Napa

We’ve just returned from a great four-day wine tasting jaunt with friends to the Napa wine making region, visiting nine wineries.  Way back in 1978 we lived for a short time in Berkeley.  Touring the wineries in Napa was one of our favorite past times.  We would stop first at Robert Mondavi, take the winery tour (you had to take the winery tour), taste their wines, then move on to our next stop, Beaulieu Vineyards (BV).  Lunch would be had at a small winery with a great deli up the road from BV, where we would buy some cheese, bread and wine and have a picnic in their front picnic ground.  Often, we would go from there to Louis Martini, and sometimes even go as far as Christian Brothers.  With the exception of my visit to Stag’s Leap a couple of years ago, we hadn’t been back until last Friday.  During this trip we revisited two of the wineries we had visited years ago, as well as Stag’s Leap.  Everything has changed.
In those early days tasting was free.  Now they charge you $40-45 per person.  There weren’t many wineries – now there are too many to count.  Their wines had only recently been “discovered” re: the wine tasting held in Paris in 1976 – which, by the way, was won by Stag’s Leap (not to be confused with Stags’ Leap) as shown in the documents below -- so wine prices were pretty reasonable.  The term “tourist trap” is probably the closest fit for Napa today.  For those of you who are not familiar with the Paris wine tasting, check out the book “Judgement of Paris” by George Taber or go see the move “Bottle Shock”.

​In the paragraphs that follow I will expound on each winery in the order that we visited them.  I will hold off pictures until the end.  I should add that Napa is all about Cabernet Sauvignon.  It is the basis for the great Bordeaux reds, and, since the climate in Napa is very similar to that in Bordeaux, it is a natural direction to go.  Of course, it helps that they can sell their Cabernets for >$100 per bottle.  The rest of their red wine varietals range from the “undrinkable” to the “not so bad”.  Not to say that we didn’t dump more than a few tastes of Cabernet…
Oh, from the perspective of this web site, I cannot recommend joining any of the wine clubs in Napa.  Napa is too far away to take advantage of the free wine tasting or to participate in their other activities.  Their wines are priced for the tourist trade, i.e., way overpriced.  Then there is the fact noted above that Napa is all about Cabernet Sauvignon.
We began our tour on Friday…
V. Sattui
If you paid attention to my opening paragraph, you will have noticed that I did not name the winery that we stopped at for lunch back in 1978.  In truth, we did not remember the name – it was just coincidence that it wound up as our first stop on the tour.
The deli has gotten much bigger, the food better, they’ve added a second picnic ground, and even an underground barrel room.  Back then they didn’t offer wine tasting.  Now you can taste their wines, but only at their wine tasting bar.  If you want wine with your food you have to buy a bottle.  About the only winery we visited with reasonable prices on wine tasting ($20) and wines.  As for the quality of the wines – did I mention that they have great food?
Jessup Cellars
I’m not sure if we had done our homework, we would have stopped at Jessup Cellars since the wine tasting was not at the winery but in town.  They own only a small plot of land, and only grow Sauvignon Blanc grapes.  Now, if you are in the market to purchase very unique, original paintings, this is the place to go.  Jessup Cellars might not be the best place for wine tasting, but it is worth visiting just for the art.
Now on to Saturday…
Charles Krug
Our visit to Charles Krug was, in my opinion, the highlight of our trip.  We sat at a very comfortable table and got to taste one white wine and four excellent Cabernet Sauvignon variations, all served at the proper temperature.  It proved to be the only winery that made it a point to do so.  All of the rest seemed content to serve their $100+ wines at well above optimum temperature.  This I cannot understand.  They work so hard to get you to buy their wines, put huge amounts of money in the tasting rooms, but won’t spend an extra penny to present the wines at their best.
Now after pontificating on my pet peeve it is back to Charles Krug.  For a few dollars more than the $45 tasting fee, we had some outstanding cheese and other goodies to go with the wine.  Great facility, great people, great wine, great food – in other words, they spoiled it for the other wineries we were to visit on the trip.  There was a bit of pressure to join their wine club, with the offer to waive our tasting fees.  Eventually we did join as a group, with the plan being for each of the couples to wind up with two bottles of their great Cabernets at the club price and saving the $45 tasting fee.
Round Pond
A wonderful facility, we were again seated for the tasting.  The servers kept changing on us, but all were very nice and seemed to work well together.  One nice feature is that they had a glass for each taste.  However, I sort of expected more than three tastes, and only two reds, both very expensive Cabernets, for $40.  Having just tasted four $100+ reds for $45 at Charles Krug, this did not go over well.  I noted that they had non-Cabernet reds on their price list, so I asked about tasting them.  I never got an answer.
Castello di Amorosa
After Round Pond, we drove up to Callistoga to visit the castle.  Yes, Castello di Amorosa actually has a castle on its winery.  $30 gets you admission into the castle and wine tasting ($20 for children with grape juice tasting).  We were told at the admission booth that the standard tasting was mostly sweet wines, that the reds would require upgrade to premium level for another $15.  That was a lie – the normal level had many red wines, and the premium level only added three. But the Castle is something else again.
Sunday…
Stag’s Leap
Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars – not to be confused with Stags’ Leap Winery – was our first stop of the day, and once again a bit of a spoiler.  After all, this is the winery that produced the red wine that won the Paris wine tasting event, their Cabernet Sauvignon SLV.  We had to stand up for tasting at this winery, but otherwise a very nice presentation of some very good wines.  Nominally, it’s $45 for four tastes.  Our server, who probably sells time-shares in her spare time, was not going to let us get away with tasting just their fantastic Chardonnay, or their three top Cabernet – Fay, SLV, and Cask 23 – which, by the way, sell for $69, $150, $175, and $295, respectively.  When we didn’t move on buying any of the wines we had just tasted, she pulled out other wines.  I wound up tasting six wines, including their Artemis Cabernet Sauvignon.  Now for an aside.
You can call a wine a varietal if 75% of the wine is made from the varietal grape.  Many of the wine makers in Napa insist that their Cabernet Sauvignon be pure – made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.  We saw this with Charles Krug, and Stag’s Leap main wines – SLV, Fay, and Cask 23.  The French do not see it that way – their Cabernet Sauvignon is usually a blend, with small amounts of Merlot or other grape varieties added.  According to Doc Ed, this is important – it gives the wine a better finish.  So why raise this issue here?  Well, Stag’s Leap Artemis is just such a wine – an “impure” Cabernet Sauvignon.  But it is really good – and only $69 per bottle – so we bought two bottles and we got comped for the tasting.
Silverado
As noted above, the Stag’s Leap people were not at all stingy with their wine, so we were a bit out of it for our visit to Silverado.  They had a Sicilian wagon out front of their very lovely facility, so I assumed that they made some Italian varietals.  Alas, that was not to be.  We were actually too large a group for walk-ins, but they were kind enough to allow us to remain and taste their wines.  While they didn’t have any Italian wines, they did have two pretty good non-Cabernet reds – a Cabernet Franc and a Malbec.  Given that these are two of my least favorable red varietals, my saying that they were pretty good is significant.
Auburn James
We ended the day at Auburn James.  Now this is a very small winery that does not grow any grapes at all.  None.  They buy grapes and make them into wine.  It being a small winery, we had a Ramona-like experience, sitting down enjoying their wine along with the assistant wine maker, who also has a share in the company.  Their purported niche is to follow the French concept of blending their Cabernet Sauvignon grapes – and to do so in the true French tradition, without added sulfites.  We had a great time sitting around trying this and that, and, fortunately, members of our party bought a couple of bottles of their wine.
Monday…
Robert Mondavi
We saved the best-known winery in Napa, Robert Mondavi, for last.  OK, we didn’t actually plan on visiting them, just had some extra time on our hands…  Whatever, it was worth the visit.  The wine tasting was a flight-type affair where they pour four wines and you get to parallel taste them.  They let us take the wines outside, so it was a really good experience.
At this point you are probably asking one important question:  How do the wines in Southern California stack up against the wines out of Napa?  In my very uninformed opinion, with the one very notable exception, the red wines produced in Southern California are superior to the Napa wines, and far more affordable.  The notable exception:  Cabernet Sauvignon.  Which, of course, makes perfect sense.  Napa’s climate is ideal for Cabernet Sauvignon, but it is just too hot down here for that grape.  Oh, and neither region can make a decent Pinot Noir…

V. Sattui Pictures

​Charles Krug pictures

Round Pond pictures

Castello di Amorosa pictures

​Stag's Leap pictures

​Silverado pictures

Auburn James pictures

​Robert Mondavi pictures