Another of the Napa Valley wineries that we enjoyed visiting was Domaine Carneros (http://www.domainecarneros.com/index.cfm), which is located about 6 miles southwest of the town of Napa. It was originally established to make sparkling wines. It now produces several still red wines - Pinot Noirs and a small amount of old-vine Merlot. The sparkling wines are produced in the traditional méthode champenoise (champagne method).
Domaine Carneros was founded in 1987 by a partnership of the renowned Taittinger Champagne House of Reims, Champagne, France, and the Kobrand Corporation, a major wine and spirits merchant. The estate comprises four vineyards with a total of 350 acres. Farming practices are all organic.
The architectural style of the imposing Domaine Carneros building was inspired by Taittinger’s 18th-Century Château de la Marquetterie in Champagne, France. The building is nicely situated on a hill above the surrounding countryside.
The Chateau
To reach the tasting area from the parking lot, we climbed lots of stairs in the large, multi-level, stone staircase leading up to the building. The staircase was flanked on either side by grapevines.
There was both an indoor salon and a large outdoor terrace in the front and on the right side of the building. Since the temperature outside was perfect, we sat at a table on the terrace in front of the building. The views from the terrace were terrific. They included hills carpeted with vineyards, and mountains in the distance. I think the mountains we could see were the Mayacamas Range to the north and the Vaca Range to the east.
The Terrace
A Terrace View
Another Terrace View
A Third Terrace View
The Domaine Carneros tasting menu was one of the nicest combinations of wine and food pairings we saw during our California trip. It included a sparkling wine sampler for $16, a red wine sampler for $16, and a Grande Tasting for $25. There were also wines by the glass or bottle.
The menu offered a variety of food pairing plates, including :
- Sparkling wine cheese plate
- Red wine cheese plate
- Charcuterie plate
- Caviar & Smoked Salmon
- Pastry plate
We sat at our table for perhaps 5 minutes without being waited on. When I finally caught the attention of a person who appeared to be a supervisor, she was very apologetic.
We shared both the Sparkling Wine Sampler and the Red Wine Sampler. The wines were very nice to nice :
1. Sparkling Wine Sampler
- 2007 Brut Cuvée, 60% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay - very nice
- 2007 Brut Rosé, 58% Pinot Noir, 42% Chardonnay - nice
- 2007 Verméil Demi-Sec, 60% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay - very nice
2. Red Wine Sampler
- Red Wine Sampler
- 2008 Avant-Garde Pino Noir, made with 12 Pinot Noir clones - very nice
- 2009 Estate Pinot Noir, made with their four best Pinot Noir clones - nice
- 2007 Avant-Garde Merlot - very nice
In addition to tastings, the winery offers tours three times per day. The tours cost $25 and include a tour of the vineyards, the wine making process in the chateau, and tastings of the sparkling wines and the red wines. (http://www.domainecarneros.com/DailyTourDescription). I wish we'd had the opportunity to take one of the tours.
During our visit, the parking lot was almost completely full. It took a bit of searching to find a parking spot.
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