{"id":1022,"date":"2018-08-31T14:27:05","date_gmt":"2018-08-31T14:27:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=1022"},"modified":"2018-08-31T14:37:17","modified_gmt":"2018-08-31T14:37:17","slug":"plumpjack-winery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=1022","title":{"rendered":"Plumpjack Winery"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you want to visit a winery with some serious clout, go to Plumpjack (www.plumpjackwinery.com<\/a>) in Oakville in Napa Valley.\u00a0 It is owned by Gavin Newsome (currently Lt. Governor of California and if the polls are to be believed, soon to be the Governor) and Gordon Getty (yes, that Getty family).\u00a0 All of which has no meaning whatsoever with regard to the wine tasting experience when you go there.\u00a0 Plumpjack is laid back, casual and definitely focused on the wine.<\/p>\n

A word about the name.\u00a0 Plumpjack refers to Sir John Falstaff, a character in several of Shakespeare\u2019s historical plays.\u00a0 He was a hearty, hard-drinking rogue and evidently that was the image that the owners wanted to give their winery.<\/p>\n

The building housing the tasting room is no Napa palace, though clearly the owners could have afforded to build an architectural masterpiece if they had wanted to.\u00a0 The fact that it is a quiet farmhouse (or so it seems) nestled within their vineyards says a lot about their approach to their wines: solid, approachable, focused on what\u2019s in the glass and not on all the extraneous fol-de-rol that typifies some wine tasting experiences in Napa Valley.<\/p>\n

And what\u2019s in the glass is of very high quality.\u00a0 They do make Merlots and Syrahs, but Plumpjack\u2019s specialty (and the reason to taste there) is Cabernet Sauvignon.\u00a0 The rating numbers given by the trade magazines don\u2019t mean everything, but consistent high 90\u2019s and a scattering of 100\u2019s does mean something.\u00a0 It tells the visitor that almost every harvest produces wines that are well worth tasting.<\/p>\n

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Plumpjack\u2019s tasting room<\/em><\/p>\n

The atmosphere of a tasting at Plumpjack is very important.\u00a0 Even when the tasting room gets crowded (primarily on weekends) you don\u2019t feel rushed or pressured.\u00a0 The basic tasting charge of $40, while not out of line with other top-tier wineries, does keep down the size of the crowd.\u00a0 You can stand up by the bar or take your glass outside to the porch or under the vines that grow alongside the building.\u00a0 The views out over the vineyards add enormously to the pleasure of your tasting.<\/p>\n

In addition to the tasting room, Plumpjack offers seated tastings.\u00a0 One to consider, especially on weekends when you might want to avoid jammed tasting rooms, is Plumpjack\u2019s hilltop tasting.\u00a0 There\u2019s a small hill on the property and they have a table at the top where the combination of wine and view are matchless.<\/p>\n

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The view from Plumpjack\u2019s hill<\/em><\/p>\n

Plumpjack is a \u201cby appointment only<\/a>\u201d winery.\u00a0 It\u2019s always a good idea to have an appointment and on weekends it\u2019s fairly necessary, but our experience has been that if you arrive and they\u2019re not full, they\u2019ll make room for you.<\/p>\n

Worth noting is that Plumpjack also owns two other wineries, Odette in Stags Leap and Cade on Howell Mountain.\u00a0 Your tasting at Plumpjack is likely to include some wines from these properties as well.<\/p>\n

If your idea of a wine tasting experience is to party in fancy digs, Plumpjack isn\u2019t for you.\u00a0 But if you like serious wine in relaxed circumstances, make your way to Plumpjack on the Oakville Cross just off the Silverado Trail.\u00a0 You\u2019ll be happy there.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you want to visit a winery with some serious clout, go to Plumpjack (www.plumpjackwinery.com) in Oakville in Napa Valley.\u00a0 It is owned by Gavin Newsome (currently Lt. Governor of California and if the polls are to be believed, soon to be the Governor) and Gordon Getty (yes, that Getty family).\u00a0 All of which has … Continue reading Plumpjack Winery<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1022"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1022"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1022\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1030,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1022\/revisions\/1030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}