Author: lgsjr

Jimtown Store, Farewell

The Jimtown Store had permanently closed at the end of 2019, so this is not late breaking news.  But its passing, as well as the 28 years in which it served travelers in the Alexander Valley, tells a tale about what Sonoma County was and what it is now.

Photo courtesy of Alexander Valley Winegrowers.

The best that can be said about the Jimtown Store is that it served really good food in a beautiful general store setting, along a country road with views of the mountains.  We always looked forward to lunch there when we went wine tasting in the area.  They had a few tables in the store aisles among shelves packed with goodies, gifts and old fashioned toys.  They also had a charming outside  seating area.  It was a relic of another age, with its somewhat dilapidated exterior and the old red Ford pickup parked outside.  The sign outside touted “Good Food” and the store delivered on its promise.

But it was a fake.

Yes, there had been a general store there back in the late 1800’s but it had been closed for years when John Werner and Carrie Brown bought it in 1989.  They refurbished the place, but not too much, to retain the feel of what it had been.  They were not starry-eyed beginners but experienced entrepreneurs in the gourmet food trade.  They opened the store not to serve the local population but rather wine-loving tourists who needed to put some food in their bellies as they hopped from winery to winery.

That told the story of what Sonoma County was becoming in the 1990s and into this century.  Wine grapes were long grown there. The area was focused on farming and winemaking, but there were few tasting rooms, much like Napa Valley 25 years before.  Werner and Brown could see what was coming and filled their store with fancy foodstuffs and gourmet sandwiches.  Now we like fancy foodstuffs and we always enjoyed the gourmet sandwiches but we knew quite well that this wasn’t what the farmhands were eating.

Jimtown Store wasn’t an ol’ time general store any more than Jordan Winery is an English manor or Ledson Winery is a haunted castle.  But all of them were built on the proposition that pretense plus wine equals tourist dollars.

As indicative of Sonoma County as was the Jimtown Store, so was the cause of the store’s closure: wildfire and its effect on tourism.  The recent Kincaid fire came awfully close and it frightened away many wine tasters during the high tourism season.  That, combined with Covid-19, is also a part of what Sonoma County and many other areas of Wine Country have become: a tourist destination starved of visitors.

Again, we want to emphasize that we are among the tourists who in the past have added to Sonoma county’s economy.  We won’t be going this year because of the pandemic and many wineries have only limited openings anyway for the same reason.

The Jimtown Store wasn’t just good food; it was fun.  And Sonoma County isn’t just good wine, either.  The pleasures of going wine tasting are being forced to change, but we who love to do it must always preserve the fun.

Farewell, Jimtown Store.  We eagerly await the next chapter of visiting Wine Country, Sonoma County very much included.

 

 

Tips for Wine Tasting in Sonoma County

A fair question is why there’s any need for wine tasting tips, specifically for Sonoma County.  How is it different than Napa Valley, for instance, or Bordeaux or the North Fork of Long Island for that matter?  The answer is the combination of size and variety.

You can go wine tasting in Napa Valley along two parallel roads and the crossings between them.  Yes, there are wineries up in the hills on either side, but the wineries are all generally concentrated along Route 29 and the Silverado Trail.  As far as the geography is concerned, the same can be said of the North Fork or the Cote d’Or in Burgundy.

As to variety, while there are ample exceptions to the rule, the majority of wines made in Napa Valley are made from Chardonnay and Bordeaux grapes.  In Oregon, you’ll get Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, as you will in Burgundy.  It will be Gamay in Beaujolais.  But in Sonoma County, Alexander Valley is dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, Russian River by Pinot Noir and Dry Creek by Zinfandel.  There are pockets of Rhône grapes and Petite Sirah.  And yes there’s Chardonnay everywhere, but you’ll find a healthy amount of Sauvignon Blanc too, especially in Dry Creek.

So if you are new to wine tasting in Sonoma County, here are a few things to think about.

  • Focus on one area per day. You really can’t get a taste (pun intended) for Sonoma County as a whole in a short trip.  Each area can be viewed as a separate outing.  Moreover, if you are tasting in Russian River, for example, you can compare wines made from the same grape varietals and understand the difference between microclimates on the northern end of Westside Road and its eastern extension.  And of course, you can compare the talents of different winemakers as well.
  • Think about lunch. Of course you’ll want to eat, for safety’s sake if nothing else.  But there’s only one place to buy a sandwich in Alexander Valley (highlighted in this issue).  The same can be said for Dry Creek.  There are some in Russian River on River Road in Guerneville, but they’re quite a way out.  You can always drive into the towns: Sonoma, Santa Rosa or Healdsburg.  But that takes you out of the way and adds to the driving.  So either pack a picnic or plan for a stop where you know you can get some food.
  • Try to ascertain the specific character of Sonoma County wines. It’s inevitable that you would compare the wines you are tasting with those you’ve had elsewhere.  And you may decide that you prefer the Cabernet Sauvignons of Bordeaux or the Pinot Noirs of Oregon.  That’s okay, but there is a distinct Alexander Valley style of their Cabs or the Pinots of Russian River.  You’ll enjoy your tastings – and the bottles you buy back home – more if you can pick up on the uniqueness of the Sonoma County style.

  • Don’t just drive. Enjoy the scenery.  From the views of the mountains to the east of Alexander Valley to the magnificence of Chalk Hill Road to the town squares in Sonoma and Healdsburg, we have always found the views in Sonoma County to be among the prettiest in Wine Country.  Let your eyes drink, not just your mouth.

Los Olivos, California

Power Tasting has frequently extolled the virtues of in-town tasting.  But we were thinking of towns like Healdsburg, Yountville or even far away in Montalcino in Italy.  It’s a very different but equally pleasurable experience to go wine tasting in a village that’s not near a major airport, has lots of local wineries, not one of them that could be called a palace.  If that sounds attractive to you, find your way to Los Olivos in California’s Central Coast.

There are many wineries and vineyards in the vicinity of Los Olivos.  Among the best known are Firestone, Beckmen, Fess Parker and the fabled Bien Nacido vineyard.  We suggest you visit these, but we particularly urge you to pull into “downtown” Los Olivos.   There’s not a lot to it: three blocks of Grand Avenue and two of Alamo Pintado Avenue that together host 32 (!) tasting rooms.  (A few of them specialize in beer, not wine, but that’s okay too.)

“Downtown” Los Olivos.  Photo courtesy of www.losolivosca.com.

With all of these establishments to choose among, it’s a good idea to have a game plan when you visit Los Olivos.  Given enough time, you can at least in theory try all them all.  But for most wine tasters there’s probably only one day to sample among the town’s riches.  The usual rule of thumb of one hour per winery doesn’t apply here, not with one tasting room cheek by jowl with the next one.  So we suggest a walk down the two avenues to get a feel for the place.  Take note of the tasting rooms, but also enjoy the “little American home town” atmosphere.

While you’re at it, eat some food.  If you plan to return home that day, a degree of temperance is absolutely necessary.  Even if you stay overnight, you need to be selective.  There are a few places to eat, one of which were briefly featured in the movie Sideways.  In fact, one not very good reason to visit Los Olivos is to brag that you went where the movie was shot.  That was a long time ago and many of the wineries have changed since then.

Refugio Ranch Vineyards tasting room on Grand Avenue.  Photo courtesy of Central Coast Uncorked

This being Central Coast, you will find a lot of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.  The Pinots in particular have some real aficionados.  And if you are a red wine drinker, save some room for the Syrahs and Rhône blends.  We have found some of these to be excellent.

If you enjoy the wine you taste in the first, somewhat randomly chosen location, ask the server about other tasting rooms that might have similar wines.  There’s no guarantee that the server knows what you enjoy, so there might need to be a few visits until you hit your groove.  Another approach is just to choose the most attractive tasting rooms and enjoy the wine without concern for top quality.  To be honest, you are likelier to have the pleasure of discovering wines you never heard of in these tasting rooms than to finding the next Screaming Eagle.  Either way, you should have a good time in Los Olivos.

Château de la Liquière

If you happen to be travelling through Cabrerolles in Languedoc in southern France…Wait, nobody just happens to be travelling through Cabrerolles.  For one thing, it’s little more than a blip on the map; a hamlet, not even a full-fledged village.  For another, it’s in the wine producing area of Faugères, which isn’t close to anything.  And the roads to get there are small, winding and hilly.  If you go there, you mean to be there.

But the visit is worthwhile, because there you will find the tasting room of Château de la Liquière (http://www.chateaulaliquiere.com/new/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=112&catid=34&lang=uk) .  It cannot be said that la Liquière is well-known in the United States, but it is occasionally available.  We first encountered their wine, specifically their Les Amandiers label, on a restaurant wine list.  We enjoyed it so much that we decided to make the trek to Cabrerolles to taste their other wines.

You drive across a valley where la Liquière has its vineyards.  As you pull into the hamlet on the main (basically the only) road, you’ll see a sign pointing up a hill to the winery.  Park at that sign and walk 100 meters.  There you’ll find a filigreed iron gate that welcomes you into a quaint tasting room.  If no one is there to greet you, just shout “Allo” and someone will descend from the office above to offer you a tasting.

The tasting room is rather dark, with only one small window, and the floor is made of paving stones.  There is a small bar but you’ll probably want to taste your wines at the barrel with a board on top of it.  La Liquière makes eleven wines – red, white and rosé – and you may find yourself confounded, as we were, when your server asks you, “What would you like to taste?”  You don’t want to be piggy and say “all of them” nor is that safe.  So just shrug and indicate you’d like to know their best wines.  (They speak a little English, poorly.  If you can struggle through a little French as well, you’ll be fine.)

We found that the wine we had drunk back home was near the bottom of their list.  The server was delighted that we had had the opportunity to try the Les Amandiers (available in all three colors) in America and told us that they had much better wines than that.  And indeed, two of la Liquière’s reds are bold, tannic red wines made of Rhône grapes.  Their Cistus label is made of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre and Carignan.  The top of the line, Tucade, is primarily Mourvèdre, with some Grenache and Carignan.  These are age-worthy wines and indeed the Tucade ought to be put down for some time before opening.

Like all Faugères wines, those at la Liquière are quite minerally.  This derives from the schist soil makes up the ground in the hills.  It’s a taste that is distinctive and not to everyone’s liking.  We do like it and we have found la Liquière to be among our favorites in Languedoc.  Also typical of the better wines in the region today, la Liquière’s wines are “nature”, the equivalent of organic.  If you want to learn about the wines of Faugères, la Liquière is worth the trip.

 

 

Get Lost

Where we grew up, “Get lost!” (with an exclamation point) meant something between “fuhgeddaboudit” and a term unprintable in a genteel journal like Power Tasting.  However, we mean it as respectful suggestion: when you’re in Wine Country, allow yourself to get a little lost.  Sometimes that means you’ll miss the best known wineries along the best known roads, but there are also the cases in which the owners of premier vineyards deliberately placed them where caravans of tourists would not be passing their front gates.

By all means, travel on the main drags, such as Route 29 in Napa Valley, the Route des Grands Crus in Burgundy and the Strada della Badia di Sant’Antima in Montalcino. But also prepare yourself for the little excursions off the central roads and you’ll get to experience Wine Country the way the locals do.

Photo courtesy of France.fr.

  • Do a little preparatory homework. Get a map of the region, which is a lot easier these days with everything on the Internet.  But having a good paper map is a good idea because it will show many more minor roads.  It’s all right to get lost but it’s smarter to know in general where you’re getting lost.
  • Don’t trust your GPS. Even in the primary winemaking areas in the United States, the satellites don’t know every back road.  And it’s those back roads you want to drive on.  In fact you might find, as we have, that the GPS will take you around in circles when you’re looking for a specific remote winery. This goes double in some European sectors of Wine Country, where road signage is an arcane art form.
  • Have several destinations in mind. That way, if you pass a gate with a placard announcing one of them, you’ll know to stop.  Then, when you’ve tasted their wines ask the server about the others on your list.  He or she might say, “Oh, it’s the next vineyard on this road” or contrariwise, “Oh, that’s quite a way from here’.  If the latter occurs, ask for a recommendation for another good winery nearby.

 

  • Enjoy what you see while you get lost. There won’t be any palatial architecture, but there should be some beautiful farmhouses and vineyards.  This can be even more fun at harvest time, when the fields are full of active workers (who might just give you a little help getting un-lost). When you stop by a working vineyard, you get the feel for the reality of the farming that goes into winemaking.  If you get “good” lost, you can go for miles without seeing a winery, but you will see vines as far as the eye can wander.
  • Don’t get too If you really don’t know where you are nor where you’re going, look for pointers back to someplace you do know.  Despite the previous comment about road signs, you’re bound to come across a sign somewhere that points to San Francisco or Paulliac or Florence or the Long Island Expressway.  Follow one of indicated roads and things will begin to look a little more familiar.  When all else fails, ask somebody how to get back home.

Discoveries

We have been enjoying wine tasting for many years.  We keep going back to Wine Country because of the beauty of the environment, enjoying our favorite wines, getting to know the terroir and the people who make wine.  At this point in our wine tasting “career” we get our greatest enjoyment from making discoveries.

There are different sorts of discoveries and all are wonderful because they are, by definition, unexpected.  One sort is finding that a winery that we’re already familiar with has some delicious wines that we didn’t know that they made.  In recent months, one such was Etude Wines’ L’Esprit, their new dessert wine, which we hadn’t ever heard of, even though we are members of their wine club.  For another example, we knew all about Robert Mondavi Winery’s top-ranked Cabernet Sauvignons.  But we were unaware of the depth of their portfolio of Pinot Noirs.

The reverse can also happen, finding that a winery that we hadn’t thought much of can produce some high-quality wines.  Very often that’s because those that focus on the mass market only allow their winemakers to make small amounts of finer wines, just to show off their chops.  These wines are usually available only in the tasting rooms and then only in small quantities.  The only way you’ll ever get to taste them is on a wine tasting trip.  When we find some of these wines, we leave the winery with a smile and the lingering taste of surprising wine on our lips.  Without casting aspersions on any winery, we’ve had that experience at Clos Du Val and William Hill Winery in Napa Valley.

The tasting room at Testarossa Winery.  Photo courtesy of the winery.

We have also had the happy experience of finding great wine in a region where we visited with low expectations.  Our best recent find in that regard was at Testarossa Winery in, of all places, California’s Silicon Valley.  There among the software we found Pinot Noirs that completely wowed us.  They are located at the northern end of the Santa Clara Valley where, we must sadly state, we found no other wines that came even close to what Testarossa can do.

Then there are the discoveries of a whole different sort that occur when we travel internationally.  Sure, we knew that places like Australia and South Africa had vineyards.  But very often the wines that are exported to the United States are of the mass production variety.  That way there is enough volume to make it worthwhile for the States-side importers to bring them here.  If you are lucky enough to discover their top-end wineries and wines before they become internationally known, you can do some fabulous tasting before the wines get terribly pricy.  Perhaps our favorite example was buying bottles of Henschke Hill of Grace in Australia for $25; today they go for $800!

The secret to making wine tasting discoveries is being open to them.  Just because you may not have heard of a region, a winery or a wine doesn’t eliminate the possibility of finding something you’ll really enjoy.  In fact, it’s the possibilities that make wine tasting such a life-long avocation.  There’s always something new – that’s why they put vintage years on the labels – and there’s always someone who’s making great stuff that we haven’t heard of.  So let’s go wine tasting and see what’s over the next hill.

Getting Care in Wine Country

We all go wine tasting for the sheer joy of it.  Alas, there are some times that our pleasure is tempered by illness or other health-related problems.  Now, we’re not talking about major issues that simply make it impossible for you to continue visiting wineries, when only a hospital will suffice.  But even in Wine Country, people get colds and allergies, or need to see a doctor of pharmacist for something minor.  This has happened to us more than a few times, so we’d like to share a few of our experiences, in hopes that our readers will benefit from them.

Photo courtesy of Farmacia Trovate.

Wine Country is full of growing things, and some of them make us sneeze and rub our eyes.  In the United States we’re never far from a CVS, a Walgreen or a Rite-Aid. (There’s a very large CVS on Trancas Street in Napa where we always seem to wind up on our trips to Napa Valley.)  Of course, we can find everything that we can at home, but these drug stores are especially important if we forget a prescription. (It’s happened a few times).  We’ve had to call our physician for an emergency prescription, or have our credit card company do it for us.  We have had some high expenses this way, because our insurance company wasn’t amused about paying for the same meds twice in a week or so.

Of course, there were special considerations when we’re buying medicines in Wine Country.  We had to be careful about pills that made us drowsy, because we were driving…and tasting wine.  The label on many medications warn not to do either of those things.

We have to double down on those problems when we’re tasting wine outside the US.  Even in countries where English is the language spoken, they don’t call over-the-counter medicines by the same name as we do.  We’ve had a headache in Australia and wanted something strong.  We looked for Advil and remembered that it’s properly called ibuprofen.  We got dull looks when we asked for either of those names until a friendly pharmacist remembered that ibuprofen in Australia is called Nurofen.

And where English isn’t spoken it’s even more difficult.  We had a little nagging cough in Chianti.  We had to figure out how to say “cough drops” in Italian.  In this little village, there was no internet connectivity to look up the translation.  “Coffo” didn’t work.   Finally, a little forced cough and pantomiming the drops got us a box.  (It’s “tosse” in Italian, by the way.)  If there were any counterindications, there was no way we were going to know.  By the way, if you’re visiting France, the French word for cough is “toux” and cough drop is “pastille”.

If you ever need a doctor or a dentist on short notice, most hotels keep a list of nearby practitioners who can help out-of-towners.  There are also emergency rooms, of course, but they’re not going to help if, as happened to us, a  tooth filling came out.  But the nice people at our hotel contacted a dentist.  The next morning we were patched up and back on our way to sample the fines wines in that region.

Hospices de Beaune

This being an edition of Power Tasting focused on health, choosing a location for the Places to Visit column poses a particular challenge.  But aha! What about a hospital?  A hospital as a place to visit while wine tasting?  Well, the Hospices de Beaune used to be a hospital and it’s smack-dab in the middle of Burgundy’s famed Côte d’Or (or Golden Coast).

Beaune is a small town that forms the demarcation between the two Burgundian regions that are the home to some of the world’s most well-regarded Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.  To the north is the Côte de Nuit (the Night Coast, with wines of more minerality and structure) and to the south is the Côte de Beaune, with more luscious reds, more delicate whites.  In 1443, the Chancellor of Burgundy founded a hospital in this town.  Now, a hospital in the Middle Ages was not a good place to get well.  The rich stayed sick at home and the poor went to hospitals in the expectation that they would die there.

Photo courtesy of beaune-tourism.com.

But the Hospices de Beaune was different.  It was intended to be a palace for the poor and palatial it was…and is.  It has extravagant Gothic architecture, with turrets and garrets surrounding a broad courtyard.  The interior, where the patients lay, features a grand, vaulted ceiling and nooks for the beds.  And the roof!  One of the architectural joys of ancient Burgundian châteaux is the intricate tilework on the roofs, and that at the Hospices de Beaune is among the best.

Photo courtesy of Burgundy Tourism.

Amazingly, the Hospices de Beaune continued to serve patients until 1971.  Today it’s a museum where you can – you should – see it all when you go wine tasting in Burgundy.  Be prepared to be wrapped in history, art and architecture.  Just as much, you will be in the midst of wine history.  As the Hospices was becoming established, local nobles donated land to help fund its operations.  That land was in areas we now know as Pommard, Volnay, Meursault, Savigny, Corton, Mazis-Chambertin, Echezeaux and Clos de la Roche as well as Beaune itself.  Needless to say, these are communes that produce some of the greatest Burgundy wines.  Today, the Domaines de Hospices de Beaune are spread over 60 hectares (148 acres), with Pinot Noir constituting 85% of the vines.

Once a year, in mid-November, there is a weekend-long charity auction of Hospices de Beaune’s wines.  Most are Grand Crus and Premier Crus.  Members of the wine trade, connoisseurs of Burgundy wines and some very serious wine lovers assemble in the Great Hall to bid on the wines.  Of course, there are other festivities, including a coveted, invitation-only dinner at the nearby Clos de Vougeot château, hosted by the Chevaliers de Tastevin, the exclusive Burgundy wine society.  Perhaps you’re interested in bidding on a case or two?  Sorry, but they auction it off by the barrel.

If, like us, you enjoy travelling around the world-wide Wine Country, the Côte d’Or should be on your list.  If you go, you should visit Beaune.  Many of the top negociants have tasting rooms there.  And when you do go to Beaune, make sure to leave time to see the Hospices de Beaune.

Tasting Safely

Let’s say a few things right up front: Wine contains alcohol.  Alcohol is not a good thing to consume when driving.  Going wine tasting means drinking alcohol and usually requires some driving.

That’s a bit of a conundrum, isn’t it?  Here are some of our tips for wine tasting safely.

  • Know your limit. Even the most stringent state laws allow a little bit of alcohol in your blood, so it’s important for you to know how much you can sip before you hit that limit.  You can’t wait until you feel the alcohol; by then it’s already too late.
  • If you don’t know your limit, be the first driver. For one thing, don’t go wine tasting alone.  If you know you can’t take a lot, do your share of the driving before the sipping begins.

Photo courtesy of Cal Limo.

  • Or hire someone to drive. There are cabs, limo services and Lyft/Uber.  Yes, it adds to the cost.  But it ensures your safety from being pulled over and surely reduces your vulnerability to accidents.
  • Sip, don’t drink. That should be the motto for all wine tasting.  The idea is to taste the wines so you know what to buy later on.  If you’re finishing every glass put in front of you, you’re drinking too much to be safe on the road.
  • Share a tasting. If you and your companion share a tasting and only sip; and if you taste, say, five wines at any given winery, you’re likely to consume around a half a glass of wine each.  If you figure in the time for looking around the winery, talking with the server, maybe buying some wine, it will take up an hour.  Thus, if you visit six wineries and take an hour for lunch, you’ll consume three glasses in seven hours.  Is that within your limit?  If so, you have a plan for a fine day of tasting in Wine Country.  If not, see the advice above.

Photo courtesy of Texas Lone Star Valet.

  • Deal with the exceptions. There are some wineries that only have seated tastings and don’t permit sharing.  Often these are the makers of some of the finest wines in their region and you don’t want to restrict yourself to a sip or two.  It is not for us to discourage you from some of the best experiences in wine tasting.  But if you particularly want to taste the Cabernet Sauvignon, go light on the Chardonnay.  And maybe avoid seeing the bottom of the glass of the Merlot and the Malbec.  These tastings tend to be longer, so perhaps they will account for half your day.  And if you find you have consumed more wine than you expected to, cut the day short.
  • If you’re going to consume alcohol, put some food in your belly too.  Always have breakfast before going wine tasting.  Keep some crackers, chips or pretzels in the car to have something to nibble on, along with a bottle of water.  Always stop for lunch.  In fact, you should generally make lunch a part of your wine tasting experience.  As a rule, areas where people appreciate wine have good restaurants, too.  And picnicking at a winery is a treat.

 

 

Robert Mondavi Winery

Power Tasting began publication at the beginning of 2015 and have been reviewing wineries ever since.  So how come we are just getting around to writing about Robert Mondavi (www.robertmondaviwinery.com) now?  It’s because Mondavi feels like it has always been there and always will be.  It’s as much as part of Napa Valley as Howell Mountain or the Napa River.

Robert Mondavi, the man, was synonymous with Napa Valley during his lifetime and has achieved legendary status since his death in 2008.  Robert Mondavi, the winery, has turned out wines of the highest quality for so long that it’s easy to forget that the rating organizations accord them high 90’s every year.  Robert Mondavi is wonderful, but being wonderful for so long robs it of trendiness.

For those of us who enjoy going wine tasting, the same can be said about visiting the Robert Mondavi winery in Oakville.  We’ve been visiting there for so long we tend to understate how special it is.  Mr. Mondavi himself dedicated himself to what he called the good life, which included art and food, as well as wine.  All these are in evidence from the moment you pull up to the winery.  The emblematic arch at the entrance combines respect for California’s Spanish past with an understated elegance that is still contemporary after more than 50 years.

Also in evidence at the entrance and around the grounds are statuary and other artworks from the Mondavi family’s collection.  Of course, it is possible to taste wine without works of art, but it is so much more enjoyable to combine them.

The winery is laid out in the form of a V, opening to vistas of vineyards and the Mayacamas mountains.  On the left is the wing for those who are interested in tours and tastings of Mondavi’s widely available wines.  On the right are a tasting room for their wine club members, the gift shop and the To Kalon Room, where Mondavi’s most exclusive wines are available for tasting.  [To Kalon is the name of Mondavi’s top vineyard, where the grapes for their finest Cabernet Sauvignon and Fumé Blanc are grown.]  Tastings in this latter room are not inexpensive, but there is a lot to be said for being offered a vertical of the Robert Mondavi Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, as we were recently.

In the years at the beginning of Northern California’s rise to wine-making eminence, Mondavi’s Fumé Blanc was the benchmark for California white wines.  While the quality has not diminished, it is probably Cabernet Sauvignon for which they are best known today.  Less well renowned are their Merlot, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.  Not every wine is available at all times in each tasting room, but we have found that a polite request often results in finding a bottle beneath the bar.

Finally, a few words about the gift shop.  Normally, we avoid shopping at wineries; there are only so many coasters and refrigerator magnets anyone needs.  But the items at this winery reinforce Mr. Mondavi’s maxims about the good life.  Simply put, they sell lovely things, from pottery to tableware to books.  And wine, of course.  The shop is especially pretty at Christmastime, when the decorations and holiday goods only add to the pleasure of a visit to this winery, a gem in Wine Country’s diadem.