Hourglass Winery currently has a very utilitarian look to it as one arrives at the entrance. The property was caught in the Glass Fire of 2020. The guest house and out buildings on the property were lost and the wine making facility had to be significantly rebuilt. Thankfully the extensive cave system saved the wine inventory from demise. Hourglass is located off Silverado Trail in … Continue reading Oh those Reds!
The 31st Annual Taste of Howell Mountain is one of Napa Valley’s premier tasting events and it includes both a silent and live auction. This was our first time attending thanks to an exceptional company – Dragonfly Forward who graciously invited us to be their guests. On hand pouring were so many of Napa Valley’s exceptional wineries. The price point for their bottles (easily $200 … Continue reading A Taste of Howell Mountain
Life sometimes gets in the way and those ” I meant to do” things get waylaid. We have had a number of visits and tastings over the past 12 months that never received their just post. I want to attempt to make up here for a few that were left on the back burner. Wellington Cellars located just down the road from us in Glen … Continue reading Bits & Pieces………
Between holidays and company I’m not always able to keep up with my posts. This past year we were fortunate to taste at a number of wineries that I have not previously written about that absolutely need to be posted. In Napa on Dunaweal Lane is a winery called Canard. Rich “Duck” Czapleski and wife Carolyn own this winery. With son Adam and winemaker Brian … Continue reading Dunaweal Lane Winery…..
Located in Napa’s Soda Canyon with a stunning view back to San Francisco is Relic. It’s the love and passion of Mike Hirby and Schatzi Throckmorton. They have been making their wine since 2001 when both Schatzi and Mike were working for Behrens & Hitchcock (now Behrens Family Winery). They continued making wines for 14 years before opening their own facility / winery in Soda … Continue reading Relic
There are always some tastings that stand above all the rest and this was one of those – Behrens Family Winery. High on Spring Mountain outside of St. Helena, in a very comfortable tasting room surrounded by wonderful original art and a killer view, we met Robin Cooper and some exceptional wines! For close to 2 hours Robin painted a full picture for us of … Continue reading Spring Mountain Experience
This past Saturday was pick up day at Bedrock Wines. It’s a window of a few hours you have to swing by Bedrock’s wine making facility/ warehouse that’s just outside the town of Sonoma. Along with picking up the wine they always offer the opportunity to hang out and taste the new releases with either Morgan Twain-Peterson or Chris Cottrell pouring. This tasting Morgan was … Continue reading Bedrock’s Surprise Release….
Mauritson Winery makes a number of wines under the labels – Mauritson, Rockpile, Charlie Clay and Loam. They are all award-winning, estate grown, exceptional wines Clay Mauritson, owner, and winemaker, Emma Hall are responsible for. This week we participated in tasting the release of Mauritson’s 2019 Loam wines. It was truly a wonderful opportunity to relax in the winery’s library and try these three wines … Continue reading 2019 Release Tasting
Sojourn Cellars tasting room is just a block off Sonoma’s Square next to a favorite restaurant – Edge. Situated in an old house, the tasting room is intimate and comfortable. We were there for an afternoon appointment, interested specifically in trying their Pinot Noirs. Jennifer, Sojourn’s Senior Wine Specialist,was our terrific host. We started off with a taste of Sojourn’s newest addition to their wine … Continue reading Just off the Square
We headed to Napa’s Howell Mountain AVA which produces some of the very best grapes for Cabernet Sauvignon. Our appointment was at Neal Family Vineyards, high on the mountain in Angwin and a bit tricky to find. Alex Kefalos met us with glasses of the 2021 Rutherford Dust Vermentino (which we found to be excellent and a varietal you don’t often see in Napa Valley) … Continue reading Back on Howell Mountain
John's Wine Cellar 