{"id":1444,"date":"2019-12-30T16:45:09","date_gmt":"2019-12-30T16:45:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=1444"},"modified":"2020-01-25T20:28:35","modified_gmt":"2020-01-25T20:28:35","slug":"tasting-in-napa-valley-a-status-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=1444","title":{"rendered":"Tasting in Napa Valley \u2013 A Status Report"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In the more than 40 years that we have been visiting Napa Valley, we\u2019ve seen many changes.\u00a0 Some have been for the better, some for the worse as would only be expected over such a long period of time.\u00a0 Fortunately, some things will never change.\u00a0 The mountains and the valley floor will always be beautiful, showing different characteristics as the seasons pass.\u00a0 The earth will always support superb vines.\u00a0 And, so we hope, those vines will be producing extraordinary wines for many years to come.<\/p>\n<p>For those like us who take pleasure in visiting Napa Valley for wine tasting, we present our perspective on the plusses and minuses of the region today.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The top wineries may be making the finest wines, year after year, that have ever been made there.<\/strong> In a recent visit we focused on the reserve tasting at some of the best vineyards.\u00a0 Almost without exception (there were a few, but we\u2019ll let those pass) the red wines in particular equaled or surpassed anything we have tasted before.\u00a0 The wines from the drought years are maturing admirably and the recent vintages sparkle.\u00a0 You are almost certain to sip great wines when you visit.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Merlot is less available in tasting rooms, while Malbec is becoming more prominent. <\/strong>Of course there are still great Merlots to be sampled.\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=326\">Beringer<\/a>\u2019s Bancroft Ranch and Pine Ridge&#8217;s Carneros Merlot were our recent favorites.\u00a0 But more and more wineries are featuring single varietal Malbecs.\u00a0 Although it is historically a Bordeaux grape, the Bordelais barely use it anymore.\u00a0 We suspect that its new popularity stems from its dominant use in Argentine wines.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_5422.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1445 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_5422-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"662\" height=\"441\" srcset=\"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_5422-300x200.jpg 300w, http:\/\/powertasting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_5422-768x512.jpg 768w, http:\/\/powertasting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_5422-1024x683.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 662px) 100vw, 662px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>The tasting room at Stag\u2019s Leap Wine Cellars<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Wine tasting prices have skyrocketed.<\/strong> You will have to pay a pretty penny to sample the top wines, though.\u00a0 Based on a non-scientific sample, we can report that $45 is table stakes to taste reserve wines.\u00a0 Mondavi charges $75 for a reserve tasting; Joseph Phelps charges $85.\u00a0 You can partake of a tasting in Pete Buttiegieg\u2019s wine cave (actually it\u2019s at Hall Rutherford) for $125.\u00a0 Wine tasting in Napa Valley has become unaffordable for many people.\u00a0 Moreover, the prices of the top wines at almost every winery we visited are $100 or more, some into the $200s.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The same can be said for hotel rooms.<\/strong> There may be inexpensive places to stay, but we haven\u2019t found them.\u00a0 We now pay for a room what we would have walked away from only a few years ago.\u00a0 Using your points at a Marriott or Hilton property may be a good tactic.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/trefethen1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1446 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/trefethen1-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"649\" height=\"365\" srcset=\"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/trefethen1-300x169.jpg 300w, http:\/\/powertasting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/trefethen1-768x432.jpg 768w, http:\/\/powertasting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/trefethen1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/powertasting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/trefethen1.jpg 1431w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 649px) 100vw, 649px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>The tasting room at Trefethen Family Vineyards, where all the tastings are seated<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>More and more wineries are erecting Napa Palaces.<\/strong> Places that only a few years ago were little more than farmhouses with a bar have now become elegant \u201cvisitor centers\u201d.\u00a0 Stag\u2019s Leap, Louis M. Martini and Joseph Phelps are among them.\u00a0 Some reserve the fancier digs for members of their wine clubs; <a href=\"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=491\">Etude<\/a>, Pine Ridge, <a href=\"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=349\">Domaine Carneros<\/a> and Bouchaine are among these.\u00a0 It\u2019s hard to say if this is a positive or negative trend.\u00a0 The new buildings are indeed beautiful, but they are further removed from the elemental farming and winemaking that has made Napa Valley what it is.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Increasingly, wines are served in seated tastings. <\/strong>Again, this may be viewed as a plus.\u00a0 You are less likely to be standing next to an over-served know-it-all at the bar.\u00a0 But on busy days it may prove harder to get your glass refilled.\u00a0 The servers are more like waiters than educators; they have less time to explain to you the details about what you are sipping.\u00a0 And while you won\u2019t be bothered by other visitors, you\u2019re less likely to meet interesting people who share\u00a0the same enthusiasm for wine.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As we said, Napa Valley has changed and surely will do so in the future.\u00a0 It is still a wonderful destination for wine lovers.\u00a0 We just think it\u2019s best to be aware of what the conditions are before you book your trip.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the more than 40 years that we have been visiting Napa Valley, we\u2019ve seen many changes.\u00a0 Some have been for the better, some for the worse as would only be expected over such a long period of time.\u00a0 Fortunately, some things will never change.\u00a0 The mountains and the valley floor will always be beautiful, &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=1444\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Tasting in Napa Valley \u2013 A Status Report<\/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":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1444"}],"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=1444"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1444\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1464,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1444\/revisions\/1464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}