Good Grape Wine Company

August 26 2007

A Day in the Valley:  Tasting in Napa

Though the company I work for is based in Napa, I’ve never been on a tasting trip in Napa.  Kind of wacky, I know.  The reality is that I haven’t stayed over through the weekend for trips before and my through the week activity is head’s down work.  I was, therefore, very excited about a full Saturday line-up of tasting with my wife and another couple.

We started our day off this past Saturday at about 9:45 am with a visit to Grgich Hills, one of the few tasting rooms in the Valley that opens before 10:00 am.  We entered to a mostly empty parking lot and joined just one other couple who, obviously, won the “early bird” prize, beating us through the doors.  Grgich Hills was the perfect place to start the day. 

In what appears to be an untouched casualness from 30 years ago, Grgich Hills gets kudos for their very low-key tasting room, their wines and one of their tasting room employees who is one of finest examples of subtle salesmanship that I have experienced.  I wasn’t sure if I should hug the guy, invite him over to dinner or ask him why he wasn’t selling something where he could make a little money.  When he said that he collects Napa Cab but that he purchased a case of a particular Chardonnay because it was that good, I could feel my wallet separate from my back pocket. The reality is we didn’t get different treatment than any other guest at the winery that day, but the way tasting room employee told stories and gave everything a narrative arc while pulling bottle after bottle certainly made it seem like we were VIP guests. The Chardonnays shined here, the reds were serviceable and all of the prices are a bit dear, but this is a   great tasting room experience.  The couple we were with bought one of the library chardonnays and the tasting room employee waived all of our tasting fees, carefully wrapped up our glasses AND gave a trade discount    
since they were also in the business. Great place, Grgich Hills is.

Yelp reviews for Grgich Hills here. 

Next up was a winery tour and tasting at Mondavi.  The analogy I use for going to Mondavi winery is akin to a Catholic going to the Vatican.  I mean, you kind of have to go, don’t you?  Or, maybe said differently, it’s like the Asians associating Disneyworld with Americans.  That said, our tour actually turned out to be a pleasant surprise—well managed, brisk, and informative with a couple of fun surprises.  Color me a camera carrying tourist, but I got a kick out of being able to go into the demo vineyard to pluck some Pinot, Malbec, Cabernet, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay grapes to taste them in their natural state.

What I found most interesting about the tour, though, is the strict maintenance the tour made to Mondavi still being a family operation.  No mention of Constellation AT ALL.  Multiple references were made to Mondavi being a small operation, etc.  In fact, our guide indicated that Robert just celebrated his 94th birthday and that Margrit and Robert are in frequently.  The video in the fermentation room includes Tim Mondavi as head winemaker.

The tour ended with a tasting of the Fume Blanc, the Chardonnay and the Cabernet.  All in all, not a bad tour by any stretch of the imagination, in fact it was time and money well spent. But, certainly, it’s disingenuous to present the winery as a small family-oriented operation to the masses when that reality stopped two years ago.

Yelp reviews for Mondavi here.

We took a stop for lunch at V. Sattui—the California State Fair Winery of the Year for the third time in four years.  V. Sattui, for those that haven’t been, is something of THE populist winery in Napa and our visit didn’t prove any different.  A crush of humanity met us at around 1:00 pm and the grounds, deli and tasting room were thronged with people.  One of the unique benefits of V. Sattui is they are grandfathered in to some law and are able to serve food, which also means that every Tom, Dick and Harry that isn’t at Oakville Grocery is there around lunch time.

We enjoyed some sandwiches and expensive deli salads on the lawn before I picked up a couple of bottles of wine.  Kudos also go to the tasting room employee who knew, intimately, the buying laws of Indiana for consumer direct shipping and promptly had me sign up with a Xeroxed copy of my drivers license.

As a side note, V Sattui only sells from the tasting room and 23 of 28 wines submitted at the California State Fair won medals.  I’ll need to go back here during the week when I can actually enjoy some time there, without 1400 of my friends.

Yelp reviews for V. Sattui found here.

We then shot over to Silverado Trail, leaving a lot of the crowds behind and went up to Rombauer—by far the most picturesque winery I’ve been to, nestled onto a ridge with expansive views of the valley from its shaded tasting room.  If I had to choose a favorite wine, Rombauer Zin would make my top five and it’s also one of the wines that my wife and I use as a reference point for other Zins.  The tasting room here is small—there is room for just six or seven people without starting to go two-deep, and the tasting line-up is short—in keeping with the small array that Rombauer produces—Merlot, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Cabernet and some specialty selections to sell from the web site and tasting room.     

I love this place, I love their wine.  I bought the Proprietor Selection Zinfandel made from Joan’s Vineyard, out in front of the tasting room, using head trained Zin vines. 

Yelp reviews for Rombauer found here.

And, to close the day, we shot down Silverado Trail to Silver Oak.  It was a great way and place to cap the day.  Ironically enough, Tom Walsh, the Tasting Room Manager had sent me an email on Friday after reading my post on Silver Oak last Thursday, inviting me down to the tasting room and extending an invitation for a free tasting for my wife, friends and me. 

Not one to turn down the extension of hospitality, I took Tom up on his generous offer and we wound down our day by trying the Alexander and Napa Valley Cabs, in addition to the Towmey Merlot.  A great visit and very hospitable place, made all the more pleasant by a complete lack of pretension.  Thanks goes to Tom for being a gracious host and for extending the invitation. 

Yelp reviews for Silver Oak found here.

All in all, a great tasting day in Napa Valley and a great introduction for tasting days to come. 

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