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
From land that has been producing grapes since 1880 in the Napa Valley, one of the world’s greatest wineries has called it theirs since 1972 – Shafer. Robert Parker is responsible for giving the winery that title. I know many would agree! We visited the winery just after Christmas. It’s wise to book your visit well in advance. Tasting appointments are very limited to enable … Continue reading A Taste of Shafer…….
Napa Valley wines have a well known reputation for being rather pricey. When there is so much terrific wine to be had in California it is difficult to spend the high price tag to taste and to purchase. We were over on Howell Mountain to taste Jon Jones’s newest releases at Paravel and arranged for an afternoon tasting in Yountville at Elyse. Elyse’s tasting room … Continue reading Napa’s Elyse
It’s ten o’clock in the morning and we are sitting down to taste wine. We’ve returned to the Spire Collection just outside of Callistoga. I wrote about our first visit in the blog entry – Tasting in Napa. It will give you a gracious plenty on the background of the Spire Collection so I won’t repeat myself. It is a modern, tastefully appointed tasting room. … Continue reading Myriad & The Spire Collection
As you plan your wine adventures, this column could be helpful……. 3 tips for navigating Wine Country without a reservation Here’s wine reporter Jess Lander: We published an article on 25 Sonoma County wineries that don’t require a reservation on Wednesday, a counterpart to our June list of walk-in-friendly Napa Valley wineries. These articles represent a major pendulum swing in Wine Country toward a reservation-only system. … Continue reading Esther Mobley’s San Francisco Chronicle column this week…….
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
Sometimes you simply get blown away by the lengths to which people who love farming and grapes will go to build a winery and its surrounds. A perfect example is Hudson Ranch and Vineyard. They call it an Agrarian dream and yes, it is that and so much more. The ranch is 2000 acres in Napa Valley’s Carneros District. It’s a working ranch with 200 … Continue reading Hudson Ranch and Vineyards
Napa has a handful of wineries that are as old as the hills. Larkmead is one of those wineries. Its history is as remarkable as its wines. Larkmead is located on the valley floor just south of Calistoga. 110 acres of planted vineyards are on the property as well as facilities for making the wine, storage and wine tasting. It’s a gorgeous property. After a … Continue reading An Institution
When you truly enjoy wine and visit the wine country for decades it is hard to resist the desire to make it home. We did and we love it. However, some who move here plunge in a bit deeper and take on the challenge of wine making. Laurie & Dean Gray along with partner Steve Nordhoff did just that and started Riverain Vineyards in Rutherford, … Continue reading Riverain
John's Wine Cellar 