Cathy Corison is one of Napa Valley’s first women winemakers and is well recognized by her colleagues as one of the more influential winemakers in the entire Valley. Her Corison Cabernet wines have long been noted for their quality and character. We visited with Cathy at her wonderful winery and vineyards in St. Helena.

We have long been admirers of the barn that houses the Corison Winery. The best view is during Mustard season. The vibrant colors set against the grey siding and the green roof make for an awesome view and a photographer’s delight. The barn is set back from Highway 29 and easy to miss. As one drives along Highway 29, by the time you catch a glimpse and are intrigued by the building it is too late; you have driven past the entrance. By all means turn back at the next chance and pay a visit to Corison Winery. It is traditional Napa Valley. Read the rest of this entry »

If you are heading up to the popular Hess Collection Winery on Mt. Veeder, I have a recommendation. Before you visit Hess, take a small detour and stop in at the vineyard home of Rubissow Winery. Although Rubissow wines have been around for several years hardly anyone but a few have ever tasted Rubissow wines, and even fewer have visited their home base on Mt. Veeder. If you like adventure and something very different in the Napa Valley, schedule an appointment to view some of the most beautiful vineyards in all of Napa and taste some very exquisite wines. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m not sure how the organizers of the Wine Blogging Conference found sponsors or determined what events were to be staged, but clearly Sonoma wineries were at the forefront of this inaugural event. Except for the Culinary Institute of America, which conducted the blind wine tasting event, Napa Valley and its wineries were nowhere to be seen at this conference.

Sonoma wineries went all out for this event. From the opening event, a lunch and tasting of 12 Sonoma wines at Kick Ranch Vineyards, to the final luncheon on Sunday, just about every event featured Sonoma wines. The major sponsors, the Winegrowers of Dry Creek Valley, the Sonoma County Tourism Bureau, and Sebastiani Vineyards, provided lunches, dinners, bus transportation, and more wines than we could possibly taste. What a coup for Sonoma wineries. Read the rest of this entry »

With redevelopment projects along the Napa River and the buzz created by the Oxbow Market, you would think that all is joy among Napa businesses, restaurants, and lodging establishments. Not so. The last few weeks have not brought good news to the city of Napa.

One of Copia's exhibits,
interesting or humdrum?

Copia continues to have its share of financial problems. Copia recently announced layoffs and surprisingly their winter hours leave Copia open only on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The Copia store and Julie’s Kitchen restaurant remain open on a daily basis. We stated in a blog post a year ago that on our last visit to Copia we felt that the exhibits were sparse and not very compelling. The most interesting area to us was the vegetable garden and now we hear that the garden plot might be up for sale to shore up Copia’s financing. You would think that with the addition of the Oxbow Market next door, Copia would see an increase in visitors. Apparently, that has not happened. Read the rest of this entry »

We have some additions to our list of Napa wineries that are utilizing solar energy. Thanks to Sunlight Electric for providing us with an updated list. This company has done many of these installations. This brings the total number of Napa wineries with solar energy systems to 41. Read the rest of this entry »

It makes sense for wineries to consider a solar energy system to power their wineries. Most wineries have the two requirements needed for this system. They have plenty of sunshine and enough surface area to set up the number of panels needed. When you are in the valley, you are likely to see wineries with solar panels mounted on roofs, on the ground, and even a few in irrigation ponds on pontoons.

With government incentives, why wouldn’t a winery go solar? As one vintner boasted to us, “I love seeing that PG&E meter running in the opposite direction.” Read the rest of this entry »

In April we posted an entry on Napa Valley wineries that we considered to be exemplary in “Green” practices. In addition to this list, there are many other wineries practicing organic farming to some degree. Here is the list that we have compiled as of this date. Please comment to add your winery to our listings. Read the rest of this entry »

We spent a very pleasant hour chatting and tasting wines with Julie Johnson, the owner and winemaker of Tres Sabores winery. Tres Sabores doesn’t get many visitors. It is well off the beaten path and the winery is open by appointment only. But that should not stop the tourists from making an effort to visit Tres Sabores because there is much to like here. This winery is not your typical Napa Valley tourist attraction. It is a rustic winery with no formal tasting room, just a homey welcoming atmosphere. It is just great fun to visit and get an inside view of a small boutique winery in the Napa Valley. Read the rest of this entry »

Dutch Henry Winery is a small family-owned winery at the northern end of the Silverado Trail. The Dutch Henry Winery is a family run affair. The owners are Less and Maggie Chafen of San Francisco, and their son Scott Chafen is the winemaker and vineyard manager. The family opened the winery in 1992. The winery has estate vineyards located at the winery as well as other areas in the Napa Valley. The winery is named for a somewhat shady character, Dutch Henry, who was a silver miner in the area during the mid 1800’s. Read the rest of this entry »

In celebration of Earth Day, we thought it would be fitting to list the wineries in the Napa Valley and Los Carneros that are recognized as leaders in utilizing “Green Activities” in their vineyards and winery facilities. The term “Green” can mean many things but in the case of this blog post we use the term “Green” to include the following activities:

• Organic farming (no use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers)
• Use of solar power
• Use of bio diesel fuels (fuels derived from vegetable oil)
• Water conservation
• Reduction of waste

The following is a list of Napa wineries that we consider to be exemplary in their attempt to reduce their carbon footprint and preserve the environment for future generations. Read the rest of this entry »