley. With an elevation such as this, they do see some snow in the winter and are among some of Napa's highest vineyards. This location is a bit tough to get to for the average person and their permit at the actual winery limits them to an extremely small number of visitors, as well as only several events per year at the actual winery, so they maintain a tasting room in the city of Napa. Serious Robert Craig wine enthusiasts should check with the winery as to which days they may be open at the physical winery. We have been to both the winery and tasting room - click on our photos link to see both places. This winery was started by Robert Craig in 1992, who has been involved in the wine industry for many years, most notably at The Hess Collection as their General Manager. In addition he helped develop 300 vineyard acres on Mt. Veeder and was instrumental in getting a sub appellation for the Mt. Veeder area. As a result of his background and interest in mountain vineyards his own wines come from a vineyard on Mt. Veeder as well as his estate vineyards on Howell Mountain. Been scared off by big bold mountain grown wines that you have to lay down for years before they are reasonable to the palate? Not so with Robert Craig's wines. They tend to show the fruit extremely well, the tannins are not in your face, and balance and integration of all the components in the wine plays a key role in their winemaking style. The tasting room is just minutes driving north of downtown Napa and is located among standard businesses in what looks like an old auto garage complete with a pull up metal door. Looks are deceiving and it is wineries such as these that are fun to seek out. The inside tasting room has been tastefully restored from its previous industrial uses and is very modern. Robert Craig is appointment only and is setup to take only small groups. The tasting is not rushed; it is very personal and informative. There is a winemaking facility on site, used by other wineries as well, and sometimes you can smell the wine drifting into the tasting room from next door. After your tasting you can walk into their barrel room contained in what looks like a large warehouse and you will be given a sample directly from one of the wine barrels. While their focus is on Cabernet Sauvignon they do make one white, a Chardonnay sourced from the Durell vineyard in Sonoma County. It is a vineyard that remains moderated by cooling breezes throughout the day due to its proximity to the bay. This wine has wonderful stone fruit aromas, pear and peach with a floral characteristic - mainly honeysuckle. The palate is rich with some of the fruit aromas characteristics continuing into the flavors. Their wines are very balanced so not one aspect jumps out and dominates your palate. They are soft on the tannin structure and very easily drinkable now. Their Affinity Cabernet is like drinking liquid velvet. Two other must try wines are their Howell Mountain and Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon. The Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon was in fact their first wine produced as they did not yet have their Howell Mountain property. The 2005 Howell Mountain Cabernet is one of our favorite Robert Craig wines. It is unfined and unfiltered for maximum flavor and color. There is a mix of blackberry and white pepper on the palate with some subtle spices towards the finish (cloves, more pepper and even some anis). Ask about the Downtown Napa Wine Tasting Card- multiple downtown area tasting rooms participate in this - for a one-time fee you can visit & taste at each of their tasting rooms. Visit: www.robertcraigwine.com

Quick Info Open to Public: No Appointments: Yes Regular Tours: No Hours: Hours: M-Sat, App Only, 10:30-4:30pm Phone: 252-2250 Address: 880 Vallejo Street, Napa Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Robert Foley Vineyards is run by long time Napa vintner Bob Foley and his wife Kelly. Bob has been winemaking in the Napa area since 1977 - this puts him in a unique number of winemakers still practicing their art today who were working in the 70's in the Napa area. If you ever get the chance to meet him you will soon realize his passion for his wines is great! He is the winemaker for several other small wineries, one of which supplies some of his fruit. After many years of custom crushing at local wineries, he recently built his own winery and cave high in the Howell Mountain area (nicknamed the Foley compound). His winery and vineyards are at about 2000 feet in elevation. His focus is on big mountain grown hillside red wines although he does produce one white, the Pinot Blanc (sees only stainless - no oak(. As a result of the hillside fruit, his wines are typically very well concentrated both in aroma and flavor. Some of his Cabernet Sauvignon is among the last picked in the valley - often into even November! We had a chance to taste through many of his reds including his well-known Charbono. This is a varietal that is extremely limited in production with most of the the vineyards in the USA grown in and around the Calistoga area. Charbono likes temperature swings during the growing season and Calistoga certainly has these. The northern part of the Napa Valley is the warmest but during the summer nights the temperature can drop 30 and 40 degrees from that day's high. It is hard for us to be biased in regards to this varietal as we have tasted Charbono from almost all the Napa wineries producing this and it is always one of our nicer tastes. It is this wine that in fact got Bob into winemaking. When he was in high school in the late 60's he tried a Charbono from a local Napa area grower and fell in love with the varietal. Much later when he was looking for Charbono sources to make his own wine he contacted this grower who was just about to pull out the rest of his Charbono vines. Talk about good timing! Another very popular wine in Foley's portfolio is the Claret. Scores in the mid 90's by Robert Parker have helped to also put this wine on the map including a 2001 vintage which received an amazing 99 points! We tried his 2005 vintage which is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot. This is a wine true to previous vintages; its big with lots of fruit flavors on the palate with structured tannins on the finish - definitely a candidate for aging if you can resist drinking it now! Also look for Foley's Howell Mountain Cabernet, a Petite Sirah and his long time standby, the Merlot which in 2005 was released for the first time as a stand alone varietal. Visit: www.robertfoleyvineyards.com

Quick Info Open to Public: Private Appointments: No Regular Tours: No Hours: N/A Phone: 965-2669 Address: P.O. Box 847, Angwin Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Robert Keenan Winery is located about 1/2 way up Spring Mountain Road nestled among the hills. Despite the windy narrow roads to get here, you might even see a Limo parked next to the winery. They are one of the few Spring Mountain wineries that can actually handle good sized groups. Robert Keenan is the quintessential Spring Mountain hillside ghost winery (historic, stone walls quarried from nearby, and is surrounded by forest and vineyards). It is about 1/2 mile down a very narrow winding road off of the also windy Spring Mountain Road. The current winery is on site of the old "ghost winery" (first built in 1904) and the modest stone winery building has been completely restored. Robert Keenan was the original owner and his first vintage was 1977 - this is one of the older wineries in the Spring Mountain District. This winery is still family owned (multi-generational) and Robert's son Michael now runs the winery operations. They specialize in hillside grown fruit for the following varietals: Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. Most of their wines are intense but approachable with concentrated flavors. As Robert used to say to his son Michael "the key to life is balance, taking anything to the extreme is usually a mistake". You will find Keenan's wines very well balanced between acidity, tannins and flavor. They actually grow a little bit of Chardonnay on site which is not a varietal you think of when it comes to Napa hillside based wineries. However there are several other Spring Mountain wineries growing this varietal and it has its own unique characteristics compared to the more common cool weather Chardonnay sourced from the Carneros district to the south. Their first release in 1977 was in fact a Chardonnay. We tried the 2006 which is a very crisp wine that does not see any Malolactic fermentation and is aged sur-lie. Despite some aging in oak, the oak flavors have not been imparted to this wine; rather is all about the pear, apple and mineral flavors. It has a nice weight and creaminess tied into how it was aged. They make a very limited production Zinfandel which typically is only available for purchase at the winery. They also use some fruit from the valley floor which helps bring a softness to the bigger richer hillside grown grapes. If its not to crowded your host may walk you through the barrel room and out to the vineyards. Quintessential views of Spring Mountain and the nearby hills can be seen by walking out into their vineyards. This winery sometimes can be popular with small tour groups on the weekends. For a boutique "mountain" winery with a relatively long history and acclaim, their prices have been kept very reasonable. There is a small picnic area on site. Stand in front of the winery and look down at the vineyard - to the right of the pond, all around the edge of the vineyard you will see all their pole mounted solar panels. Visit: www.keenanwinery.com

Quick Info Open to Public: No Appointments: Yes, except for weekends where walk-ins are ok Regular Tours: No Hours: 11-4pm Phone: 963-9177 Address: 3660 Spring Mountain Road Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Robert Mondavi Winery is a huge winery very popular with tourists located on the busy "wine strip" on the west side of Highway 29 in Oakville just north of the Oakville Cross Road. Hang out near the entrance on a busy summer weekend and just listen to the languages being spoken. Want to take bets to see if Mondavi is the most photographed winery in the Napa Valley?! The parking lots are set right among the rows of grapes. An excellent garden is situated on the north side of the main building. Like the other large touristy type wineries in Napa Valley, this winery has a very large gift shop. No appointment is necessary for general wine tasting. A great place to relax and taste wine is on the benches and stone walls near the main lawn. This is a large winery by Napa standards. Robert Mondavi is well known in wine circles and had a role in founding the Copia Center in the town of Napa and the performing arts center at UC Davis is named after him. Almost single handedly the Mondavi family has played a huge part on the Napa wine industry by introducing state of the art wine making equipment to the area and marketing the Napa Valley to the rest of the world. Many of the late 20th century Napa Winemakers got their start from him including well known winemakers Warren Winiarski and Mike Grgich. His influence is great - just look at all the winemakers who have gone out on their own after stints working at Mondavi. Word has it that Mondavi used to sell his wine out of the back of a truck! Be sure to visit the intimate Vintners Room and also view the display and photos that show Mondavi's history in the Napa Valley. Mondavi offers some of the most well-rounded wine educational seminars, tastings & tours of any winery in the Napa Valley. We highly recommend their To Kalon Tour & Tasting. Allow at least 90 minutes for this very informative tour and make advance reservations if possible. It caters to all levels of education in regards to wine. Yes, on our tour someone asked if Mondavi puts Cranberries and Cherries into their wines to give it those flavors. Uh huh. You are given a small colored token which indicates you have paid for the tour and then you meet on the walkway or grassy section near the entrance. As soon as the tour guide showed up the first words were "grab your cameras, turn off your cell phones and lets go"!. The tour starts in a side room with an informative overview of the winery, its history and and general information about the region. Questions are invited. You then proceed out to the vineyards (weather permitting) for a quick vineyard overview followed by a visit to the massive fermentation room. Many giant fermentation French wood tanks are lined up on both sides of the room. A production video is shown at this point - during crush this room becomes a hive of activity. The barrel aging room located below this giant tank room is a sight worth seeing. Mist released from ceiling misters combined with the romantic play of light helps create a unique ambience in this, one of the largest and seductive barrel aging rooms of any Napa winery. It is truly a sight to see. In 1966 Robert Mondavi created the first Fume Blanc from the Sauvignon Blanc grape. Today there is a barrel aging room devoted entirely to this wine. You will pass by it before you enter the room where you will taste. There are reasons that Mondavi became well known of course and one of those is that people really enjoy their wines. With 250,000 cases produced per year as of press time, they are large by Napa standards but in the real scope of the wine world they are just medium size. They have been able to really hold onto quality in some of their higher end wines which helps when they source from top notch vineyards including the famed To Kalon Vineyards on site. In our opinion this is an example of a winery with a relatively large production that has not compromised quality for their higher end wines. The 2006 Fume Blanc is a crisp wine with citrus aromas and flavors and some interesting minerality characteristics. The 2006 Pinot Noir Reserve which is mostly from the Carneros growing region is actually one of the nicer Pinot's we have had from Napa. Dijon clone perhaps? Lots of cherry, cranberry with layered flavors and well structured tannins. The 2002 Vine Hill Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon has rich aromas of blackberry, violet and chocolate which also carry into the palate. This is a good example of a high end California Cabernet that people come to Napa seeking. The Moscato d'Oro (Muscat Canelli) is a light, sweet crisp wine very popular for summertime drinking or for pairing with spicy foods. These are just a few of the wines we have sampled at Mondavi during multiple visits - as they produce a huge variety of wine. Visiting in the summer? Mondavi's Summer Music Festivals (held annually since 1969) are extremely popular. The website has a plethora of information. Visit: www.robertmondavi.com

Quick Info Open to Public: Yes Appointments: Yes, Walkins ok, some tours/events require appointments Regular Tours: Yes Hours: 9-5pm Phone: 888-766-6328 Address: 7801 St. Helena Highway, Oakville Winery Photos