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.
RigArt concentrates on a Syrah with plans to produce a Cabernet Sauvignon. Their first vintage was only 70 cases and the per bottle price is very reasonable. The grapes for Dean’s 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
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