{"id":1273,"date":"2019-05-31T01:24:58","date_gmt":"2019-05-31T01:24:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=1273"},"modified":"2019-05-31T01:32:33","modified_gmt":"2019-05-31T01:32:33","slug":"chappellet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=1273","title":{"rendered":"Chappellet"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is an on-going debate as to whether better wine is made on mountain slopes or valley floors.\u00a0 There are enough great wineries, high and low, that the issue will probably never be settled.\u00a0 But this much can be said: Mountain wineries offer better views.\u00a0 So even if Chappellet didn\u2019t make excellent wines \u2013 which they do \u2013 it would be worthwhile to take the drive up Pritchard Hill just for the sake of the views you\u2019ll get.<\/p>\n

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Photo courtesy of Chappellet<\/em><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re coming from the south, turn right on Sage Canyon Road in St. Helena on the Vaca range side of Napa Valley.\u00a0 You\u2019ll soon see the vista, not so much into Napa Valley but on the other side towards Lake Hennessy, gleaming off in the distance.\u00a0 We have most enjoyed this view in autumn<\/a>, when the grape leaves turn color. \u00a0\u00a0Keep going and you\u2019ll arrive at Chappellet, a towering wooden edifice which, if viewed from above, is shaped like the winery\u2019s logo.\u00a0 As you enter, you will enjoy the architecture of soaring ceilings and mellow wooden walls, ceilings and beams.<\/p>\n

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Photo courtesy of Chappellet<\/em><\/p>\n

As with many wineries these days, Chappellet offers several different tiers of tastings.\u00a0 Tours and tastings at Chappellet are by appointment only.\u00a0 Some smaller and less well-known wineries say that but don\u2019t really mean it.\u00a0 Chappellet is a popular destination and so they do.\u00a0 We have enjoyed the estate tour which not only includes a tasting in the barrel room but a tour around the vineyards (and more excellent views).\u00a0 You start out with a glass of white wine and then are offered other wines as you go along.\u00a0 At the end, you\u2019re in the barrel room sipping Chappellet\u2019s better known wines.\u00a0 And if you know what to ask for, you may get a chance to try some of their more restricted releases.\u00a0 Look for their Cabernet Franc which is really a Bordeaux blend, or more properly a California expression of a Pomerol blend.<\/p>\n

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Photo courtesy of Chappellet<\/em><\/p>\n

Chappellet\u2019s guides\/servers have always been quite knowledgeable on the occasions we have visited there.\u00a0 Unless you pay for a private tour, you will be with other visitors.\u00a0 This is not usually much of a drawback, but if you are quite knowledgeable about winemaking already you may find the tour somewhat elementary.\u00a0 Wonky questions aren\u2019t discouraged, but your tour mates may feel you\u2019re slowing them down.\u00a0 We have found that to be fair to everyone, it\u2019s best to save these sorts of questions for the end of the tour, when you\u2019re back inside and there is no need to move onto the next spot.<\/p>\n

The late Donn Chappellet founded the winery in 1967, which makes it one of the pioneers of the current era of Napa Valley winemaking and one of the first to exploit the mountain slopes for planting vineyards.\u00a0 Still family-owned, the Chappellets have demonstrated a commitment to quality for decades.\u00a0 For the visitor, the combination of quality wines, vistas and history is hard to beat.<\/p>\n

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There is an on-going debate as to whether better wine is made on mountain slopes or valley floors.\u00a0 There are enough great wineries, high and low, that the issue will probably never be settled.\u00a0 But this much can be said: Mountain wineries offer better views.\u00a0 So even if Chappellet didn\u2019t make excellent wines \u2013 which … Continue reading Chappellet<\/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\/1273"}],"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=1273"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1273\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1283,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1273\/revisions\/1283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}