Tour Napa Valley in One Day… It can be done!

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Oct 122012
 

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to lead a group of long-time friends on a one day tour of Napa Valley wineries. I wanted to share examples of the many wine experiences Napa has to offer, but in just one day. It was a tall order with so many wine-derful choices. Here’s the strategy.

Napa wineries can be put in many categories, so these are the ones I chose. Old and unpretentious Napa, cutting-edge winemaking Napa, multi-generational winemaking Napa, and money is no object for my dream winery Napa. For good measure I tossed in lunch at one of Napa Valley’s top restaurants and a harvest party with an experienced winemaker with a new project. It was a lot for one day. This group may be grey, even so we were up to the wine-stained task.

Our day started in San Francisco on a clear crisp Friday morning. Knowing we’d be drinking sampling a lot of great wine, we employed a driver. Tom Cilluffo of Napa Valley Limousine Services arrived about 20 minutes before our scheduled 8am hotel pick-up in a brand new SUV, perfect for the five of us. We rode across the Golden Gate Bridge and through the Sonoma Carneros wine growing region before hitting Napa. Tom, born and raised in Napa Valley, had a lot to offer about the history and people of Napa and Sonoma. The day was off to a great start.

Our Cru at Smith-Madrone (Stu & Charlie have the beards)

Our Cru at Smith-Madrone
(Stu & Charlie have the beards)

Our first stop was a step back to 1970’s Napa at Smith-Madrone Winery after a narrow and winding yet picturesque drive up Spring Mountain. Napa Valley was not always the glitz and glamour statement it is today and Smith-Madrone is 1970’s Napa all the way. Nothing fancy, in fact the entire winemaking facility is housed in an old red barn. Stu and Charlie Smith founded the winery in 1971 on what is now a 200 acre vineyard/ranch, high above the valley floor. Curly, the winery spaniel, was the first to greet us. Then as we approached the barn door Charlie Smith, in his trimmed Santa Claus beard, stepped out and guided us to the crushpad showing off the pregnant vineyards, only yards away. Continue reading »

A First Time Wine Judge – Denver International Wine Festival

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Oct 012012
 

On Sunday, September 16th I was, for the first time, officially a wine competition judge; judging wines for the Denver International Wine Festival which takes place on November 8 & 9, 2012 at The Grand Hyatt in downtown Denver, CO. Most of the other 17 judges (all wine professionals) participated on both Saturday and Sunday in the double-blind tasting of domestic and international wines. A previous engagement, however, (leading a winery tour in Napa Valley), limited me to Sunday only.

I arrived a bit nervous, not knowing exactly what to expect. Beginning at 10:30 am and ending at 3pm, we tasted through about 50 wines. Each table of 4 judges tasted different categories of wines. Our table was assigned Pinot Blanc, European Dry Whites, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Verdot, Red Blends, and Apple/Pear, Berry, and Flower/Vegetable dessert wines. Each was scored for nose, color, flavor, finish and overall appeal. We had a knowledgeable group of judges at our table, including one who came all the way from Sonoma. Soon I was in the groove and found my scores were quite similar to the others. Continue reading »

My Days as a Winery Cellar Rat or How I Spent my Summer Vacation

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Sep 232012
 

Today, Facebook is awash with photos of the grape harvest across the northern hemisphere. I look forward each day to beautiful pictures of grape clusters, men and women picking grapes as the sun rises across the vineyard and free-run juice on the winery crushpad that will soon be the wine in my glass. As a wine-writer in Colorado and Texas, I dream of being more than a chronicler, I want to be part of the action. This desire is never more pronounced than when I see harvest pictures posted by my winemaker friends in California and Texas.

This year I decided enough with the wine dreaming. It was time to get dirty and pitch in a for a few days with winemakers Chris Brundrett and Bill Blackmon of William and Chris Vineyards in the Texas Hill Country near Fredericksburg. Chris is regarded as one of the real up and coming young Texas winemakers while Bill offers the hand of experience from many Texas grape harvests. They make a hell of a winemaking team creating predominately blended wines with 100% Texas fruit using a minimal intervention approach. Together, Bill and Chris have a sort of yin and yang quality. Chris is full of energy and a “get ‘er done” approach while Bill has a very calm Zen-like quality about him.

Before you say, Texas, wine, what? Texas now is home nearly 250 wineries (up from only 45 a decade ago) making it the 4th or 5th (depending on who’s counting) largest wine producing state. The Texas Hill Country AVA sits behind only Napa and Sonoma as the most visited wine region in the U.S. Continue reading »

2013 Vintners Hall of Fame Inductees Announced

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Sep 202012
 

Vintners Hall of Fame 2013 

Press Release:

St. Helena, CA – The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) today announced that its 2013 Vintners Hall of Fame inductees will be winemaking pioneer Meredith “Merry” Edwards, legendary wine writer Frank Schoonmaker, labor leader Cesar Chavez, and the founder of The Wine Advocate, Robert Parker.

The official induction of the 2013 Vintners Hall of Fame honorees will take place on February 18, 2013 at The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, in St. Helena, California, as part of the college’s 7th Annual Vintners Hall of Fame Induction Celebration. Continue reading »

Travels With Whitney – A Father / Daughter Wine Country Adventure

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Sep 052012
 

Let the Wine Country birthday celebration begin!

In 1960, John Steinbeck set out to reconnect with America accompanied by one companion, an “intuitive” standard poodle named Charley. The tale was recounted in the now classic book “Travels with Charley.” Steinbeck met the idea of the expedition with both excitement and trepidation. In July of 2012, I set out with my daughter, Whitney, to reconnect with the teenager turned young woman who had so matured, since leaving home for college three years earlier. My stated objectives were to celebrate her 21st birthday and introduce Whitney to the wonders of wine country. This father/daughter excursion was one I met, much like Steinbeck, with both excitement and trepidation. Continue reading »

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