Casa Nuestra – a very cozy and un-Napa Valley like tasting room
About Casa Nuestra Winery in the Napa Valley
We visited Casa Nuestra winery on Friday and had a lovely picnic lunch along with a glass of the very dry and crisp Casa Nuestra Rosado, made from Cabernet Franc. Casa Nuestra is a rather off-beat winery in the Napa Valley. The tasting room is small and cozy and all about tasting wine. They also make some off-beat wines like a Riesling, Verdelho, and Chenin Blanc. I learned something on our visit. When Janelle and I were first married, we always opened a bottle of Wente Brothers Grey Riesling with our Friday night fish meal. Long ago Wente stopping making their Grey Riesling, and we always thought it was a made-up name, somewhat like Fume Blanc is to Sauvignon Blanc. According to the Casa Nuestra tasting room manager Jon Swenson, there is such a thing as the Grey Riesling grape. Casa Nuestra has a few rows of the grape that make less than 300 cases of wine. Jon says the Riesling turns a grey color around harvest time. The Casa Nuestra wines are very reasonably priced compared to other Napa Valley wineries. The tasting fee is $20 but is waived with the purchase of wine. The picnic area is small and a sign says reserved for wine club members. We asked if we could use the area and it was not a problem. The original vineyard was planted in 1956 and the winery was established in 1979. There is some interesting history about the winery, and you can learn all about it when you go wine tasting at Casa Nuestra. Ask about why Elvis Presley was there in 1960!