When we first started planning our trip, we knew that the California Wine Country was one place we wanted to spend some time. We do love our wine after all… and planning to be here for nearly a month would give us plenty of time to indulge in two of our favorite pastimes – eating and drinking!
Our first stop on the wine tour was Napa. Neither of us has been here for nearly 20 years – so we knew it would be very different… but I’m not sure either of us expected it to be SO different! Napa has certainly grown by leaps and bounds! It isn’t the quaint little wine town I experienced before – it is now a sprawling city with over 75,000 residents and every chain store imaginable. They even have their own outlet mall! There are now nearly 500 wineries in the valley now – and it is a little overwhelming trying to figure out where to go and what to taste! Fortunately I have a friend in the wine business here who made some recommendations for us as a place to start.
Besides the growth of the area, one of the biggest changes to wine tourism in this area is the emergence of appointment-only tastings, and very high tasting fees. Everyone we ask given us a different explanation for these developments – from city regulations, to competition, to just trying to stay in control of the numbers of tourists coming to the valley each year. Tasting fees can range from $15 all the way up to over $100 – most will waive the tasting fee if you buy a few bottles of the wine.
I get it – all those drunken bachelorette weekends add up, and if everyone just comes to the valley to get drunk on tastings and doesn’t buy any wine, the wineries will go broke. And I guess I get the whole “appointment-only” thing… they are trying to control the number of people, and give tasters more of a “wine experience” than just a pour and dash.
But I’m not a fan of either of these developments. I want to be able to just “drop in” and do a tasting when I feel like it. You can only taste so much wine each day, and it’s nice to have the flexibility to go or not to go if perhaps you over-indulged the day before. And the tasting fees… holy cow! You could go broke on them alone and not even be able to afford any actual bottles of wine!
So I have to admit that besides the recommendations from my friend, the rest of the tastings we did had to meet two criteria: Tasting fees of less than $25 per person (and allow sharing the tasting), and no appointment necessary. Priority to wines not available in stores. I know, I know… I’m sure we missed out on some terrific wines… but we are on a budget after all!
Here’s our list of visited wineries during our stay in Napa with some thoughts and impressions on each:
Alpha Omega – this was a recommendation and a splurge ($50 tasting fee). Outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon – very pricey, but one of the two best Cabs we had in the Valley. Tasting room was a little snooty, but the gentleman who did our tasting was very warm and friendly.
Andretti – Yes, THAT Andretti…. Mario Andretti started this winery about 25 years ago. Overall, one of my top two stops in the valley. One of the few to do Italian varietals – Dulcetto, Ribera, and a fantastic off-dry Muscat. Not a bad wine in the bunch, and bottle prices are very reasonable.
Frank Family – A small boutique winery off the main road in the Northern Valley. Started with a terrific sparking rose followed by a really good Chardonnay and several outstanding reds. A bit pricey per bottle, but I would definitely go back again!
Freemark Abbey – The other of my favorites in the Valley! Their tasting room is absolutely beautiful, and we had the place all to ourselves early on a Sunday morning. Their Viognier was the best we’ve had, and their Merlot was also fantastic – not very “merlot-like,” which is a good thing (to me)! Affordable too – score!
Laird – Maybe I was just done with wine for the day, but I didn’t care for their wines as much as some of the others. Whites and reds – most were somewhat acidic and tart, not my favorite.
Monticello – Probably the other of my bottom-two of wineries from this trip. Wines were good – but just not as good as others for the price.
Miner Family – Beautiful tasting room, one of the few Rosato’s I actually liked and a really smooth chardonnay.
Napa General Store – this was our first tasting when we got to town. We were looking for lunch and ended up staying for a wine tasting. They specialize in small-batch wineries who don’t have their own tasting rooms. Special treat – we got to sample wine made by the Napa Community College Oenology Students (which we bought a bottle of!).
O’Shaughnessy – This was another recommendation, and another splurge – but well worth it. WAY off the beaten path with wonderful cabernet. Martha, our host, was just wonderful and gave us a cave tour in addition to the tasting! Wonderful experience!
Pina – We stumbled across this winery when the one we were planning to go to was closed for an event. They were having a weekend event themselves – barrel tasting and paella… what’s not to love! Very nice reds and the cutest winery dog ever!
Raymond – Raymond makes a wide range of solid reds and whites, some of which are available in stores. The best part of this tasting was that they were having their annual “cellar sale” so we got some great buys on a few extra bottles!
We also found a hidden gem – the Oxbow Public Market – which features Fieldwork Brewery (Galaxy Juice IPA… best I have EVER had), outstanding Sushi, Wood-Grilled Pizza… and a spice shop… can you say HEAVEN!!
If it wasn’t so damn expensive, I could totally live here. So until my rich uncle gets out of the poorhouse (as my Mom used to say) I guess planning our next visit will have to do!
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