{"id":1146,"date":"2018-12-31T15:49:16","date_gmt":"2018-12-31T15:49:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=1146"},"modified":"2019-01-03T20:20:52","modified_gmt":"2019-01-03T20:20:52","slug":"the-side-streets-of-napa-valley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=1146","title":{"rendered":"The Side Streets of Napa Valley"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you look on a map at the winemaking area of Napa Valley, it\u2019s shaped like a ladder.\u00a0 The uprights are Route 29 and the Silverado Trail.\u00a0 The rungs are the Oakville Cross, the Rutherford Cross and so on (with a few others with names like Zinfandel Lane thrown in).\u00a0 When you drive along these roads, you have the opportunity to see many of the most famous wineries in the region and, in fact, of the world.\u00a0 We\u2019ve traveled that way many times and have tasted some spectacular wines.<\/p>\n

On occasion, though, it\u2019s a good idea to take some of the side roads. Because they are off the main drag, some of them are less visited, meaning smaller crowds and easier traffic.\u00a0 On the other hand, some of Napa Valley\u2019s most renowned wineries are to be found on these smaller roads.\u00a0 For example, you can taste Joseph Phelps\u2019 Insignia<\/em> blend on Taplin Road, Caymus\u2019 Special Selection<\/em> on Conn Creek Road or Chateau Montelena\u2019s Chardonnay, the winner of the famous Judgement of Paris, on Tubbs Lane.\u00a0 All of these are perhaps a bit out of the way, but the rewards of heading there are self-evident.<\/p>\n

We are not including among these side streets the many wonderful wineries up in the Vaca and Mayacamas mountains on either side of Napa Valley.\u00a0 They too are out of the way but require a great deal more time and effort to visit them than those discussed here.\u00a0 One such is the subject of the winery review in this edition.<\/p>\n

There are other wineries established on the side streets that are well worth a visit for several different reasons.\u00a0 As always, it\u2019s a pleasure to discover wines you haven\u2019t heard of and may very well enjoy.\u00a0 However, Power Tasting<\/em> is about more than just the wines; our objective is to encourage wine tasting as an overall experience.\u00a0 In many cases, these out of the way wineries enhance the experience in order to attract people to their tasting rooms. They are less likely to have visitors who were just passing by, so they need to make themselves destinations.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A few examples on just one such side road make our point.\u00a0 Andretti Winery (http:\/\/andrettiwinery.com\/<\/a>) and Monticello Vineyards (http:\/\/www.corleyfamilynapavalley.com\/<\/a>) are side by side on Big Ranch Road in the southern Napa Town end of the valley.\u00a0 If you\u2019ve ever even heard of motor racing, the name Mario Andretti will be familiar to you, and if you are a racing fan, you will enjoy looking at all the trophies and maybe buy a souvenir.\u00a0 Mario\u00a0was part of the group that founded his namesake winery, which is deliberately reminiscent of a Tuscan villa, in honor of Mr. Andretti\u2019s heritage.\u00a0 While they do make the widely encountered California wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, they are differentiated by the availability of Italian varietals including Pinot Grigio, Barbera, Dolcetto and a sweet Moscato.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Jefferson House at Monticello Vineyards.\u00a0 Photo courtesy of the winery.<\/em><\/p>\n

Monticello has an entirely different vibe.\u00a0 Instead of celebrating an Italian-American race car driver and his background, Monticello Vineyards is a tribute to America\u2019s illustrious third President, Thomas Jefferson.\u00a0 Thus, although the tasting room is also in a gracious, neoclassical building, the real gem of the property is what they call Jefferson House.\u00a0 Not a true replica of the building that is imprinted on the nickel, it is nonetheless evocative of the real thing.\u00a0 Unlike many of the nouveau palaces in Napa Valley, this building is beautiful enough in itself to attract visitors.\u00a0 And oh, yes, you can taste wines, the usual combination of Burgundy and Bordeaux varietals that are typical of Napa Valley.<\/p>\n

Maybe these aren\u2019t the first choices you would make for wine tasting if you have never been to Napa Valley.\u00a0 For those seeking to expand their experience of this corner of Wine Country, they are an easy trip to make.\u00a0 And why would you not<\/em> want to go?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you look on a map at the winemaking area of Napa Valley, it\u2019s shaped like a ladder.\u00a0 The uprights are Route 29 and the Silverado Trail.\u00a0 The rungs are the Oakville Cross, the Rutherford Cross and so on (with a few others with names like Zinfandel Lane thrown in).\u00a0 When you drive along these … Continue reading The Side Streets of Napa Valley<\/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":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1146"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1146"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1146\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1162,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1146\/revisions\/1162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}