{"id":1798,"date":"2021-03-30T14:58:30","date_gmt":"2021-03-30T14:58:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=1798"},"modified":"2021-03-30T14:58:30","modified_gmt":"2021-03-30T14:58:30","slug":"beaulieu-vineyard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=1798","title":{"rendered":"Beaulieu Vineyard"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are few wineries in California with more history than Beaulieu Vineyard, familiarly known as BV. Georges de Latour, a Frenchman, established his holdings in Rutherford at the turn of the previous century.\u00a0 He had the foresight to obtain a license to make sacramental wine, so that when Prohibition came into effect in 1919 and almost all other wineries had to close, BV was still operating, sending bottles to churches across the country.\u00a0 If a few found their way to a restaurant or a speakeasy, what could Mr. de Latour do about it, eh?<\/p>\n

Critically for the California wine industry, in 1938 he induced a famed French winemaker, Andre Tchellichef (\u201cThe Maestro\u201d) to be BV\u2019s winemaker, which he was for 30 years.\u00a0 In his time at the helm, Tchellichef bottled the wine that the de Latour family was keeping for its own use and sold it commercially.\u00a0 It was one of the first signs of the possibilities of California winemaking.\u00a0 To this day that wine, the Georges de Latour Private Reserve, is the top of the line at BV and one of the most sought after Napa Valley wines.\u00a0 If you visit the winery, you can taste it (including well aged versions of this wine).<\/p>\n

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As with all Napa Valley wineries during the pandemic, tastings are served outdoors.\u00a0 In the past and we\u2019re sure again in the (near?) future, there are two wine tasting experiences at BV.\u00a0 As you enter the property, there\u2019s a modern building on your right and a vine-covered old stone building on your left.\u00a0 There, you can taste BV\u2019s copious selection of widely available commercial wines.\u00a0 The stone building is where you can taste their finer wines.<\/p>\n

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The lights are kept low in their reserve tasting room, perhaps to give the impression of a church (remember those altar wines) or a fine restaurant.\u00a0 The room is not very large, but they have other facilities in the building if they get crowds.\u00a0 The servers are, for the most part, quite knowledgeable about BV\u2019s wines and wine in general.<\/p>\n

The first pour will usually be a Chardonnay but BV has built its reputation on Cabernet Sauvignon.\u00a0 They have quite a few Cabs at different price points.\u00a0 We have always been fond of their Bordeaux blend that they call Tapestry.\u00a0 Like many Napa Valley wineries, BV is experimenting with different, non-traditional grapes. \u00a0Today they make a Cabernet\/Syrah with a nod to Australia and a Touriga Nacional from Portugal.\u00a0 We have found that if they\u2019re not too busy and you show a proper appreciation of the wines, the servers will find some gems just below the bar.<\/p>\n

Depending on what they\u2019re serving that day, you may get a pour from one of BV\u2019s original vineyards or some single clone wines that are quite unique.\u00a0 If you want to taste the George de Latour, they\u2019ll charge extra.\u00a0 We advise you to pay the fee; it\u2019s worth it if only to know what a foundational Napa Valley wine tastes like.<\/p>\n

A little extra tip.\u00a0 BV shares its parking lot with the Rutherford Grill.\u00a0 We often eat lunch there before we go tasting; if you want to go, you\u2019ll need a reservation. It is a popular restaurant and the food is quite good.<\/p>\n

We are never quite sure what Rutherford Dust was all about, but you certainly can find it (if it exists) at BV.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are few wineries in California with more history than Beaulieu Vineyard, familiarly known as BV. Georges de Latour, a Frenchman, established his holdings in Rutherford at the turn of the previous century.\u00a0 He had the foresight to obtain a license to make sacramental wine, so that when Prohibition came into effect in 1919 and … Continue reading Beaulieu Vineyard<\/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":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1798"}],"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=1798"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1798\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1801,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1798\/revisions\/1801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}