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(12/29/11) Thanks to Cellar Angels
A great organization that I initially met online is Cellar Angels out of Chicago. Founder Martin Cody has combined wine sales with charity focusing primarily on Napa wineries. Cellar Angels runs promotions that last a few days giving their wine club members a chance to purchase wines from small premium producers at reasonable prices. It is free to join the Cellar Angels wine club. Part of the sales are donated to charities that Cellar Angels works with (the customer decides which charity proceeds from their purchase will be donated to). A number of this wineries featured are very small producers which gives a national audience a chance to try their wine. Often these wines are so selectively distributed they are very hard to find.

Premium promotional videos are an integral of their marketing campaign for wineries. We have just started working with Cellar Angels; a few weeks ago Martin and his film crew met with me up at Montagna Vineyards (one of the top 20 properties in all of Napa Valley and producing damn good wines too under the direction of winemaker Nils Zacherle) to film a promotional video for The Napa Wine Project. Look for this video coming soon!

Photos at Montagna Vineyards
 


(12/29/11) Ideas for Copia
If you have ideas for what the now vacant Copia Center in Napa's Oxbow district can be used for - you can email them to: oxbowrenewal@rogal-associates.com


(12/16/11) Thirst Release Party, Benefiting JT Snow's Snowman Charity, San Francisco
A recent night at the St. Francis Yacht Club was host to a very important charity event - the release party for ToolBoxWineCo.com's Thirst, a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (production 1000) cases of which $3 from every bottle purchased is donated to former San Francisco Giants baseball player JT Snow's Snowman Charity. The charity is being used to raise money to combat a rare disease - Wolfram Syndrome. JT's niece is afflicted with this syndrome. JT was here along with the founders of ToolboxWineCo, Katie Hamilton Shaffer, Thrace Bromberger and Nancy Otton. Donations to the charity from this evening and prior sales and donations was $42,165!

View our photos and video of the event below:



 

 




(12/15/11) Exploring Napa...as in the City of Napa!
For many years the city of Napa was just a place you passed as you entered the Napa Valley - the city center is not on the main highway (Highway 29) and it was lacking in restaurants, hotels and tasting rooms. When you told people you were visiting the Napa Valley, the city of Napa was not mentioned as your final destination, rather you would have been referring to the wineries up valley; it was those wineries that long attracted the majority of the visitors to the valley. They still do, however there is now an additional reason to visit the Napa Valley and that is the city itself.

Since 1862 Napa's downtown has flooded 22 times and local businesses were rightfully tired of having to deal with the repercussions of the flood waters during years of heavy rainfall. The latest was in 2005 when much of downtown Napa was under water. Napa decided to finally do something about this - and in 1998 residents narrowly voted to improve and focus their attention, and feature the Napa River more prominently in their downtown.

A levy created a 900 acre wetland/overflow region south of the city, twelve new bridges were constructed, undesirable buildings were razed along the river front and parts of a "new" downtown began to emerge. Work was completed on the actual Napa River and the Napa Creek to help prevent and control devastating flood waters.

Today Napa has attracted both fine restaurants and top hotels. While the "river and re-development" plans continue to progress (slated to complete in mid 2012) - in a relatively short amount of time, downtown Napa has been reborn as a culinary and wine tasting mecca. Since 1996 nearly 1 billion dollars has been invested in downtown Napa from both private and public sectors. Read Full Article Here

 


(7/30/11) Napa Valley Mexican-American Vintners Association Tasting
The first ever tasting of the Napa Valley Mexican-American Vintners Association was held Saturday July 30, 2011 at Maldonado Vineyards in the far northern reaches of the Napa Valley. This association is fairly new (2010). It was formed after a number of vintners poured their wines in Mexico at the Michoacan State Fair and collaboratively recognized the need to have an organization that would promote their own wines, support Mexican Americans in the wine industry and be educational. Visit: www.nvmava.org

The formation of NVMAVA was spearheaded by Rolando Herrera of Mi Sueno Winery and he is the current President.

This was a rare opportunity to taste wine from the following mostly Napa producers at one venue - Alex Sotelo Cellars, Ceja Vineyards, Delgadillo Cellars, Encanto Vineyards, Maldonado Family Vineyards, Maritas Vineyards, Mi Sueño Winery, Renteria Wines, Robledo Family Vineyards, Rios Wine Company and Voces Wines.

A highlight of the afternoon was the unveiling of their new logo - afterwards all the vintner members personally signed it.


Cristina Londono from Telemundo International gave a passionate speech - listen to part of the speech below:

View Video of select vintner introductions:


Event Photos:




                        









 
(7/15/11) Hunnicutt Winery Grand Opening Party, St. Helena
Living near the Napa Valley certainly has its advantages including world class wineries, scenic vistas and great parties. We are invited to a number of wine related events and parties in the valley and it gets to the point where one has to be fairly selective on which ones to attend. When we heard Hunnicutt Winery was holding a party to celebrate the completion of their wine cave and show off their beautiful property - it was not a hard choice to decide to attend this event.

Hunnicutt Wines along with D.R. Stephens Estate wine recently opened their winery in the north part of the valley about half way between Calistoga and St. Helena. This is certainly not your typical "wine strip" experience. The traffic is less here and when you pull up the hill to this appointment only winery - well off the Silverado Trail and step out of your vehicle you are immediately struck by how quiet it is.

Owner Justin Stephens was a man on a mission for the past few years - he acquired this property in 2008 and went to work managing the development of their cave for the winery operations. Today the cave is fully operational.

We were treated to excellent food by Napa based caterer Nick Heinrich of Crooked Porch Bar B Que. This guy can really cook - from his summertime cucumber salad recipe, to a mouth watering whole roasted pig, a stone ground grits and southern style Okra and corn.

Hunnicutt's current releases complemented the food and a rare 2001 vintage large bottle format, Salmanazar, was opened featuring their first ever vintage of Cabernet Sauvignon. Hunnicutt's red wines age very well - the wine from this vintage held its fruit and structure beautifully - there is a reason you age wine and this vintage is a good example of how it takes time for the wine to integrate and develop additional complexities.

 





Another successful Sense Yountville was held on a beautifully sunny warm Saturday May 7th under the "big white tent" at V Marketplace 1870 in downtown Yountville. This, only the third annual "Sense Yountville" has already become the appellation's premiere wine & food event.

Thirty wineries were represented offering their pre-release wines and large format bottles, and culinary pairings were provided by local restaurants. Highlights included (Blankiet Estate making their first appearance at this tasting), Dominus, Gemstone, Tom Scott, Tor Kenward, among others. This is a rare opportunity to meet either the winemaker or principals of the wineries. Many of the wineries pouring do not have tasting rooms and or are open to the public. Arguably Yountville is the culinary hub of Napa Valley and principals, winemakers and chefs are on hand. Some of the top restaurants represented included Bouchon, Redd, Mustard's, Michael Chiarello's Bottega and more. While its a rare treat to enjoy wine from Yountville's finest wineries -  the culinary delights are equally to be treasured.

The event was limited to only 350 guests. The date always coincides with the Kentucky Derby so after the Tastings and Future Sales from 11-3pm there was of course a "Derby Party" - with a surprise upset this year. We look forward to 2012! www.senseyountville.com

Photos from 2011 Sense Yountville Tastings

 

 


Photos from previous Sense Yountville Tastings

Overview of tasting area under the big tent

  
Scott Lewis of V Wine Cellars and Christian Moueix of Chateau Petrus & Dominus


Dave Cruz of Ad Hoc Restaurant


(2/23/11) First Taste Yountville, Yountville CA

The First Taste of Yountville was held during the Premier Napa Valley week to capitalize on a number of trade who are in town. This annual event is held by the Napa Valley Vintners' and is their Annual Mid-Winter Barrel Auction for the Trade - www.napavintners.com/trade/tm_1_premiere.aspx This premiere tasting featured some of Yountville's finest vineyards and wines. It was held in the old barrel room of what used to be Groezinger's Winery which is now V Marketplace, a collection of fine boutique shops and restaurants including Michael Chiarello's much in demand Bottega Restaurant. At tastings like these unlike many, I try to seek out wines I have not yet tried, or Napa labels I am not familiar with (for obvious reasons, there are not many of these!).

A couple of newcomers whose wines I knew of but tried for the first time were Joseph George (focusing only on one varietal, a Sauvignon Blanc), Dillon, again focusing only on one varietal, a Chardonnay (two wines, one beautiful rich, spicy Chardonnay barrel fermented and one fermented in stainless), Groppalo - an Italian producer with an Italian winemaker (Massimo Monticello) producing a Bordeaux blend and a well structured Merlot, and Clos Valmi with an extremely limited production of Pinot Noir and a Cabernet Sauvignon. Formal reviews will be coming of these wines after I contact the owners directly to setup tastings.

Then there are those producers who I don't even have to try to know they have top wines. Several of those at this tasting included Tor Kenward, Lail & Kapcsandy. Oh and Dominus is in this list. However it was a while since I had visited their winery and tried the wines so I tasted all vintages they were pouring. Their 2006 for me was clearly the highlight out of all the wines at this tasting that I tried. The nose is elegant and inviting. The wine is balanced, with great flavor and structure.

The richest wine of the wines I tasted was the 2006 Gemstone Cabernet Sauvignon, 10th anniversary vintage. This wine is powerful from the nose to the mouth filling flavors that last for some time through the big full bodied tannins.

Carmen Policy and his wife were pouring Casa Piena. There was a bit of a crowd around their table so did not have a chance to try their wines. However I reviewed the wine last year - and really enjoyed their inaugural 2006 vintage.

Rocca was also pouring their wines (nice of them to invite us to this tasting). They used to have a tasting room in downtown Napa but are currently remodeling a nice Victorian south of Napa - turning it into a destination for tasting their own wines, kitchen tasting room, etc. One of the characteristic hallmark's of Rocca's wines are their softness and rounded mouth feel. As a result they appeal to a wide variety of palates. Paul Colantuoni has been their winemaker since 2008.

At times I thought I was at the Taste of Oakville but then I came across producers with white wines and Pinot Noir and Merlot and I was quickly reminded of the diversity of the Yountville Appellation.

For more information about wines produced from the Yountville Appellation please visit: www.yountvillewines.com


(4/26/10) Taste of Oakville, Oakville CA
There are few Napa tastings that can top the Taste of Oakville for premium wines. This annual invitation only event is usually held at the end of April and showcases some of the appellation's finest wines. If there was a ground zero for Cabernet Sauvignon in the Napa Valley, Oakville fits that bill. The owners and winemakers are often present at this tasting. In 2010 The Taste of Oakville was held in the To Kalon Cellar of Robert Mondavi Winery.

While Oakville as an appellation is geographically fairly small the diversity in terroir is great - even within a span of just a few miles. Take for instance eastern Oakville. The vineyards are located on hillsides and this region boasts rocky, red volcanic shallow soils with long sunlight exposure. It can certainly get warm here on a summer's afternoon. Compare this to just across the valley on the western side (Mayacamas Mountains) where the sun exposure is less due to the eastern facing hillsides and the land is much more wooded and covered with vegetation. In the middle lies the valley floor.

As a result there are a wide variety of flavor profiles and types of wines coming out of Oakville and it is a unique experience to taste this diversity under one roof. The power players of this appellation's best producers always pour their wines and there are usually several new producers on hand.

Two wineries with lines in front of their tasting tables were Screaming Eagle and Harlan Estate. No surprise there! Based on their popularity its best to taste these wines early in the tasting as they typically will stop pouring at some point. Both wines deliver of course but for different reasons. Harlan's 2006 is an extremely layered "masculine" wine that is built to age. Upon tasting the latest release of Screaming Eagle, the word "balanced" seemed to be the best descriptor that immediately came to mind.

Another extremely balanced wine that we tried for the first time was Dalla Valle's 2007 Collina (a new wine for this producer). This wine is ready to drink now - showing soft fruit, elegance and balance.

The 2006 Tierra Roja is every bit as good as the 2004 vintage, both stellar vintages from this small vineyard. Linda's 2007 vintage will be released in September of this year. Winemaking starts in the vineyards and Linda is as detailed a vineyard manager as you will find in the valley. Her focus is on a single Cabernet Sauvignon each year from her hillside vineyard in the eastern hills just above the valley floor.

Oakville is not the appellation for white wines but a few were being tasted including Mondavi's reserve Fume Blanc. Good acidity and notes of green melon, green apple and pear on the palate. A fairly new producer to the Oakville scene is Kristine Ashe Vineyards, the only winery to be pouring 2 whites, a Sauvignon blanc and a Rose of Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2009 Rose is light in color but shows a rounded somewhat rich mouth feel for this type of wine.

Their 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon is slightly herbal but not herbaceous on the nose and the palate is crafted in a lighter elegant style. Keep an eye on this producer. All their wines are estate grown.

The 2007 Materium from Maybach Cellars is also nice by itself – it is a very rich luscious wine.

For more information about Oakville and its member wineries, please visit: www.oakvillewinegrowers.com


(2/3/10) Wine Entre Femme Tasting, San Francisco CA
The Wine Entre Femme ("an international think tank of women in wine") was formed in January 2008 by Sharon Harris of Napa's Amici Cellars in order to provide a network of women in wine creating networks to help each other. Initially it was formed between Napa and Bordeaux vintners but has since grown to include women from wineries in France, Japan, South Africa, Switzerland and Turkey.

Each year women from both Napa and International wineries make the trip to either the Napa Valley or Bordeaux for a week of touring, sessions, networking and tastings. This year the Wine Entre Femme culminated in their first ever tasting - held at the Metropolitan Club in San Francisco. The International "feel", of course great wines from both Napa and abroad and the differences tasted between growing regions were definitely an integral part of this tasting.

There were certainly a couple of standouts from the Napa vintners. Dalla Valle's Estate 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon is a remarkable vintage. It is soft in entry but with structure throughout. Elegant spices and notes of smoke show after the mid palate with a long lingering finish. For a young wine its components are already extremely well balanced.

Other wines that stood out are Pam Star's 2007 Cabernet Franc (tasting 1 day before its release), Philippe Melka's 2006 Métisse from the Jumping Goat Vineyard in St. Helena - so soft and smooth with power (note their new packaging - a horizontal image of Philippe's eyes watching you appears on the label.

We've always enjoyed William Cole's elegant wines. They strive to be consistent with their tiny vineyard showcasing the difference nature throws at them each year. Their wines also age well - we had a rare glimpse of their older 2001 vintage.
Other notables include Arns Winery, Phifer Pavitt, Tierra Roja and Spottswood.

A nice selection of Sauterns from France were also available including our favorites (pouring the elegant 2001 and 2004 vintages) from Chateau Sigalas Rabaud, a Premier Cru Classe (dating from 1855) with a small annual production.

For more information about The Wine Entre Femme visit: www.wineentrefemme.com

 
© 2006-2012  |  Note: A # of the wineries reviewed are private & absolutely do not see visitors. | a few of the pioneers behind this great valley & its wine industry