Author: lgsjr

The Eiffel Tower

One of the features of Power Tasting is a monthly article on a Place to Visit that isn’t about wine but is in Wine Country.  And since this edition is about the beaten path, there’s no path in all of France that’s been trod more often than the one that leads to the Eiffel Tower.  But wait, is Paris really in Wine Country?  Surprisingly, the answer is “yes”.  You can make a day trip to Champagne or the Loire and amazingly, there are still a handful vineyards in Paris itself.  None of the urban vineyards are very big (one has only ten vines) but they qualify the city for inclusion.

The Eiffel Tower from the Trocadero.  Photo courtesy of the Hotel Eiffel Trocadero.

So about that tower.  For one thing, it’s one of those iconic structures, along with the Statue of Liberty, Big Ben and the Kremlin, that are emblematic of their entire country.  Its story is pretty well known, so we’ll recount it here only briefly.  It was named for Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built it for the 1889 World’s Fair or Exposition Universelle.  It was derided in its own time but has become beloved ever since.  You can ride to near the top for a great view of Paris, with restaurants on the second and third levels.

The issue is not whether you’ll see the Eiffel Tower.  When you go to Paris, you can’t miss it and you’ll take your picture in front of it.  We’d like to give you some ideas as to how to see it.

The Eiffel Tower is located in the 7th Arrondissement, on the Left Bank of the Seine. This sector is one of the more elegant residential areas of the city and worth walking around in.  The tower itself is in a park, the Champs de Mars, where royal troops used to train back in the time just before the French Revolution.  In pleasant weather, you can join Parisians in stretching out, kicking a ball or listening to itinerant musicians.  Or you can walk up to the Eiffel Tower, lean your head back and try to take it all in.  Maybe that’s why Eiffel’s contemporaries couldn’t appreciate it; they couldn’t really see it properly.

For us, the best place to see the tower is across the river at the Place du Trocadero.  Sit at a café on the place and soak in the view.  From there you can see the tower in the perspective we believe Eiffel intended, massive but contained within Paris.  Keep in mind that only a few decades before the fair, Paris had been completely renovated into the gorgeous city we know today.  The Eiffel Tower added an exclamation point to the city. Viewing it from the Trocadero puts it in context.

Hovering over the city.

As you walk around the sector where the tower is, you’ll see it above many of the rooftops.  There’s no better way to enjoy this kind of view than sitting in a café with a coffee and a French pastry or with a glass of wine.  And do see it at night.  Since the Millennium celebration, the Eiffel Tower erupts in a symphony of flashing lights, for five minutes every hour on the hour.  The Parisians have never lacked for a sense of the dramatic.

The Importance of Being There

It’s always fun to discover that an unknown wine from an obscure location is really pretty good.  But with all due respect to the Mavrud grapes of Bulgaria or the sparkling wines of Brazil, there’s a reason why the world beats a path to Bordeaux, Tuscany, Napa Valley, Burgundy, the Rioja and Sonoma County: They’re the best.  If you want to be a knowledgeable wine taster. before you get off the beaten path, you’d better be familiar with some if not all of the premier sectors of Wine Country

What’s the big deal about being there, in the most famous locales?

For one thing, there’s a pleasure when you open a bottle in remembering what the region looked like or even better what the winery was like.  There’s nothing like the experience of touching the actual grapes (or maybe filching one to see what they’re like) when you pour what they made from them.  Except for winemakers themselves, most of us couldn’t tell a Cabernet Sauvignon grape from a Pinot Noir, but it’s fun to believe you could.  And you can only pretend to do so if you’ve actually been there to see them.

Of course, you can look at grapes anywhere they grow them.  But when you’re standing in front of Château Margaux touching the grapes (which we have done) you know that these are among the greatest grapes in the world.  You have to be there.

Château Margaux.  Photo courtesy of Forbes.

Wine is made of grapes but people make wine.  It’s a wonderful experience meeting these people in their own environment.  For the most part, they’re very nice.  And why shouldn’t they be?  You’ve come a long way to taste their wines and you chose their winery for the purpose.  If you’re serious about wine tasting – and you must be, because you’re there – they are as eager to know something about their customers as you are to engage with the winemaker.

We were in Burgundy’s Côte d’Or many years ago, having a picnic in a churchyard.  A man walked by and spotted us and came over to talk.  We thought he was going to tell us to move but, no, he wanted to see what we were drinking with lunch.  When he found that a couple from the other side of the Atlantic was having a premier cru with our jambon and baguette, he was quite pleased.  “Quelle pique-nique!”  It turned out that he owned a few rows of vines in the adjoining vineyard.  We think of him every time we open a top Burgundy.  To do that, you have to be there.

For us, wine is a beverage to accompany dinner, sometimes for meditation, a subject of eternal fascination and, in wine tasting, an avocation that has taken us to vineyards around the world.  We can and do enjoy the wine from the store around the corner, but it’s not the same experience.  The pleasure of wine tasting, as opposed to drinking, comes as much from the tastes, memories and feelings as much as from the wine itself.  And to get that experience, you have to be there.

V. Sattui Winery

  1. Sattui Winery (www.vsattui.com) is an American success story. Vittorio Sattui was born in a small town near Genoa and emigrated to San Francisco. He opened a winery there in 1885 and prospered, along with family members who followed him, until Prohibition closed the winery down.  Then in 1976, Vittorio’s great-grandson Dario revived the family business in St. Helena.  (As it happens, our first trip to Napa Valley was in 1977, so we thought that V. Sattui had always been there.)

The original winery in San Francisco.  That’s Vittorio’s son Mario and brother Romeo out front.  Photo courtesy of the winery.

Today, V. Sattui has become an institution.  If you visit Napa Valley for only a few times, you are sure to wind up at their doorstep.  Everybody does.  There are several reasons why this is so.

The first is location. It’s right on Route 29, so anyone going to taste in the northern end of the valley has to pass by.  Heitz and Louis M. Martini are just up the road, so we guess Dario figured back then this was a good spot for a winery, and maybe he knew that Flora Springs would open across the street in a few years.  But he couldn’t have known that Pahlmeyer, Belle Glos and Hall would

someday be neighbors as well.  You could do a day’s wine tasting in walking distance of V. Sattui.

Then of course there’s the wine.  V. Sattui has always had an enormous selection of them, many of which were quite affordable.  This is still the case, but they also have pricier wines sourced from some of the most reputed vineyards in California, including Morisoli, Ramazotti and Quaglia.  Their wines include four white varietals, ten red varietals (plus blends), eight dessert wines, five rosés and four sparkling wines.

So how come you’ve never seen any of these in your local wine store?  It’s because they don’t distribute their wines outside the winery.  These days, of course, everything is for sale on the internet as well.  But for decades, V. Sattui has relied on visitors to buy up their stock.

The picnic grounds at V. Sattui.  Photo courtesy of the winery.

And the visitors have come, year after year, many attracted by the expansive picnic grounds on the property.  Napa County has limited the number of wineries that can have picnic tables, with those that have long had them allowed to continue doing so.  It is a common sight in good weather to see families gathered at the tables eating feasts, like you see in Italian movies.  Somewhere, old Vittorio must be smiling.

The people are eating and drinking food and wine purchased on the premises.  In addition to selling wines, V. Sattui has a very fine deli, or salumeria as Vittorio would have said.  There are cold cuts, cheeses, sandwiches, salads, hot dishes and desserts.  And of course, it all goes with V. Sattui wines.  They have a rule that food and wine must be bought there, and that’s only fair.

Many visitors are new to wine tasting in Napa Valley, so they’ve never heard of, much less tasted, V. Sattui’s wines.  So if you sit the shady picnic area and listen carefully, you’ll hear people saying, “Hey, this is pretty good”.  And it is.

Dealing with Wine Country Crowds

One of the famous sayings that Yogi Berra was supposed to have uttered was “Nobody goes there anymore – it’s too crowded”.  You may want to remember that if you should find yourself, say, on Route 29 in Napa Valley on a sunny July 4 weekend.  Everybody knows (whoever everybody is) that it will be mobbed with wine lovers, tourists, partiers, kids, bachelorettes and assorted hangers-on.  The roads are clogged; you can’t get near a server in wineries and as for getting an answer to a question, well, as we say in Brooklyn, fuhgeddaboudit.

So why go?  That may be your only day in the area or you promised some people you’d take them when they were in town.  Here are a few tips for making the best of it.

  • Avoid the big names. Sure, it’s fun to visit the wineries you’re familiar with but those are the ones that will likely attract the biggest crowds.  Even in regular times, we’ve felt overwhelmed at places like Domaine Chandon and Silver Oak.  So consider some of the lesser known, more out of the way wineries.  For instance, if you really want to try some sparkling, you might want to go to Iron Horse in Sebastopol.

The Iron Horse tasting “room”.  Wine tasting as in the old days.  Photo courtesy of shop.ironhorsevineyards.com

  • Take your glasses outside. An advantage of Iron Horse is that their tasting “room” is and was outdoors, even before Covid forced that on every winery.  Many wineries have terraces or picnic areas where you can sip under the blue skies.  We enjoy the combination of wine and good weather under any circumstances.  We remember well a visit to Etude one Martin Luther King Birthday weekend when we sat outside in a pair of Adirondack chairs, while a nice server came by periodically and made sure we hadn’t run out of Pinot Noir.
  • Use the auxiliary tasting rooms. Some top wineries, such as Chateau Montelena or Beaulieu Vineyard, maintain secondary tasting rooms specifically to deal with crowded days.  If you make it clear that you’d prefer some relative peace and quiet instead of being in the middle of the action, they will be glad to accommodate you.
  • Make appointments. This is a good idea on weekends, much less holidays.  During the pandemic, most wineries are by appointment only, anyway.  But when it’s over, the masses will return, perhaps in greater numbers after being away for so long.  With an appointment, you usually will get a seated tasting, which by itself limits the size of the crowds.
  • Don’t try to visit too many wineries. The less time you spend on the road, the better off you are.  So limit you tastings to a few places, preferably fairly close to one another.  Think about the places you’d like to stay for a while, for both wine tasting and other reasons.  Some wineries have beautiful gardens.  Others have outstanding art collections.  And some are just lovely places to be.  Take advantage of them.

“Downtown” Calistoga.  Photo courtesy of TripSavvy.

  • Consider in-town tastings. As a general rule, we prefer to be in towns, such as Calistoga or Healdsburg, on weekends rather than out in the vineyards.  There are an increasing number of top wineries opening tasting rooms on the streets.  Even if they’re crowded, and they are sometimes, you can stroll around a bit until you can find a spot at a bar.

These are all Napa/Noma tips, but the same ideas apply in European wineries, if you happen to be there for their holidays.

Frog’s Leap Winery

There are some wineries in Napa Valley that are intended to awe their visitors.  They may have long histories, or architecture designed to replicate castles and temples, or they’re highly modern glass palaces.  Frog’s Leap Winery (https://www.frogsleap.com/) has the history, having been established in 1980.  It has the grapes, much of which they sell to other winemakers.  What it lacks is awesomeness.  It was designed and built to make visitors feel like they’re going to visit their country grandma, albeit a grandma with money and good taste.

Photo courtesy of Wine Travel Eats.

The winery building itself still looks like a barn, a very big one.  It’s painted the shade of red that seems to be reserved for barns.  You can take a tour and still see all the equipment and the barrels, but we think you’ll be drawn back to the visiting area.  Of course, that’s where they serve the wine.

While Frog’s Leap makes a broad selection of red wines, it seems to us that they’re best known for their white wines. Maybe that’s because their Chardonnay is so widely available in wine shops around the country.  Taking nothing away from the Chard, we’re impressed that they still make a Chenin Blanc, which used to be much more prominent in Napa Valley.

These days of pandemic-induced changes, all of Frog Leap’s tastings are seated affairs, by appointment only, out on the lawn.  In better times, both in the past and just ahead, tastings are also seated, in a parlor where you perch yourself on a settee.  Now, settee is a word your grandma may have used and it’s that sense of old-style hominess that is for us the premier attraction of this winery.  You feel like much more than a customer; you’re a guest.

This feeling is reinforced at Christmas-time.  There’s always a beautifully decorated tree erected in the parlor.  It puts you in a holiday mood as soon as you walk in the door.  They’re not going to offer you egg nog; you’re limited to wine.  But there is a sense that you ought to leave some milk and cookies behind when you leave.

Now don’t get us wrong.  The wines are modern: crisp whites and robust reds.  Unlike many Napa Valley wineries, including many that are quite nearby, Frog’s Leap still making wines at a price point that the average person can afford on a regular basis.  Nothing among their recent releases costs an amount that requires three digits and that’s quite okay with us.

Oh, and about the name.  We always thought it was a play on Stag’s Leap and that may indeed be the case.  But according to the people at the winery, back in the ‘70s, the location was a frog farm.  A frog farm?  Now, John Williams, founder of the winery, was working at Stag’s Leap when he bought the property.  So believe whichever story you prefer.

 

 

Les-Baux-de-Provence

Nestled in the rocky area of southern France known as the alpilles, or the little Alps, is the village of Les-Baux-de-Provence.  In the valleys below are vineyards making red, white and rosé wines that in recent years have received AOC status under the name of the village.

Photo courtesy of Rue des Vignerons

The village itself is a small gem, a UNESCO world heritage site.  It has been occupied for a thousand years and the local people have maintained its medieval character to this day.  It was once a fortress and the mighty walls are still there for you to see and walk along.  You will see it as you drive up through the valley and you’ll be hard put not to gasp in delight.

The ruined building atop Les Baux is the Château, which was the home of some renegade princes and was torn down, rebuilt, and torn down again as the fortunes of war and politics swayed over the years.  By the 19th century Les Baux was pretty much abandoned.  Then they discovered an ore nearby that contained aluminum and called it bauxite.  The mines are depleted now, but by the time that happened, the tourists had discovered the village.

Today, the 400 or so residents of Les-Baux-de-Provence are joined by thousands of visitors each year.  It is a great place to wander through ancient streets, walk the walls and stop for a meal.  There are many cafés and restaurants, where you can have typical French meals as well as some gourmet fare.

The remains of the Château are the most visited attraction and you will have to contend with the tour buses that deposit their passengers there.  It is worth seeing, if only for the views across the alpilles. The most notable site in the village below is the 12th century Church of St. Vincent.  It’s not a magnificent cathedral but rather a simple village church.  It’s simplicity belies many notable reasons to visit the church.  The windows are modern glass, a gift to the people of Les Baux from Prince Rainier of Monaco.  There are also modern murals of Provencal shepherds celebrating Christmas.

Down below the village, hidden amongst the rocks and vineyards, is the Relais & Château Hôtel Baumanière that has merged with the neighboring hotel La Cabro d’Or,  a jewel in the repertory of this prestigious hotel chain.  One wonderful memory of the three Michelin stars restaurant in this hotel is being served a steak à la moëlle.  This is a New York strip topped with beef bone marrow with a small bone filled with marrow on the side.  They recommend removing the marrow with a tiny spoon they give you.  To this day, we still salivate when we think about this.

It is Christmas that really defines Les Baux.  Each year, on Christmas Eve, the villagers form creche vivante (or living creche) around the altar in St. Vincents.  The villagers dress in quaint costumes and they lead their farm animals into the recreated manger.  It is unlikely that you’ll ever see the ceremony; it’s for the people of the village, not visitors.  But you can see the villagers preparing for midnight mass and realize that the waitress and the store clerk you meet are probably members of the touching statement of faith in the church.

Santons.  Photo courtesy of lesbauxdeprovence.com.

There’s another Christmas tradition that comes from Les Baux.  Many people in America and elsewhere decorate their homes with miniature houses and people made of porcelain.  These are called santons.  Perhaps the people who treasure these delicate pieces don’t realize it, but the village they’re recreating is in fact Les-Baux-de-Provence. There’s even a museum of santons there.  Yet another reason to visit Les Baux when you’re wine tasting is to collect some of these miniatures from the place where they originated.

 

 

 

 

Cold Weather Tasting

A few years ago, Power Tasting ran an article called “Rainy Day Tasting”.  It provided tips on how to enjoy yourself while making the best of bad weather.  If you should be travelling in wine country when it gets cold, there are some of the same considerations to keep in mind but also a few that are unique to the winter months.

Photo courtesy of the Napa Valley Register.

Of course, our mental image of Wine Country contains bright blue skies with grapes hanging heavy on the vines.  Very few wine making areas are immune to cold weather and many depend on it for various reasons.  Canadian wineries use the freezing cold to make their famous ice wines.  In most others, a period of dormancy is the basis for a finer harvest the next summer.

If you are visiting Wine Country from late November through March, here are a few tips to keep in mind.

  • Dress for the weather. Ignore the mental image previously mentioned and bring a heavy coat, gloves and a hat.  You probably won’t be sitting outside sipping wine (although there always a few polar bears who like to do just that).  But you may have a long walk from your car to a winery’s door and you might want to walk around one of the towns.  Be prepared for it.
  • Watch out for icy roads. It does freeze in Wine Country.  We well remember a trip to Napa Valley in December where the temperatures descended into the 20’s…during the day.  You can be fairly certain that the major thoroughfares will be de-iced, but a lot of the places you’d like to visit are on small, windy roads, sometimes up in the mountains.  Keep your eyes open and drive carefully.
  • Be doubly careful about the amount of alcohol you consume. If you do hit an icy patch on a back road, you want to be attentive and quick in your reflexes.  Too much alcohol doesn’t help.  Remember the name of the game is tasting, not drinking.
  • Find a hotel that features fireplaces… Many of them do, specifically because they want to attract winter visitors.  There’s nothing like opening a bottle of local sparkling wine and snuggling with your loved one while you’re in Wine Country.  Some hotels have gas units while others have real, working fireplaces.  They usually supply you with one of those fake logs, and in the United States you can find more of those – or real firewood – in the local pharmacies.  Fair warning: those with real fireplaces don’t always have the best ventilation, so be prepared to open a window, even if it’s freezing outside.
  • Or firepits. There are other hotels that have firepits where you can gather with your loved one and friends outside, despite the cold.  This is an awfully nice way to spend an evening, too.
  • Add some wine tasting to a ski trip. No, not at the same time.  But there are many ski areas that are relatively near to vineyards.  For example, the slopes in Bear Valley, CA are not far from the wineries of Amador County.  And in Europe, many of the most famous mountains are in the general area of where wine is made.

Have fun tasting wine in the cold, both by taking extra precautions and taking advantage of winter’s special treats.

Visiting Napa/Noma in December

December’s weather is very unpredictable in the Napa Valley and Sonoma County, which we elide to be Napa/Noma.  We have been there at times when it is absolutely springlike and on other occasions we have frozen in temperatures much colder than that which we left behind in New York.  So before you come, by all means check your favorite weather app to learn how to pack.

A chilly December morning just off the Silverado Trail.

There are many advantages to a visit in December and a few drawbacks.  It’s a rather relaxed time for the local folks.  The hardest work of the harvest is over and the new wine is sleeping soundly in barrels.  If you’re taking a tour, you won’t get to see people actually making wine (come in September and October for that) but on the other hand, you’ll be able to see all of the winery.  It’s not safe to traipse around when the destemmers and fermenting tanks are in full operation, with workers busy everywhere.

The big plus is the celebration of the holidays.  Many if not all of the wineries decorate for Christmas, some rather splendidly.  We can recommend Robert Mondavi and Beringer in Napa Valley and Arrowood in Sonoma County for the attractiveness of their displays.  Wine tasting is a rather festive pastime by itself; it gets downright merry at Christmas.

In addition, many of the wineries have private parties at this time of year, often on the first weekend of the month but later if that weekend is early in a given year.  Most of them are for their club members and are often called “pickup parties”.  The members from nearby are expected to pick up their December shipments in person and they get a little extra.  If you show up and you’re not a club member, they will almost never shoo you away.  On those days, they normally have their best wines available for tasting.

Also, many wineries hold fancy dinner parties for their club members, usually for a stiff price.  If you’re in a mood for a banquet dinner – always with great wine – you can join one club before you go and then sign up for the dinner.  Many of them sell out early, so give yourself some time in advance if you choose to do this.

Yountville at Christmas.  Photo courtesy of The Wine Stay.

Some wineries have rather extensive (and often expensive) gift shops.  What better time to shop for gifts than December?  The shops are extensively decorated and of course many of the items are Christmas-themed.  Among the best are Mondavi and Beringer, once again, but also Darioush and Rubicon.  Moreover, the same can be said for the towns as well, where they are selling things to the local people, not just the tourists.  (Yountville is especially beautiful at this time of year.)  Among things we have bought over the years have been a gilded grape leaf to hang on a sturdy branch of a Christmas tree and a wreath made of grape vines.

Of course, you may be rather cold if you visit Napa/Noma in December, but the crowds will be sparser (except on party days).  Hotels are more available, as are restaurant tables.  With much of the previous release’s wines already sold, you may have some difficulty tasting your favorites, but consider that a chance to discover something different.

Don’t let the weather deter you.  December’s pleasures overwhelm the few disadvantages.

Contrasts: Wine Tasting in California and in Europe

In some ways, wine tasting is the same experience wherever you do it.  Someone offers you a glass, fills it with wine and tells you what you have in your glass.  You sip the wine, think about how it smells and tastes and try to remember how much you liked it.  But in many other not quite so fundamental ways, the experience of wine tasting varies greatly depending on what part of Wine Country you are in when you do it.  Of course, different places make different kinds of wine but let’s put that aside.  We are talking here simply of the differences in the experiences you have, which after all is what Power Tasting is all about.

Opus One winery, one of the most European tasting experiences in California.  Photo courtesy of the Napa Valley Register.

Wine tasting in California is rather straightforward, with a few big exceptions.  You drive up to a pretty building, enter a well-decorated tasting room and sample several wines.  In most places, there are a variety of wines to choose among – red, white and rosé – and most tasting rooms allow you to try four or five of them.  In a few wineries there is a dessert wine to top it all off.  If it’s not too busy and if your server has some knowledge of wine, you might also have the chance for an interesting discussion about what you’re being served.

As to those California exceptions, more and more wineries that sell highly priced wines now only offer seated tastings by appointment.  Often a tour is a prerequisite for a tasting.  There will be a smaller number of wines available, but they will all be well-made expressions of the terroir and the varietal.

Domaine la Soumade in the Southern Rhone Valley, one of the most Californian tasting experiences in Europe.  Photo courtesy of the Our House in Provence blog.

Europe is too big a place with way too many wines to make any meaningful generalizations…but we’ll try anyway.  In some places, the experience is quite Californian.  Wineries have built pretty buildings (or taken over quite impressive old buildings) and serve their wines at a stand-up bar.  In terms of the experience, you could just as well be in Mendocino as Montalcino.  The conversation may be somewhat more limited, depending on your language skills and that of the server.  The range of wines you may taste could be very much more limited; in some places such as Bordeaux, Burgundy or Chianti they only make a red and a white and the only variety is based on the level of quality.

There are several other variations in Europe.  The biggest, best known producers only offer tastings by appointment, if they do so at all.  The service will be in well-spoken English, because you reserved it that way.  There may be only one wine to taste and it will be very good.

At the other extreme, there are many instances in Europe where a tasting, such as it is, is held in the winemaker’s kitchen, with that fellow or his aunt serving you whatever they make.  In some places that may be only one wine, but more likely you find a fairly broad selection of the same type of wine from their properties around the region.

Since these generalizations are so broad, we recommend you do a little homework before you travel to taste wine in Europe.  It will save you from misunderstandings and disappointments.

Pine Ridge Vineyards

People who visit the Stags Leap district of Napa Valley often drive past Pine Ridge (www.pineridgevineyards.com).  Maybe they’re looking for the eponymous vineyards or maybe they’re just hurrying back to Napa town, but they really ought to pull over and stop at Pine Ridge.  We have been there many times and have had diverse experiences, all wonderful.

Another reason people may pass by Pine Ridge is that the building itself cannot compare with the Napa palaces up and down the Silverado Trail.  To us, that’s a positive.  The winery itself is a pleasing structure, in a sort of Spanish mission style.  The tasting room is also attractive but low-key.  It has a bar and some wine on the walls and that’s about it.

What makes a visit to Pine Ridge come alive is the wine.  They are best known by far for their Cabernet Sauvignon.  As you can see on their web site, they have Cab, better Cab (which they call Fortis) and Other Red Wine.  Interestingly, Pine Ridge produces Cabernet Sauvignon from three AVAs other than Stags Leap (Howell Mountain, Rutherford, Oakville) as well as several blends from their properties.  It is unusual for all of them to be offered for tasting but of those we have tried, each has distinctly different characteristics.

Don’t miss some of those “other” reds.  There’s a very fine Merlot and although we’re just getting used to California Malbec, theirs is pretty good.  We’re not as fond of white wine as red, but some of their white varietals are quite interesting.  They have a Rhône blend of Chenin Blanc and Viognier that isn’t quite like anything else we’ve tried in Napa Valley.

These sad days, all the tastings at Pine Ridge are outdoors, but when the pandemic passes and you can taste inside once again, ask for a tour of their caves and their tasting lounge for wine club members.  By itself, that lounge is enough to make us consider joining their club.

We must tell a few stories about the service we have received at Pine Ridge.  On our most recent, and most impressive, visit on a cold December afternoon, we had a true educator who showed Pine Ridge’s wines to their best advantage and then led us on the aforementioned tour.  In all our tastings there, this was the best.

But it was not the most memorable.  We came there once near the end of a hot summer’s day.  It was pleasant to sit out on their terrace and have the server bring us wine from inside.  The fellow knew absolutely nothing about wine (when questioned, he brought us the book he was supposed to have already read) but he sure wanted us to have a good time.  He was a host extraordinaire.  There was a few other couples on the terrace at that time and we were treated to a real party.

By the way, when you pull into the parking lot, look to your left.  There’s a hill with some rows of vines.  At the ridge of the hill, there is a row of pine trees.  Aha!