Category: Experiences

Most people who think of spending time in Wine Country visualize it in daylight.  That’s when the wineries are open for tasting and when the sunshine kisses the vines and makes the grapes grow.  If you are going to spend more than a day, then you’re going to encounter at least one night there.  In most parts of Wine Country, outside the principle cities and towns, there’s nothing to see or do because, well, it’s dark.

Famed for its restaurants, Napa Valley has a nocturnal side for visitors.  One of its two main thoroughfares, Route 29, is well lit and there are attractions that are also illuminated.  The smaller roads are only lighted up by passing headlights, which also creates an atmosphere rather spookier than that experienced by day.

Sunsets can be spectacular in Napa Valley.  The wide-open spaces between the Vaca and Mayacamas mountains create a backdrop for the setting sun that can be quite dramatic.  We think there must be something in the air there that brings out the best around 5:00 in the winter and 9:00 at the height of summer.

Sunset in Carneros, from the Etude winery.

Driving north on Route 29 you’ll pass a lot of hotels and commercial establishments at the widest part.  Where the road narrows, you can see the lights of Yountville to your right.  Popular restaurants such as Brix and Mustards appear on your left not much further on.  Of course, they’re there during the day as well, but their rapid appearance out of the dark is a reminder of what were once called roadhouses, gathering spots out in the countryside with hints of racoon coats, bootleggers and late-night parties.

Mustards Grill.  Photo courtesy of the Napa Tourist Guide.

 These days, the action is to be found in the towns such as Yountville, St. Helena, Calistoga and especially Napa Town.  The first three mentioned are really just villages, with one or two commercial streets including a few restaurants.  Besides restaurants (and some very good ones) the town of Napa has the additional nighttime advantage of a beautiful walk along the river.  The town leadership has refurbished the old buildings on the southern bank and erected a promenade.  Passing down the walkway adds a very romantic after-dinner touch.

Nocturnal walks outside the towns are probably not a good idea.  For one thing there are no sidewalks, so your only path would be in the roads themselves.  Now, this is California where nobody walks if they can help it.  So you’ll be traipsing along poorly lit roads. (Did we say, “poorly lit”.  For the most part there’s no light at all.) Because most drivers aren’t expecting to see pedestrians, there’s an appreciable danger in taking a walk in the back roads.  If you are intent on doing so, wear reflective clothing.

Napa Valley is a pretty magical place, day or night.  Because daytime activities predominate, not many give consideration to seeing it by starlight.  If you’re there, enjoy it.

The walkway along the Napa River.  Photo courtesy of napawineestates.com

 

 

If you look on a map at the winemaking area of Napa Valley, it’s shaped like a ladder.  The uprights are Route 29 and the Silverado Trail.  The rungs are the Oakville Cross, the Rutherford Cross and so on (with a few others with names like Zinfandel Lane thrown in).  When you drive along these roads, you have the opportunity to see many of the most famous wineries in the region and, in fact, of the world.  We’ve traveled that way many times and have tasted some spectacular wines.

On occasion, though, it’s a good idea to take some of the side roads. Because they are off the main drag, some of them are less visited, meaning smaller crowds and easier traffic.  On the other hand, some of Napa Valley’s most renowned wineries are to be found on these smaller roads.  For example, you can taste Joseph Phelps’ Insignia blend on Taplin Road, Caymus’ Special Selection on Conn Creek Road or Chateau Montelena’s Chardonnay, the winner of the famous Judgement of Paris, on Tubbs Lane.  All of these are perhaps a bit out of the way, but the rewards of heading there are self-evident.

We are not including among these side streets the many wonderful wineries up in the Vaca and Mayacamas mountains on either side of Napa Valley.  They too are out of the way but require a great deal more time and effort to visit them than those discussed here.  One such is the subject of the winery review in this edition.

There are other wineries established on the side streets that are well worth a visit for several different reasons.  As always, it’s a pleasure to discover wines you haven’t heard of and may very well enjoy.  However, Power Tasting is about more than just the wines; our objective is to encourage wine tasting as an overall experience.  In many cases, these out of the way wineries enhance the experience in order to attract people to their tasting rooms. They are less likely to have visitors who were just passing by, so they need to make themselves destinations.

A few examples on just one such side road make our point.  Andretti Winery (http://andrettiwinery.com/) and Monticello Vineyards (http://www.corleyfamilynapavalley.com/) are side by side on Big Ranch Road in the southern Napa Town end of the valley.  If you’ve ever even heard of motor racing, the name Mario Andretti will be familiar to you, and if you are a racing fan, you will enjoy looking at all the trophies and maybe buy a souvenir.  Mario was part of the group that founded his namesake winery, which is deliberately reminiscent of a Tuscan villa, in honor of Mr. Andretti’s heritage.  While they do make the widely encountered California wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, they are differentiated by the availability of Italian varietals including Pinot Grigio, Barbera, Dolcetto and a sweet Moscato.

The Jefferson House at Monticello Vineyards.  Photo courtesy of the winery.

Monticello has an entirely different vibe.  Instead of celebrating an Italian-American race car driver and his background, Monticello Vineyards is a tribute to America’s illustrious third President, Thomas Jefferson.  Thus, although the tasting room is also in a gracious, neoclassical building, the real gem of the property is what they call Jefferson House.  Not a true replica of the building that is imprinted on the nickel, it is nonetheless evocative of the real thing.  Unlike many of the nouveau palaces in Napa Valley, this building is beautiful enough in itself to attract visitors.  And oh, yes, you can taste wines, the usual combination of Burgundy and Bordeaux varietals that are typical of Napa Valley.

Maybe these aren’t the first choices you would make for wine tasting if you have never been to Napa Valley.  For those seeking to expand their experience of this corner of Wine Country, they are an easy trip to make.  And why would you not want to go?

 

 

 

 

 

It is Power Tasting’s policy not to give bad reviews of any wineries.  We feel that there are so many wonderful wines and so many owners who do their best to make their visitors feel welcome that there is no need for negativism.  If we feel that a particular winery makes poor wine, the less said the better.  But Power Tasting is about the experience of wine tasting as a whole: the architecture, ambiance, scenery and décor as well as the wines themselves.

We are not arrogant enough to think that we have the last word on the quality of wines; if a winery is in business, someone must like what they sell.  There are some wineries where we are not crazy about the wines but find the overall experience to be pleasurable.

If we had all the time in the world to go wine tasting and an infinite capacity to imbibe alcohol, we could just visit tasting room after tasting room without a care.  But our time in Wine Country is limited and precious and, as with everyone, we need to be cautious about how much we drink, even if we are only sipping.  So it becomes a question of how we treat those establishments where we don’t appreciate the wines but do enjoy all the rest.

Certain places come to mind, although we will not mention names.  There is one in Napa Valley decorated with fine antiques, with a large fireplace and comfortable sofas and chairs.  It would be the library of our dreams, the kind of place where we would sit with a vin de méditation and read great literature.  But we don’t like the wine.

There is another in the southwest of France, high up on a hill with a grand castle and magnificent views over the valley.  It is out of the way and hard to find, so it is never busy.  We could easily fantasize that it was ours, where we would host grand dinners in the garden, overlooking the vines.  But we don’t like the wine.

Another example is a fine old Long Island mansion with “good bones” as the realtors would have it.  It is quite historic in the North Fork’s brief history.  There seem to be concerts and weddings there every weekend.  But we don’t like the wine.

So what to say about these places?  We know about them because we visited them without having any idea of what we would find.  Even though we were disappointed in the wines we tasted, we took some enjoyment from our visits.  We often urge visitors in a section of Wine Country they have never visited to do their homework and learn about the better wineries before they go, but it’s not a bad idea to take a chance every once in a while.  We have made some great discoveries that way.

Even if you are not enjoying the wine you’re being served, take advantage of the aspects of the building and the tasting room that you do like.  Carry your glass with you and look around and soak up the pleasures that that winery offers you.  There’s a great chance you’ll never pass this way again, so enjoy it while you’re there.

Languedoc is in the southwest of France.  Until the 13^th century, it was considered as a separate entity, Occitania, home of the troubadours, easy living and rich food.  There are no more troubadours, but the rest remains.  It is today the part of France with the greatest production of wine grapes.  The wine producing area is very large, stretching along the Mediterranean coast from the west of the Côtes du Rhône to the Spanish border and inland, at its furthest extreme, beyond Carcassonne.

Wine has been made here since this area was colonized by the Greeks.  Today, for the most part, the grapes grown here are of the Rhône variety: Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Cinsault and Carignan in red; Marsanne, Rousanne and Viognier in white.  There are more than 30 sub-regions recognized as AOCs (Appellations d’Origine Contrôlée), which are much the same as AVAs in the United States.  There are even more sub-sub-regions, called Indications Géographique Protégée, which are not quite as well recognized but may still make some excellent wines.

Sadly there was a time, not that long ago, when wines from the Languedoc were rough, alcoholic, sour and for some people, better used for cooking than drinking.  We are pleased to say that this is no longer the case.  The reason, as we see it, is the advent of organic winemaking in the last 10 to 15 years.  Referred to as bio by the French, it has sparked a revolution in Languedoc wines.  It may be attention to detail, more intense vinification techniques, stainless steel tanks or just plain cleanliness but the wines of the Languedoc today have little to do with the past.

Now, so we have found, there are many excellent wines to be had in red, white and pink.  And the prices are not to be believed.  For example, we have been drinking a rosé that Lucie in particular has enjoyed (Domaine l’Espinel) that costs less than five euros ($6).  There are some really interesting reds and whites for which the top  price we have seen is around 25 euros ($30).  Perhaps none of them are enough to make the great Chateauneuf du Papes worry, but they are really fine wines, full of complexity and depth and ready to drink now.  We think they will age well, but they may in fact be at their peak in a few years after harvest.

The wine tasting experience is a revelation.  The wineries are not crowded.  In fact in September, at the time of our visits, there have been no others sharing the tasting rooms with us.  And every winery seems to make eight to ten wines and the server wants you to try them all.  It does help to speak French, but we have found that all the servers are eager to try out their English.  Plus, most of them do not charge for tasting.

The Languedoc is sunbaked and can be quite warm, especially in the summer months.  Of course, this produces wines that are particularly flavorsome.  It is not California, with wineries lined up on highways.  No, on the contrary, you may have to drive around, get a little lost, and find wineries spaced out rather distant from each other even within AOC regions.  On the other hand, you are likely to make discoveries that you will remember warmly and search for in wine stores for years to come.  We have found that, for the most part, only the lowest quality wines on any vineyard’s list are the ones exported to North America so a wine tasting trip is likely to open your eyes – and your nose and tongue – to some delightful new experiences.

Only one of us has been wine tasting in South Africa and Steve was only there briefly, so we can’t offer much in the way of recommendations or meaningful reviews.  So this will be about the experience, rather than the wines, which is what Power Tasting is all about.

Steve was in Cape Town on business and gave himself the weekend to overcome the jet lag.  He found himself alone, 8,000 miles from home and that Sunday was his birthday.  So to shake the blues he went wine tasting.

Fortunately, the best known winemaking areas in South Africa are quite near to Cape Town.  Stellenbosch, Paarl and Franschhoek are less than an hour’s drive from downtown.  Unfortunately, Steve had no car, no idea of where to go and besides they drive on the wrong side of the road there.  Then and now, the American dollar goes pretty far in South Africa, so Steve found a taxi and hired it for the day.

Nederburg Winery, with dining tables outside.  Photo courtesy of Spice4Life.

The taxi driver was no wine enthusiast and had no particular idea where he was going, either.  Steve had read up on South African wines and had a few wineries in mind for a visit.  He was lucky that they were fairly close to one another: Meerlust, Nederburg and Spier were on his list.  Amazingly quickly, Steve was seeing grape vines out the taxi window and in a half an hour he had arrived at Spier.

One thing he quickly learned was that they don’t call them vineyards but rather “wine farms” which, when you think about it, makes a lot of sense.  The second thing he learned is that South Africa has a significant wine history.  In the 19^th century, it was a world-class producer; the Constantia wine estate grew one of the world’s most coveted dessert wines.  (You can still get a sense of it with Klein Constantia Vin de Constance, but according to the historians it’s not the same thing.)  Next, Steve learned that many of the better wine farms have top-notch restaurants.  Steve’s lunch was local lamb chops and a bottle Nederburg’s best Cabernet Sauvignon.

The Drakenstein Mountains.  Photo courtesy of SA-Venues.com.

One of Steve’s best memories of his visit was the beauty of the vineyards at the foot of the Drakenstein (“Dragon’s Stone”) Mountains.  Of course there are many vineyard areas in Wine Country with vines and mountains, Napa Valley not the least.  But the views in Paarl and Franschhoek are particularly striking.

Most of the wines in South Africa are from familiar grapes but there is a sort of wine that is unique.  Called Pinotage, it is from grapes cross-bred between Pinot Noir and Cinsault, beginning in the 1920’s.  It doesn’t taste quite like anything else and frankly, we’re not big fans of Pinotage.  But it does add a certain local flavor to a visit to South Africa, where there are a few rather excellent wines, from better known grapes, to taste.

Wine is an art form.  It’s also an industrial process.  And it all starts with farming.  The art is something we understand.  The second we’ve been taught through books and winery tours, and sort of get.  But no matter how much we have read and heard about trellising, soil composition, canopy management and sun angles, we still don’t get it.  All we know is that vineyards are pretty.

We like looking at them from a distance.  We like getting close up, especially when the vines are heavy with grapes near harvest time.  Our photo files are replete with pictures of dangling fruit. and if you are lucky enough to be in Wine Country just before the harvest, you’ll want these pictures, too.  And we just like walking through vineyards.

For one thing, you get a sense of the incredible variety in the way grape growers carry out their craft.  For example, in Beaujolais, they crop their vines close to the ground, whereas in California they are usually chest high.  In Burgundy, they grow their vines quite high, so that two visitors can lose one another if they’re not careful.  It’s something like the mazes that some corn farmers erect after their harvest.  And in Valpolicella, they grow their grapes so high that the vines are over a visitor’s head.

The vineyard of Quintarelli.Giuseppe in Valpolicella

Then there’s the sense of history you feel in certain vineyards.  There’s a little thrill you get knowing that wines have been made from the same produce you see before you, for years and years.  That might be only 45 years in Long Island (Castello di Borghese) or 450 years (Chateau Margaux).  And if you walk up the hill in Burgundy called the Corton-Charlemagne (where they grow grapes for a Grand Cru white wine) you are standing on ground owned by the Emperor Charlemagne, who lived in the 800’s.

Finally (and please don’t tell), if you’re in the vineyards at harvest time, you can sample a few grapes.  You know those grapes you buy in the grocery store?  They’re tasteless, sour things compared with wine grapes.  The more alcoholic wines are made from sweeter grapes, which have more sugar of course.  The grapes of Beaujolais (around 13%) aren’t shabby, but Zinfandels are small and often 14.5% or more and those grapes are super-yummy.

For some reason, the farmers are not wild about hordes of outsiders tromping through their fields.  Maybe they just don’t like tourists getting in the way of workers, raising a lot of dust and messing with the grapes.  So strolling through the vineyards is not always an activity appreciated by the proprietors.  However, in a previous vacation in Burgundy, we picnicked in a different vineyard every day and no one ever came to tell us to leave.  It was heaven!  In the next issue of Power Tasting, we’ll give you tips on how you can take a walk in a vineyard.

 

 

Some years ago, Steve was visiting his friend Adrian at his vacation home in Southold, in the middle of Long Island’s North Fork.  One late afternoon, sitting on the veranda and sipping a local wine, the two fellows engaged in a hearty discussion about the value of Long Island’s experiments with wine production, still novel at that time.

Steve stated that the wines produced on the North Fork were nowhere near the quality of similarly priced wines from California, France or Australia.  So what was the point of paying top dollar for poorer wines?

Adrian’s response was that it was worth supporting the local industry precisely so that the wine makers would have the opportunity to improve over time.  At that point, many of the vineyards – and thus the vines – were ten years old or less.  If no one bought their wines in their youth, the vineyards would never have the opportunity to reach maturity and potentially great wines would never be made.

Bedell Cellars

As we say elsewhere in this issue, we are finding that North Fork wines are beginning to meet the test of time, albeit more so at some wineries than at others.  But the question at the heart of Adrian and Steve’s conversation remains: if there are better wines at similar prices from the world’s great wine growing appellations, is there any purpose for drinking wines from “lesser” regions?  What in fact makes one particular section of Wine Country better or worse?  Is it not just a matter of what we’re used to?

The original subject was Long Island’s wines but the same can be asked of, say, Santa Clara vs. Napa, Puglia vs. Tuscany or Languedoc vs. Bordeaux.  Why not limit yourself to the best?  In particular, for those of us who enjoy traveling for the purpose of wine tasting, is there any reason to make a trip to any but the “best” regions.  We have come to the opinion that yes, it does make sense, with some reservations.

As a general statement, these regions are lesser known, rather than simply of poorer quality.  In any given year, there are some great wines made in vineyards that are unlikely to show up in the pages of Wine Spectator, or if they do they’ll be in the voluminous lists in the back not the news articles up front.

In our recent voyages, we have discovered wines from regions we had previously either not known of or had disliked, such as Minervois, eastern Sicily and California’s Central Coast.    In most cases, there will be a greater concentration of top-quality wines in better-known regions, so with a little homework in advance you can raise your odds of trying the better wines and skipping the underachievers.  But if you don’t go, you won’t know.

Moreover, who’s to say what’s better and what’s worse?  Tastes, especially in wine, change over time.  It’s not that long ago that no one cared about Pinot Noirs from the Santa Rita Hills, Ripassos from Valpolicella or Shirazes from the Barossa.  Now these are highly prized wines, attracting buyers and visitors from everywhere fine wine is appreciated.  If nothing else, taking a wine tasting trip to a little known corner of Wine Country gives you bragging rights when and if that area gets recognition.

“Ah, yes, I remember when the growers were virtually giving away the wine and it was just small producers serving wine in their barns”.  That’s us, talking about Napa Valley a few decades ago.  Who knew then what a big deal it would be today?