In April we posted an entry on Napa Valley wineries that we considered to be exemplary in “Green” practices. In addition to this list, there are many other wineries practicing organic farming to some degree. Here is the list that we have compiled as of this date. Please comment to add your winery to our listings. Read the rest of this entry »

In Yountville along Highway 29, Mustard’s Grill is one of Napa Valley’s best-known restaurants. It is a favorite among winemakers, locals and tourists. This year begins its 25th year of operation. Chef Cindy Pawlcyn opened Mustard’s in 1984 and now is involved with two additional restaurants, Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen and Go Fish, both in St. Helena. We have been to all three of these restaurants and enjoyed them all. Read the rest of this entry »

Judd’s Hill Winery is the first winery a traveler will come to driving north along the Silverado Trail from the city of Napa. Judd’s Hill is a small family-run winery that in our opinion offers some quality wines fairly priced when compared to most Napa Valley wines. Read the rest of this entry »

This is quite a departure from our usual topic of the Napa Valley and Carneros wine country, but we thought our readers would find this posting very fascinating and helpful.

As we walked the aisles of an elementary science fair where our granddaughter attends school, one project caught our eye. The title read, “Wine Spills.” Wow, we thought, the topic of wine has come to an elementary school science fair!

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We spent a very pleasant hour chatting and tasting wines with Julie Johnson, the owner and winemaker of Tres Sabores winery. Tres Sabores doesn’t get many visitors. It is well off the beaten path and the winery is open by appointment only. But that should not stop the tourists from making an effort to visit Tres Sabores because there is much to like here. This winery is not your typical Napa Valley tourist attraction. It is a rustic winery with no formal tasting room, just a homey welcoming atmosphere. It is just great fun to visit and get an inside view of a small boutique winery in the Napa Valley. Read the rest of this entry »

Our June 15th edition of the Wine Spectator arrived in our mailbox with a special wine country section focusing on five different California wine venues including the town of Yountville in the Napa Valley. We happened to have been there last week taking advantage of a $150 a night mid-week special at the Yountville Inn. After reading the Wine Spectator article we thought it would be a good idea to add our “two cents” to Wine Spectators take on Yountville. Read the rest of this entry »

Venge Vineyards will be changing its location soon. We found this out when we visited the winery earlier in the week. This is quite regrettable because the setting is so lovely and the wines so delicious. The winery is located at the base of Howell Mountain on Crystal Springs Road. Read the rest of this entry »

Last Saturday we attended the Burlingame Foundation Luncheon. Julia Flynn Siler, the author of the House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty, was one of three featured authors. We did not attend so much to hear Julia but to support the Burlingame Library Foundation, but having Julia speak was a huge bonus. Her presentation was limited to 20 minutes but she gave us a fascinating account of her trials and tribulations in writing the book about one of the most famous families in the world of wine. Read the rest of this entry »

Our last post on Dutch Henry Winery drew a comment from Dutch Henry owner and winemaker Scott Chafen. We mentioned in the post that we thought the Dutch Henry wines were priced on the high side. Scott responded by saying, “organically farmed, hand picked, barrel aged, and hillside grown all has its price.”

This leads to the subject of wine pricing in the Napa Valley or in any wine country. How is the price of wine set by a winery? Is there a set formula that takes into account the cost of wine production, how much profit to make, and other factors? Or, is the process totally subjective? Read the rest of this entry »

Dutch Henry Winery is a small family-owned winery at the northern end of the Silverado Trail. The Dutch Henry Winery is a family run affair. The owners are Less and Maggie Chafen of San Francisco, and their son Scott Chafen is the winemaker and vineyard manager. The family opened the winery in 1992. The winery has estate vineyards located at the winery as well as other areas in the Napa Valley. The winery is named for a somewhat shady character, Dutch Henry, who was a silver miner in the area during the mid 1800’s. Read the rest of this entry »