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You are here: Home / Blog

Learning About Wine in the Napa Valley

August 11, 2006 by Joe Becerra

What seems “hot�? right now is an interest in taking wine classes or participating in activities centered on wine education. We have noticed a recent increase in emails from visitors to our Wine Country Getaways Web site requesting information on how and where they can learn about wine. We thought it to be a worthy Blog topic and so here is the first of a few articles on learning about wine. These are based on our own experiences in the Napa Valley.

Our first recommendation is going wine tasting! The more wine you taste, the more opportunity to train your brain for recognition of wine types, wine characteristics, and the quality of the wine.

One of the easiest things to do when your wine taste is to work with the tasting notes provided by the tasting room. Most tasting rooms have them available, but sometimes you have to ask. Add your own comments to the tasting notes. Note the color, the aroma, and the taste. Be descriptive in your own words. Even if you cannot recognize any specific smells or tastes, try and describe what your senses are telling you. Finally, rate your impression of the wine, in other words, how well you like it.

It is always helpful to take a wine tour. The best kind is one that ends with a private tasting. Any time you can taste wines in individual wines glasses and have a chance to compare and contrast the differences in each wine, the more you will learn. When you visit the Napa Valley, try and schedule a tour and tasting of this type. Here are a couple of our recommendations in the Napa Valley.

Chateau Montelena has a tour for $25 per person which includes at walk in the vineyards and a private tasting. wine-classes

Peju Province Winery has a food and wine pairing sessions Monday to Friday, at 11:30 am and 1:30 pm for $40 a person. Call to reserve a spot.

Watch for our next post on this subject when we discuss Copia, the American Center for Food & Wine.

Filed Under: Activities, Wine Education

Napa Valley Artists

August 5, 2006 by Joe Becerra

Our good friend Dale Perkins is a successful watercolor painter. Dale’s focus in watercolors has been scenes from the beautiful city of San Francisco. Now he has added wine country watercolors to his portfolio. Dale got the bug for wine country once he visited our web site, Wine Country Getaways, and viewed the various photographs on the site. napa-valley-art.gif

He saw the beauty of the landscape and with his brush has produced some marvelous wine country art. We really think these are very special and would make a great gift for the wine lover. Dale is a terrific artist and better yet just a very nice guy.

We also just heard about a painting retreat offered in the Napa Valley by Alla Prima Studio, which was founded by artist Gretchen Kimball. The studio has begun providing landscape-painting retreats at various locations throughout Napa Valley. They have just finished their first retreat in July and there are more to come. Check out the offerings on Alla Prima Studio’s Web site.

With harvest time nearing, photographers have that once-a-year opportunity to photograph the Napa Valley at its greatest time, “The Crush.” Whether it is a close-up of ripe bulging grapes, or photographing the furious work of harvesting grapes, the amateur or professional has the chance to visually capture the making of a bottle of wine. Get those cameras ready.

Filed Under: Activities

Casa Nuestra Winery

July 31, 2006 by Joe Becerra

This is a funky little winery on the Silverado Trail not too far from the town of Calistoga. They only make 1500 cases of wine per year, and many of these wines are unusual varietals that you don’t normally see. The tasting room is a kick, mostly cluttered with memorabilia. Years ago Elvis Presley shot a scene for one of his movies in the Casa Nuestra vineyards so there is good collection of Elvis items in the tasting room.

We visited Casa Nuestra at mid-week and it was very quiet with just one other couple in the tasting room. After we tasted and enjoyed the wines, our host, a very polite young man, lead us to the barrel room about 100 yards from the tasting room. casa-nuestra-winery.jpg

Efrain gave us a couple of barrel samples and we enjoyed a conversation about the Casa Nuestra wines. Our favorite Casa Nuestra wine was the 2005 Rosato. It’s perfect for a picnic lunch.

The Good: Family owned, tasting fee applied to a purchase, very relaxed atmosphere, nice picnic area.
The Bad: Nothing really unless you are looking for the typical chic Napa Valley tasting room.

Filed Under: Hidden Napa Wineries, Tasting Rooms

Flora Springs Winery & Vineyards

July 18, 2006 by Joe Becerra

The Flora Springs tasting room is right next door to the gourmet, high-end Dean & Deluca food shop, just before entering the city of St. Helena. The Flora Springs winery facility is in a different location, on Zinfandel Lane. The tasting room is a rather recent addition and has increased the presence of this fine winery of the Napa Valley. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit here, quite the opposite of our visit to Provenance Vineyards earlier in the day.

Flora-Springs-winery

Our hostess was fun, knowledgeable, and made us feel at home. The wines range in price from very affordable to expensive. A deliciously fruity and dry Sangiovese Rosato can be purchased for $10. At the opposite high-end, the fine Hillside Reserve Cabernet is $100.

For a tasting fee of $5, you can taste five wines and there is also a premium wine tasting that is $12. We purchased a bottle each of the Sangiovese Rosato, a crispy Pinot Grigio ($12), and a fruity Sangiovese ($16).

The Good: Very friendly staff, a wide price range of wines from $10 to $100.
The Bad: Winery is located elsewhere, picnic area not very secluded.

Filed Under: Tasting Rooms

Rubicon Estates – Formerly Niebaum Coppola

July 16, 2006 by Joe Becerra

This renowned winery was most recently known as Niebaum Coppola. In early 2006 the name was changed to Rubicon Estates. Rubicon denotes the series of “reserve�? premium wines produced by owner Francis Ford Coppola. The name change also brings about a focus on a different clientele. It’s $25 a guest just to enter Rubicon and take a look around.

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Our first visit to this magnificent winery was in the early 1970s when it was then Inglenook Winery. We have been back many times since. It is a wondrous estate with beautiful vineyards and stunning architecture.

We heard about the changes and out of curiosity, we decided to venture into Rubicon. We drove down the long beautiful driveway and were greeted midway by a group of young men. They handed us a welcome card detailing the visit. For $25, a visitor can taste five wines, tour the Inglenook Chateau, browse the museum, plus have valet parking. We said “no thanks” and we were shown the well-marked turnaround route.

Although $25 is a lot to pay, a few other wineries do the same in Napa Valley, such as the tour and tasting at Schramsberg or Chateau Montelena. We would say it is definitely worth a visit, especially for the first timer. The grounds and historic buildings are spectacular and one can learn some history about wine and the Napa Valley.

Filed Under: Tasting Rooms

Provenance Vineyards

July 14, 2006 by Joe Becerra

Provenance Vineyards is located just past the town of Rutherford on the west side of the road on Highway 29. It’s hard to miss; it is the big red barn-style building. We visited this winery a couple of weeks ago on a Sunday around 11 am.

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Two people were working the tasting room and it seemed as though they didn’t quite have their act together. One was spending most of his time with one customer, a visitor from Germany. The second may have been newly hired, not sure of herself as she made the rounds. All in all, we felt our experience there was a little on the uncomfortable side so we did not stay long.

The tasting fee at Provenance is $10. The wines are extremely good but range in price from $19 for the Sauvignon Blanc to $50 for their top Merlots. Our favorite wine that we tasted was the Sauvignon Blanc. However, we think there are several other wineries that produce a Sauvignon Blanc that is as good or better for around $14 to $16 a bottle.

Filed Under: Tasting Rooms

Gordon’s Cafe & Wine Bar

July 6, 2006 by Joe Becerra

One of the local favorites for breakfast and lunch in Yountville is Gordon’s Café & Wine Bar. We arrived there around 9:15 with a party of 14. Luckily for us, the restaurant was not crowded and we were all seated together. Gordon’s is a relaxed place with a country style decor. You order at the counter, all menu items are listed on a chalkboard. There are lots of breakfast items to choose from including a delicious scrambled egg chorizo combo. The coffee is wonderful. By the time we had finished our breakfast, the place was jammed.

gordons-cafe

Lots of cyclists make it a rest stop and have a cup of coffee and pastry before heading out to complete their morning ride. One reason we like Gordon’s is that it is very old-town like. It is not upscale, just good food and a very cool place to be on a Napa Valley morning.
Gordon’s is located at the northern end of Yountville at 6770 Washington St.

Filed Under: Restaurants

Larson Family Winery

July 4, 2006 by Joe Becerra

We held our 2nd Annual Bocce Ball tournament on June 23, 2006, at the Larson Family Winery. The Larson Family Winery has a beautiful Bocce Ball court that overlooks their Chardonnay Vineyards.

This winery is not exactly in the Napa Valley but in the Los Carneros wine region that spans both Sonoma and Napa Counties. Many people consider Carneros to be just a portion of the Napa Valley. It is in actuality, an entirely separate wine region where Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and sparkling wine reign.

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The Larson Family Winery is a much different experience from what you are likely to find when visiting other wineries in the Carneros wine region. It is a more homey and relaxed experience. The staff is very friendly and a casual style permeates the tasting room. The winery was once the site of the largest rodeo in the Bay Area. A beautiful mural in the tasting room depicts this event.

The Larson Family produces some very nifty wines. This year they began making two jug wines, a one-liter cute jug of white wine and a red wine. The white wine is a Chardonnay and called Wingo White. The red is called Sonoma Red and is a blend of Cabernet, Merlot, and Pinot Noir. Both wines sell for $20. Another new wine, and our favorite of the Larson tasting was the Pinot Grigio. It is a very fruity and crisp wine and was utterly refreshing for our Bocce Ball lunch. This wine sells for $20 and this is generally more than you would pay for most Pinot Grigios. The Pinot Noir has a knockout aroma of raspberry and strawberry and delicious delicate flavors. The Pinot sells for $30.

The Good: No tasting fee except for the Cab; relaxed and pleasant environment, the Pinot Grigio, the Jug wines; Bocce Ball Court available, nice picnic area.

The Bad: We didn’t care for the 2005 Gewürztraminer, last year’s 2004 was much better but it is long gone.

Filed Under: Tasting Rooms

Bistro Don Giovanni

June 29, 2006 by Joe Becerra

This was the weekend of the NASCAR event at the Infineon Raceway. We were fortunate to find lodging for one night (a rarity in Napa) for seven couples at the Chablis Inn just off Redwood Road in Napa. The inn is nothing fancy but it is quite adequate. Room rates range from $149 to $169 for weekends. Five minutes away is the Bistro Don Giovanni, a favorite of locals and travelers to the Napa Valley. The earliest reservation time available was 8:15 and we were told we would need to sit at two tables, one for six, and one for eight.

We showed up about 45 minutes before to have a glass of bubbly at the bar. To our surprise, our table was ready, and it was one table comfortably seating all fourteen of us. They sat us in their semi-enclosed outdoor patio. This was very refreshing on this hot evening.

The entrées are moderately priced. Prices range from a pizza at around $12 to a scrumptious rib eye grilled steak for $28. Corkage fee at the Bistro is $15 and that is just about right. We think anything over $15 is price gouging. The Bistro has a corkage policy if you buy one of their wines, they waive the corkage on one bottle of wine. We wish more restaurants would have this option. Our group brought in four terrific wines: a magnum of Seltzner 1983 Cab, a Caymus 1987 Cab, a Hanna 1999 Cab, and delicious white Pinot Grigio from Chalk Hill Winery.

The restaurant was extremely accommodating and the service was excellent. The noise level is somewhat loud but not enough to be a nuisance. With appetizers, entrées, desserts, and coffee, our check came to $125 per couple. We rate the Bistro a 4.5 out of 5 on our Five-Point Rating system.

The Good: Delicious food at fair prices. The corkage fee of $15 waived when you purchase a bottle of wine, excellent service, great wine menu.
The Bad: A little noisy.

Filed Under: Restaurants

Bocce Ball at a Winery

June 28, 2006 by Joe Becerra

We spent an entire day playing Bocce Ball at the Larson Family Winery in Los Carneros. Bocce Ball among the vineyards with a group of friends is a fabulous way to enjoy the wine country. There are several wineries in the Napa Valley with Bocce Ball courts. Whenever we visit a winery and see a Bocce Ball court we try our hand a game. It is a fun sport and low-key on the mind and body. Check out our list of wineries with Bocce Ball courts.

bocce-ball.jpg

This is our 2nd annual Bocce Ball tournament. We have set up a double elimination tournament with 12 of our wine-loving friends. We meet at the Larson Family Winery just off Highway 121 in the famous wine and sparkling wine region of Los Carneros.

The winners of this tournament, as occurred last year, were first-time players. Don and Nell capture the tournament with relative ease like they had been playing the sport for years. We modified the rules a bit so we could get through the 11 games scheduled within a three hour period. We took time off to wine taste at the Larson Family tasting room and to enjoy our picnic lunch among the vineyards. We decided beforehand that each couple contribute $20 for prizes. We award Larson wine certificates to our top three finishers.

We will cap off our day with a group dinner at the Bistro Don Giovanni later in the evening. Bocce Ball information.

Filed Under: Activities, Tasting Rooms

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