Greetings from road again dear readers. This week I have taken my lovely wife on a week-long adventure to Napa Valley and San Francisco. As I write these very words I sit in our hotel room as she naps of the afternoon's tastings.
Today was our first day in wine country and our first impression as we drove up valley from the town of Napa to St. Helena were that this is one beautiful place. Napa itself is the largest town in the valley and is still postcard perfect. But, as we traveled through some of the small towns we noticed that this area is all about remaining small town while still serving the tourists, gourmets, and wine-loving public.
Our first stop this morning was at the Oakville Grocery, a tiny little store not much larger than your average convenience store. But, there wasn't Frito-Lay brand
in sight; this place was all about gourmet foods from imported olives to hand-made stuffed grape leaves. We settled for an apricot bar for me and turtle cheese cake for her (hey, we're on vacation and if my baby want cheesecake for breakfast, she can have it!). The cheesecake was Divine and the apricot bar was a perfect balance of tart fruit and sweet, crumbly topping. We will be back later in the week to sample the store's other delicacies for a picnic lunch.We had an 11:00 AM tasting appointment but, were a little early, so decided to stop in Sutter Home Winery's tasting room. We were met by the extremely cheerful and helpful Marsh who proceeded to pour several of the famous winery's wines for us gratis. The standout was the Reserve White Zinfandel; it was sweet and crisp -- the perfect wine for a hot summer day spent lazing in a hammock. Kim loved it so much we bought two bottles. After a little more tasting and a quick walk in the beautiful gardens we had to leave or our tasting appointment.
We arrived a Staglin Family Vineyards precisely at 11:00 and stopped in front of two massive doors set into the side of a mountain. Another couple had pulled up with us
and were joining us on the tour. We decided to head to one of the door and peak inside since no one was sure where to go. As it turns out, as we opened the door we were met by our tour guide a glass of Staglin's outstanding Salus Chardonnay. As we sipped the pale straw nectar we walked back outside to a raised picnic area, shaded by an enormous old oak which overlooked the vineyards. The view was beautiful and the information passed along was very interesting. When we stepped back inside, we were escorted around the Staglin Wine Caves, each step of the wine-making process explained as we went. Finally, we were all sat at a huge oak table in a beautifully appointed tasting room right in the cave. We were poured glasses of Staglin's Salus Cabernet and of the Staglin Cabernet. We enjoyed both, but of the two the Staglin Cab really stood out -- we bought two bottles.Next was lunch at Taylor's Automatic Refresher; a place I had read a lot about on the Internet and had heard really great things. Unfortunately the experience was quite a let down and we would not recommend a visit. The food was merely average and not the end-all, be-all burger it was made out to be.
As we headed back down the road we decided just to drop into a winery or two. Our firs drop in was Flora Springs, now I am a great fan of their older Sangiovese, but the pour I had here was not that great. Next we took a winding mountain road to Rutherford Hill Winery. Upon parking we marveled at the beautiful view from the top of the mountain and the wonderful building housing the winery. However, the tasting fee was rather high so, we decided to leave and search out our next winery.
As we headed south on the Silverado Trail, a winery Marsha at Sutter Home recommended came to mind. She told which road to turn on, so we decided to be adventurous. The road we took wound up a mountain and past a beautiful mountain lake. When we came to a fork in the road we did not know which way to go, bu we saw a sign for Rustridge Winery and Bed and Breakfast. On another whim we decided to follow the sign and check them out. Boy, are we glad we did!
We were met at in the parking lot by Audrey, a friendly and talkative lady who led us further up the hill to the winery. Now this is not your big-business commercial winery, this is a small-lot, family owned property which also raises thoroughbred
horses. Indeed as we walked up to the winery we were met by several friendly horses and two exuberant yellow Labradors. Inside the winery we were led through the storage area in which wine was aging in barrels and met by the wine-maker and owner himself, Jim Fresquez. Jim was hard at work rinsing sediment out of barrels, but took the time to sit with us as we tasted his wonderfully tasty wines. We were the only people in the tasting room which was an alcove off of the aging area, and enjoyed a relaxed tasting with the actual maker. We were so impressed I promised to forward all my photos I had taken of the property and bought two bottles of their lovely Cabernet. So, now it is time to wake my lovely bride and head off to dinner. We are looking forward to wonderful gourmet meal at Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen and then perhaps more wine drinking in a bar on the way back to the hotel. I'll write more later -- perhaps tomorrow before we head to downtown Napa for Independence Day fireworks.
~~TO BE CONTINUED
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