WCI back, with just a few comments on wine clubs…

There are literally dozens of different wine clubs, using dozens of formats; some deliver monthly, some quarterly, some twice a year, some once a year. Some give you an allotment that you must take, others give you a choice. Some give you red and white, some white, some red, some sweet. Some only offer wines from a single property, others “shop the world,” so to speak, on your behalf. No matter your preference, there are wine clubs to meet your needs.

Starting tomorrow, we’ll talk a bot about several of these options, but for today, we’re going to finish up the trip to Napa.

The sun was low in the sky, and we were nearing the end of a perfect Napa Valley day. Our guide (and driver, thank goodness!) pulled in to V. Sattui (www.vsattui.com), a fascinating winery that I had never really heard of, located just across the road from Dean and Deluca (www.deananddeluca.com), which also has a wonderful selection, by the way.

V. Sattui is one of the most decorated wineries in California, and only sells their wines direct from the winery, and to their large and loyal wine clubs, of which I have been a proud member for almost ten years. They ship monthly, and the variety of wines they offer is pretty staggering. They have everything from crisp white to huge single vineyard Cabs, Merlots, Zins, Sangios, and even a great selection of dessert wines.

They have a marvelous deli, a picnic area, a bar b cue and a great store… it is one of the most fun, enjoyable wineries to visit, and we had a terrific time. They have some extraordinary vintages in their library collection, including several from their famed Rutherford, Suzanne’s and Morisoli vineyards,

Though it was only a dream on my first visit, Daryl Sattui, the current owner, has also just recently completed the Castello di Amorosa, a 121,000 sq. foot Tuscan castle on the side of Diamond Mountain. There they sell Italian-style wines, amongst the gardens, the dungeon and the moat! It is truly one of the most spectacular settings in all of Napa.

We finished our day with a great dinner at Etoille, the restaurant located at Domaine Chandon, one of the best champagne houses in the USA (www.chandon.com), and headed back to our B&B, with 10 cases of wine in tow, and a delightful Napa Valley glow about us.

The following day, we actually got to a few more wineries, including Sterling (vineyards.com">www.sterlingvineyards.com), and Clos Pegase (www.clospegase.com), with its ten million dollar art collection displayed in the tunnels, before flying home, with the beginnings of a great cellar flying along with us.

Napa is a wonder, and we’ll talk more about it over the next few weeks, as we continue down the dusty wine roads!

Cheers,

WCI

California Wine, Fine Wine, Italian Wine, USA Wine, Vineyards, Vintage Wine, Wine Cellar, Wine Club, Wine Club Gift, Wine Lovers, Wine Tasting, Wine Tours Napa, V. Sattui, wine clubs, Wine Tours, Wineries

Ah, the joy of the dusty wine roads!

We finished at Jarvis and headed north on the Silverado Trail, meandering very shortly into the Stag’s Leap District (www.stagsleapdistrict.com), one of the highlight appellations of the Napa Valley. It’s a small “valley within a valley,” just a mile by three miles, home to twenty or so fine wineries, many conveniently located very near the main road!

Trying to be eco-conscious, we tried to pick clusters of wineries we could easily stagger… er… walk between, and so, our first stop was the famous “Stags Leap Wine Cellars” (www.cask23.com) considered one of the “first growths” of Napa Valley.  As a matter of fact, it was in the famous “Judgement in Paris”–the 1976 tasting where their 1973 “S.L.V.” Cabernet shocked the world by beating the best of France in horizontal blind tastings.

Their three signature wines are called “S.L.V.,” “Fay” (after the founder of the Stag’s Leap District), and “Cask 23,” truly a magnificent wine. (They have since added another famous wine entitled “Artemis,” which is a bit more available (and affordable!)) I was forced to purchase a bottle or six of each of these fine products. To speak of their enduring quality, I still have a bottle or two of that original purchase, and whenever a special occasion comes up and we open one, they amaze me again with their depth and quality.

Right across the street was Pine Ridge (vineyards.com">www.pineridgevineyards.com), and their premium offering was the Andrus Cabernet, which is, to this day, one of the finest I have had. (I have one bottle of the ‘95 left, waiting for someone who appreciates fines wines to come by for a visit and give me an excuse to drink it… any takers?)

Next we hit Silverado Cellars (vineyards.com">www.silveradovineyards.com) but it passed in a bit of a blur, other than the fact we had a great picnic lunch on their grounds.

I have to say I was a bit preoccupied by this point, not just because of the great wines we had enjoyed, but because our next stop was along the Oakville Crossroad… Silver Oak, makers of my first great glass of wine, and one of the “must sees” on my list!

Until tomorrow…

Cheers!

WCI

California Wine, Fine Wine, USA Wine, Vineyards, Wine Club, Wine Club Gift, Wine Education, Wine Lovers, Wine Tasting, Wine Tours Napa, wine club gifts, wine clubs, Wine Tours, Wineries

WCI back ‘atcha!

So, my friends, I had my two wine clubs, and was getting a whopping four bottles per month, of which I drank twenty… how’d I come up with that math?

Well, like any good aspiring wine fanatic, I was diligently working toward my “bottle-per-day” minimum quotient. I was starting to spend some serious coin on vino, and loved every bit of it! I had found a couple of very nice, affordable “everyday” wines from Parducci (www.Parducci.com) and Mondavi (www.robertmondavi.com), and started “collecting” the good wines from my wine clubs…

Clubs, you say? Ah, you are an astute reader!

I soon found that wine collecting was nearly as fun as wine drinking, and turns out I had a bit of a knack for it.

How did I decide which clubs to join? Simple… I went to Napa to audition them in person!

Yes, indeed. A couple of months later, just as Spring was springing, I landed in San Francisco, rented a charming mid-size, and headed north along 101 for my first real visit to the “Magic Valley.”

I’d done a little investigating in terms of lodging, and had settled on a great little B&B just south of Calistoga along Hwy. 29. The Zinfandel House (www.zinfandelhouse.com) was and is owned by George and Bette Starke, and is a charming, eclectic house high on the western hills above Three Palms Vineyard, with an awe-inspiring view.

George had been the owner and winemaker at Napa Cellars in the late seventies and early eighties, and was one of Robert Mondavi’s closest friends. He also made one of the finest wines I have ever tasted, the 1980 Napa Cellars Cab.

George and Bette also led the first-ever American wine tour to France, where they toured and tasted at some of the most famous wine chateaus in the world, long before they were closed to the public. Can you imagine drinking ‘45 Mouton, or ‘28 Margaux right from the cellar?

We started a friendship that lasts to this day, and they helped set my itinerary, and in large part, were my mentors as I discovered the joys of Napa and Sonoma.

At our first breakfast, we discussed the wineries I should visit, and George made some calls to get me in to a few wineries not as well known, or a little harder to get into, and for three days, I lived in wine buyer’s heaven.

Stay tuned for a wine weekend of a lifetime when we meet again tomorrow, and continue tripping down the dusty wine roads.

Cheers,

WCI

California Wine, Fine Wine, USA Wine, Vineyards, Vintage Wine, Wine Cellar, Wine Club, Wine Club Gift, Wine Education, Wine Lovers, Wine Tasting, Wine Tours bed and breakfasts, Napa, wine club gifts, wine clubs, Wine Education, Wine Tours