{"id":2421,"date":"2023-07-27T15:22:39","date_gmt":"2023-07-27T15:22:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=2421"},"modified":"2023-07-27T15:22:39","modified_gmt":"2023-07-27T15:22:39","slug":"cosentino-winery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=2421","title":{"rendered":"Cosentino Winery"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a sense, there are two Cosentino Wineries (www.cosentinowinery.com<\/a>), the historical one and the winery as it is today.\u00a0 It was established in 1980 in other parts of California and settled in Napa Valley after ten years.\u00a0 The founder was a fellow named Mitch Cosentino, who was both a pioneer and a rather different sort of winemaker.\u00a0 For one thing, he was a self-taught winemaker (not quite that rare in those days) but more so because he made the wines that he wanted to drink.\u00a0 If you agreed with him, fine.\u00a0 If not, buy from someone down the road.<\/p>\n

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What he particularly liked were Italian-style wines.\u00a0 He made a Sangiovese and a Nebbiolo, and his best known wines were well-rated Zinfandels that harkened back to a time when Napa Valley wines were made for local consumption by Italian immigrants.\u00a0 He was also the first to sell a Bordeaux blend labeled \u201cMeritage\u201d.<\/p>\n

In 2010, Mitch sold his winery to a big conglomerate, which leads us to today\u2019s winery. In one way, it is as it was, at the same location as ever at the edge of Napa Town.\u00a0 The winery building is still there, an Italianate (of course) structure covered in vines.\u00a0 But the name and the building are the main links to Cosentino\u2019s history.\u00a0 Yes, they do make Zinfandel, but it\u2019s not what they are known for any longer.\u00a0 Today, their premier red wine is the one that Mitch introduced, \u201cThe Poet\u201d, a Meritage, about which more later.<\/p>\n

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The wine tasting experience at Cosentino is quite pleasant.\u00a0 The winery is easy to find, right next to Mustards restaurant along Route 29.\u00a0 There is a wide patio with a large stone wall at one end in which there is constantly lit fireplace.\u00a0 Seating is well spread out and the view of the traffic passing by is softened by a large hill just across the street with a Victorian mansion on top.\u00a0 If you go, try to have your tasting on this patio; in our opinion the indoor tasting room is far less inviting.<\/p>\n

As everywhere in Napa Valley, Cosentino is \u201cby appointment\u201d.\u00a0 We were seated without one, perhaps by luck or the fact that we got there before the crowds did.\u00a0 \u00a0The servers are eager to please, what we would call \u201chosts\u201d as opposed to \u201ceducators\u201d. A typical tasting flight is two whites and two reds, one of which is the aforementioned \u201cThe Poet\u201d, which brings us to the issue of price and quality.<\/p>\n

In all honesty, Cosentino does not make the best<\/em> wines in Napa Valley, but they are pleasant and easy to drink.\u00a0 They fit the surroundings in that they are the types of wines you might enjoy sitting on your patio with friends on a sunny afternoon.\u00a0 They cost considerably less than wines made at the better known wineries in Napa Valley, and the tasting fee is also lower, currently $30.\u00a0 The Poet is unquestionably their top wine (so they say and we agree).\u00a0 It too is priced well below other wineries\u2019 best offerings.<\/p>\n

So if your plan for wine tasting in Napa Valley is to visit the Big Names, by all means do so, but be prepared to pay for the experience.\u00a0 If, however, you want to have a pleasant experience, sipping tasty wines and at least one that\u2019s worth savoring, Cosentino may be what you are looking for.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a sense, there are two Cosentino Wineries (www.cosentinowinery.com), the historical one and the winery as it is today.\u00a0 It was established in 1980 in other parts of California and settled in Napa Valley after ten years.\u00a0 The founder was a fellow named Mitch Cosentino, who was both a pioneer and a rather different sort … Continue reading Cosentino 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\/2421"}],"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=2421"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2421\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2424,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2421\/revisions\/2424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}