The first full day of wine tasting in Napa was filled to the brim with wineries, five wineries in fact. Now, that seems like a lot to fit into one day, but we did it! No regrets! We were picked up by our driver and headed off to our first winery, Chateau Montelena. We all had seen the movie “Bottle Shock” and were familiar with the “Judgement of Paris”, which made this wine tasting experience that much more exciting. Walking up to the Chateau was just as I had envisioned: the beautiful castle-like building with the moss covering parts of the stone and the barrels out front.
We walked into the tasting room and were greeted by the nicest gentleman who would be our guide for our tasting. Lee and I had only had the Chardonnay prior to visiting the winery, so we were super excited to taste the other wines they had to offer.
The tasting consisted of:
2017 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc ($35)
2015 Napa Valley Chardonnay ($58)
2013 Napa Valley Zinfandel ($39)
2012 Napa Valley Petite Sarah ($35)
2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Montelena Estate ($175)
My favorite part of tastings is when they throw in a bonus wine to taste. In this case, we got to try the Potter Valley Riesling and the 2016 Cabernet. I truly liked each wine we tasted. I was shocked at how much I liked the Sauvignon Blanc, considering it still isn’t my go-to wine. Citrus and melon on the nose and palate. Very well balanced acidity, it was smooth and not like biting into a lemon. Oddly enough the wine we walked away with was the Petite Sirah. Dark fruit and red fruits, black pepper, dried fruit and spices such as clove. It was one of the best Petite Sirahs I have had.
The experience was everything! We walked around and saw the famous 1976 Chardonnay that beat the French wines and really put California on the world map. It is a beautiful property and well worth the visit.
Next up, Castello di Amorosa. We arrived at the castle and were in awe at the beauty of this building. Walking through the big arched doorway into an open courtyard area brought us back in time. The boys went in to pay for the tasting and found out we could buy a passport for $60 each and get tastings for free at certain wineries. I recommend doing this as the tasting fees are not cheap at these Napa wineries. We wandered the castle and found our way down to the tasting room. Our tasting guide was from the Bordeaux region in France. He was a riot and made our tasting experience wonderful.
Each of us got to pick 5 wines we wanted to taste. Naturally, we all tried to pick different wines so we really got to taste a good selection of their wines.
Notable wines:
North Coast 2017 Pinot Grigio ($23)
Napa Valley 2014 Sangiovese ($32)
Voyager Vineyard Sangiovese 2015 – The Reserve label ($45)
We walked away with the Pinot Grigio and the Voyager Vineyard Sangiovese. I love Sangiovese and I loved both of these, but the Reserve Voyager Sangiovese was richer and more my style. Dark berries and spices galore and smooth on the finish. The perfect pair with a meat tomato sauce over pasta.
While we were tasting our wines, my cousin Lizey and I noticed this table behind us with all sorts of dried pasta and sauces. If you know the two of us, you know we love pasta and could eat it every day and be happy. Naturally, we walked over to take a look. We were greeted with this high energy, jovial, nice Italian man named Vincenzo Coppola. He was the pasta guy. Not that we needed anyone talking us into buying pasta, but he sure made us want to buy it even more. We bought one bag for that evening and a bag for each of us to take home. The selection of pasta was amazing. Everything from spinach, garlic, regular, squid ink and spicy. We took home the spicy.
We built up quite the appetite after just doing two wineries, thankfully our driver saved the day and had sandwiches for us! We had some time to kill before our scheduled wine tasting at Ehlers, so we ate in the car and our driver took us to a winery that he recommended. Madrigal Family Winery in Calistoga. We joined a group out on their deck area overlooking the vines for a tasting. Looking up at the hills, you could see the scorched trees and land from the wildfires. It really was amazing these wineries survived. Our favorite wine was the Madrigal 2016 Garnacha ($59). I could kick myself for not buying this bottle as it turned out to not only be one of my favorite wines but favorite wineries as well. I loved this wine because I have a thing for reds that have notes of white pepper and tobacco. This wine had both. It was smooth and delightful. I guess I’ll just have to go back!
Next up, Ehlers Estate. This winery was recommended to us by one of my husband’s fellow dealership GM’s. In fact, he set up our appointment and made sure we got the same tasting guide they had. This winery is located in St. Helena and is 100% organic. We were greeted by Bradley. The wine tasting room was rustic and welcoming. We had a great seating area awaiting us to do our tasting. Bradley made the whole tasting, not only did he have great socks on, he was the most lively tasting guide we had experienced. We started with the Sauvignon Blanc ($32). I really fell in love with California Sauvignon Blancs on this trip. This one, in particular, was great. Dry with nice floral notes and well-balanced acidity. I hate when the grassy notes are so prominent, it ruins the wine for me. This had nice lemon flavors and pineapple. Their Cabernet’s were wonderful and so was their blend. The Cabernet Franc ($65) was what won us over! We love Cab Francs and this one didn’t disappoint. 100% Cab Franc, notes of dark berries and wait for it…. herbs de Provence. When he told us that I was so excited. I didn’t know if I would pick that up, but I did and it was wonderful. We took our glasses and took a tour of the property and the barrel room. It was a fantastic visit!
Finally, we headed to Robert Mondavi. I couldn’t go to Napa without visiting the Godfather of California wine’s vineyard. I have loved these wines and the great selection and price range forever. So much so, I name my cat Mondavi. We opted to not do a tasting there, mostly because we had tasted a ton of wines that day. We each got a glass and went to the patio to take in the scenery. I got a glass of the Chardonnay and was in heaven. I facetimed my parents so the could see the outside area. They love Mondavi as much as I do. It was beautiful and so special to be at the winery. The perfect ending to our wine tasting day.
The Wandering Blonde Wine O 