X Winery is the only Napa Valley winery with a tasting room to start with an X in their name. They opened their new conveniently located corner tasting room in the city of Napa in mid July, 2007 and we were their first "official" client to arrive for a tasting. What a unique honor! This winery originated from an MBA Business plan at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo (which also happens to be our alma mater) - another company had its origins in the same way from Cal Poly - think Jamba Juice. X Winery was just the placeholder name in the business plan for a to be named winery later. However with a name like this, it is easily remembered and the name stuck. The goal of X Winery is to produce quality wine using new technologies which lower production costs which in turn lowers the cost of the actual wine. They have been very successful with this strategy - the owner and most of the employees are in their 20's and 30's (a young anomaly in the Napa wine scene where most new winery owners are much older or have come from previously acquired wealth). As of press time their wine is distributed in 28 states and they are producing about 20,000 cases. You can enjoy your tastings at the wine bar as well as on stools next to the main window. X has a wide variety of wines separated into 3 flights priced from $5 to $15. Their Syrahtica (priced under $15) has already been a big hit; it is a blend of cool & warm weather Syrah. This wine really catches your eye because of its label. Its a series of red/yellow flames running up the side of the bottle - but if you turn the bottle upside down (don't forget to put the cork back in) it becomes an erotic expression of a female body. Ingenious. Have you been looking for a Napa Cabernet but cannot seem to find one under $45? Well try their smooth Napa Cab which prices out under $25. Its not just the price - this is a very good Napa Cabernet. Their Red X is also worth a try - its priced very reasonably and is by far their most produced wine; it is a 5-varietal blend. Amicus is their high end label which contains only Napa Valley Bordeaux based varietals. Each Amicus label is produced in quantities of several hundred cases or less and a portion of the sales of this wine are donated to local charities. Be sure to also try the wine creatively named "special blend"! There's a real good vibe among those who work here - you certainly will not have a "stuffy" tasting experience! Also check out their "wine quote of the day" on the eraser board and ask about their double hooped portable basketball set. Removable "X Winery" tattoos also available! Visit: www.xwinery.com

Quick Info Open to Public: No Appointments: Yes Regular Tours: No Hours: M-F Phone: 204-9522 Address: 1405 2nd Street, Napa Winery Photos Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

Xtant Wines is run by two partners, Jeffrey O'Neill and Laurence Vosti both of whom have strong ties to the wine industry. Jeff is a past president of The Wine Institute (www.wineinstitute.org) and Laurence went to school in the Bordeaux region of France, has owned a retail wine business and has been a collector of California & French wines for many years. Their wine is made at Laird Estate just south of Yountville, and we had the privilege of meeting with their winemaker, Jeff Gaffner. Jeff consults for a variety of wineries, has his own label (Saxon Brown) and specializes in delicious big elegant red wines. He has a long history of wine making in the Napa / Sonoma area and is turning out some beautiful probably under-rated red wines. Xtant sources their fruit from select vineyards that they have hand picked based on the quality of fruit available from the various sites. We tried their 2004 Xtant Cabernet Sauvignon. It had just undergone its final blend and was getting ready for bottling. Xtant ages their wines for an extra year compared to most Napa wineries. They use very tight grained oak barrels from coopers selected from certain geographical regions in France. As a result despite the extra aging, their wines are not "oaky" in flavor rather the flavors imparted from the wood are slightly spicy and sweet at the same time. Their 2004 vintage is a rich complex multi-faceted wine. The Cabernet Sauvignon is blended with Malbec and Merlot. The Malbec brings a violet and lavender complexity to the palate; you can also pick up on notes of cherries and red currants. The finish on this wine never stops! They also produce a wine which from the French to English translation, translates to "Little Bastard". Heh, not many wines are named something like this! This particular wine is Cabernet Sauvignon based and is available at a killer price point - we've had wines of this quality and structure easily 2x the value of what this wine is priced at. Visit: www.xtantwines.com

Quick Info Open to Public: Private Appointments: No Regular Tours: No Hours: N/A Phone: 224-7844 Address: P.O. Box 2430, Napa Winery Website | View Comments (0) | | Add Comment |

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