Hidden Napa Wineries Archives - Wine Country Getaways

Bragg Vineyards – Back to the Basics in Calistoga

May 6, 2017 by Joe Becerra

Vintner Bob Bragg – relaxed in his Calistoga home

Bragg Vineyards in Calistoga – family owned, small and hidden

There are said to be more than 400 “Brick and Mortar” wineries in the Napa Valley. For such a small wine region, the distance from one end of the Valley to the other is 27 miles, that is an enormous density of wineries. Many tourists drive along Highway 29 and choose a winery to visit by whatever catches their eye. In most cases, one can expect the same in each of these tasting rooms: crowds, merchandise for sale, and a well-rehearsed spiel about the wines. Chances are the experience will be fun and enjoyable but nothing like the old days of the Napa Valley. This is where Bragg Vineyards comes into play. Bob and Anna Marie Bragg are the owners of Bragg Vineyards in Calistoga. Bob does it all as far as producing the wines. He tends to his 4.5 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon and makes the wine. Anna Marie helps with tastings and PR activities. Wine production is a mere 150 cases of wine, a far cry from the average Napa Valley Winery. If you visit, you’ll be treated to Anna Marie’s original art work and her flair for decorating.

The Bragg Vineyards Story

Bob Bragg was a successful trial attorney in San Francisco. He found visiting the Napa Valley was the best way to reduce the stresses of the courtroom. He and his law partner began looking for a Napa Valley retreat home and purchased this Calistoga property in 1995. Fifteen acres were planted with vines. Later Bob and his partner divided the property, with Bob holding 4.5 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon. These grapes were sold to the nearby Chateau Montelena winery. After retiring from his law practice, Bob began to learn both viticultural and enology. In addition to taking classes at a Napa J.C., Bob had plenty of friendly instruction from the many contacts he made at Chateau Montelena and other Calistoga wineries. In 2008 Bob went full tilt into winery business, launching his first vintage.

Bragg Vineyards produces two 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines each year, one from Padre’s Vineyard and the other from Mario’s Vineyard. The wines are aged one year longer than most premium Napa Valley Cabernets. Bob’s 2014 Cab is still in the barrel. He will bottle it in a few weeks. Age time in the bottle will be eight months to a year before the wine is released and sold. The result is a softer Cab, with a balance of tannins and acidity. These are very nice, food-friendly Cabernets. The Bragg Vineyards Cabs sell between $70 and $85. Similarly produced Cabs in the area sell for more than $100. If you are a cult Cab collector, put a visit to Bragg Vineyards on your list.

Just about all farming and wine making is done solely by Bob. He does bring in a few helpers to prune, thin and help with the harvest. The only thing that is not done at the Bragg Vineyards winery is the bottling. For that aspect, Bob transports his barrels over to winery with a bottling line, and that makes for a smooth and easy bottling process for the Bragg Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon. Many wineries use the term “Hand Crafted,” but in the case of Bragg Vineyards, that term is an exact description.

Visit

Plan well in advance to book an appointment at Bragg Vineyards. Bob and Anna Marie have a home in San Francisco but spend most of the Spring to Fall months at the Calistoga home. There are also many excellent wineries in Calistoga worth visiting. We have outlined those in our Calistoga Wine Trail.

Kelly Fleming Wines

September 23, 2015 by Joe Becerra

Kelly Fleming with Winery Manager Bryan Timonere

Kelly Fleming Wines – a hidden winery in Calistoga

Looking for something a little different in wineries? Kelly Fleming just might be a good choice. It is small, boutique, and very much off the beaten path in the Napa Valley. It is located way up north on Pickett Road near Calistoga. Kelly Fleming is the owner, establishing the winery 1998. The winery is situated in a rugged hillside setting in Simmons Canyon. There are 300 acres on the property but only 12 are planted with vineyards, and those are mostly Cabernet Sauvignon grapes along with rows of the other Bordeaux varietals. Kelly lives on the property and her plan is to limit the vines to the 12 acres and keep the land in its natural state.

Cool caves at Kelly Fleming Wines

We were invited to Kelly Fleming Wines as part of a media tour and luncheon. We started the visit off with a taste of delicious Sauvignon Blanc. This Sauvignon Blanc is made from grapes sourced from the Oak Knoll AVA at the very southern end of the Napa Valley. It is a lively and fresh wine with great subtle flavors. After the staff introduction, we took a tour of the wine caves. These are very “cool” for two reasons. Except for the first hundred feet, the cave walls are exposed rock. Most wineries line the caves with gunite. Secondly, because the air is very dry, water vapor is pumped into the caves. It gives the caves a very mystical look, almost as though the gods are overseeing the aging of the wine in barrels.

Kelly Fleming produces a Rosé wine. This is not just an ordinary Rosé; it is made with Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. It is rare to find a Rosé made with the king of California grapes. It is delicious, very dry, and paired well with an assortment of charcuterie. Fewer than 200 cases are made of this lovely Rosé.

The mainstay of Kelly Fleming Wines are two red wines, the Big Pour and the Cabernet Sauvignon. The Big Pour is a Bordeaux blend and the Cabernet Sauvignon is 100% Cab. The winemaker at Kelly Fleming is Becky George. She spent time in Burgundy where the fruit of the grape shines in the bottle. She has maintained that same restrained philosophy to produce these two wines. They are structured wines, but elegant and food friendly. These wines paired well with two big pasta dishes we were served for lunch. What a treat! The Big Pour is $75 and the Cabernet Sauvignon is $110.

The winery is open to visitors by appointment only. It has a small staff, and they are busy daily tending to the tasks of the winery. Call well in advance so you can get the true attention of the staff. An individual tour and tasting is $60. I have added Kelly Fleming Wines to my recommended wineries to visit on the Napa Valley Hidden Wine Trail. If you fancy boutique wines and something different in the Napa Valley, add Kelly Fleming Wines to your wine country itinenery.

Additional Calistoga particulars

Young Inglewood Vineyards – Napa Valley Boutique Winery

August 28, 2015 by Joe Becerra

Young Inglewood off the beaten path in St. Helena

Owner Jim Young talks about harvesting Cabernet Sauvignon very soon

For those who enjoy visiting Napa Valley boutique and hidden gems, is one to add to your list of must explore wineries. The winery produces only 600 cases of wine and the location is hidden near the end of Inglewood Avenue. Inglewood Avenue branches off Highway 29 in St. Helena. Young Inglewood Vineyards is run by Jim and Jacky Young. Jacky and son Scott are the co-winemakers. The name of the winery comes from Jim and Jacky’s affection for Burgundy and Bordeaux. In most cases the wineries in France have the family name and the village name connected with the name of the winery, thus Young Inglewood. Young Inglewood is a certified Napa Green winery. I was surprised to learn from Jim Young that among the hundreds of wineries in the Napa Valley only 40 are certified green. It’s a vigorous test to meet these standards and perhaps that is why so few wineries in the Napa Valley can meet the requirements. Young Inglewood has 17.6 acres planted to the Bordeaux grapes with most of that Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Their Chardonnay is sourced from vineyards in the Oak Knoll AVA of the Napa Valley. Also in the vineyard mix is a small plot of Aligoté vineyards. What, you never heard of the Aligoté grape? It is likely that this is the only plot of Aligoté grown in the Napa Valley and perhaps all of California. The Aligoté grape is Burgundy’s second white wine grape. It is tasty crisp white wine and less expensive than the Chardonnay wines produced in Burgundy. The vines at Young Inglewood are only two years old so we will have to wait for what will certainly be a very small production wine.

2 year old Aligote vines

The 17.6 acres of vineyards planted at Young Inglewood sit on the middle of an alluvial fan of a gravely loam soil. This according to Jim Young is some of the best soil in the entire Napa Valley. The roots grow deeply in search of water. Jim states that they irrigate established vines only four times per year. In the red varieties the ideal is to strive for an earlier harvest than most. Harvesting earlier than normal means more acidity and less sugar in the grapes. This results in a balanced wine that is very food friendly wine as in the style of Bordeaux. The red wines spend anywhere from 18 to 20 months in French oak barrels, 50% which are new.

The sit down tasting room

Visiting Young Inglewood Vineyards

Visitors to Young Inglewood are all done by appointment. The tasting and touring fee is $40 per person and last from one to one and half hours. We tasted four wines ranging in price from $27 for a delicious Rosé to $90 for an amazing and stunning 2011 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. We were impressed by the quality of the wines and more so by the passion and care that go into making the wines. A very cool wine label sums it all up. The tightrope walker on the label signifies balance. It is a constant reminder to all those at the winery that everything done at the winery must lead to a balance. I think it is great philosophy for all of us.

A snipet from Vintner Jim Young on his winery

Additional Napa Valley travel tips

Napa Valley Cave Tour

June 16, 2014 by Joe Becerra

Napa Valley cave tour and tasting at Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards

Napa Valley cave tour is cool!

One of the many fun things to do on a wine country getaway is to take a Napa Valley cave tour. Many of the wineries that have caves, old and new, are finding that wine country travelers enjoy the uniqueness of sitting in a cave and tasting wine. Napa Valley wineries that have cave tours require an appointment and fees are generally $35 and upwards. The advantages of a Napa Valley cave tour for the wine traveler are several: They are for small groups only, guests have intimate wine tasting experiences, and sitting in a wine cave is very different from a regular tasting room experience.

We took just such a tour at Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards this past Thursday. The winery is tucked away in Conn Valley, far from the crowds on the Valley floor. It is one of the earlier wineries in the Valley, with a first vintage date of 1988. We had the good fortune to have our tour and tasting led by Anderson’s Conn Valley winemaker Rob Hunt. Rob has been the head winemaker at Conn Valley only since 2012. Rob has produced two wonderful white wines, but his 2012 and 2013 reds are sitting in the barrel aging and they are as he states, “my final test as the new winemaker at Conn Valley.”

Anderson’s Conn Valley winemaker Rob Hunt

Rob Hunt has one of the more fascinating stories on how he became a winemaker. He earned a degree in civil engineering and for several years worked in the Silicon Valley designing and implementing “clean rooms” for companies manufacturing computer chips. It did not take too many 70-hour work weeks to figure out there must be something better to do in life. Rob loved food and wine. Would he become a chef or a winemaker? He took a job at the Pine Ridge winery as a cellar rat and thus began his adventures in his winemaking career. His work at Pine Ridge, Ovid, Colgin, and Clos Pegase brought him many valuable experiences and encounters with renowned winemakers and growers. He has taken that knowledge and, with his scientific background, is forging his way to his own winemaking style.

Barrel sample of 2012 Cabernet

We tasted seven wines and two barrel samples, all in the beautiful setting of Anderson’s Conn Valley’s cave. The 2013 Sauvignon Blanc exploded with beautiful flavors and had a delicious mouth feel and aftertaste. It is one of the higher-priced SB’s around at $40, but it is outstanding. The Pinot Noir from the Green Island area south of Napa was big for a Pinot, but lovely to taste. Then on to the signature wines of Anderson’s Conn Valley, the Cabernets and Bordeaux-style wines. 2011 was a rough harvest for Cabernet, but you would not know this while tasting the 2011 Estate Reserve Cabernet. Rob says this wine will age into elegance and be a standout. Another wonderful wine is the 2011 Right Bank, a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, made in the style of the famous St. Emilion winery, Chateau Cheval Blanc. It’s an earthy wine reminiscent of the old country. This wine was our favorite of the tasting. We ended our cave tour and tasting with a barrel sample of 2012 estate Cabernet. This wine has a few months left in the barrel before bottling, and then it will sit in the bottle for another year before release. What an amazing wine! The fruit is abundant, solid, and complex. Rob thinks the 2012 vintage will go down as one of the best, not just for Cabernet but other varietals as well.

To get to Anderson’s Conn Valley, take the Silverado Trail, and watch for Howell Mountain Road just south of Deer Park Road. Drive about a mile up Howell Mountain Road and take Conn Valley Road for another one-and-a-half miles. Take Rossi Road on the left and look for the signs to the winery. The Cave tour and tasting are daily at 10 am, noon, and 2 pm. The tasting fee is $45 per person.

Two other nearby wineries worthy of a tasting and tour are Buehler Vineyards and Amizetta winery. To get to these two wineries continue along Conn Valley Road 1.5 miles and turn left on Greenfield Road. Buehler is about half a mile ahead on Greenfield and Amizetta another mile beyond that. Amizetta has a barrel cave but Buehler does not. Both of these wineries, along with Anderson’s Conn Valley, require appointments in advance. Happy wine travels!

Pope Valley Winery – Above the Napa Valley

September 30, 2012 by Joe Becerra

I am always on the lookout for something different in a tasting room experience, and my visit to the Pope Valley Winery last week was just that. It was a fun and interesting visit and a chance to learn about the Pope Valley, the history of the winery, and chat with the Eakel Family who have been running the winery since 1997.

The winery was established in 1897 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. The top floor is at the top of the hillside. Originally, the grapes were carted up there to be processed and then gravity took over to bring the wine down to the first floor.

The original Burgundy Winery operated until 1959. The winery has changed ownership a couple of times since then, and in 1997 Sam Eakle and family, along with some partners, purchased the winery. Beginning in 2009 Sam’s two children David and Diana took over the reins, with David doing the winemaking and Diana managing the winery operations.

David has a varied lineup of wines beginning with a 100% Chenin Blanc sparkling wine. We liked this sparkling wine very much, but only 150 cases were produced and it is certain to be a popular wine. It is refreshing and very clean. While in the Loire Valley, David tasted many sparkling wines and thought his Chenin Blanc could be made into a great sparkler. I think he is right. We also very much enjoyed a Sangiovese wine and a fantastic reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.

If you would like to visit, you should call ahead at least a day or two to book an appointment. Pack a lunch as we did and give yourself time to enjoy the surroundings of the Pope Valley. You can reach the winery by heading to the top of Spring Mountain Road in St. Helena off the Silverado Trail. At the top of Spring Mountain, turn left for a couple of miles to the Pope Valley Winery at 6613 Pope Valley Road. It is about a
25-minute drive from the center of St. Helena.

Here is quick video clip of David inviting you to the Pope Valley Winery.

Nichelini Winery – 121 Consecutive Harvests

January 5, 2012 by Joe Becerra

This is the final article on our recent visit to three very different mountain wineries in the Napa Valley. Our first visit was to the Stony Hill Vineyard on Spring Mountain, then on to Ladera Winery on Howell Mountain. Our final winery visit took us south of Howell Mountain to Chiles Valley and to one of Napa Valley’s oldest wineries, Nichelini Winery, atop Sage Canyon Road.

This little hidden winery in the Napa Valley may perhaps be best described as the “The Little Winery That Could.” Through the prohibition era this winery kept chugging and chugging, making wines. Prohibition forced many wineries out of business and a few others survived by making sacramental wines. The Nichelini Winery kept making wines and rumors say that none of it was for the Church. Rumors abound regarding who the Nichelini clients were, and how the family managed to elude the law. Whatever this means, the winery has had 121 consecutive harvests and the family has proclaimed that they are the oldest continuous winery in the Napa Valley.

Ladera Winery on Howell Mountain

December 29, 2011 by Joe Becerra

This is the second of our three-part series on visits to mountain wineries in the Napa Valley.

We left Stony Hill Vineyard on Spring Mountain and traveled across the Valley on Deer Park Road, then up the mountain turning left onto White Cottage Road to Ladera Winery. Talk about opposites in wineries! Stony Hill’s first vintage was 1952, Ladera’s was 2000. At Stony Hill the winery is still hanging on to equipment used when the winery was first established with no signs of any high-tech equipment anywhere. At Ladera, it is quite the opposite with no expenses spared in this state-of-the-art winery facility. Here you find beautiful stainless steel fermenting and aging tanks, gravity floor crush equipment, and a beautiful and elaborate cave system lined with oak barrels.

Mike Chelini is Longest tenured winemaker in the Napa Valley at Stony Hill Vineyard

December 21, 2011 by Joe Becerra

Last week we toured three completely different Napa Valley mountain wineries. We visited Stony Hill Vineyard on Spring Mountain, Ladera Winery on Howell Mountain, and Nichelini Winery at the summit of Sage Canyon Road. This will be the first of three posts comparing these Napa Valley mountain wineries.

Stony Hill Vineyard on Spring Mountain is one of the oldest wineries in the Napa Valley and one steeped in tradition. Fred and Eleanor McCrea purchased the land in 1943 and released their first vintage in 1952. In 1972, young Mike Chelini began his stint as winemaker at Stony Hill and he continues in that position to this day. He loves his work, the land, and the owners. As he says “Life is good here at Stony Hill Vineyard.” When we asked Mike Chelini if he is the Valley’s longest-running winemaker, he says: “I think I am tied with Bill Sorenson over at Burgess.” Bill Sorenson began his stint at Burgess in 1972, so who knows who started first. Nevertheless, these are impressive careers for both these winemakers.

Winemaker Mike Chelini

A Visit with Winemaker Vince Tofanelli

January 19, 2011 by Joe Becerra

It is such a wonderful change of pace to visit a winemaker like Vince Tofanelli. Too often when we visit the Napa Valley we get caught up by the big and the fancy wineries and tasting rooms and tend to overlook the smaller names of the Napa Valley. It is much more fun and a truly rewarding experience when you meet and taste the wines of the small winemaker. We made an appointment with Vince via email to visit his family vineyards on Dunaweal Lane in Calistoga. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate that day and we had to forego the vineyard walk and instead met Vince at Envy Winery in Calistoga where he makes and ages his wines. We went into the barrel room where we tasted his 2007 Zinfandel and 2007 Charbono, and also got a barrel taste of a Grenache and a Petit Sirah that he will bottle and release later this year.

Vince Tofanelli and his Zinfandel wine

Discover Mount Veeder – Great Day Trip to the Napa Valley

September 15, 2010 by Joe Becerra

From both the San Francisco Golden Gate and the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridges, Mount Veeder AVA is about one hour and 15 minutes driving time. It is the perfect quick wine country getaway for folks visiting San Francisco who want to get a quick glimpse of the Napa Valley. We say visit Hendry Winery, Yates Family Vineyard, and Hess Collection Winery and then go to the town of Napa for a late afternoon lunch.

Mount Veeder is a beautiful and lovely mountain, one of the highest in the Mayacamus Range and was once a blistering volcano. The area is very rugged and the soil and climate vary widely as the mountain elevates to a height of 2600 feet. The first stop on this quick getaway is the Hendry Winery at the base of Mount Veeder. Here you can kill two birds with one stone, because the Yates Family Vineyards uses a portion of the Hendry Winery to make and showcase their wines. To get to Hendry, take Redwood Road off Highway 29 in Napa and head west. On Redwood Road, go to the left when the road splits (about one mile). Continue another 1.5 miles. Watch on the right for the tiny sign indicating the entrance to Hendry Winery at 3104 Redwood Road. If you are not looking carefully and alertly, you will surely miss it. Both Hendry and Yates are open by appointment only, so be sure to call ahead.