California Wine Country - Napa / Sonoma

I'm really not sure if this post can be placed in another thread or if it should have its own so I'll leave that up to the administrators to decide. I researched LTH quite a bit before my first-time trip to Napa / Sonoma and the had to search through 3-4 different threads for what I wanted to find. That being said, many people take the trip that I just took - San Francisco with a few days in wine country and may like some info on the wineries (potentially for the "something to drink" category as well).

This was my first trip to Napa / Sonoma and it was a lot of fun. We spent a day in San Francisco at the Marriott Marquis, and picked up our rental car from Hertz, located in the hotel, the next morning for a drive up to Napa / Sonoma.

We stayed at MacArthur Place in Sonoma and it's a great place in a great location. They have a complimentary breakfast buffet in the morning and a steak-themed restaurant onsite, called Saddles (did not go).

Now, before I get to the wineries I want to throw out a disclaimer: I am not going to pretend to be an expert on wine. Actually, after reading "The Price of Wine" (http://blog.priceonomics.com/post/46618070248/the-price-of-wine#notes), listening to the Freakonomics podcast, "Do Expensive Wines Taste Better" (http://freakonomics.com/2010/12/16/freakonomics-radio-do-more-expensive-wines-taste-better/, as well as other "peel back the curtain" articles, I'm not sure if many people can claim to to be an expert on wine. There's actually a part of me that sort of sees the whole industry as a giant marketing scam. I've never thought I could actually taste the difference between a $10 bottle and a $100 bottle and for that, I've always thought I've been missing out on the subtleties of wine. I was hoping this trip would open my eyes and allow me to taste the "good stuff," right from the source. Because of my apparent naivety, I won't critique the actual wines but rather give you my impressions of the tasting rooms. Here goes:

Day 1: Napa

-Chateau Montelena - Well, this place is famous from the Taste of Paris 1976 and the movie, "Bottle Shock," chronicling that event. Apparently, their Chardonnay won best white wine in that blind tasting so this was a perfect jumping off point. The property is beautiful, a little off the beaten path in Calistoga. There's a nice little pond and gardens but be warned, no picnics without permission from the estate. The tasting was nice - $20 for four wines. Our server was nice enough but relatively impersonal as he had 4-6 other people to deal with at the bar. Not quite an intimate setting. The push here is to have you join the wine club or buy a bottle of wine. We did neither and went on our way, ready to sample more wine.

-Sterling - here's our uber touristy stop. The grounds were very impressive and you take a ski resort-like gondola up the mountain for fantastic views of Napa Valley. It was expensive at $28 per and we sampled 4 forgettable wines but the views were great. There's a self guided tour that shows you the process of wine making as well as nice terraces to enjoy your wine.

-Frank Family - A smaller winery, still in Calistoga. Much more intimate. We splurged for the $30 "reserve" tasting, which was a great decision. A $20 normal tasting was offered as well. At the reserve tasting, we were ushered into a small room and offered four wines, a sparkling and a port. In addition, our pourer was great, she broke out bottles of 3-4 other wines to sample, including their "Promise" Cabernet Sauvignon retailing at $235 a bottle. It was the best tasting we encountered and subsequently fell into the trap of buying some "Table Wine" at $150 a bottle and joining their wine club - hey what the heck, right?

-Pine Ridge - we headed a bit further south towards our hotel and stopped into Pine Ridge our last stop of the day. We only purchased one tasting this time (I did have to drive) and opted once again for the reserve ($30). This time, we felt a little rushed. Our pourer talked nonstop and it was a bit annoying. Overall though, the small tasting area was nice and the outdoor patio was even nicer. I understand that they do some tastings on the patio from time to time as well.

Day 2 - Sonoma - Platypus Tour

-Buena Vista Historical Winery - The first stop on our guided Platypus Tour was to the first stone winery in California. This is where it all started. Located in Sonoma Valley, this winery is a bit gimmicky, with several actors dressed in late 19th century clothing. Overall though, the tasting went well. It was a much cheaper tasting - $14, I believe but that would be waived if we bought a bottle of wine. The property was very nice. They had picnic tables if you decided to bring your own food and you had the option of buying a glass of wine from the bar. We also took a tour of the caves, which was somewhat interesting.

-Hamel Family - This is a relatively new property, by reservation only, located in the Moon Mountain area. They are in the process of constructing a large tasting room and production facility so our tasting was in a dining room on the one existing property. It was very nice. Our host had us sample 4 wines, paired with a small piece of cheese. The cost for the tasting was $15, I believe but it was waived since we purchased some wine from them. The property itself is beautiful, resting at the foot of Moon Mountain. They are in the process of drilling into the mountain to create caves and storage. Everything here was produced organically, so the construction project also had a nod to energy conservation. It'll be interesting to see how this winery develops over the next few years, once they open their facility next spring. It may be one that I head back to. Side note: the family has roots in the midwest - most are UW-Madison alums (they have a badger on their label).

-Homewood - This was the first small, non corporate type of winery (Carneros) we went to and I enjoyed the experience. We tasted 5 wines at an outdoor tasting room, next to a farm; which smelled, like - well, a farm. Very laid back . Our tasting was probably about $12-14 but it was waived because we bought a couple bottles of wine. I believe it was reservation only as well but our group had a good time there.

-Peter Cellars - funny play on the name, also located in Carneros. Very laid back with a tasting room adjacent to the owner's home. We sat on a patio and were entertained by the owner's golden retriever. These last two places were the complete opposite of the Napa experience and I enjoyed the contrast of the two experience. Peter Cellars is basically a wine maker, only growing a small portion of the grapes he uses in his wines. The fee was $15, I think but again, we bought some more wine to take with us.

Overall, we had a great trip. I learned a lot in the process as well. Like only 30% of the grapes used in Napa / Sonoma wines are actually grown on estates. Most 70% are supplied by farmers, so the towns are basically an agriculture economy - something that makes sense but I didn't quite get until our trip to Sonoma.

Sonoma is way more laid back than Napa. Napa has the name, the romantic quality, and the marketing dollars behind their brands. They take themselves very seriously and are protective of their brand. Sonoma is like going to someone's backyard. It's much cheaper overall and not as romantic but after a day in Napa, it was a nice contrast.

Now, did my trip enhance my palate? Can I enjoy wine more now that I've been there. Short answer is, no. Yes, we bought a case of wine, we got swept up in the whole thing. I don't regret buying the wine as I'm sure my dinner guests will enjoy drinking a Napa / Sonoma wine that isn't distributed outside of the winery but I'm not sure if I'll buy wine on future visits. I'll be back though. We had a great time and it's fun driving up and drinking some wine on a beautiful property.

http://www.macarthurplace.com/index.php

http://www.montelena.com/visit/tastingRoom

http://www.sterlingvineyards.com/age_gateway?destination=home

http://www.frankfamilyvineyards.com/

http://www.pineridgevineyards.com/

http://www.buenavistawinery.com/

http://www.hamelfamilywines.com/

http://www.homewoodwinery.com/

http://petercellars.com/