You may have noticed that the Napa Valley Wine Blog has been looking a little funky this past week. That is because we were hacked with some malicious code that was placed deep in our Napa files. We are now back up and running. Rest assured that if you viewed our Napa Blog during this time, your computers were never at risk.

Unfortunately, in the process, we had to dump all the folks that had registered on our Napa Blog. This is essentially where the problem started with a hacker giving themselves admin privileges. How they do this stuff is bewildering and mind-boggling.

On a lighter note, harvest is in full swing. Mumm Napa and Schramsberg harvested grapes last week for their sparkling wines. Peju is set to harvest some Sauvignon Blanc vineyards today. With a week of warm temperatures ahead, it looks like harvest will be in full swing.

One of the highlights for any wine buff is watching all the activities that take place during the harvest. The Napa Valley is one of the best spots for viewing the “crush” because of the number of vineyards and wineries in such a concentrated area. If you spend a few days in the Napa Valley from mid-September through October, you are likely to see all the harvest activities: the grape picking, the sorting table, crushing, and fermentation. It is the Napa Valley at its best for the tourist. Start making your plans now to watch the most exciting show in the world of wine.

Read the rest of this entry »

If you are serious about learning about wine and discovering delicious wines, you should spit wine when visiting the tasting rooms of the Napa Valley or any other wine country. There is no way you can visit three to five wineries in one day, tasting five or more samples of wine at each winery, and remain sober. You palate will be gone in short order.
Needless to say, if you are the driver, your only choices are to spit or just roam around the tasting room while the others are having a grand old time.

Read the rest of this entry »

For the wine tourist, there are a plethora of wine country activities and events taking place in August and we list here the most interesting of these happenings.

Robert Mondavi Winery Garden Table Events
These classes are a special way for wine country visitors to experience the iconic Robert Mondavi Winery. The classes are held every Saturday in August from 4-8 pm and include time to pick fresh produce in the winery’s beautiful kitchen garden, cooking instructions from winery chef Jeff Mosher, and a delicious meal, overlooking the vineyards, paired with Robert Mondavi Winery wines. Cost is $150 per person and includes a bound book with a selection of garden-fresh recipes from Chef Jeff Mosher. Classes are limited to ten participants. More information can be found at the Robert Mondavi Website. Read the rest of this entry »

Fontanella is a new winery on Mt. Veeder and the owners Karen and Jeff Fontanella have some fresh ideas to perk up visitor interest. Visitors receive a private 30 to 45 minute session that includes a tasting of three wines, a novel comparison barrel tasting, and the opportunity to buy a small blending kit to create their own bottles of wine.

Winemaker, Owner Jeff Fontanella

What a terrific day for us on Wednesday of this past week! We were among twenty-five wine writers and wine bloggers present at the annual Rutherford Dust Society’s “A Day in the Dust.” The venue was the historic Rubicon Estates Chateau and the setting dramatic as we entered the room to view the tables with sets of wine glasses numbered and prepared for the tasting. First we heard from present-day wine legends like Andy Beckstoffer, Joel Aiken, Peter Granoff, Larry Stone and others. Then it was down to work, or should I say pleasure, and the tasting of the wines.

The wines we tasted were from 23 different vintners in the Rutherford AVA, all 2007 vintage, Cabernet Sauvignon or blends made predominantly with Cabernet Sauvignon. Andy Beckstoffer explained to us that the 2007 growing season had been one of the best in memory. The season started with early heat, followed by cooler weather than normal. August warmed but there were no heat spikes. Usually the Napa Valley experiences five or six heat spikes that are in the high nineties or above the 100 mark, none of which are good for grapes. September was cooler than usual and the grapes gently matured to their ideal sugar levels. Peter Granoff told us that with the 2007 vintage there had been a shift from long hang time and high alcoholic wines to wines that were more elegant, balanced wines with a soft finish. Peter stated, “We have gone full circle and now we are looking for elegance.” Read the rest of this entry »

So, where is the “Heart of the Napa Valley?” This is what a recent visitor to Wine Country Getaways inquired in an email. “I will be in San Francisco and I want to spend one day in the heart of the Napa Valley, please advise.” We try to answer all emails so I got to thinking about how I would go about telling this person where he should go in the Napa Valley. Is the heart of the Napa Valley a winery, a town, Highway 29, or half way between Napa and Calistoga? After pondering a bit I realized that to find the heart of the Napa Valley, one must “experience” the Valley rather than venture to a specific area or location. I suggested a list of places to go and things to do that would guarantee him that he had been to the “Heart” of the Napa Valley.

Robert Mondavi Winery

Visit one of the historic wineries of the Napa Valley and, if time allows, take the tour there. This will give you a feel and understanding of the early pioneer days of the Napa Valley. Some suggestions are Schramsberg, Beringer, Rubicon Estates, and Beaulieu Vineyards. Robert Mondavi undoubtedly had the greatest influence on the development of the Napa Valley and a trip to his winery is always a great experience. His memories are embedded in this winery.

Visit one of the smaller wineries that is family owned, where family members take part in the daily operation of the winery. Smith-Madrone, August Briggs, or Hendry Winery are some good ones to visit where you are likely to get attention from one of the family members.

Charlie Smith at Smith-Madrone on Spring Mountain

Read the rest of this entry »

We are back from spending five days in the Washington wine country with 300 Wine Bloggers. We visited many wineries and heard many voices from various Washington wine associations and groups. Interestingly, the most commonly-mentioned wine area outside of Washington was the Napa Valley. When you are on top, watch out, someone’s out to top you. I don’t think Washington can ever reach Napa in terms of a tourist destination, but in wine quality this is another matter. These folks feel strongly that the AVA’s of Washington are unique and remarkable and are producing wines as good as, and perhaps better than, the Napa Valley.

Here are some direct quotes:

“The amount of sunlight here is on average 58 minutes longer per day than in the Napa Valley.”
“We don’t have phylloxera or the sharpshooter like Napa because our winters are so cold.”
“Our latitude is between that of Bordeaux and Burgundy; Napa is lower than Burgundy.”
“Our Syrah is big and chewy and there’s nothing like it, not even in Napa.”
“We heard that a Napa Valley winery wants to buy our Red Mountain grapes.”

View from Col Solare

Read the rest of this entry »

In the good old days of the Napa Valley, you could walk into just about any tasting room along Highway 29 and not worry about having an appointment or having to pay a fee for tasting wine. You weren’t presented with a menu of different levels of wine tasting. It was then a straight forward and simple way for a winery to introduce their wines to visitors. Now with some 400 wineries to visit in the Napa Valley, you will find a multitude that are open by appointment only, and several wineries have various fees for different types and levels of tasting. “Yes, we are open by appointment only, but we are always here, so just come on in.” “No, you need to call ahead for an appointment to arrange a tasting or tour.” Once you are in the tasting room, “Do you want our Club Med tasting or just the normal tasting?” This can all be very confusing to the first-time visitor to the Napa Valley.

Read the rest of this entry »

Sequoia Grove Winery on Highway 29 in Oakville sits on a beautiful plot of land surrounded by tall majestic redwood trees. Redwood trees rarely grow this far from the Pacific Coast but here, at the Sequoia tasting room and winery, they stand beautiful and majestic.

We sat with winemaker Molly Hill and tasted most of the wines that are currently released. Molly had been the assistant winemaker since 2003 and in 2007 became head winemaker, as Michael Trujillo moved to the position of President and Director of Winemaking. Together, Molly and John have really spiced up the wine offerings at Sequoia Grove. Much known for its flagship Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and its Rutherford Bench Cabernet, a new lineup of wines has been introduced. These wines, along with their price points, should attract a new group of followers to the winery. Most notable and delicious were the 09 Sauvignon Blanc, 09 Rollicking Rosé and an amazing 09 Glorious Gewurz. The Gewurztraminer grapes are sourced from a vineyard near Ukiah in Mendocino County. This wine for us is one of the finest California Gewurztraminers we have tasted in recent times. At $18 it is a great value. These three wines, along with two other interesting reds, are available only at the winery. This is reason alone to visit this winery, plus you get the bonus of sitting in a grove of redwood trees. Read the rest of this entry »