Comparing Wine Tasting in the Rhone Valley to the Napa Valley

We have just spent a wonderful week in the Southern Rhone Valley, roaming the vineyards of this beautiful land and visiting several wineries. I could not help but compare our experiences in the Rhone Valley to that of our broad travels in the Napa Valley. As I visited the Rhone Valley wineries, I was wishing … Read more

Napa Valley Late August

We are spending the last week of August in the beautiful Napa Valley. The vines are looking spectacular throughout the Valley from Napa all the way to Calistoga. We are renting a house with family in the Oak Knoll AVA. Five acres of Cabernet Sauvignon surround the house. The owner sells these grapes to a … Read more

Whitehall Lane Winery in St. Helena – The Sauvignon Blanc is outstanding

Amid the rain and wind this past Wednesday, we managed to squeeze in a tour and tasting at the Whitehall Lane Winery in St. Helena. Tom Leonardini and Family have owned the Whitehall Lane winery since 1993. Whitehall Lane is one of the Napa Valley’s earliest wineries with a start date of 1979. The winery is one our favorites, and we’d selected the winery for our Boutique Wine Trail back in 2003.

This was our first visit since the winery did a remodel and an addition a couple of years ago. Although the building structure has changed, the personnel remains very much the same, anchored by winemaker Dean Sylvester now in his eighteenth year at Whitehall. Our tour leader was Mike McLoughlin, the General Manger who joined the winery shortly after the Leonardini Family purchased the winery. Consistency is good in this case; the Whitehall Lane wines have been highly regarded throughout its history, highlighted many times by the Wine Spectator for its reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.

Dean Sylvester the winemaker at Whitehall Lane
Dean Sylvester is his lab checks the Sauvignon Blanc blend

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Pope Valley Winery – Above the Napa Valley

The winery was established in 1896 and much of the winery looks the same as it did the first day it opened. It was originally named the Burgundy Winery founded by Ed Haus. The winery was built into a hillside and you can still see the rock and stones that form the walls of the bottom two floors of the winery.

Napa Valley bashing at the Wine Bloggers Conference

The Napa Valley is recognized as one of the top wine regions in the world. When you are top dog, expect to take some shots from your rivals. Napa Valley wineries had their share of good-natured bashing from Oregon wineries at the 5th Annual Wine Bloggers Conference held in Portland, Oregon, this past weekend.

Oregon wineries needle Napa Valley
Willamette Valley winemaker

What we heard along the way

“In Willamette Valley the weather cools rapidly from afternoon winds from the Van Duzer Corridor. Night time temperatures drop dramatically. In the Napa Valley it is hot all the time.”

“The Napa Valley Pinot Noirs from Carneros are too big.”

“Here in the Willamette Valley the winemakers and owners share their knowledge and help one another. In the Napa Valley, it is all corporate.”

“One thing that differentiates the Willamette Valley from the Napa Valley is that each year the growing season in the Willamette is very different. The climate varies significantly year to year. Napa does not have that fluctuation so their wines are always the same.”

“Here in the Willamette Valley you are likely to find a winemaker or family member working the tasting room. That is something you won’t find in the Napa Valley.”

What Oregon wineries should be saying to Napa Valley

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Escaping the Napa Valley Crowds

Another frequently received email to WineCountryGetaways.com asks: “How can I avoid the crowds when we visit the Napa Valley?” We have an easy answer for that one: go during the week, during the months of December to February. Of course that is not the answer travelers are looking for, so with this article we give it our best shot suggesting a few ways for avoiding crowds on the weekends or on the weekdays during high season.

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Which are the best Napa Valley Wineries to Visit

We frequently get emails from visitors to our Website, WineCountryGetaways, asking for advice. The most common email goes something like this: “We will be in San Francisco in September and want to spend two days in the Napa Valley. Can you please tell us which are the best wineries to visit in the Napa Valley?”

Instead of replying to their email with a list of wineries, we suggest they consider these planning guidelines.

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