I was digging through some of my old wine books and came across two items of interest from 1969-70. In those days I kept very meager notes of the wines I purchased, this of course was well before computers and spreadsheets. I scanned one of the pieces of notepaper so you can take a look at what I paid for these wines back then. The second item I found was a wine list from Orsi’s Restaurant in San Francisco. I scanned one page that listed the Claret wines from the Napa Valley. Take a look at the prices, very interesting! Read the rest of this entry »

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 »

We had a wonderful dinner at Bottega Restaurant this last Tuesday night. What recession, we thought as we entered the restaurant. Bottega has been open since last December 5 and I doubt it has been anything but a full house since. Part of the reason for the popularity of this restaurant is the star power of celebrity chef Michael Chiarello. He is TV chef on the Food Network, winery owner, cookbook author, and proprietor of the Napa Style store. It also helps when Bottega gets great reviews from food critics like Michael Bauer of the San Francisco Chronicle or inclusion in the Chronicles’s Top 100 Bay Area Restaurants. Michael Chiarello seems so natural as he roams the restaurant from the kitchen to the dining room greeting diners. We were seated at the bar waiting for our table when suddenly there is Michael to introduce himself to us and learn a little bit about ourselves. It is a very nice touch and one that brings back the customers. Read the rest of this entry »

Although the town of Napa may not be as chic as Yountville, lodging in downtown Napa offers the wine country visitor many options for activities and choices of restaurants. There are enough things to do in the downtown area to keep visitors busy for several days.

We booked two nights at the Blackbird Inn, a Four Sisters B&B. The Blackbird Inn is located on First Street and Jefferson in Napa. The B&B happens to be directly across the street from the very cool Craftsman home of the Wine Spectator’s Napa office. We supposedly got a winter/Internet special rate, if you stay two nights you get one free. Our tab came to $280 with tax for our two-night stay. Read the rest of this entry »

Last Thursday night (Nov 6), the restaurant Redd in Yountville was showing no signs that the economy is keeping diners away from enjoying outstanding cuisine. When we arrived for our 7 pm dinner at Redd, the restaurant was packed. The bar was standing room only and all the tables were in use or reserved. The place was still jumping when we departed a couple of hours later following a memorable meal. Read the rest of this entry »

Just when we were beginning to think that the Napa Valley was feeling the repercussions of the economy, we found that on Wednesday and Thursday night last week, the Yountville restaurants were alive and well with bar stools and tables packed with patrons.

Yountville Stars in the 2009 Michelin Guide
It is amazing what a restaurant mecca the small town of Yountville has become. The latest Michelin Guide of 2009 has four Yountville restaurants receiving its “Star” ranking. The French Laundry is the only restaurant in its Bay Area and Wine Country restaurant guide to receive the coveted Three Star rank. One Star was awarded to Bouchon, Bistro Jeanty, and Redd. This is impressive considering there are only 32 restaurants in the guide with one or more stars. Congrats to Yountville.

Dinner at Bistro Jeanty Read the rest of this entry »

With the gloom of the economy casting a pall on just about everything these days, a trip to the Napa Valley just might be the perfect escape. Harvest is over but fermenting tanks are going strong and there is that delicious smell in the air of wine being made. The vines are turning various shades and Fall is a wonderful time to be in the Napa wine country.

There is some economic relief in sight in the Valley because as the harvest ends, many of Napa Valley’s finest lodging establishments begin their Fall and Winter rate specials. Our guess is that because of the economy there will be more specials and packages as lodging establishments and other businesses try to lure visitors to the area. Now is the time to plan a budget trip to the Napa Valley.

Here are some tips on how to save some cash visiting the Napa Valley.
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In Yountville along Highway 29, Mustard’s Grill is one of Napa Valley’s best-known restaurants. It is a favorite among winemakers, locals and tourists. This year begins its 25th year of operation. Chef Cindy Pawlcyn opened Mustard’s in 1984 and now is involved with two additional restaurants, Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen and Go Fish, both in St. Helena. We have been to all three of these restaurants and enjoyed them all. Read the rest of this entry »

Our June 15th edition of the Wine Spectator arrived in our mailbox with a special wine country section focusing on five different California wine venues including the town of Yountville in the Napa Valley. We happened to have been there last week taking advantage of a $150 a night mid-week special at the Yountville Inn. After reading the Wine Spectator article we thought it would be a good idea to add our “two cents” to Wine Spectators take on Yountville. Read the rest of this entry »

The immensely popular Taylor’s Automatic Refresher of St. Helena and San Francisco’s Ferry Plaza now has a third location, the Oxbow Market in the city of Napa. St. Helena is the original 1949 location of the once drive-in burger joint revitalized in 2000 by winemaker Joel Gott and brother Duncan. You have probably seen Joel Gott’s value priced wines at various wine shops. Both the St. Helena and the San Francisco locations are jammed around the lunch hour. You will see long lines at both locations but the lines move at a remarkable speed.

We decided to check out the Oxbow Market location for lunch last week. Early this year we posted a blog about the Oxbow Market and how deserted the place was shortly after its grand opening. The place is busier now, more merchants have moved in and the weather has improved. However, it was not bustling with tourists on a Thursday in mid March. For example, the newly opened Oxbow Wine Merchant had no more than 8 people roaming their vast wine store and tasting bar.

The newly opened Taylor’s Refresher is on the corner in one of the adjunct buildings to the main Oxbow Market facility. They too were doing an okay business but not the long lines you would find at the other two Taylor’s. At the height of the lunch hour, we were third in line and had a wide choice of where to sit both inside and outside.

It is remarkable how good the food tastes considering it is basically a fast food joint. Everything seems to be of high quality and burgers of various sorts fly off the shelf. The wine list is terrific with good choices for folks who want just a glass or a half-bottle. We shared a half-bottle of Chappellet Chenin Blanc, a great wine with the Chicken Club and the Fried Calamari. The wine is served in those fancy stemless Riedel glasses and that is a much better choice than a plastic glass. Almost everything else is served in plastic containers.

Taylor’s Refresher is a good choice when you want something that is good and very quick. Otherwise, try one of the fine eateries inside the Oxbow Public Market.

The Good: Very good menu choices, good wine list, speed of service remarkable.
The Bad: Plastic containers, the pour for the wine glass servings is too small.