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Greg has enjoyed wine since college and after a rising corporate job at Bank of America he decided to dramatically change careers and took a $7/hour job as a cellar grunt. From here he started learning more and more about how to make wine and then started making his own at Etude Winery in the Carneros region. In 1992 he constructed T-Vine Cellars. Greg was a one-man show for many years making the wine and handling all the sales and marketing. Today he still handles the Northern California circuit selling wine out of his van. We visited during the best time of year to see a winery in action which is during harvest and T-Vine was bustling with grapes fermenting in bins, juice in the tanks and bunches being de-stemmed. As Greg told us, he is a winemaker who truly loves to taste his own wine. He is a very hands on winemaker often tasting the wine during its aging and working on various blends. Some of his winemaking influences come from Southern France including aging wines in oak for less than a year. He believes in letting the fruit show itself as the main component in his wines, rather than introducing additional flavors from oak. Greg offers quite a number of various wines and all are reasonably priced by Napa standards. We tried several wines which had almost finished their primary fermentations including a Petite Sirah which from our early taste appears that the final product is going to be fantastic. T-Vine produces about 4500 cases a year and makes a large variety of hand crafted varietals including a beautiful Grenache. Greg was the first Napa vintner to make wine from this varietal. This varietal is not often found in the valley which is a shame considering its strong fruit flavors and the several Grenaches we have tasted from Napa have been excellent. We also tried their 2005 Primitivo which was the first vintage of this varietal produced under the unique Psychedelic Rooster label. This is one label that you won't forget after seeing it the first time! The Primitivo is only available from the winery and is a blast of concentrated fruit flavors complemented with subtle nuances of toasted oak. Being a Napa based winery you almost have to make a Cabernet Sauvignon and T-Vine does - however as of press time their latest Cabernet is sourced from neighboring Sonoma. The vineyard source is one of Sonoma high end terroir historical sites; it is the hillside Monte Rosso vineyard which was founded by Napa's Louis Martini in the late 1930's. You know a bottle of T-Vine wine by the back label. It always reads, "My favorite days in life are nothing special, rather those in which I find joy in the ordinary rhythm of my existence… those in which I am simply content in my place." Both of Greg's long time employees also have their own very small labels, Voces and Simpatico. Visit: www.tvinecellars.com |
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We've seen a number of wineries named after dogs, but this is the first one in our Napa odyssey that is named after horses. Their "mythical" horse appears on all their labels. As of press time they focus on 4 wines. All their wines are fermented with native yeasts. We tried their 2005 Chardonnay - this is a gorgeous wine that shows a nice golden color in the glass. It is usually their first wine to sell out due to its limited production and popularity. The grapes sourced for this wine are also used for another local wineries' high end Chardonnay. This wine is barrel fermented for a lengthy 17 months and for a long portion of that time is not stirred during the aging. The thinking behind this is that if you stop agitating the wine you will better preserve the inherent citrus characteristics. As of press time, they make an extremely small quantity of Merlot (under 100 cases). They produce two Cabernet's each from the two aforementioned vineyards. Their Two Rivers vineyard is very affordably priced with hints of blackberry and mint on the nose and ripe cherries in the palate. The 2004 Oakville Cabernet is their high end Cab; it is a well balanced wine with flavors of licorice and we even picked up hints of black fig. The tannins do not disrupt and only add depth to the long finish. Visit: www.tamberbey.com |
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This winery is not flashy, hyped up or into crowds. There is absolutely no sign off of Silverado trail and as a result you drive by their driveway and just assume it leads to someone's house (which it does!). You must make an appointment for a tasting and groups need to be small. A tasting here is for the serious wine enthusiast. Tasting is at their ranch style house located on the side of a hill at the end of the narrow winding driveway. If the weather permits tasting is outside on their deck. This is as intimate a tasting as you will find in Napa Valley- the owners sit with you and are the ones pouring and discussing their wine. They make two delicious but highly different chardonnays. Our favorite is their Hillside Chardonnay. We tried the 2003 vintage which is a very full-bodied Chardonnay with nice fruit driven aromas including apple, citrus and some tropical characteristics. The nice weight on the palate is carried by great fruit layers which carry over from the bouquet. Their total wine production is about 500 cases which classifies them as extremely small. Sitting in the heart of Stags Leap district you would be crazy not to make a Cabernet Sauvignon and they make several delicious ones especially their 2002 Reserve. The fruit for this comes from an upper part of their vineyard which is steep and terraced. The fruit is small producing concentrated flavors which are reflected on the palate. Dark fruit reigns on this wine - black cherry, black licorice with some smokiness and dusty characteristics towards the finish. Only a note of vanilla imparted from the new French Oak barrel aging can be picked up. Their Cabernet Sauvignons are rich, soft in tannins and ready to drink now, yet have the bright acidity and structure to ensure that they could also be aged for a number of years. Visit: www.taylorfamilyvineyards.com |
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Teachworth is a private exclusive wine estate located in the hills of the Diamond Mountain District. It is run by Joan and Walter Teachworth who relocated to the Napa area to enjoy a slower lifestyle and merely drink the world famous wines from this region. However as a number of those who have relocated to Napa in the past, what we call the "Napa Allure" kicked in and soon decided to try and make similar high quality wines to what they had been enjoying from nearby wineries. Walter and Joan have enjoyed good wine since the 1970's. At that time they refined their palates by drinking renowned French producers Chateau Lafite Rothschild and Chateau Latour. At that time they were spending under $10/bottle for these wines - umm yeah! This is one of the smallest producers in the Napa area as their typical annual production is a little over 100 cases. Three wines are made - one each from their two vineyards and a final estate blend from both vineyards. Two distinctly separate organically grown vineyards with specific soil and sun conditions on the property make their final 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. These distinct vineyards, despite being located so close to each other produce different styled wines. These two vineyards are their Rattlesnake Hill and their Manzanita Ridge. Both steep hillside vineyards total almost an acre so the availability of high quality hillside fruit is very limited.
During one recent year they produced merely one barrel of wine due to a mass infestation of wild turkeys which devastated their almost ripe crop. The estate has some of the best views in the valley - and is exquisitely landscaped with azaleas and rhododendrons, six waterfalls cascading down past the steep lengthy driveway and a beautiful reflecting pond surrounded by tall palm trees. The entrance to their very small cave even has waterfalls running creating a nice ambience under the surrounding oak trees. Each of their two vineyards are fermented and aged separately until the final blend just before the actual bottling. We tried a vintage directly from the barrel - the Manzanita Ridge has a stronger nose of the two wines with a lot of depth in the fruit flavors. The Rattlesnake Hill was already well layered and completely fills the mouth with nice hints of blackberry and subtle chocolate overtones. Despite being very young wines of course, they both are already showing nuances of how they will be tasting in several years. Teachworth has the luxury to age their wines in New French Oak for 30 months and then another year or two in the bottle before releasing them commercially. As a result, their wines have really been properly aged before even being released to the consumer. Their wines are sometimes found in higher end wine shops in the Napa Valley. Join their mailing list online and view their website: www.teachworthcabs.com |
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Teaderman Vineyards is owned by Stan and Patti Teaderman. Stan is a long time resident of Napa - since 1947 who has been exposed to viticulture and the wine industry for most of his life. He co-founded a propane gas business (headquartered in Napa) and also runs one of Napa's premier barrel storage facilities for premium wineries (Napa Vintage Storage). Their 14-acre vineyard was purchased in 1978 to help satisfy Stan & Patti's long time passion with wine and is located in the heart of Oakville; this is prime Napa Valley vineyard terroir. As a long time Napa grower and vintner, Stan's enthusiasm and energy regarding his own wine is clearly evident, almost as if he was just starting out in the industry! His nearby neighbors are Silver Oak, Groth and Screaming Eagle. This land was never planted to vine and initially Robert Mondavi helped them develop the vineyard - planted entirely to Sauvignon Blanc for one of Mondavi's wines.
Seeing how nice this wine was, Teaderman held some of the fruit back for themselves and released their first commercial vintage in 1995. However, this being the heart of Oakville - they are in prime Cabernet Sauvignon country. Furthermore, consider the fact that they have the same gravel soils and similar terroir to nearby Groth winery who under the winemaking skills of Nils Venge produced the first 100 point rated Cabernet Sauvignon from Robert Parker. Also in the late 1980's and early 1990's a nasty little bug called phylloxera infested a number of Napa's vineyards. At this point the timing was right and they converted over half of their vineyard to Cabernet Sauvignon and sold these grapes for a number of years to a nearby winery. Then in 2001 under the tutelage of the late Justin Meyer of Silver Oak Cellars, released their first vintage. Today Teaderman employs two well-known Napa winemakers. Nearby Silver Oak's philosophy regarding aging has rubbed off on Teaderman. Their wines are aged much longer than most Napa wineries - typically receiving at least 2 years in the bottle before being released. The Teaderman's and their winemakers taste the wines over a period of time to determine when they are ready to be released based on aromas, flavor, balance and the wine's overall integration. Not many wineries are able to have this type of lengthy again program, but this is certainly not a bad thing from a consumer point of view. The 2004 Sauvignon Blanc is a golden straw color with nice mineral notes on the bouquet which open up to more honeysuckle and tropical aromas. The palate is slightly creamy but not too much so. This wine sits on the lees for 4 months which helps contribute a certain amount of creaminess. Nice flavors of Citrus and tropical fruit overtones. There is just a touch of vanilla on the finish - the wine is certainly not over oaked - it is extremely well balanced. A yeast commonly used for Champagne wines is used and the wine was bled into the barrels slightly sweet where it finished its fermentation. In the same philosophy as their Cabernet Sauvignon their Sauvignon Blanc is also allowed to age further - at the time of our tasting this wine was their current release at 4 years old. We started our tasting of the Cabernet Sauvignon with the 2001 vintage - their first commercial release. Time in the bottle has treated this wine very well. It has an elegant fruit driven nose with notes of dill; the core of the palate contains rich fruit, blackberries and blueberries with supporting layers of tobacco and leather. The mouth feel is wonderfully balanced with tannins that are well integrated, smooth and silky. You will see some sediment in their Cabernet Sauvignons - the reason for this is they are minimally filtered which helps maintain maximum flavor. The 2002 is their current release. The nose is slightly less fruit driven than the 2001 vintage and contains nuances of mint and other herbs. The palate is slightly tart with lively acidity. In our opinion, this is the nicest of the three vintages to pair with food. The 2003 while young by Teaderman's standards is drinking extremely well - and we tried it before it had even been released. There is a rich concentration of fruit both on the nose and on the palate. Very earthy aromas representative of their particular terroir grace the bouquet along with notes of tobacco and vanilla. The smooth soft palate is well layered with flavors of blackberry and black cherry. The tannins, while delicate are well integrated into the wine and help support the lengthy finish. Teaderman produces only a total of about 1000 cases annually. As a result they are extremely selectively distributed through specific national markets. As of press time they are distributed Internationally in Japan - mostly in Tokyo. We should also mention for the type of inherent quality in these wines the prices are very reasonable. Their wines have been well received at high end restaurants throughout the USA. You may also signup for their mailing list. Visit: www.teadermanvineyards.com |
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Tedeschi Family Winery released their first vintage in 2004 from their family 2-acre dry farmed vineyard just north of Calistoga. This vineyard is planted entirely to Cabernet Sauvignon and their wines are 100% varietal. The Tedeschi's hail from Italy where they lived right next to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. They originally immigrated to the states in 1919 and as a result, have a long history in the Napa Valley. The owner of Tedeschi Winery re-planted his current vineyard in 1974 and then moved to Hawaii and started Hawaii's most famous winery called Maui's Winery at Ulupalakua Ranch - In 1992 he moved back to the Napa area and took jobs at well-known wineries including Grgich Hills, Cain, and Mondavi. After many years of winemaking and involvement in the wine industry he was able to release his own Napa Cabernet. It is a very Bordeaux style wine in that the grapes are picked at lower brix, the alcohol is lower and it is not the huge fruit driven Cabernet's that you can commonly find in the Napa area.
Tedeschi's Cabernets typically see 36 months in oak which is longer than many wineries, but the wines are not oak driven by any means. The reason for this is his barrel program incorporates mostly neutral French Oak and some American oak. In addition these wines are not fined before bottling. The owner is the winemaker and this is a "garagist" winery as Napa County allows winery garages to become bonded within the town of Calistoga. We tried their 2003 and 2004 vintages. Both wines are made in the same style with similar palate structure. They are very food friendly wines. Both vintages have subtle noses with hints of plums and blackberries on the palate. The finish is smooth and quite long. This is as boutique as wineries can be with their total production hovering around 275 cases each year. As of press time they do not currently distribute outside of Northern California (they will ship to a variety of states). You can find their wine locally at Dean & Deluca in St. Helena, Cal Mart in Calistoga or a number of fine restaurants in the Napa area. You can also purchase their wines online. Website under construction. Visit: www.tedeschifamilywinery.com |
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Temple Family Vineyards released their first commercial vintage in 2004. Four generations of family roots go back to East Texas dating from the late 1800's where they were among the first businesses to sustainably manage and farm timber. In fact, they have been recognized and have received a number of awards for their conservation and farming practices. Fast forward to 1987 and to a different agriculture crop with wine grapes. This is when the first family member moved to the Napa area and purchased hillside land with vineyards just east of the Silverado Trail (near what was already prime planted vineyard land). In 1995 they purchased a large ranch in the Pope Valley area (Lakespring Ranch), east of Napa Valley and planted part of this to vineyards. This was before Pope Valley had the wine growing reputation that it has today and providing fruit to other wineries was a harder sale. Not so today - Temple Family continues to sell the majority of their fruit to very high end boutique Napa area wineries and Pope Valley is slated at some point to become its own Sub Appellation of Napa. The Temple Family has been instrumental in working on getting this sub appellation approved. Today, the winery is run by a brother sister team. Both their Napa and Pope Valley vineyards are managed by Arthur Spencer, son of the owner. Their organic and sustainable farming practices continue from their timber background - and are now applied to the vineyards. In addition Arthur has a background in soils and also as a wildlife biologist. Huge valley oaks were left with the vineyards being planted well outside their shade and root limits so as not to competitively interfere. Having the space to do this is ideal as the quality of the grapes are not affected at all. With a monoculture crop such as wine grapes, the Temple Family knows the benefits to having healthy soils and employing overall sustainable farming practices.
As of press time, they specialize in a single vintage 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Total production is typically under 1000 cases. All fruit for their wine comes from the Pope Valley vineyards. Cabernet Clones 7 & 8 are used in this wine - these clones produce incredibly small berries with rich concentrated fruit flavors. Despite their vineyards being mostly flatland, their vineyard has a reputation of producing "mountain styled fruit" in a valley location! Pope Valley vineyards have long hang time and the fruit generally ripens very evenly. Their wines are unfined and unfiltered for maximum color and flavor. The 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon has a nice nose of violets, lavender and just a hint of pine pitch - which as the wine opens up the bouquet becomes more fruit driven. This fruit continues to the palate, black cherry with a very long finish. The 2005 (current release) is a wine that is very rich and concentrated in flavor. It is a little bit more jammy than the 2004 with a nose that is more fruit driven. The palate contains a depth of flavor including plum, blackberry, black licorice. Towards the finish you will pick up some interesting mineralities (terroir driven) as well as subtle hints of oak. Velvety but structured tannins anchor the beautiful finish. Temple Family has plans to produce other wines - a Cabernet Franc and possible a red blend. You can find their wine locally at JV Wine & Backroom in the town of Napa or via their website. Visit: www.templefamilyvineyards.com |
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Terra Valentine is about 10 minutes from the town of St. Helena off of the narrow windy Spring Mountain Road. Call reception from the gate phone and then drive in about 1/2 a mile to the actual winery. You will begin with a short tour of the facility and then end in the beautifully decorated tasting room where you will sit down and enjoy several excellent wines. Lots of beautiful stained glass windows can be found throughout the winery - these portray various Roman and Greek mythology. The oak paneling in the tasting room was originally destined for the Hearst Castle in San Simeon and was brought over from Europe. The original owner Fred Aves came into ownership of this and installed it himself. Terra Valentine makes a number of red and white wines including several wines with grapes sourced from the Russian River area (Sonoma County). Their nice Pinot Noir is aged sur lie, un-fined and lightly filtered; it has a good mouth feel with cola cherry, raspberry and spices on the palate. Their Sangiovese blend appropriately in Italian is called Amore; also look for their Cabernet Franc and an excellent Wurtele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. All their wines are very affordably priced by Napa standards. Older Cabernet Sauvignons are also typically available for purchase from previous vintages. Looking for a romantic valentines party at Napa's only winery of the same name? Look no further than Terra Valentines' annual Valentine's Day bash. Visit their website for more details: Visit: www.terravalentine.com |
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Typically one of the owners or their one employee will drive you around in one of their two 4wd carts - which are great for attacking the steep slopes of the property. If you are on a tour with Timm its a great experience as he will explain a lot of the viticulture that goes into making great wine - he will actually take you out in the vineyards for individualized tours. You won't find this type of individualized tours with most Napa Valley wineries. Be sure to ask to see their "vinegar aging" stone house - they make Balsamic vinegar each year and their oldest vintage has already aged for 10+ years. The vinegar is aged in special wood barrels imported from Italy. They showed us the proper way for tasting vinegar - put your hand out palm down, raise your thumb - and they will squirt a bit of the excellent tasting vinegar on the back of your hand which you will then lick off. Tasting is upstairs in a modern tastefully decorated room. Great Zinfandels and Cabernet Sauvignon. Their Zin clones actually trace back to grapes planted on the property in the 1800's. Visit: www.terraceswine.com |
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Thirteen is run by four partners all who coincidentally have their own labels (Brookdale Vineyards, Renteria Vineyards, Reynold's Family Winery, and Thomas Knoll). Those in the wine industry sometimes quench their thirst with a good beer and it was over beer that the idea for this winery was discussed. Thirteen is very unique in the Napa Valley in that they are the only winery bottling a wine that has grapes taken from all of Napa's sub appellations. What an excellent way to sample a wide variety of the different terroirs in Napa Valley in one bottle! Each wine taken separately has its own unique colors, aromas and flavors and when you combine them all you get a decidedly rich complex wine. Their motto is "The parts are great, but the sum is even better". When this winery was founded there were 13 sub appellations in the Napa area so their first few vintages were appropriately titled "Thirteen". As of press time their are now 14 sub appellations and their later vintages are called "Fourteen". One of the partners runs a fairly large vineyard management company in the valley and has access to very high quality vineyards from all the sub appellations.
One of the other partners is the winemaker (Steve Reynolds who runs Reynolds Family Winery and is where Thirteen's wines are actually made). One ton of fruit is harvested from each sub appellation and all fruit from each vineyard is fermented, inoculated and aged separately from one another until the final blending. Once the final blending occurs the wine will undergo further aging in bottle before it is released. Only one vintage of this wine is produced every year; we tried their 2004. This is a very well balanced smooth wine with a velvety mouth feel. The tannins are well managed and only enhance the long slightly smoky finish. The aromas contain a lot of fruit with some hints of cedar on the nose. Thirteen often donates cases of wine to the main Napa area charity wine events. Look for the somewhat hidden numbers 13 and 14 among the "vines" on their labels. One of the partners owns the Soda Canyon store and you can find their wine for sale there, as well as at Reynolds Family Winery. Visit: ww.13appellations.com |
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Three Clicks is made by winemaker Bruce Devlin and his wife Danielle both of whom met at UC Davis when they were studying viticulture and enology. There are a select number of husband wife winemakers in the Napa area and Bruce runs the winemaking operations at Ballentine and Danielle is head winemaker at St. Clement which just happens to be across the street from Ballentine. As with a number of young winemakers in the Napa Valley, both have loads of international wine experience ranging from Europe, to Australia to South Africa. After 10 years of working for other wineries they decided to branch out and form their own label which is a story we've heard from a number of winemakers who eventually get the itch to make their own wine. The name Three Clicks has an interesting story which relates to wine. In the 1930's a journalist said that he was the first one to take a sip of alcohol legally after having a telegraph operator send out a 3-click warning revealing that prohibition had been repealed.
As of press time they focus on two varietals they both enjoy; Sauvignon Blanc and Petite Sirah. At the time of this review each wine is produced in tiny quantities, around 125 cases. This definitely makes them one of the smaller producers in Napa. They source from selected area vineyards based on terroir, microclimate and types of clones and varietals available. Their first commercial vintage was in 2006. We tried this vintage of Sauvignon Blanc served chilled - at this colder temperature nice aromas dominate including pineapple and peeled lychee fruit, with nice flavors of lemon and lemon grass characteristics on the palate. This wine is crisp in flavor and well balanced with a nice finish. It saw stainless tanks and neutral oak for a short time. We tried the two components that will form the final blend for the 2007 Petite Sirah. These come from two individual Calistoga vineyards each of which bring individual characteristics to the wine. The wine from the Citron Vineyard is inky dark in color, full bodied with a more viscous palate and the Branham vineyard produces wine which is very fruit forward, with a structured tannin backbone. Combine them and you have a wine that can stand up to some aging but can certainly be consumed at the time of purchase.They have come up with a clever motto to describe the screw cap enclosures used on both wines. These enclosures ensure no cork taint and they describe there use as "giving tradition a new twist". Perfect! You can find their wine locally at ACME Wine Shop in St. Helena and in very select markets in California, New York and Washington DC. Visit: www.threeclickswines.com |
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Attention to detail in the vineyard is key here and Linda is continuously managing all aspects of the vines year round. Over the years with her long history of working in the vineyards Linda has picked up many of the state of the art vineyard management practices that she now employs on her own vineyard. Pulling leaves to provide just the right amount of exposure during the ripening season is key. Each vine is individually managed based on its vigor and other factors. Timing is everything in vineyard management, especially with dropping fruit during the ripening window. Only the "best" fruit is allowed to fully ripen. The vineyard ripens at about the same time and they can selectively pick specific vineyard blocks, doing all their harvesting on the same day. This vineyard tends to be among the earliest ripening of the Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards in the Oakville appellation. With nearby vineyards that include Screaming Eagle, Showket, Rudd and Dalla Valle it is no wonder that another nearby vintner has coined the term "Magic Hill" for this unique Eastern hillside part of Oakville! Linda purchased this property in 1987 and planted it to vines in 1989. Tierra Roja actually made wine for 3 years in private wanting to perfect their style as well as deciding which vineyard blocks to use. Note the plow that is featured on the label. It is a testament for how the property used to be farmed as well as a tie in to FFA (Future Farmer's of America) which Linda was a part of and still supports in a variety of ways. Today rather than using a horse and plow, cover crops are used in between the rows and the entire vineyard is managed by hand. The 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon was their first vintage, which we had the privilege of trying. All fruit for this wine is from Linda's vineyard - it is 100% varietal and only 160 cases of this wine were produced (all sold out - but look for future vintages via their online mailing list). This is a special wine that has the "it" factor. It is a wine that is easily on par with any of the best Napa Cabernet's that we have sampled on this project; the "it factor" has that special richness combined with elegance that is not often found but when you do, it is a special treat. The 2004 is a deep dark ruby red wine which is seamless on the palate. By this we mean it is rich, but elegant with great balance. The nose has seductive aromas of very ripe fruit - blackberry mixed with a cedar box of spices and nuances of a beautiful earthiness representative of this particular terroir. The broad expressive flavors of fruit are immediately felt on the palate and you may even pick up some mineral notes towards the finish that lingers leaving you only wanting more! Based on the small acreage and the fact that Tierra Roja does sell some of its fruit to other vintners, their production will always be extremely small. The best chance to enjoy their wines is to join the mailing list - their release date is usually in September. Several high end restaurants in the Napa Valley also carry the wine. Sometimes Linda puts on private vineyard clinics in which she discusses Viticulture and how vines are managed. During these clinics you get to actually tie, prune, sucker and or thin some of the vines. Tierra Roja also supports a variety of non profits with their large format bottle charity program - including Vine Village. Visit: www.tierraroja.com |
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Toad Hall Cellars is owned by John Komes and his family; if the last name rings a bell it is because this family is also synonymous with Flora Springs Winery. They produced their first vintage in 1984 - merely 10 cases of a Chardonnay...talk about scraping the bottom of a wine barrel! Today, production runs about 1200 cases (still relatively small) and focuses on three wines; two Pinot Noirs and a Cabernet Sauvignon. Toad Hall was started by John as a side project to his family's Flora Springs Cellars. Toad Hall owns several vineyards; their original vineyard is 6 acres just off of Highway 29 in Rutherford planted to Cabernet Sauvignon and they also have a 10-acre vineyard in the Carneros region planted to Pinot Noir.
We tried the 2006 Willow Pond Carneros grown Pinot Noir. This is from the old Martini clone that was originally more commonly planted in this region. The wine is a typical lighter style Carneros Pinot. It is good every day drinking wine - with aromas of strawberry and herbaceous notes including tomato leaf with a palate containing raspberry, cola and even hints of chocolate. The richer more intense Pinot Noir is their Lavender Hill. We tried the 2006 vintage. John says the Carneros region will become even more well known for Pinot Noir as different clones are planted such as the Dijon clone used in this wine. The Lavender Hill is a darker red color with some nice earthy and floral aromas on the nose. The palate is layered fruit fruit fruit! Raspberry and cranberry flavors are immediately present with a very smooth finish. As with many of John's labels if you dig a bit, they often reveal a personal story. We've met with several hundred winemakers on this project and hands down, John is definitely one of the best storytellers in the Napa Valley. Before Toad Hall owned their Carneros property John told a real estate agent he wanted to buy property in this region. One weekend, the agent called him up and said "John, you have to look at this piece of property right away". Apparently the owner was busted in a Marijuana raid and needed to sell as soon as possible. Well short story told, John ended up making an offer and purchasing the land soon thereafter. Lavender Hill Mob, an old movie from 1951 starring Alec Guinness, was one of his father's favorite movies, and there you have the name for this wine as well as the name of this particular vineyard. Lastly we tried the 2005 Bodacious - to know the meaning of this wine you have to know the irreverent story behind the label. Lets just say the name of this wine was created after a swimming party and that this wine is very "full-bodied". In the past this wine has been a Cab/Merlot 50/50 blend but the 05' vintage is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from their small Rutherford vineyard. French and American Oak were used during the aging. This wine is rich in flavor and aroma - there is an underlying exotic spiciness to the flavor. Black cherry and dark chocolate coat your palate. The finish is long with very well balanced tannins. Note the very unique label. It is depiction of a maze, a pictorial testament if you will, to the endless maze of permits and regulations that are part of owning a winery and making wine! Trust me, you won't see a label with that intent on any other Napa bottle of wine. The name of the winery comes from John's wife, a former librarian. Astute readers with knowledge of children's books will recognize right away that "Toad" is one of the main characters in the book called "The Wind in the Willows". Toad Hall Cellars is private but their wines are available for tasting at the Flora Springs Tasting room on Highway 29. You may also find their wines locally at Backroom & Bounty Hunter in the town of Napa. www.toadhallcellars.com |
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Tofanelli specializes in two wines - Zinfandel and Charbono. Not a lot of wineries in the Napa area make Charbono and theirs is an excellent example of what you can do with this fruit (2005 vintage)- its balanced, the tannins are well managed and despite it being high in alcohol content the alcohol itself doesn't actually overpower the wine. The 2005 Zinfandel is a rich wine and if you let it sit for a while it will really open up both in aromas and on the palate. It explodes with fruit flavors yet also retains an elegant side. Nice blackberry, black cherry and a characteristic Zin spiciness. Just look at the varietals they grow - Charbono, Semillon, Carignane, Grenache, Mondeuse Noir and Cinsault. Yes, this vineyard is in Napa! We guarantee you won't find this type of varietal selection at any other Napa vineyards. Local high end wineries recognize Tofanelli's commitment to quality and purchase fruit. Wineries such as Turley, Spottswood, Schrader, Orin Swift, Neyers and Duckhorn have all purchased fruit from Vince. He has a bonded winery in the back of his home - but makes his wine at a nearby winery. You can also arrange to do your tasting at the actual winery but if the weather permits - we highly recommend the vineyard tasting experience. Give Vince a call to make an appointment: www.tofanelliwine.com |
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Tom Eddy Wines was founded by in 1991 by Tom Eddy, owner and winemaker. He is a graduate of UC Davis 1974 with an enology degree and worked at several well known Napa wineries including Christian Brothers (now the Culinary Institute of Greystone in St. Helena) and Inglenook - now Rubicon Estate. Along with winemaking he would often travel throughout California looking for high quality vineyards that could be sourced by Napa wineries. He has also consulted for wineries in other states and even as far away as Venezuela. His philosophy of looking for the best vineyard sources regardless of location has carried through to his own business. As a result, Tom Eddy is a rare small winery that sources fruit from multiple states (California & Oregon) as well as Internationally (New Zealand). As of press time he sources all fruit for their wines but recently planted a 1 acre vineyard which will be devoted to a single vintage high end Cabernet Sauvignon. His vineyard is one of the most northernmost vineyards in Napa County - just a bit north of Storybook Mountain and once completed, this will be Napa County's northernmost winery. He and his wife were looking for hillside property and after 15 years of combing several of Napa's well-known hillside appellations they found this spectacular piece of property. The surroundings will always remain natural and undeveloped as the site is surrounded by property within the Napa Land Trust. In fact his property straddles the county line (Sonoma/Napa) and when planning for his wine cave and winery had to seek approval from both counties.
A wine cave will soon be built and future plans include building a winery on site. As of press time, Tom Eddy has several different wines, the Tom Eddy Napa Valley (Cabernet Sauvignon), Elodian a tribute to his wife Kerry's heritage, TENZ (New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc), and the TEO - Tom Eddy Oregon (Pinot Noir). The Elodian is not your normal Napa label; the multiple sea tortoises give this away. Kerry has a long history of working in the wine industry but this label is more a tribute to her ancestors who sailed from Nova Scotia to the gold fields of California during the gold rush. Along the way they were stuck in the doldrums and ended up anchoring at the Galapagos Islands where they caught a number of large sea turtles. Eventually they arrived in San Francisco very late in the season, poor and almost penniless. After trying to sell anything they thought was valuable, they noticed some of the Asian restaurant owners got word of the turtles and at that point the turtles proved to be their most valuable possession! Tom Eddy makes two totally different styles of Sauvignon Blanc. We tried the 2007 TENZ. This is a delightful wine with a Maori influenced label and is sourced from the Marlborough region of New Zealand's South Island. Despite having the vineyard source located on the other side of the world Tom travels on site and is directly involved in the major vineyard and winemaking decisions. All winemaking for this takes place in New Zealand. He picks the fruit for this a little bit later than many of the nearby vineyards ensuring slightly riper fruit and a nice acid balance. This wine has zesty aromas including herbal qualities and notes of lemon and lime. Drinking much more Sauvignon Blanc from Napa than from New Zealand it was pleasant to pick out the Litchi fruit flavors on the palate along with some of the citrus flavors carried over from the aromas. The finish is very crisp and clean. In contrast is the 2006 Monterey County sourced Sauvignon Blanc. Tom knew about the high quality of these grapes but was unable to get his hands on these because a local Napa hillside winery was sourcing all the fruit for this wine. Then one day the vineyard owner called Tom and said the fruit was available. No looking back, Tom jumped at the opportunity to make this wine. The aromas are decidedly floral, honeysuckle and tropical with a rounded palate that includes notes of grapefruit, gooseberry and other citrus. The Willamette Valley in Northern Oregon is a recognized area for producing high end Pinot Noirs. Tom is not the only Napa producer with connections to this area - Tony Soter, founder of the Napa based Etude Winery has a winery nearby. Tom Eddy produces two Pinots, both from the Monk's Gate Vineyard with the difference between the two wines being in the types of barrel and length of aging programs. The vineyard owners purchased land next to a monastery - two monks used to hunt for mushrooms on site but with the vineyard in the way of their mushrooms they were blocked access. The vineyard owner saw them looking over his fence several times, and after he found out what they were interested in, he built a special gate! Cute stories aside, this vineyard produces some excellent fruit. The Elodian 2006 vintage is an easy drinking well balanced Pinot. There are notes of strawberry and cherry on the palate with some interesting spices and just a touch of vanilla on the finish. The 2006 Oregon Pinot Noir has a bigger body than the Elodian; the mouth is full of layered fruit. It is a rich decadent wine with some nice flavors including cola, cherry and raspberry. Great finish! Only 70 cases produced. Tom makes two Cabernet's. A wine to get your hands on is his 2002 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon - it sees an extra year in bottle and barrel (all French oak) and as a result has had good aging before its even released. This 100% varietal wine is made from free run juice only from predominately hillside grown vineyards. As with all of Tom Eddy's wines this is extremely well balanced. It is a teeth staining inky dark wine - with aromas of freshly picked blackberries and mouth filling flavors of berry fruit, mocha and exotic spices towards the finish. Just the right structure of natural acidity and tannins will ensure that this wine will age very well. Tom's wines can be found at most of the wine shops in Calistoga as select wine shops in the rest of Napa Valley. Visit: www.tomeddywines.com |
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Topaz Late Harvest as the name indicates is one of these rare Napa wineries that exclusively specializes in one type of wine - in this case a Sautern style late harvest Sauvignon Blanc Semillon blend. There are maybe 3 wineries within Napa that specialize exclusively in late harvest botrysized wines (Noble Rot) and a handful of other wineries that make this type of wine along with their main production. Talk about a niche market! We have tried this type of wine from most of the Napa producers making it and can say without a doubt, Topaz is one of our favorites. In fact we are drinking away on the 2003 vintage as we write this. Jeff Sowells is the winemaker and owner whose roots in the Napa Valley go back to the late 1970's. He started out in the cellar seasonally working harvests for select wineries and over time picked up winemaking knowledge in the field as well as through UC Davis and Napa College. He later started a mobile vineyard lab converted from an old mail truck! He called his mobile business, "Zymurgy" which is the word that describes the branch of chemistry dealing with fermentation as well as often being the last word in the dictionary. Or as Jeff translates, this means as the winemaker he has the last word. Topaz is his birthstone and also resembles the color of the wines. His first vintage was in 1986, which makes this winery one of the oldest continuing Napa based producers of this type of wine. He was making wine for Ann Macauley a vineyard owner with a small less than 2-acre vineyard of Sauvignon Blanc who always wanted to try making a late harvest dessert wine. Unfortunately Ann passed away in a tragic car accident on the way back from San Francisco before this wine was even bottled. Jeff ended up purchasing the wine in barrels from her estate & has made the Topaz wine continuously since 1989.
We had the privilege of tasting two incredible wines, his 1989 Topaz and the 2002 DLX. Special mention must be made about the DLX, their high-end label (first vintage 1997). This wine is not made every year - (only made 4x in 10 years) and is only produced when the quality of fruit meets Jeff's highest quality expectations. In this case these are often the ugliest looking grapes you will ever see. Botrytis spores turn grapes into a moldy looking grayish black color and the grapes used for the DLX are the epitome of what looks like "rotten fruit"! However there is an unparalleled rich aromatic and flavor profile to his 2002 DLX that is not often found in these types of wines. This wine is perfectly balanced, slightly viscous with bursting ripe fruit flavors and layers of honeysuckle and peanut brickle. We haven't yet mentioned that this wine pairs perfectly with blue cheese and dried figs. We also tried his 2nd vintage, the 1989 Topaz. The older vintages change their color dramatically when compared to the newer vintages. The earlier wines are a deep brownish color while the newer wines are more yellow and amber. These wines have tremendous aging potential. As the wine ages it takes on more nutty type characteristics. This vintage was full of toasted almond aromas with some caramel and peanut brickle on the palate including fresh bees wax and faint hints of various herbs. Three things about the Topaz wines we tried: they are *not* cloyingly sweet and syrupy, in other words they are extremely well balanced between acidity and sugar. In addition I have found orange peel aromas and or flavors in similar types of wine. Who wants the taste of orange peel in their late harvest desert wine! Certainly not me and we did not find these characteristics in the Topaz wines we tried. Lastly some of these types of desert wines have strong mineral notes especially towards the finish. Some people may like this, but we feel this detracts from the natural fruit flavors of the wine. You don't find this in the Topaz wines. Production varies from year to year depending on the harvest and climatic conditions and is usually extremely limited - 500 to 1000 cases total. They are only distributed within California. You can find this wine in many of the wine shops in the Napa Valley and very select high-end restaurants. Topaz has been served at the US White House, Chez Panisse in Berkeley and can be found in Napa at the well-known Auberge Du Soleil. Visit: www.topazlateharvest.com |
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Toquade Wines as of press time produces a single vintage single vineyard Sauvignon Blanc each year. This very small wine producer is owned and operated by Christine Barbe whose winemaking history dates back to 1991 in her hometown in Bordeaux France. During her time as a Doctoral student at the Bordeaux Institute of Enology she worked with a number of people who were passionate about Sauvignon Blanc, and as a result she learned the finer nuances of how to taste for ripeness and when to harvest to ensure the best possible aromas and flavor. She was hired by the Gallo Family Winery and came to California in the mid 1990's and also spent some time in research and managing vineyards at Robert Mondavi Winery.
The name Toquade is a tribute to Christine's French heritage - it is French and means "craze" or "infatuation". This would be an appropriate label for many vintners who have a focused passion towards winemaking, and in this case reflects Christine's own passion towards the Sauvignon Blanc varietal. Her first commercial vintage was in 2006 which at only 100 cases is already sold out. We tried the 2007 vintage which had a production of merely 200 cases. All fruit for this wine was sourced from a high end organically grown single vineyard in Yountville. Yountville is Napa Valley's "sweet spot" for growing this varietal and we have sampled a number of delicious Sauvignon Blanc wines from this appellation. The vineyard is on the valley floor and contains deep soil and deep roots - all dry farmed. The wine is made in a French style; it is not too acidic with the focus being on the characteristics of the fruit, both in the bouquet and flavors on the palate. No oak is used in the fermentation or aging of this wine. It is aged sur lie for 6 months with frequent stirring of the wine and lees. As a result, this helps impart a roundness and richness to the actual mouth feel. The wine is straw colored - the bouquet has pleasant notes of lime, grapefruit and other citrus aromas. As it opens up in the glass tropical floral nuances become more pronounced. The palate is slightly creamy in nature, is well balanced with nice tropical flavors including lychee. The finish is clean and crisp with a hint of mineral notes. This wine will pair wonderfully with shell fish, Thai food or a variety of other sea food pairings. As of press time Toquade is one of just a handful of Napa wineries focusing entirely on a white varietal. Christine is looking for additional vineyard sources and in the future may also offer a red wine. The wines are only distributed in California - locally you can find them at V Wine Cellars in Yountville and several area restaurants. Toquade has a mailing list. Visit: www.toquadewines.com |
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TOR Kenward Family Wines was founded in 2001 by Tor Kenward and his wife. Tor spent many years as an executive at Beringer Winery before "retiring" and jumping into building his own label and wines. During his time at Beringer he had access to some of this winery's best vineyards and would make a barrel of wine each year. His focus for TOR Wines is on single vineyard high end Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. For some of his vineyards, Tor has a vineyard management company but he is personally very involved in the actual farming decisions which include thinning, dropping fruit, pruning and the canopy management. As a result, this winery plays a vital role in the key decisions that take place within the actual vineyards. The old adage comes to mind here, 90% of the winemaking is done in the actual vineyards. We tried their 2004 Wente Clone Chardonnay from the Durell Vineyard located in a slightly warmer area than the Carneros region due to its more northerly location. The Wente clone is known for its small berries and more concentrated flavors. This wine typically is fermented using only natural yeasts and sometimes can have a very long fermentation period up to 7 months! This particular Chardonnay has a beautiful golden hue in the glass, it is very floral on the nose with a deep rich honeysuckle aromas with hints of peanut brickle in the mouth. It is a wildly popular restaurant wine and is available by the bottle at the French Laundry in Yountville.
We also tried two of their Cabernet Sauvignons - each one totally different. One is their 2005 Cab Sauv from the Cimarrossa Vineyard at about 2100 feet on Howell Mountain. This is a big wine but certainly drinkable now - it exhibits the minerality and earthiness that you often find from Howell Mountain Fruit with structured tannins on the finish. Their 2005 Tokalan Cabernet Sauvignon is from valley produced grapes grown in the Oakville district. This wine has a big mouth feel yet is a refined elegant wine that is all about the fruit. Flavors of cherries and black licorice will seductively coat the insides of your mouth. TOR has a second label called ROCK which are wines solely made from varietals grown in the Rhone Valley in France. The name of this label is tribute to the huge amounts of rocks found in certain vineyards in the Rhone Valley as well as found in the nearby vineyards that Tor sources fruit from. These wines are mainly Syrah's and Grenaches. Visit: www.torwines.com |
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This incredible dedication and passion has paid off and today Trahan produces five different wines. The 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon was his first vintage and had an auspicious romantic beginning as this was released for the first time at his wedding! We had the privilege of barrel tasting through all this 2007 wines, starting with his Chardonnay. This is from Carneros grown fruit, all American oak barrel fermented, sur lie aging with no Malolactic Fermentation. The results are very true to the varietal with tons of flavor, slightly creamy, slightly toasty with a very clean finish and tons of fruit on the palate. These barrel samples were all young wines of course, not yet polished but the one that really stood out is the Merlot. It was already full of great fruit - big but not "in your face big" with a rounded mouth feel and a smooth finish. Trahan also makes a 100% varietal Petite Verdot. This wine started out aging to be used simply for blending. This varietal can scream tannins by itself but in this case the tannins are very well managed and the aromatics spectacular. Also look for their very drinkable Napa Cabernet Sauvignon and a Pinot Noir. As Chuck says, "our customers become part of our family" - this is very true for small boutique wineries in which the individual relationships with customers are extremely important and valued. Chuck now runs a tasting room in downtown Napa not far from the Napa Town Center. This is a partnership with Ted Osborne the owner of Olabisi Winery. For more information and to join the online mailing list visit: www.trahanwinery.com |
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The actual winery building is the only surviving example in Napa Valley of a 3-story wooden gravity flow winery. Even if you don't taste the wines (which would be a shame), its worth coming here just to walk the grounds and see this historic building - both inside and outside. They have tours, typically one in the morning and one in the afternoon but these are not always held. Certain tour guides focus more on specific aspects (history, winemaking etc) but are open to any interests and questions you have about the winery. Advance reservations are necessary for these tours. The inside of the winery is very elegantly decorated with several tasting counters available should it get busy. A wine library one site gives wine enthusiasts the opportunity to taste rare and older wines. There are many things that set this winery apart from other larger Napa Valley wineries, but one is they have never purchased grapes from anyone since their inception. All fruit comes from their own land and produces their excellent estate wines. They have an excellent very dry Riesling, and a Viognier. If you like Chardonnay try theirs - in the past they've been voted as having the "best chardonnay in the world" at the World Wine Olympics in Paris. They also have a good variety of reds including the high end HaLo named after combining the first parts of their two children's names. Two options for wine tasting are offered - their Estate and Reserve Tasting. They have two wine clubs - pick up a brochure in their main tasting room for more info and also their free winery newsletter called "Off the Vine". Trefethen has been site for the filming of the TV Show, Easy Entertaining. Visit: www.trefethen.com |
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Her 2005 Rutherford Perspective Cabernet Sauvignon is also delicious and is a good representation of the local terroir. Delicious fruit flavors are represented in this wine with a very smooth silky mouth feel. Weather permitting you will taste outside under the olive groves - there are great views of all the grape rows spread out before you. She also makes a "Fire-Roasted" Zinfandel Marinade which has an interesting story behind it. She had a bunch of wine (2000 cases - that's a significant amount for a small winemaker) stored in a warehouse which was destroyed in a fire a few years ago. Most people would have merely cut their losses and moved on - not Julie. Her "Porque No?" Marinade (which means Why Not, in Spanish) is a "have lemons, make lemonade story!" - as she used the wine that was destroyed in the fire as a key ingredient in her Marinade (it is quite tasty by the way!). We've seen stacks of these available as soon as you walk in the Oakville Grocery in Oakville. Julie also makes olive oil from the olive trees that grow on the property. The Porque No wine is a very unique blend, affordably priced and a good "party wine". Visit: www.tressabores.com |
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If you are looking for a good Cabernet Franc come here - this varietal is slowly becoming more popular as a stand alone wine in the Napa area. Their 2005 version is full bodied, smooth and has a delightful nose with aromas of berries and black cherry. It does not have the "vegetal" characteristics you sometimes find with a different style of Cabernet Franc. In addition it is interesting to note some background characteristics of this wine. The orientation of the vineyard rows and trellising expose some of the fruit to the morning sun while some receives lots of warm afternoon sunlight. As a result each section was fermented and aged separately until their final blend. It is 100% Cabernet Franc. Want to make your own Cabernet Franc blend? A neat feature of this winery in regards to this wine is they offer what is called a "Blending Box" in which they give you the "morning" and "afternoon" wines along with a pipette and graduated cylinder. Pretty cool eh?! Their 2004 Cabernet is a silky earthy wine with lots of fruit on the palate. It drinks well now but you can also age it for many years. Visit: www.trespassvineyard.com |
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Tricycle Wine Co is the perfect name for this winery as they own and operate three unique labels, Kazmer & Blaise, Molnar Family and Obsidian Ridge. Their initial label was Kazmer & Blaise and their first vintage was in 1998. Kazmer & Blaise is their limited production label (typically around 200 cases) of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Obsidian is by far their largest produced label and the grapes for this wine come from a vineyard in the Red Hills AVA of Lake County. The other vineyard they own is in the Carneros region of Napa and is planted to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. One very unique aspect of this winery is they own their own Hungarian cooperage. Out of the 350+ Napa wineries we've visited, this is the first one that can lay claim to that! This has its unique advantages as they can choose only the choicest of the barrels produced and this particular cooperage uses oak which are among the most tightest grained barrels on the market.
We tried several 2006 wines from barrel. We started with their 2006 Kazmer & Blaise barrel fermented Chardonnay which will be their first vintage. We were honored to have been the first person outside of the winery owners to have tried this! It undergoes full Malolactic Fermentation but the wine is not buttery or creamy as you sometimes expect from a wine that has gone through full ML. Rather is has crisp overtones, floral qualities and is full of excellent fruit flavors. Diacetyl is a natural by product of fermentation which can contribute a buttery and creamy flavor to the wine. When you add sulfite at the end of fermentation, this kills the bacteria that would normally continue feeding on the diacetyl. So, if you allow a window of time between |
