Etude Wines

In my recent excursions down Cuttings Wharf Rd, to the riverfront homes of the Carneros region just southwest of Napa, I passed a winery called "Etude" which I was always curious about, but always too late to visit.

Then I was reminded when a coworker mentioned that "Etude has some good Carneros pinot, you should try them if you like pinot..." The name rang a bell, but I couldn't place it. Then suddenly I remembered, and just in time to check out another home for sale (maybe -- it's a weird situation, short-sale temporarily off-market trying to get a loan modification to avoid foreclosure), and decided it was time to pay Etude a visit.

The grounds are sprawling and so flat; the flat, marshy wetlands of Carneros are such a contrast compared to the hills and crags upvalley. The tasting room itself was large and had a vibe like a minimalist modern art gallery, with racks of wine mounted in front of a panel-lit wall and -- what's this that looks like wine but glows a strange amber color? Well, it turns out the place used to be a distillery that made brandy, and when Etude winery took over they decided to bottle and sell some of the brandy (limited production, no more being made), one of which is 100% pinot and the other is a blend of grapes, but neither available for tasting and both of them expensive ($150/bottle)!

The average age in here seemed to be about 60, with the ladies pouring being at least that or older. It wouldn't bother me except that, like some of the other older servers around here, they weren't too personable. Tastings are $20 each (we decided to share) and it included a chardonnay, two pinot noirs (a blend and the Deer Camp single vineyard), a "GBR Red" blend (85% merlot, 15% malbec), and a cabernet sauvignon.

All of the wines were definitely good with delicate, balanced flavors and smooth mouthfeel (I've come to realize the mouthfeel is so important to me); the pinots are somewhat typical for Carneros, in the sense that they are a somewhat ruby color which accurately represents a decent level of fruit in the wine. However, these Etude ones have a great deal of musky spice to them, and not too tart/sour like some pinot can be. Overall they had hints of black tea and cloves, a flavor profile I could definitely appreciate.

The darker reds -- both the GRB and cabernet -- were full-bodied but well-rounded, with very smooth tannins. I got sort of a yeasty, vanilla potpourri aroma from the GBR which, personally, I found very appealing; the cabernet was more licorice and cocoa. Like I said, everything was good... but none of it was cheap. The estate pinot is $42 and everything else is $60+, so at those prices I couldn't justify buying any bottles right now, though I'll definitely keep them in mind if I want something special in the future. They got bonus points for ending up waiving our tasting fee, as well, since we are locals -- I didn't know they are part of the Napa Neighbor program, but sure enough when I checked the website it lists free tasting for up to 4 people, plus a 15% discount.

Okay, that settles it... I'll be back!

Casa Nuestra

"Casa Nuestra" means "our house" and, true to the name, this family-owned winery goes for a casual, comfortable feel. I first tasted their wine a week ago at the Mustard, Mud, and Music festival and I liked both the Symphony (a varietal you don't see often around here, despite the fact that it was created at UC Davis. This is only the third one I've tried, the other two being at Volcano Winery at Volcano N.P. in Hawaii, and at Maple Creek / Artevino Wines in Anderson Valley) and the Tinto (a "field blend" of various varietals grown on the same field and harvested and processed at the same time together). I've also passed the winery, located on Silverado Trail north of Deer Park Road, on various occasions, but have never visited.

After dealing with the utterly unfriendly pretentiousness of Cade Winery up on Howell Mountain, the laid-back vibe here is a welcome change -- their flyer says you can "bring your dogs... or your goats!" and, indeed, they have two goats on the property, Nava (a total ham, as long as you're feeding) and A.P. (who has started to catch on and learn from Nava). This was also the site where the opening scene of the Elvis movie Wild in the Country was filmed in 1961. The owner of the property is a big Elvis fan, but didn't know this little piece of trivia when he bought the grounds, so he's pretty excited about that and you can find all sorts of little Elvis memorabilia and kitsch in the tasting room.

As for the wines themselves, they are pretty decent. They do not try to be anything they are not, and the pricetags are accordingly reasonable -- most are in the $20-$30 range, with a few in the $30-$40 range. As far as I know, there's no tasting fee, and we got a discount (10 or 15 percent... I never actually checked) for being local Napa Neighbors.

The reds are very drinkable, but personally I find them a little bit sour or acidic for my tastes (but Sarah is more into that); we did end up buying a 100% Carignan ($32) because that is a grape you don't see every day and it had a nice inky, berry-filled flavor to it, sort of like a halfway point between merlot and syrah. It was also from Contra Costa county, which is another thing you don't see every day (maybe because it doesn't have the brand-name cache that putting "Napa" on the label does).

However, I feel their whites shine even more -- as already mentioned, I like the Symphony which is a hybrid of Muscat and Grenache Gris varietals which tends to make a semi-sweet wine with hints of tropical passionfruit, honeysuckle, and pineapple tones. Casa Nuestra's (from Lodi grapes) is true to this, and is $20/bottle. Casa Nuestra also makes a good off-dry riesling; often, these types of rieslings have a biting acidity or tartness to them, but this one ($22/bottle) is just light, smooth, and refreshing. It goes down like water.

Howell Mountain, Angwin, and Cade Winery

I was drawn to a corner of Napa Valley I had not visited yet, due to an enticingly-low priced home in St. Helena -- but technically in Deer Park, near St. Helena Hospital which is up Deer Park Rd. to the northeast of Silverado Trail. This home was priced at $299k (extremely cheap for St. Helena, where average homes are $800k+) and was described as a fixer-upper, but I was curious to see what extent. Also, I figured even if the home was awful (it was -- horrible, horrible nightmare of a place, people clearly living in squalor there. And they still owe over $500k on the mortgage!!), I would make a day of it because, even though I turn onto Deer Park Rd. every time I drive to Calistoga, I am cutting west to 29, not northeast up into the hills.

It happens that this is the route up to the Howell Mountain AVA, an up-and-comer (like Atlas Peak) mostly known for some rich and fruit-forward examples of cabernet sauvignon. This is also the region of Angwin, a very small town known for Pacific Union College and a lot of Seventh Day Adventists. We drove around Angwin a bit, just to see what it was like, and to be honest it had a strange, eerie vibe to it... like a closed, conservative community that eyes strangers warily. I don't know. A very different, secluded, otherworldly feeling from Napa Valley; it felt like something out of a Stephen King novel.

On the way back down the mountain, we decided to try a winery we had passed: Cade Winery. The sign said Appointment Only, but we figured we'd give it a shot; a lot of the newer wineries post this "By appointment only" requirement but don't really stick to it. And isn't that a bit of a gray area, anyway?? What's to stop me from driving in, seeing if they have room for us, and saying "Hello, I'd like to make a reservation for a tasting 5 minutes from right now."?

Well, it turns out that Cade Winery takes the cold and pretentious stance when it comes to things. There were several overly pretentious visitors hanging out (all of them at least 50 years old), and when we announced that we did not have a reservation but were curious, if they had room, we got a very cold reception and were told "They are very strict about that here, it is part of the laws." To which I said "Well, can I make a reservation for just about right now?" Yes, she said, it was $20 per tasting, and were we okay with that.

No, no we're not okay with that. We're not okay with the pretentiousness of a new (3 years old), unestablished winery assuming they can charge $20 per tasting without having that fee applied to or waived with a purchase. Out of curiosity, I checked their wine list and noticed it was mostly cabs, with the cheapest being $60. So let me get this straight: I have to pay $20 for something which may or may not suck, and then if I like it I have to pay $60 more to get a bottle? No thanks.

So... we left. The view up on Howell Mountain is nice, and faces west overlooking the valley so it could be pretty spectacular at sunset. However, between the spooky reclusive communities and the pretentious and sparse wineries, I wouldn't see much of a reason to come back up here. Most of the wineries located up here either do not do tastings, or have tasting rooms down in the valley (like La Jota, which tastes in Oakville). And Howell Mountain cabs tend not to be as good as other local appellations (like Rutherford, Oakville, and Stag's Leap) anyway, so why shell out the dough?

Mustard, Mud, and Music Festival

Today marked the beginning of Calistoga's annual two-day "Mustard, Mud, and Music" weekend involving wine and mustard tastings and live jazz scattered at different venues throughout Calistoga.

In the 4 years I've been here, I've never attended, so today was the day! I figured parking might be crazy and I also figured I might be a little affected after wine tasting, so I took the Napa VINE bus (route 10 N, as usual) and was there in an hour, right before the festivities began at noon. Like many events around here, things were a bit confusing at first -- I saw people walking around with orange flyers about the event, and I saw officials (volunteers?) handing out information and informing people on the street. Yet... there were no signs anywhere or indications of where to go to get the admission ticket (which was actually a plastic wine cup and a bracelet with tear-off tokens for 10 wine tastings). Eventually one of the ladies told me to go to the "Chamber of Commerce" to purchase admission, yet the signs read "Visitor's Center", not Chamber of Commerce. Heck, I've worked here for 4 years and it's STILL this confusing, so I can only imagine what it felt like for tourists.

Being a local, I got a discount ($22.50; normally $30 per person) and headed out... music started up on the main stage soon enough at around noon, but the website about the event had been pretty vague about how it worked or when things were happening. Music started at noon but wine pouring wasn't officially happening until 1:30, so I wandered around quite a bit. However, it did give me a good chance to notice some of the shops and venues that I normally just walk right past and pay no attention to!

I can only presume that this is part of the purpose of the event: to draw people into the boutiques and shops and restaurants. Unfortunately for me, many of these are places I would never normally visit if they weren't pouring wine inside: "Mudd Hens" sells bath, spa, and beauty products; "Mud Puddles" being a clothing store for young children; "Sugardaddy's" and "Attitudes" being fashion boutiques; and "Ace Hardware" simply being a weird place to have wine, though this is one of the local establishments I've found a need to visit on occasion.

Wineries included many of the local tasting rooms but also several small-scale or custom-crush pourers who don't even have a tasting room, so I wanted to be sure to give some of those a try and figured I could save visiting the existing tasting rooms for another day. The wines I tried were: Envy Wines, Raymond Vineyards, Alienor, W.H. Smith Wines, Castello di Amorosa (because it's normally $25 to visit and taste, so I wanted to a sneak preview to see if it's even worth tasting there!), August Briggs, Madrigal Vineyards, Kenefick Ranch, Laura Zahtila, Bennett Lane, Casa Nuestra, Sterling Vineyards, and Tofanelli. I didn't bother with Chateau Montelena because I've tasted at the estate and, famous as they may be, the wine was not great (despite being way overpriced); Frank Family Vineyards was also pouring, and I do like their wines but have already tried them before.

Yes, I know that's more than 10 tastings. The fact of the matter is that they were not all collecting the tickets. Another fact of the matter is that I probably drank too much wine (the woman at the bus stop while I was waiting for my ride home kept looking at all of the swarms of people in disgust and talking to me about all of the "borrachos" -- "drunks"). I would say that the wines were overall hit or miss, with the best that I can remember were Kenefick Ranch 2006 Cabernet Franc, Bennett Lane cabernet Saugvignon, W.H. Smith Pinot Noirs, Alienor Sauvignon Blanc, and Casa Nuestra Symphony.

The free mustard sampling at CalMart was also a nice experience (supplemented by a big, juicy Saag hot dog on a stick at $1 each) -- plenty of different flavors here, with my favorites being Wine Country Honey Truffle, Wine Country Merlot Spice, Napa Valley Whole Grain, Good Housekeeping Apple and Spice, and CalMart's own Cherry BBQ and Sweet Onion and Bacon blends. The finale of the tasting booth was a wonderful cheese called "Red Dragon": a soft Welsh cheddar made with whole mustard seeds and brown ale (and, if I'm not mistaken, a hint of horseradish). It was delicious and I was sold on the spot -- went in ans bought a small wedge, even though it's not cheap at about $22 per pound. I also brought home jars of honey truffle and apple spice mustard.

As for music, it was certainly nice to have around... I didn't sit and concentrate on any one performer, other than spending about 10 minutes listening to Susan Sutton (keyboard and vocals, with accompanying upright bass) at the Brannan Cottage Inn, because it was a nice, relaxing, secluded environment and the mellow music was great to accompany some chilled-out wine sipping. I was also impressed by Bob Culbertson's fancy fingerwork on the "Chapman Stick", a string instrument in which you play notes with both hands simultaneously. In this way, it's like a guitar but almost played more like a piano. Culbertson was certainly a pro at it.

All in all, an enjoyable day and I'll probably try it again next year. I'll also be sure to ride the bus again, and possibly do fewer tastings and/or drink more water. Not sure which would be the solution, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to be hurting in the morning.

Merryvale

Before going to Pizzeria Tra Vigne, Sarah and I decided to pop into Merryvale. After all, why not? It's right there across the street, we were already early for dinner, and they were open for tasting.

Being a midweek weekday in the middle of the off season certainly shows here -- we were the only customers in the tasting room... kind of a strange feeling with a tasting room as large and spacious as this. Something about the whole setup here -- the large building, to its location right in St. Helena off of Highway 29, the fountain out front, the top 80's New Wave hits mildly playing in the tasting room -- all says "typical commercial Napa Valley winery" to me.

Having said that, the experience was still enjoyable. Our server, Kai (Ky?), was a no-nonsense sort of guy who looked like an ex-rugby player for New Zealand or perhaps a character in a Guy Ritchie film... he was laid-back but professional and answered any questions we had (such as whether it was normally such a ghost town, which I'm assuming is not the case on summer weekends!)

The wines were somewhat more interesting and memorable than I expected (because I had no expectations); for example, their syrah is from Carneros. For those who don't know, this is fairly unusual -- Syrah/Shiraz tends to be a warmer-climate grape, and Carneros is known for its cool-climate atmosphere, being closer to the San Francisco Bay and cooled by its breezes and fogs. Not surprisingly, this Syrah was different than many others I've tried... not as plummy and smoky, more light and almost somewhat citrusy, with flavor profiles I would much more expect from a white wine, like hints of orange blossom.

Domaine Chandon is a ChanDON'T

I pass Domaine Chandon every day on my commute to Calistoga. I have tried to come and give it a shot TWICE now and have been completely ignored and/or rudely mistreated both times. Considering that Napa thrives on the "hospitality" industry, you will find no hospitality here. Just a bunch of bitter people working in an over-commercialized tourist trap / sorority party.

My first visit was about 5-6 months ago, and when we arrived to the tasting room we were promptly ignored for 20 minutes and then coldly told they were closing in 5 minutes so we wouldn't be served.

This week it was like deja vu. We showed up 15 minutes before closing time, came to the tasting bar about 10 minutes before closing, and -- you guessed -- were promptly ignored until 5:01 when the bitter older man behind the bar said "We're closed. Bye."

Okay. I get it. You don't want my business. And you don't want me to bring any of my guests or company VPs and business associates here when they visit and want me to take them out tasting. In other words, you're just so wealthy and wonderful that you must not need any extra business. Good! I won't provide you any. I have better things to do with my time and money.

Heck, going to the dentist is a more pleasant experience. This place has been the WORST experience I've ever had at any winery or tasting room in the world. And I've been to hundreds.

Vermeil Wines / OnTheEdge Wines

Every day I stand outside of a little winery on the corner that says "Vermeil Wines / OnTheEdge" with a little logo of a football. This is because it is owned by Dick Vermeil, famed NFL coach and winner of Super Bowl XXXIV (and native Calistogan).

Last time I popped into this establishment was a few years ago, when it was filled with beeswax candles and a beehive you could peek into from a hole in the back wall. Now the look is completely different, with austere lighting and a sleek "Vermeil Hall of Fame" collection of photos and memorabilia adorning the walls.

Since I had an hour to kill after work before the bus arrived, I decided to finally stop in and sample the wares, of which there is quite a variety. There is a chalkboard sign outside mentioning the variety of reds, whites, sweet, dry, etc. wines. Perhaps their signature -- and a varietal you don't always find everywhere -- is Charbono, so I decided to try that along with some Zinfandel; there are far too many wines to try them all, especially considering all of the different vintages they have open for some of the varietals -- such as charbono and zin. They don't have free tastings for Napa Neighbors, and the $10 tasting fee lets you choose 4 wines to try. I figured I would give those varietals a go for some side-by-side vertical comparisons, and come back another time to try others.

I was informed by MarySue Frediani (who seems to be the main manager of the tasting room -- I always see her in there) that Trent Green was a business partner for the winery, and that he happened to be in town visiting and would be swinging by at some point. I figured I wasn't going to wait around for that but my leisurely tasting went on for a little longer than I had expected (somehow this tends to happen) and I saw my bus pull up when I still hadn't quite finished or paid, and wanted to take some photos. So I figured I'd just stick around for a while longer and wait for the next bus (they come every hour on the hour). Meanwhile, I went to the memorabilia wall to read about the history and family tree of the Vermeils and Fredianis, which is followed by photos from Dick Vermeil's past such as his coaching at Napa Valley College, Stanford, UCLA, Philadelphia Eagles and, of course, the St. Louis Rams. While I was looking around, the door opened and a crew of 5 or 6 people rolled in... sure enough, it was Trent Green and company, greeted by the server and MarySue and starting to talk about this and that, leaving me pretty much ignored in the corner (which is fine by me. I would expect nothing less...)

On to the wines: the reds here, while definitely different from year to year, each have a certain quality I'm not sure I'm a fan of. I've noticed that wineries often tend to have an overarching style to their wines, regardless of varietal, that I can only presume reflects the personal techniques and preferences of the winemaker. In this case, the wines reflect a style that I have encountered elsewhere -- lighter-bodied, but somewhat acidic, reminiscent of cranberry juice. This is not to say they are bad -- they don't actually taste like cranberries nor like plain fruit juice. I'm sure some people love this style (because, like I said, I've encountered it elsewhere), but I prefer wines to be not quite as tart and a little more "round" or smooth in the mouthfeel... but without biting tannins, so I'm sure it's not an easy feat to pull off. I'm also sure the charbono grape, itself, is a little bit to blame -- being a slightly lighter red, with a little bit of citrus/orange note to it. However, even the zinfandel here tastes far less lush and jammy than most zins I have tried.

Still, I will have to come back and try some more of their wines. I only had a small sampling of them, and sometimes these winemakers who opt for more acidity make some very nice whites, so I'm especially curious to try sauvignon blanc, though I'd also like to try the syrah, cabernet sauvignon, and cabernet franc.

Tip to anybody out there: if you do like the charbono, opt for "Nonna's Secret" which is blended with charbono and tastes almost the same, but for a much nicer pricetag).

Soda Canyon Rd. / Atlas Peak

While sheets of ice are attacking people in Dallas, a heat wave has been brewing here in California. Napa reached record high temperatures today -- 80 degrees! (in the middle of winter!) With weather like this, I just had to go out, drop the top on my convertible, and explore one area I had been curious about: Soda Canyon/Atlas Peak.

I drive past the Soda Canyon Deli and General Store every time I commute up and down Silverado Trail, and I've sometimes seen Soda Canyon Road and wondered what's up there... but then I never wander up to see. Meanwhile, I've been seeing more and more local wines tagged with the "Atlas Peak" AVA label (of local mountain regions in Napa, the three you are likely to see are Mt. Veeder, Atlas Peak, and Howell Mountain. For a long time I couldn't keep the different locations straight, but I finally understand where they are -- they sort of form an equilateral triangle surrounding Napa Valley, with Mt. Veeder to the west, Howell Mountain to the north/northeast, and Atlas Peak to the east.) However, my interest came to a head when we recently saw a listing for a nice and reasonably-priced (by Napa standards) home, a 2000-square-foot, 2.7 acre beauty tucked up on a hillside overlooking the rugged hills, with a pricetag of $479k (it had started at over $700k but dropped steadily over the course of a few hundred days, until finally somebody bought it at this price). This is still out of our price range and a little more out of the way than we'd like a home to be, but we were curious what kind of area and home you can get for that price, so today we decided to find out.

As soon as you turn onto Soda Canyon Rd., you are entering another world. You slowly but surely start ascending a very gradual (at first) climb into the mountains -- more tranquil and not as winding as the roads toward Mt. Veeder or Lake Berryessa, but just as primitive and otherworldly. The place is rugged and almost prehistoric looking; pale green lichens and Spanish moss cling to gnarled trees and jagged outcroppings of gray rocks. Combine this with the relative silence, lack of traffic, and relative paucity of buildings and vineyards and you have a feeling you are in the Land of the Lost.

Soda Canyon Rd. is one of two roads that wind their way into the 11,000-acre Atlas Peak appellation (designated in the 1990s), with Atlas Peak Rd. being the other road and Atlas Peak being the highest point at 2,663 ft above sea level. The roads are not connected and both eventually dead-end high up in the hills.

The reason you would explore back here would probably be to enjoy the cruise itself -- ideally in a convertible or a motorcycle on a nice day like today. However, there are several vineyards and some wineries tucked back here, although some are closed to the public and the rest require you to call ahead for tasting appointments because this place does not get the drive-by casual traffic of Hwy 29 or Silverado Trail.

You can learn more about this region and AVA -- including maps, wineries, and history -- at AtlasPeakAppellation.com

Luis Ochoa and Rios / Solovino Tasting Room

While waiting for the 4:00 VINE bus from Calistoga to Napa today, I decided it was time to try some wines at the new tasting room along Lincoln Ave: Rios / Ochoa wines. These are technically two different wineries -- Luis Ochoa, a longtime farmer, owns Luis Ochoa Vineyards; the tasting room is shared with Rios Wines, LLC (aka Solovino wines)

There are several varietals being offered at the tasting room, with the whites being sauvignon blanc and chardonnay and the reds being mostly cabernet sauvignon but also some merlot, zinfandel, and blends. Tasting policy is $15 with $5 refunded for each bottle purchased.

It can be a daunting task to get through a tasting of these -- especially if you are like me, not picky about varietals but simply curious to try them all because you never know which will yield an interesting, exemplary wine. There were a total of 11 wines for tasting on the counter! The good news is that I was riding the bus (not driving), and had no other tastings that day, so I decided to try most of them -- I skipped the Solovino crisp chardonnay and opted instead for trying the fuller-bodied Ochoa chardonnays.

Luis Ochoa was there and when he heard my discussion with the server that I am a computer teacher, he eagerly asked if perhaps I could help him learn some computer stuff and he could pay me with wine. Not sure how much time I have for that right now, but I do like teaching people and he seems like a pretty cool, friendly guy; I may have to consider the offer.

The wines (by both wineries) are small-production and there is a lot of variety here under one roof -- even with grapes sourced from the same vineyards, there are vast differences between winemakers and vintages. Of the reds, my favorite was the zinfandel because it had a rich, typical zin flavor (ripe, dark berry fruit and a tiny bit of peppery earth), but my favorite overall was Ochoa's 2003 chardonnay... of which he seemed to be a fan himself, considering it was the one he decided to pour a small glass and partake of. The pourer told me it was their best-selling wine, and I have to say I really enjoyed it for its unique flavor -- it has some of the full, rich fruit so prominent in California chardonnay, but the first hit on the tongue was not fruit but rather rich, mellow, spicy sweetness, like butter toffee, or cinnamon caramel, or granny smith apples and dulce de leche. Overall I feel like the experience is something like drinking a glass of not-overly-sweet apple pie.

Ceja Vineyards

After trying the Vino de Casa red blend wine at Bistro Sabor last night -- and thoroughly enjoying it more than I expected -- I wanted to hit up the Ceja Vineyards tasting room as soon as possible and see what their other offerings are like.

I called Sarah from the VINE bus and asked if she'd want to join me at the downtown tasting room -- also on First St, not far from Bistro Sabor -- which I could make it into just before they close (open until 6 pm most days, but open until 8 pm Thurs - Sat... this is the benefit of being a tasting room within city limits, the restrictions on hours isn't as stringent)

She was under the weather, but I was on a mission. So I ended up at the tasting room, but I really felt she should be there with me in case I found some I liked and wanted to know if they would be worth purchasing. The tasting fee is $10 (refundable with pruchase of $100 or more) and no Napa Neighbors discount*, so we would probably just share a tasting like we usually do.

The tasting room is nicely decorated and lit -- as most of them are. People here know marketing and aesthetics are a huge factor. In addition to tastings, they also run as a lounge/wine bar where you can order wines by the glass. Surprisingly, they are even more expensive per glass here than they are at Bistro Sabor! (the Vino de Casa red is $9/glass and the pinot is $12) However, they might pour bigger servings... the Bistro Sabor pour seemed pretty skimpy (maybe 4 ounces?) You can also buy wine by the bottle and drink it there (same prices as Bistro Sabor in this case), but it's a much better deal to simply buy the wine at retail (which they also offer) and take it somewhere else to drink.

This is exactly what I decided to do, getting a bottle of the Vino de Casa Red ($20. they also have a white blend which I have not yet tried) and bringing it home to have with dinner. The pourer also gave me a two-for-one tasting card for when we decide to visit and taste.

Our fridge was empty and we've been sort of shelling out the cash lately, so not to break the bank I picked up some good old-fashioned American unhealthy fast food.

Vino de Casa red -- which is 40% pinot noir, 40% syrah, and 20% cabernet sauvignon -- pairs surprisingly well with Wendy's** double-stacks and junior bacon cheeseburgers!

* Actually, come to think of it, they were listed on the Napa Neighbors website as having 10% off wine purchases for locals... but I didn't get my 10% off and didn't think about it at the time.

** There are better burgers in the area, notably the classic California chain "In-N-Out" and the iconic Napa Valley establishment "Gott's Roadside", located in the Oxbow Market and originally known as "Taylor's Refresher" with its flagship location being in St. Helena. But these are both more expensive and a little more time-consuming, so Wendy's did the trick just fine for this time.

Lava Vine and B Cellars

Sarah offered to pick me up and drive me home again (she doesn't get to drive up the valley every day, so sometimes she likes to do so because she says the scenery is relaxing -- and it is!)

I suggested we take the "back route" this time, driving down Lincoln (the main street through Calistoga) to the end where it meets up with Silverado Trail and taking that south. This is technically not the fastest way, but it takes you through a winding, scenic, somewhat secluded portion of Silverado Trail that most people don't ever see.

The first noticeable thing is the Calistoga Beverage Company, distributors of Calistoga mineral water. I rarely see this building, but I always like the whimsical water bottle truck sculpture on the front lawn... it particularly caught my eye today with the way the sun was breaking through and glinting and glowing through the bottles perched in crates on the back of the statue.

Right next door is a small winery called "Lava Vine", which is where we parked and decided to go ahead and have a taste. The tasting room is a separate building in the back, behind the attractive old home and right next to some sort of orchard (olive grove?) We went inside and I was actually pretty surprised by how crowded it was! Granted, it's a small, quirky little tasting room -- only room for about 6 people at the tasting bar.

So we took a seat and looked around and just waited patiently for an open spot and for the pourer to become available, then we sidled up and decided to share a tasting; tastings are $10, refunded with purchase of a bottle. Even though they don't do the Napa Neighbors program, I think this is a very fair tasting fee policy. The tasting consisted of a Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and a dessert wine (ruby port). They were out of whites for now, but the pourer said they do make a viognier and chardonnay which will be available in March. Also, since we were so curious about white wines, he poured us the last few drops of an open bottle of late-harvest semillon he had on hand.

To be honest, I was disappointed with this winery -- not with the tasting experience, which was fun and casual and I liked the tasting room atmosphere. But the wines themselves were simply not that good, yet had pretentious pricetags that were simply unwarranted. I noticed right up front on the nose of the syrah, before even sipping it, that it had a sort of hot, tart, prune-like scent. This is not entirely uncommon for syrah, but was far more pronounced with this one than most. Upon sipping it I said "This is... uh... different." And the pourer said "Really? It's actually a quite typical syrah, possibly one of the very purest expressions of the fruit." Hmm.. oh yeah? Where? Because I've had syrahs from France, California, and Australia, and the only ones that this one reminded me of are Yellow Tail and maybe Charles Shaw. The Lava Vine is better than the Charles Shaw syrah, which is horrible, but not any better than the Yellow Tail -- which retails for $7 while Lava Vine is $36.

That underwhelming, overpriced feel is what I got from most of the wines. It's not that they were bad or undrinkable, they just weren't particularly good either -- which is not what the pricetags would have you believe. The syrah was the least expensive at $36 and the others were about $50 each, with the port (also not great, and I love port) being $55 for 500 mL and the late-harvest semillon being $45 per 375 mL bottle.

Lava Vine also produced extra virgin olive oil, which they are currently out of but did have a few drops available to taste with some bread. The olive oil was tastier than any of the wines were, but at $28 / 500 mL bottle, I still think I'll pass (you can get equally good, and less expensive, oil down the road at Olivier in St. Helena) Normally I wouldn't pass up the opportunity to apply my $10 tasting fee to a purchase, but at this quality point and these prices (which should be half of what they are), I just couldn't do it... we paid the tasting fee and headed down the road. Still, I'm going to try to come back and try their whites in March -- some wineries just do a better job with whites than with reds.

At around 5:13 a fairly large building caught my eye. It looked new and I don't recall ever seeing it or the winery name before: B Cellars. The sign said "Open" but didn't list hours, so we pulled into the parking lot. There were plenty of people lounging around in the large tasting room, and the door was open and unlocked, but the sign said tastings ended at 5 pm, so we were confused but ventured in to take a look anyway. The pourer indicated that tasting had just ended for the day, so we said "Okay, thanks!" and turned to leave.

But then an older gentleman came over and ushered us in, saying that he owned the place and there was no reason they had to stop pouring -- he said we could stay, and since he was the boss, we could stay. So we decided to give the wines a shot after all. It was a little confusing at first, seeing a chalkboard with current tasting list, all of them with cryptic names: "Blend 23", "Blend 24", "Blend 25" and -- you guessed it -- "Blend 26" There was no tasting fee listed, but he informed us it was $15 for a tasting, comped if you buy 3 bottles.

This place has clearly gone all-out with the marketing; they clearly know the value of visual appeal and sales. The room's architecture was nicely done, they had glossy full-color brochures outlining the blends (along with recipes and food pairing suggestions), and even the wine glasses seemed to be very high quality -- they were unique looking, delicate, lightweight and easy to hold. I think many wineries underestimate the psychological power (if nothing else) that the wine glasses have; whenever I have wine in a light, well-balanced glass like this, I notice it makes the wine itself seem smoother and well-balanced, as well. Even when I'm aware of the psychological mind trick, it still works on me.

The owner (named Duffy Keys) explained to us that they used to be in a different location and just built this new place in September. He told us that their main wines are blends (as we noticed); our favorite was Blend 24, a "Super Tuscan" which blended sangiovese with cabernet sauvignon and petite sirah, to great effect. It was bolder and richer and less biting than the average sangiovese, but smoother than a cab and still had the definite hint of... something... blood orange and cedar? that comes through in sangiovese. We talked a bit about Tuscany and Chianti, and he seemed to delight in the fact that Sarah and I are heading to the Amalfi Coast for spring break in April. These Napa winery folks sure do love Italy!

B Cellars' blends were pretty excellent -- very smooth, very nice mouthfeel (blend 25 was the roughest in this department) and ranged from $36 (for the white viognier/chardonnay/sauvignon blanc Blend 23) to $75 (for the cabernet sauvignon, Blend 26), though our favorite was definitely the Super Tuscan (Blend 24, $45), which we bought 3 bottles of. The cab blend was great, but there are so many great cabs in the $75 range that I'd really have to make it a mission to try multiple ones and decide which is best. We were least thrilled with Blend 25 (syrah and cabernet sauvignon), though the combination of varietals was interesting and at least this one had flavors of real California syrah, unlike Lava Vine.

Places to Avoid in Napa Valley, Part 1

I'll be honest: I had a long day at work today and didn't get home until late, so there wasn't really time to go out and experience Napa Valley today.

However, there was time to reflect on what a shame it is that, for how many wonderful wineries and restaurants and establishments there are around here, there are also some real stinkers and I honestly don't know how they fool people into continuing to give them money. While some of my favorite wineries and restaurants around here have gone out of business (Esquisse Winery, Bleu Magnolia in Napa, Wappo Bistro in Calistoga), other completely mediocre establishments continue to thrive somehow. I'm going to share a list of some of the ones that come to mind -- these are just the ones I know about... I'm sure I will discover more as the year goes on, but so far I've been pleasantly surprised by how great my wining and dining experiences have been.

1. Bistro Don Giovanni -- I visited Bistro Don Giovanni a couple of years ago due to its popularity (supposedly celebrities like George Clooney love it) and good reviews. It's one of a handful of Italian restaurants in Napa Valley, and I was looking for a good Italian place. I don't know what restaurant these people were talking about, but it's not the Don Giovanni I went to. The restaurant was packed and we couldn't get a table at our reservation time. After waiting about 20 minutes, we were seated and then completely ignored. Nobody seemed to know which waiter should be serving us. After waiting 15 minutes, we flagged someone down and they poured some water for us. Then nobody came by for another 15-20 minutes until we flagged down a random waiter, who took our orders (and yet a third waiter actually delivered them to us, somewhat cold by the time they arrived.) Obviously, the service was horrible, but I would have forgiven that if the food was good. It wasn't. The pizza was really just a wood-baked flatbread with basically nothing on it. It was like a piece of naan drizzled with olive oil. The duck bolognese was absolutely horrible. Since when does duck meat have the consistency of Taco Bell beef?? It was like gritty, grade D ground beef with a gallon of salt in it. I'm seriously wondering what kind of meat they actually served me, because I've never had duck that tasted like that. Our other dishes were fine, but were of the same quality you could get from the frozen lasagna section of your local grocery store. After that utter failure of a dinner, I will probably never go back here again. If you're looking for Italian, you could try Tra Vigne (which I've heard is good, but have not yet tried) or Bottega in Yountville, which is not so traditional Italian, more of an Italian-influenced "California fusion" twist, but it's tasty.
2. Silverado Brewing Company -- This brewpub is located just north of St. Helena, off Hwy 29 right next to Freemark Abbey winery. This combination should be a winner: cool location in an antique building, combined with microbrews and some pub food, right in the heart of Napa Valley. But, unfortunately, it's just not very good. They claim that "this is the spot for locals" but I can almost certainly assure you that the photos of happy young people on their website are all tourists. Whenever I drive/ride past (which is every weekday), the only patrons of this place are blue-haired local retirees and the occasional 60-year-old Harley rider cruising up through the valley. This sort of sums up the vibe there -- it's more like a plain, boring cafeteria or diner that happens to serve some microbrews. No atmosphere or liveliness whatsoever. This, in itself, wouldn't be a deal-breaker if the food or brews were good. But the food -- mostly typical sandwiches -- are completely standard, mediocre fare with higher-than-warranted pricetags. The beers include your standard varieties you would find at most brewpubs, and they taste fine... but again, there is nothing unique or memorable. If you really want a brewpub experience, skip this one; you could try Downtown Joe's in Napa (also not great, but better than this one) or go to one of my favorites, Russian River Brewing Company, which is over the hill in Santa Rosa (Sonoma County) -- that is a place with a truly unique, lively atmosphere, plus a huge range of completely interesting and exciting beers.
   
3. Whitehall Lane and Black Stallion wineries -- These are two examples of wineries that give Napa Valley a bad name: wines that are lackluster, mediocre fruit bombs... yet charge an arm and a leg anyway, just because they say "Napa" on the label. Somehow, people are foolish enough to buy into it. I'm not. But if you don't believe me, go ahead and try their wines and let me know what you think. But be sure to try plenty of other wines from other nearby establishments for comparison, so you know what I'm talking about.
   
4. Chateau Montelena -- Despite working in Calistoga just around the corner from this place, I had never even heard it. Well, that all changed (much to their delight, I'm sure) when the movie "Bottle Shock" came out, telling the story of Chateau Montelena's Chardonnay which won the 1976 "Judgment of Paris" tasting against French and California wines. Now the winery is swarming with people who saw the movie and are there for that sole reason. Sadly, I feel their current chardonnay release is far below par compared to many I've had in the valley. Their cabernet fares a bit better -- but not for the $120 pricetag they have slapped on it (there are many, many good cabs in Napa Valley, and great ones often fall in the realm of $75/bottle) Ironically, the chablis-style chardonnay at Stag's Leap (the winery which won best cabernet at that same 1976 tasting) is much better, while their current cab release didn't seem too great. Go figure.
   
5. Ahnfeldt Wines / Uncorked at Oxbow Market -- This tasting room -- in Napa and just across the street from Gustavo-Thrace (by winemaker Gustavo Brambila, also featured in the film Bottle Shock) tries hard to maintain a friendly, low-key vibe in a sort of "family living room" style tasting bar. The pourer was friendly and the vibe is certainly inviting. Unfortunately, the wines are just not good. As Napa Neighbors, we were given free pours of everything they had, and they invited us to come by any time and said they would sometimes have live acoustic guitar music. It all sounded very nice, and I really wanted to like at least one of the wines, but I couldn't even finish a single tasting of any of them. I would take a sip or two and dump the rest. I can't even describe why these Ahnfeldt wines were so sub-par, but they just were... across the board.
   
6. Century Cinedome Napa -- This is the worst movie theater I have ever visited in my life. Old, run down... shoddy sound systems, small screens, unclean seats, technical problems left and right, scratches and dust, you name it. Horrible. If you really want a movie theater experience in Napa, you're out of luck. You can try Cameo Cinema in St. Helena, which is a great little theater, but is a single screen so only has one movie playing at any given time.

Yountville: Hope & Grace Wines

When I visited Yountville last week -- the first time I really decided to walk around and see what there is to see there -- I didn't get far, after being waylaid by the Girard Winery tasting room at Washington Square.

I decided today would be the day I hop off the bus in Yountville again, but this time further down in the heart of town. I got off at the bus stop right by Bouchon Bakery and the V Marketplace, neither of which I have been to (although I had dinner at the Bouchon Bistro once, and the one word I would use to describe that place is: "overrated"). The first thing I saw was "hope & grace wines" across the street. I had passed by this tasting room before and it always looked interesting, but a little intimidating being right there in the heart of the most touristy part of Napa Valley. Today I decided to just give it a try (and didn't really care what the tasting fee was going to be, either, but hoped for something less than $20)

The tasting room is small and decorated in an interesting, eclectic mix of old-world antiquity combined with whimsical modern art: a large abstract oil painting adorns one wall (and also adorns the wine labels), simultaneously eerie and serene; a gargoyle sits on the counter, while an oil painting of a girl throwing a tantrum adorns the wall behind. I was promptly greeted and I explained that I'm a local who finally decided to stop in and give it a try, and they started me on the tasting flight (which, if I recall, is normally $15).

The tasting started with a chardonnay (local Yountville grapes), then progressed to pinot noir (made from Santa Lucia highlands grapes, from the Monterey area a few hours south), an Oakville Malbec, and finally a St. Helena cabernet sauvignon. I was really wary of coming in here, thinking the wines would be overpriced and poor quality -- I guess I just sort of assumed you wouldn't have to be good quality to sell wines in this heart of hearts of tourism in the valley.

While the wines weren't cheap, they also didn't seem overpriced and, better yet, they were very good! The craftsmanship was definitely there -- every varietal was very well-balanced and drinkable, with my favorites strongly being the Santa Lucia pinot and the malbec (a variety which is a little harder to find around here). The pinot had classic pinot flavors, more in the fruit-and-spice vein than the earth-and-mineral type... but what I loved is that it was light-bodied and smooth; many of these cherry-and-clove flavored pinots tend to have a strange cloying acidity or tartness to them, and this one was far more mellow. I can actually say it's one of the best pinot noirs I've had, so considering that, I didn't find the pricetag ($46) completely unreasonable. The malbec was a bit more pricey at $64, and made me hesitant, but it was extremely unique -- rich, fruity, and full-bodied, but with smooth tannins and an intriguing, yeasty aroma that really reminded me of bubble gum.

The person pouring these wines was Charles Hendricks, the winemaker himself, and he took the time to chat a bit with the customers, which was nice. He also poured me his Stag's Leap cabernet, which I have to say was a huge step up from the $56 cab on the tasting menu; the Stag's Leap cab had just the right level of complexity and smoothness and subtlety -- and the pricetag reflected it, at $75/bottle) I was debating on getting the pinot or the malbec, and so asked for a second taste of the pinot, at which point he revealed that he also makes a pinot from Russian River grapes. I gave that a try, but to be honest I almost always am underwhelmed by Russian River wines (pinot and zinfandel being their claims to fame, but I just can't see why) and this was no exception. I decided to go a little crazy and get both the pinot and the malbec, and when he rang me up, the total came to $80. It was going to be $110 plus tax! Wow, a $30+ discount? I wasn't expecting that! Not sure if it was for being a local, or if he took pity on me for being a teacher, or if he liked my conversations with him about Italy (which he was fond to talk about) or what, but... first he has great winemaking, and now a nice discount to boot? Charles Hendricks, you rock!

Freemark Abbey

Today I got a phone call from Sarah, saying she was finished work early and wouldn't mind driving up to Calistoga to pick me up. Considering this (and being just after 4 pm), I figured this might be a good opportunity to stop into a random winery on the way home. There are several well-known ones right off of 29 which I have never even tried -- Grgich, Markham, Freemark Abbey, Behringer, Sutter Home, etc.

We headed south from Calistoga and decided to pull into Freemark Abbey -- we knew of this one because it is located right next to Silverado Brewery, a brewpub where we ate a few years ago (and have never been back, because it's just not good.) We walked up to the tasting room, a little self-conscious because there was only one other couple in there -- for some reason it always feels a little strange to have practically undivided attention from the pourer.

It felt stranger when I told her that I was a teacher in Calistoga, and she informed me that she had worked in the district for 16 years, until retiring a few years ago. So she started talking to me about several people she knew (my coworkers and some others I know from the high school), and telling me that she had really been a wine server all along, on the side, even when she was teaching (which she did in both St. Helena and Calistoga).

Like many wineries, Freemark Abbey offers more than one tasting menu -- I almost always start with the most basic or low-end tastings, unless there is something particularly interesting or unique on the higher-end or more specialized lists. In this case, the Classic Tasting ($10, but free for Napa Neighbors and up to 3 guests) included a choice of 4 tastings from: Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Viognier, Merlot, Syrah, Petite Sirah and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Of that list, the ones that are the most hit-or-miss for us are Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot, but we always try to give them a shot anyway because sometimes there are excellent examples of those varietals. The convenient thing about tasting as a couple in a situation like this is that you can each get 4 different tastings and take sips out of each others glasses, resulting in really being able to taste the whole menu, which is what we did. I came in expecting to be most impressed by their reds, but to be honest I don't even remember much about what they tasted like. So they must have all been okay, but nothing remarkable. I can almost always remember wines -- even years later -- if they are remarkably good or remarkably bad.

We were also poured a tasting of their dessert wine, a late-harvest botrytised riesling. We tend to like botrytised wines -- and a lot of people do, but I'm sure it's not a flavor for everyone. Botrytis is a fungus, also known as the "noble rot", which afflicts the grapes and dehydrates them, concentrating the sugars and sort of turning the grapes into raisins but also imparting a somewhat musky flavor to the wine. Drinking rotten, moldy grapes might sound disgusting, but keep in mind this is very similar to the process used in producing some of the finest, most flavorful cheeses out there. Weird, yes... but delicious.

Unfortunately, botrytised wine (listed as "dessert wine" as it is sweet and slightly syrupy) comes at a premium. Because the conditions have to be just right, and small batches are made, and the grapes yield less juice, botrytised wine (often riesling) is harder to find. The bottles tend to be priced accordingly, and this one a very fine example but happened to be $45/bottle -- and, like most late-harvest and botrytised wines, "a bottle" is actually a half-size bottle, 375 mL.

Sarah immediately said yes, and we ended up purchasing both a 2009 Viogner ($27) and the 2008 Edelwein Gold Late Harvest Riesling ($45). Although we were given a slight discount (seemed to be about 10%), this purchase was still a source of some contention for me, because this late-harvest Riesling ends up being the equivalent of a $90 bottle of wine. Although we occasionally purchase $75+ bottles of wine, we don't do so regularly or on a whim.

Still, it is a rare one to fine (and, according to the website, is sold out) and was a fine example of it, with flavors of honey suckle and orange zest. More expensive than I'd prefer, to be sure (I've had decent late-harvest riesling for $26/bottle, and amazing late-harvest semillon for $35/bottle), but I'm sure it will be enjoyed on a special occasion.

Two Tastings on Two Sides of the Valley: Darioush and Silenus Vintners

The weather has really cleared up here and it has been going to sunny and about 70 degrees here for the past several days (and yet has been dropping down below freezing at night! Makes it pretty difficult to know what to wear when it is 29 degrees when I head off to work and 70 degrees by the time I come home)

This, combined with the fact that it is still "off-season" as far as tourism goes, makes it a perfect time to enjoy the vineyards and wineries without the crowds (or the occasionally stifling heat of summer.)

As I've already said, I'm going to make it a mission to hit up wineries offering free tasting to Napa Neighbors first. We already know of one of these wineries which is not too far away up the Silverado Trail: Darioush. I've been to Darioush about 3 times... why? Because they clearly put a lot of attention into the atmosphere and the whole wine-tasting experience. But they also put a lot of attention into their wines, which are much better than I had expected. So these two reasons, along with its proximity, make it one of the destinations for visiting when I have guests. Today we don't have guests, but I recently received an email that they had released their limited production Shiraz, which I was curious about and was supposed to be pretty good.

We also wanted to try a new place, however. We've tried most of the wineries along Silverado Trail, but I noticed a smaller winery in the Napa Neighbors list which sounded intriguing: Ideology Cellars. They are a small, custom-crush operation and therefore do not have the real estate (or any good reason) to have their own winery site or tasting room. So what they do is share a co-op tasting room called Silenus Vintners. This is on the opposite side of the valley from Darioush, located off of St. Helena Highway (Hwy 29). However, it is about the same distance up the valley, which means there is a shortcut called Oak Knoll Avenue which cuts straight across the valley floor from Darioush to Silenus.

Darioush has a dominating and unmistakeable presence on the Silverado Trail: it looks like a large sandstone Persian temple, with a series of columns leading up to the front door. Indeed, the Persian influence is there because the winery was founded by Darioush Khaledi, an Iranian who found wealth by creating a successful chain of small grocery/corner stores in the Los Angeles area. The Persian theme continues with the prominence of Shiraz on their tasting menu; Shiraz is another name for Syrah, which was found through DNA testing to be a hybrid of two grape varietals from Rhône (France). However, Shiraz is also the name of the 6th-largest city in Iran, and shows that this grape probably found prominence and fame in that region.

The Shiraz made by Darioush was good -- rich and full-bodied without being overbearing -- and is a pretty limited production. So it's not always available for tasting. However, their "signature" wine is called "Duel", and is a blend of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon... also quite good. In fact, we really can't find anything wrong with any of the wines at Darioush, which is why we keep going back. Their whites are delicate but have a range from crisp pit-fruit to mellow and musky. Their reds are on the richer side, but medium-bodied and without harsh tannins. I know in the past we have purchased both a Chardonnay and a Cabernet Franc.

We decided not to buy anything this time, even after managing to get our pourer to give us a taste of the Shiraz (he informed us it has only been released to club members so far; it's not on the tasting menu), which was good but I felt it was no better than the Duel. The fact of the matter is that I feel it is decent but overpriced, considering I have had some wonderful Syrahs from Paso Robles in the range of $16-$24, and the Darioush Shiraz is $68.

However, the tasting itself (normally $20; free for Napa Neighbors) was enjoyable, as usual -- enhanced by their attention to aesthetics as well as a small bowl of delicious salted pistachios (nice and neutral on the palate) they serve with the tasting. I noticed it seemed to be far less busy than usual, with only 4 or 5 pairs of people tasting (at peak times, this place is packed)... maybe it's because of the time of year, or is it because of the NFL playoff games? [PS. If you go, try to get Ish as your server! He's the best! Very attentive and helpful, plus a good sense of humor!]

We drove across Oak Knoll Avenue -- which passes a few wineries but mostly just cruises through all the vineyards on the valley floor -- and made it to Silenus in just a few minutes. Silenus was even deader than Darioush -- in fact, we were the ONLY people there!

The pourer seemed excited for the change of pace and for having some customers to talk to, and he informed us that Silenus is a shared tasting room for multiple smaller custom-crush productions. They offer two tastings -- a tasting of whites ($15) and a tasting of reds ($25). He said one thing that is interesting (and perhaps unfortunate) is that the tasting menus change every week, so you don't ever actually have a chance to try all of the wines you might be curious about. (In addition, I think $25 is a pretty prohibitive tasting fee, if you ask me.)

Being Napa Neighbors, we decided to try everything on the menu (both whites and reds -- we're not picky, we like "whatever is good"), but we did decide to share a tasting. This is something we often do, both to save money but also to be sure we can taste a wide variety on wines without actually drinking too much (especially when we are driving).

The great thing I love about co-op tasting rooms like this -- and there are a handful in Napa, but seem to be more common in Sonoma -- is that you get a lot of variety all in one place. I've noticed in the bigger tasting rooms, there tends to be not as much variety. Even if they use several varietals (which most do), the personal tastes and style of the winemaker tends to shine through and so you might notice a common thread throughout multiple wines, like a leaning towards more acidity, or more tannins, etc.

Here at Silenus, we tried three cabernets from three different vineyards and three different winemakers and, lo and behold, the cabs were all vastly different.

Yountville: Washington Square and Girard Winery

I really feel kind of ashamed of this fact: I have lived here for 4 years now -- and visited a few times prior to that -- and have never really explored Yountville. I've stopped in a couple of times for restaurants (this place is more densely packed with high-end restaurants than any other place I know; of them, I've only been to Bouchon and Ad Hoc, two restaurants run by Thomas Keller, the restaurateur of Michelin-rated The French Laundry... which is also here in Yountville)

My bus drives through every day, and I look out the window at the hot air balloons firing up and getting ready for takeoff at sunrise, or all the tourists dining and wine-tasting and window shopping, or the glint of the inconspicuous "French Laundry" sign outside the iconic restaurant (which features a prix fixe multi-course menu at $240 per person, drinks not included. And you must call ahead exactly two months before your desired date to make a reservation.) Today is the day I decided I should hop off the bus and really take a look around.

I disembarked at the first of a few stops the bus makes, and looked around to get my bearings -- this was the north end of town, near Panchas -- an apparent local dive bar that always looks intriguing to me -- and just outside of the "Washington Square" commercial building. I took a look around to find that this building is the home of Napa Valley Balloons (for hot air balloon rides), Napa Valley Bike Tours, and Girard winery. Despite being around 5:30 pm, the tasting room was open and I was intrigued, so I went inside.

It turns out (as I was informed by the pourer -- who also informed me he used to be a student of the school where I teach) that this tasting room is actually open until 7:00 pm! I was kind of surprised by this, because later than 6 pm is unheard of in Napa Valley and I kind of assumed it was a law. He explained that this is true, but city ordinances take precendence over county ones, so tasting rooms in the city limits can often stay open later -- he said there's even one somewhere around here that stays open until midnight!

One pleasant surprise was that Girard is part of the Napa Neighbors program and offers free wine tastings to locals. I hadn't looked into this ahead of time, so I was just prepared to spend $10 or $15 on a tasting (if it was $20, I was going to just turn around and leave.)

They poured a sauvignon blanc, a chardonnay, and old vines zin, and a cabernet sauvignon... he then followed this with one of his favorites, their "Diamond Peak" cab, a premium cabernet with a $75 pricetag. The other wines ranged from $16 to $40, with most of them being about $24.

I came in with no expectations -- I often equate in-town tasting rooms in touristy locations with poor quality. However, I was pleasantly surprised. All of the wines were quite drinkable -- pretty good, actually. The Diamond Peak cab was very smooth, not full of tannins like some of these "connoisseur" cabs are, and it had just the right level of complexity; the pourer explained this was his favorite of their 3 high-end cabs because it was right in the middle -- one of the others was very bold and tannic, the other was kind of light. I didn't try those, but I have to agree that this one was just rich enough, and well-balanced. However, $70+ wine purchases are a rare occasion for me, so I wasn't about to plunk down that kind of money without approval from my significant other. However, I had no qualms at all about picking up the $24 Old Vines Zinfandel, which was also quite rich and smooth, and not quite as fruit-heavy as some zins are.

Lo and behold, by the time I finished my tasting and explored the Washington Square area a little bit, an hour had gone by which meant it was time for the next bus to be coming through soon! So I didn't get a chance to head south into central Yountville, but it was getting dark anyway. I will definitely be heading there to explore the rest of town on another day.

Franciscan Estate Winery

Today was my first day back at work after the winter break, which felt strange because it's a Friday but coming back to work like this made it feel like a Monday.

Whether it was the "Monday blahs" or "TGIF", it seemed like a good time to hit a new winery on the way home along St. Helena Highway (Hwy 29), so I decided to stop into Franciscan Estate (located in St. Helena, sort of at the border of Oakville).

Franciscan is a fairly well-known name in Napa; they've been around for a while (over three decades) and I believe they are currently owned by the same group as Mondavi <-- a lot of wineries in Napa are either consolidating into larger groups or getting bought up by huge distributors, sometimes based overseas such as in Italy. I guess this is the way America is going... a trend toward mega-huge oligopolies. The same thing is currently happening with ski resorts in Tahoe (being swallowed up by chains that also own slopes in Colorado)... but I digress. It is still refreshing to see that, as well-known as Napa has become, and for as much of a business/industry it definitely is, there are still mom-and-pop family-owned wineries, and there are still artisans who are in it more for the craft and the art than for money.

After visiting Franciscan, I feel they are one of the establishments that have found a happy medium between the two: they may be large, established, and well-known... but they still seem to take pride in their product and their image. I had never visited this tasting room before and, to the best of my knowledge, I had never even tried any wines from Franciscan, despite seeing it on several occasions at stores and restaurants.

I had their "classic" tasting flight, which consisted of one white (2009 Chardonnay) and three reds: 2007 cabernet sauvignon, 2006 merlot, and 2007 magnificat, which is a blend of cab, merlot, with a little malbec and petit verdot. Before I go any further, I have to explain why I went with this particular tasting, and indeed why Franciscan was the winery I chose for today. The bottom line is that I think Napa valley prices have gotten out of hand... especially their tasting fees. I first visited Napa nearly 10 years ago, and even then people would gripe about the "expensive" tasting rooms -- which ranged from $5 to $10 tasting fee, on average; this was pretty expensive compared to Sonoma, whose tasting rooms didn't exceed $5 and were often free. Five years later, the average tasting fees were still often $10, but sometimes $15 and even as high as $20.

Currently, the average tasting fee seems to be $20-$25. This is ridiculous, for multiple reasons:

1. The average salary of people has not gone up 100% in the past few years. The COLA (cost of living) adjustment hasn't gone up 100%, and in fact has gone down the past couple of years while salaries have stagnated. So how can you justify raising costs of something 100%? It's absurd. Maybe it reflects the fact that Napa caters to the rich.. and the rich are getting richer. But nobody else is.
   
2. I understand the reason for charging a fee -- for one, it discourages people from treating Napa Valley like an open bar and just hopping from free tasting to free tasting like a total hobo, meanwhile just getting trashed and not spending a penny. I don't blame the wineries from wanting to discourage this and make sure they don't lose money by pouring free wine for everybody. However, $5 -- or $10 max -- seems quite sufficient for this purpose.
   
3. Additionally, what is the purpose of having the tasting rooms? Ostensibly, it is not to serve as wine bars, but to serve as wine education and to allow people to try the wines to see which ones they would want to buy. For that reason, it seems to me that any tasting fee should be applicable/refundable upon purchase of bottles of wine... after all, they claim that is the purpose. So I find it really irresponsible, disrespectful, and greedy to charge a $20 and then not even allow that to be refunded or applicable to a purchase. Just as it would be disrespectful for customers to be slovenly winos and treat the valley like a sorority party, it is just as disrespectful to expect potential customers to spend such high funds when they don't have any idea whether your wines are any good. The way I see it is that if you have any faith in your product, you will realize that people will just have to buy it once they taste it.

Having said all this, many wineries do comp the tasting with purchase, but often the purchase requirement is pretty large (half a case or hundreds of dollars). There are, surprisingly, still some wineries in Napa Valley that don't charge tasting fees, though they are scarce. If I recall, Heitz Cellar and GustavoThrace (co-owned by Gustavo Brambila, who was represented in the movie "Bottleshock") are two that didn't have a tasting fee last I checked. Frank Family was another free one with pretty good wines, but I notice they recently started charging $5. I believe that's the same story at V. Sattui. As for Franciscan, they currently charge $15 tasting fee, but they are one of many wineries that are part of the Napa Neighbors program, which often means complimentary wine tasting for locals. It's a great program and it ensures that I visit those wineries first and foremost on my list -- and often end up buying their wines, so they are making out better than the people who refuse to be part of the Napa Neighbors. Still, this doesn't make me any less peeved about the excessive tasting fees, on principle alone.

I went in with no expectations, though I think I had heard through word of mouth that some people liked the cabs, so I figured the reds would be better. All of the wines were decent... I was actually surprised by how much I enjoyed the Chardonnay. I have to preface this by saying I am one of the people who does like oaky, buttery (generally caused by malolactic fermentation) chardonnays. A lot of people complain about this style in Napa Valley, but I think that's mostly because it is often simply done poorly. With a heavy-handed approach, it ends up tasting like rancid apple cider with a heavy dose of smoky wood mulch thrown in. In other words, this style can be pretty disgusting. However, with finesse and balance (as rare as that may be), I love it -- and I would say this equally applies to the crisp unoaked or Chablis-style wines, which can be just as bad (or good).

Franciscan got the balance right... a decent amount of fruit up front, opening up to a little bit of mushroomy minerality, with noticeable but not overbearing oak, and a wonderful, round and creamy mouthfeel. As for the reds... they were definitely representative of the Napa Valley reds (cabs and merlot) big, deep, rich, slightly tannic though the tannins were a little more mellow and the wines a little more balanced than many are. I'm not a fan of "big, huge cabs" or chewy tannins, and fortunately these wines were drinkable, but not as smooth as some local cabs I've had. Then again, I was tasting the low-end ones, and their price-point was 1/2 or 1/3 the cost of those other superior cabs I've tried (such as Chimney Rock and Caymus). They also poured a "Mt. Veeder" 2007 cab -- this was a smaller production from the vineyards at higher altitude on Mt. Veeder. The difference in flavor was remarkable, with a richer fruit flavor and mellower tannins.

I ended up buying a bottle of both the 2007 Mt. Veeder cab ($40) and 2009 Chardonnay ($18), the latter of which I couldn't help but pop open tonight with dinner... it was just too tempting, and it paired perfectly with my peasant's meal of lentil soup and grilled cheddar sandwiches!