Wineries in Napa and Sonoma- good,bad,ugly (hotel, hotel, estates)
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Well that sounds like fun. Mind if I ask the cost of the train?
Hi Cooler! You have mentioned some of our favorite wineries- Bella in particular! Our Trentadue experience was TERRIBLE, however- never have we been treated so rudely by servers...definitely would not return there.
Preston makes a Barbera that I would like to try, but he's always sold out.
Coppola was another place that I hear lots of good things about, but our experience was anything but good. And to top that off, I was ill after eating at the restaurant. Maybe it was just a bad day.....
You mentioned Acorn. I have a friend who is very fond of that winery, but I don't know where they are located...is it off Dry Creek Rd?
Though we have been to Napa a few times, for short day trips, our hearts lie in Sonoma County. Part of that is probably because we are Zinfandel lovers and most of the producers are in Sonoma, but we do feel that Napa's ambience is much more corporate/commercial overall. Its becoming like that in parts of Sonoma county as well...we noticed it in the southern part of the county in particular. Some of that has to be due to the corporate buy-outs, but even some of the privately owned wineries have adopted that snooty mindset.
We didn't notice it so much in the north county, but eventually it will spread I'm sure.
Someone mentioned Anderson Valley- that is north of Geyserville, isn't it? Located between 101 and the coast?
By the way Scoop- I agree with you- 8 wineries in a day would be wasted on us, too. In the early days we would do that many, more sometimes, but even as practiced " tasters" using the 3 S's and not necessarily tasting a whole flight at each, after about 5 places the palate is toasted and you really don't taste anything. We usually "do" 5 these days- 2 before lunch, one for lunch, and 2 after and that fills the day nicely.
I have to agree about Copola. Gustave Niebaum and John Daniel must be rolling in their graves.
Anderson valley is actually in Mendocino County--it's the one north of Sonoma (like Lake is north of Napa.) It's pretty much the wild west up there. A lot of grape growers but not as many wineries.
The best Barbera I have found in the US is made by Gustavo Brambila.
I do agree on tastings. Anything more than four or five in a day leads to utter palate fatigue.
annerk,
I would like to know of this Gustavo Brambila....somehow I think I may have heard that name before, but not sure where. Barbera is one of my favorite varietals...up there with Grenache and old-vine zinfandel.
It sounds as though your palate is far more sophisticated than mine, but I hope you won't hold that against me! One of the things I like most about wine forums is the opportunity for learning, so I am always happy to find folks who have something to teach me.
You seem to have extensive knowledge of the wine industry...are you a sommelier?
We have enjoyed wineries in several states now, but Arizona hasn't come up yet. Virginia, Oregon, Washington, Ohio and North Carolina so far....and our son has visited some in the Finger Lakes that offer wines we enjoyed with him.
Scoop
You and I seem to have similar points of view; lets talk about old-vine Zins for a minute.
I don't think you mentioned your favorite producers , did you? I still think that the Maple Vineyard Zins from Armida are the best we have had, Tina's Block in particular; but we have had some delicious Pagani and Amann Vineyard wines from St. Francis in the past. My understanding is that the manager of the Pagani Vineyard has changed alliance to another producer, Bedrock Wine Co., which is owned by Morgan Twain-Peterson. I am anxious to try his expression of those grapes.
And do you know about the Historic Vineyard Society? It is an organization that might interest you.
annerk,
I would like to know of this Gustavo Brambila....somehow I think I may have heard that name before, but not sure where. Barbera is one of my favorite varietals...up there with Grenache and old-vine zinfandel.
It sounds as though your palate is far more sophisticated than mine, but I hope you won't hold that against me! One of the things I like most about wine forums is the opportunity for learning, so I am always happy to find folks who have something to teach me.
You seem to have extensive knowledge of the wine industry...are you a sommelier?
We have enjoyed wineries in several states now, but Arizona hasn't come up yet. Virginia, Oregon, Washington, Ohio and North Carolina so far....and our son has visited some in the Finger Lakes that offer wines we enjoyed with him.
Gustavo Brambila was Mike Grgich's asst. winemaker at Montelena when they won the Paris Tasting in '76.
I have a little lapel pin and certificate that states I passed the tests required to say I am a Sommelier. Whether I am or not is debatable.
There is some interesting winemaking going on in Arizona, and quality ranges from poor to very good. Probably the best would be Caduceus/Merkin/Arizona Stronghold, with Caduceus being the best of them. Page Springs Cellars are both making a name for themselves as well. The irony is that none of them are in the only AVA in Arizona, which is Sonoita.
GSM's are my favorite wines. There is a winery called Playwright in Napa that is doing a lot of work with GSM's and has reasonable pricing. That said, if you are really in search of Grenache, Napa is not the right place to look.
For Grenache (and Rhone varietals in general) you want to go to Paso Robles. Denner, Epoch, Linne Calodo, Terry Hoague, Booker, PharoahMoans, Tobin James, Tablas Creek, and Saxum are good places to start. Most will need appointments. The prices range from $15 to 150+.
You will also find Turley in that area, some of the best Zins in the country.
In my opinion, the best GSM's in the US are coming out of Walla Walla, WA.
By the way, if you like Zin you might want to take a look at this web site: http://www.zinfandel.org/
I don't believe I have ever had a Turley Zin. And I thought that was a Napa name.
We have had some very nice GSM from Washington. I think the winery name of our favorite was Cerulean; we were attending a Food and Wine event in Portland when we had it, and I lost their card somewhere among the 3000 other guests.... that said, We also enjoy Hodges, and I have heard that they also make a White version but have yet to see it anywhere.
I don't believe I have ever had a Turley Zin. And I thought that was a Napa name.
We have had some very nice GSM from Washington. I think the winery name of our favorite was Cerulean; we were attending a Food and Wine event in Portland when we had it, and I lost their card somewhere among the 3000 other guests.... that said, We also enjoy Hodges, and I have heard that they also make a White version but have yet to see it anywhere.
They make wine in Napa and Paso. The tasting room is in Paso. That's where the Zin is. Larry Turley is the owner--he's to former owner of Frog's Leap and the brother of Helen Turley who owns a winery in Napa and is also a consulting wine-maker to a number of ultra-premium wineries.
Great pictures!
I recall reading somewhere that its "just" a train ride, though; you don't get off and actually tour any of the wineries you see...is that correct?
Quote:
Well that sounds like fun. Mind if I ask the cost of the train?
Here's a link with lots of information about the train and the prices.
Sterling Winery
View of the Sterling vineyard from the winery above.
Luna Winery
Both the Grgich Hills and the Sterling Winery had some of the best tours provided. However I can't say I liked their wines. The Sterling was most interesting as you need to take a chairlift up the hill to visit the winery and while there you have a wonderful view of the valley below with the grapes growing.
Again, nice pictures!!!! I did not know that Grgich offers tours- in all my years on Trip Advisor, Fodor's, and Winecountry.com I never heard of that one.
We tried to visit Sterling in one of our earliest wine country visits, but that weekend the lift was under maintenance so you had to wait for a shuttle. We decided that the attraction for Sterling was the lift, and skipped it. Never did get back on the list.
I have a group of wine friends who visit Howell Mountain frequently- are you familiar with that area?
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One of the things I like most about wine forums is the opportunity for learning, so I am always happy to find folks who have something to teach me.
