Napa and Sonoma Winery Impressions

During our October visit to California, we visited 23 Sonoma and Napa wineries, at which we tasted 127 wines. We tasted another 15 wines at restaurants and private homes. Since we primarily drink red wines, we only tried a few whites. In general, the wines we had were very nice to excellent. There were only a few that we did not like. One of the unique pleasures of the Sonoma and Napa wineries was the terrific Zinfandels. Despite the fact that we prefer reds, one great tasting experience we had was the 1991 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay, made in the style of its predecessor that won the 1976 Paris tasting.

A Beautiful Old Sonoma Vine

Another great experience during our winery visits was seeing the great Mike Grgich, whose splendid wine open the eyes of the world to the quality of California wines.

Mike Grgich

One important lesson I learned in Napa and Sonoma is how many different microclimates there are in that small region, and how strong a role those microclimates play in the production of the local wines.

California Wineries vs. European Wineries

Over the course of the past 10 years, we have visited 33 wineries in California and 30 in Europe - 17 in France, 10 in Italy, 2 Greece, and 1 in Spain.The winery in Spain was a very commercial sherry winery (Gonzalez-Byass), so I would put that in a different category than the others.

While the wines in California and Europe are comparable in quality, I have noticed some differences between the tasting rooms of the wineries in the two continents. California winery tasting rooms seem to be far more commercial than the European wineries. However, there were several European wineries that were similar to the California wineries in that regard.

One aspect of the commercial focus of the California wineries was the fee for tasting wines. In general, the European wineries were less expensive or free. There were a couple of exceptions - Chateau Mouton Rothschild in France, and Antinori and Castello di Brolio in Italy.

Another difference that I experienced was responsiveness to emails. All of the European wineries to which I have sent emails have responded. None of the California wineries responded to my emails, even when I explained that I was searching for wines to use at a tasting for our wine club. I chose wineries that had interesting historic backgrounds and explained why I was interested in them. I referred them to the Tuscan Wines page of my blog as an example of the type of presentation I do. Nonetheless, there was no response.

Sonoma vs. Napa

We also noticed that Sonoma winery tasting rooms tended to be more friendly and less commercial than their Napa counterparts. However, there were some in Napa that were very friendly - particularly Charles Krug, Louis M. Martini, Grgich Hills, and Chateau Montelena. The cost of tastings was generally more expensive in Napa than Sonoma.

Discounted and Free Tastings

We discovered that there were a number of ways one could obtain discounted or free tastings:

1. Internet coupons. Many wineries have wine tasting coupons on their web sites.

2. Credit-card discounts. Bearers of Visa Signature credit cards were entitled to free tastings at some wineries.

3. Hotel-provided coupons for wineries. Some Napa and Sonoma hotels and inns offer their guests coupons for free or discounted tastings at nearby wineries.

4. Recommendations from other wineries. Some winery tasting rooms offer visitors coupons to visit other nearby wineries. In one case, we were giving a free tasting because we told the pourer that we had been sent to the winery by an individual at another winery.

5. Residential Discounts. Some wineries offer discounts or free tastings to area residents and sometimes to their guests.

Wine Clubs

All of the wineries we visited had wine clubs that offered significant discounts to members - typically 20%. However, shipping costs have to be added to the bottle cost. A little research indicates to me that the least expensive option is to purchase the same wine at my local wine store, if available, rather than directly from the winery. Some wineries are so small that all their wines are sold from the winery. In other cases, some larger wineries produce certain special wines in such small quantities that they are only available by direct purchase from the winery.

Markham Vineyards - Nice Wines in a Corporate Atmosphere

The last winery we visited on our trip was Markham Vineyards (http://www.markhamvineyards.com/) on Highway 29 on the north side of St. Helena. It was located at the intersection with Deer Park Rd., the first intersection north of the entrance to Charles Krug. While the wines we tasted there were very nice, the atmosphere of the tasting room felt like it was part of the operation of a large corporation, as it is.

The first winery at this location was established by Bordeaux immigrant, Jean Laurent in 1874. In 1879, he built the stone cellar that is at the heart of the current operation.

In 1978, Bruce Markham founded Markham Vineyards at this location. The winery is currently owned by Mercian Corporation.

As you walk up to the front of the winery, you see the impressive old Laurent stone cellar building ahead. To the right is the tasting room, which is very modern, and, in my opinion, has no soul.

Original Stone Cellar

The Tasting Room

They offer two tastings - one for $15 and and one for $25. The $15 tasting includes five wines. The $25 tasting includes the five wines of the $15 tasting plus three high-end wines. We chose to share a $15 tasting, but only tried four of the five wines. We were not interested in the Chardonnay. The wines we tried were the following, which were all very nice. Prices are the retail price at the winery:

- 2010 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc, 68 % Sauvignon Blanc, 21% Sauvignon Musqué (S.B. clone), 11% Semillon - very nice - $15

- 2007 Napa Valley Merlot, 76% Merlot, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot - very nice - $23

- 2008 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 5% Merlot - very nice - $34

- 2009 Muscat Blanc - very nice - $24

Charles Krug Winery - Loved It!

One of the most enjoyable wine tastings we experienced during our October trip was at Charles Krug (http://www.charleskrug.com/) on the north side of St. Helena in the Napa Valley.

Charles Krug was founded by Prussian immigrant Charles Krug in 1861, just 3 years after the first winery was established in the valley. Krug ran the winery until his death in 1892. It was sold to Italian immigrant Cesare Mondavi in 1943. It is currently run by his son Peter.

Peter’s brother Robert worked at the winery until he was fired in 1965, and left to found his own winery - Robert Mondavi - in 1966.

Charles Krug owns 850 acres in 11 vineyards in four different areas of the Napa Valley.

At Charles Krug, we asked for Art, and told him that Whitney from Louis M. Martini had sent us. He was gracious and very knowledgeable. 

Art

I explained to Art that I was gathering information for a presentation and tasting I planned to do for our wine club in February, 2012. I explained that before coming to California on this trip, I had naively thought that I could do my presentation on the wines of Napa and Sonoma. After learning that there were so many different microclimates and terroirs in Napa and Sonoma, I realized that my chosen theme was too broad. I was trying to narrow the theme and thought that perhaps I should limit the tasting to wines of Napa or wines of Sonoma. Art came up with a better suggestion - that I pick one type of wine and do it for both areas; e.g., the Zinfandels of Napa and Sonoma. That’s what I’ve decided to do.

The wine tasting menu had 14 wines - 2 whites and 12 reds. We tried 9 wines - 1 white and 8 reds. Five of them were excellent - the most at any of the 23 vineyards we visited. The prices below include both the retail and the wine club prices:

- 2010 St. Helena Sauvignon Blanc - very nice - $18/$14.40

- 2009 Carneros Pinot Noir - very nice $25/$20

- 2008 St. Helena Zinfandel - excellent - $25/$20

- 2008 Merlot, 79% Merlot, 15% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Syrah, 1% Cabernet Sauvignon - very nice - $24/$19

- 2009 Yountville Cabernet Sauvignon, 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot, 6% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 2% Syrah, 1% Malbec - Ex - $27/$21.60

- 2009 Limited Release Pinot Noir - Dr. Galante Vineyard, Green Valley, Russian River, proprietary blend, 179 case produced 0 excellent - $50/$40

- 2009 Limited Release St. Helena Zinfandel, proprietary blend - excellent - $60/$48

- 2008 150^th Anniversary 1.5L Magnum Cabernet Sauvignon, 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot - excellent - $150/$120

- 2007 Petit Verdot, 100% Petit Verdot - nice

Chateau Montelena - An iconic Winery

We really enjoyed our visit to the iconic Chateau Montelena winery (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chateau_Montelena & http://www.montelena.com/) in the Calistoga area of the Napa Valley during our October trip to California. As I mentioned in an earlier posting about Grgich Hills Estate, Chateau Montelena played a major role in improving the reputation of California wines.

Our drive to the winery was also very nice. We were staying in St. Helena, about 9 miles to the south. Instead of taking Highway 29 up the center of the valley, we took the Silverado Trail.

The drive along the Silverado Trail was very pretty. The trail runs along the eastern side of the Napa Valley at the base of the Vaca Mountains. It runs parallel to the main road, California 29, which runs up the center of the valley. The Silverado Trail was built in 1852. It curves a lot in places and is often bordered by hills. Sometimes the hills are far enough from the road that they provide nice views. We passed a number of vineyards on either side of the road. In other areas, there were woods alongside the road.

At the northern end of the trail we passed the Calistoga Mineral Water Company. Near the entrance is a huge sculpture of the 1926 truck that the founder of the company used to deliver his water. The sculpture has the back of the truck filled with cases of water bottles, some of which appear to be tumbling out the back.

We followed Lake County Hwy about a mile and a half to Tubbs Lane, where we turned left. We drove about 800 feet and turned right into the winery property.

Chateau Montelena was established by Alfred Loving Tubbs when he purchased the property and built a stone chateau in 1882. The chateau was designed by a French architect.

By 1896, Chateau Montelena was the 7^th largest winery in the Napa Valley. However, with the onset of Prohibition in 1920, the winery ceased production. In 1958, the property was purchased by a Chinese-American family to serve as a retirement home. They created beautiful Jade Lake below the chateau.

In 1972, Jim Barrett purchased the property and resumed commercial wine production. He brought in Mike Grgich as the winemaker. The Chardonnay Mike produced the following year won the 1976 Paris tasting.

Shortly after the Paris tasting, Grgich left Chateau Montelena to establish his own winery. The winemaker who replaced him left in 1981. At that time, Jim Barrett offered the job of winemaker to his son Bo, who is still the winemaker.

The winery was on a hill above the parking lot. Along one side of the parking lot were some tall and majestic redwood trees. From the lot, there were nice views across the vineyards to the nearby hills.

View from the Parking Lot

We walked up a long set of steps to the winery. At the top of the stairs, we came to the front of the chateau, with a courtyard in front of the building. The walls were partially covered with vines, and there were a number of barrels on low racks. Since the skies were covered by gray clouds and the stone walls of the chateau were grayish, the whole scene looked a bit gloomy.

The Chateau

In the courtyard, we saw a large truck full of grapes being unloaded. The grapes were being unloaded by a young woman standing on the high bed of the truck. She was kind enough to take my camera and photograph a large bin of grapes for me.

We then walked around to the opposite side of the chateau and entered the tasting room. The tasting room had a cheery interior, with bright stone walls, a nice wooden bar, and wood floors.

In the Tasting Room

The young man who served us was very friendly and helpful. The tasting fee was $20, but it was well worth it. We tasted six wines - three whites and three reds. One wine was spectacular, three were excellent, and two were very nice. Prices below are the retail prices:

- 2010 Potter Valley Riesling from Mendocino County - excellent - $25

- 2009 Napa Valley Chardonnay - excellent - $50. This wine is made in the style of the 1973 Chard that won the Paris tasting. Unlike most Chardonnays, it can age because it is produced without malolactic fermentation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malolactic_fermentation).

- 2007 Montelena Estate Zinfandel - very nice - $30

- 2008 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc - very nice $49

- 2007 Montelena Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, 99% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Cabernet Franc - excellent - $135

- 1991 Napa Valley Chardonnay - spectacular. The winery had opened one case of this wine. It was incredible. I’m not a great fan of whites, but I loved this one. I should have asked the price.

After finishing in the tasting room, we walked back down the stairs to Jade Lake. The lake was very pretty. It was surrounded by lawns and trees, including weeping willows. It had an island with a red, Chinese-style pavilion. There was a red Chinese-style bridge crossing out to the island.

Jade Lake

Louis M. Martini Winery - Nice Wines & Excellent Service

Another of the wineries that we enjoyed visiting during our October trip to California was Louis M. Martini winery (http://www.louismartini.com/) on California Highway 29 on the south side of St. Helena.

The winery was opened by Louis M. Martini as Prohibition came to an end in 1933. Today, the winemaker is Michael Martini, the grandson of Louis M. Martini. Michael has been the winemaker since 1977. The winery is now owned by the Gallo family, which has been friends with the Martini family for three generations.

When Gallo bought the winery, it invested in a micro-winery at the St. Helena winery. This winery within a winery allows the winemaker to make specially crafted small lots of wine.

Martini has four vineyards - three in the Napa Valley and one in the Sonoma Valley. One of the three in the Sonoma Valley is right at the St. Helena winery we visited. Another, the Monte Rosso (Red Mountain) vineyard in Sonoma Country, is on the hills of the Mayacamas Range. Some of its vines dating back to the 1880s are still producing Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel grapes. These are some of the oldest Cab & Zin vines in the country. The 2008 Gnarly Vine Zinfandel that we tasted was produced with grapes from that vineyard. It was superb.

Unlike the Castello, this winery tasting room’s external appearance was very ordinary. However, the inside of the tasting room was very nice. We were greeted by Whitney, who was very friendly and knowledgeable.

We shared a tasting for $15. We tried five red wines. One was excellent and four were very nice. Prices below are the retail and wine club prices:

- 2008 Gnarly Vine Zinfandel, 93% Zinfandel, 7% Petite Sirah - excellent - $50/$37.50

- 2009 Sonoma Country Cabernet Sauvignon, 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petite Sirah, 4% Merlot, 6% other - very nice - $18/$13.50

- 2007 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 3% Syrah, 1% Petit Verdot - very nice - $30/$22.50

- 2008 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot,1% Petite Sirah - very nice - $35/$26.25

- 2008 Merlot - very nice

When we told Whitney that we were going to Charles Krug, she recommended that we ask for Art and let him know that she had recommended him. We did that and were grateful for her suggestion. Art was terrific.

Grgich Hills Winery - Worth a Visit

Mike Grgich (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Grgich) is an  iconic figure in California winemaking. As part of our Napa Valley Wine Train trip, we really enjoyed a visit to Grgich Hills Estate (http://www.grgich.com/), which he cofounded.

Grgich was born to a winemaking family in Yugoslavia, and grew up there. After studying viticulture and oenology at the University of Zagreb, he left communist Yugoslavia and ended up in California, via West Germany and Canada.

He worked in a number of California wineries before going to work as the winemaker at Chateau Montelena in the Napa Valley. One of the wines he produced there was a 1973 chardonnay.

In 1976, Steven Spurrier, the British owner of a fine wine shop in London organized a blind tasting of French and American wines in Paris. The judges in the tasting were among the best French judges. In the morning, there was a tasting of white wines, and in the afternoon, a tasting of red wines.

The French wines in both tastings were among the best in France. The French whites were some of the best offerings of Burgundy - 1973 Meursault-Charmes, a 1973 Beaune Clos des Mouches, a 1973 Bâtard-Montrachet, and a 1972 Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles. To the surprise of everyone, especially the French judges, Mike Grgich’s 1973 chardonnay received the highest score of the entire competition, including the reds. Mike did not even know that his wine had been taken to the competition.

Another California wine, a Stag’s Leap Cabernet Sauvignon scored higher than any of the great Bordeaux red wines entered in the tasting.

The following year, Mike partnered with Austin Hills of Hills Bros. Coffee to open Grgich Hills Estate. It now owns 366 acres in five Napa Valley vineyards.

Our guide for the tour of the winery was a fellow named Michael. He was very knowledgeable, very funny, and very animated. He constantly kept us laughing while informing us. We think he may have been inspired by the grape.

We first saw grapes being brought to the winery. Michael told us that the grapes are picked between 2 am and 4 am. He also mentioned that only people who were local and who had a membership card from the local grange could participate in the grape harvest.

He explained that Grgich Hills uses wild yeast for the fermentation of its wines. Wild yeast is the yeast that occurs naturally on the skin of the grapes. Other winemakers add yeast to their grapes.

He also explained that Grgich Hills prunes its vines so that the fruit hangs low. There is an interesting YouTube video in which the Grgich Hills vineyard manager explains how Grgich Hills does its pruning - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EqNREQOeXg . Since all the pruning is done by hand, this involves a great deal of work.

When I asked about the yellow flowers I had seen between the rows of grape vines, he said they were mustard plants. I learned later that they help control nematodes, a type of worm that can destroy grape vines.

In subsequent research, I learned that biodynamic farming is used in all five Grgich Hills vineyards. They use no herbicides, pesticides, or chemical fertilizers. They enrich their soils through their own compost. See - http://www.grgich.com/about/vyd_farming.cfm and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUrQZt3ByDQ&feature=related

Michael said that Grgich Hills produces 50,000 cases of wine per year, which he compared to Mondavi’s production of 1.5 million cases per year.

Michael mentioned that Grgich Hills uses its wooden barrels only five times for aging wines.

When we were inside the winery, we encountered Mike Grgich, who is now 88. He spoke to our group for a while, but I was too far from him to catch what he was saying. I could see a range of expressions on his face, from very serious to very light and smiling.

Mike Grgich

The wines we tasted at Grgich Hills were excellent to very nice :

- 2008 Carneros Selection Chardonnay - excellent

- 2009 Napa Valley Fumé Blanc, made with 100% Sauvignon Blanc grapes - very nice

- 2008 Napa Valley Zinfandel, 97% Zinfandel, 3% Petite Sirah - very nice

- 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon - excellent ( a couple of wine critics have rated this wine at 96 points)

With Michael in the Tasting Room

I noticed that there were lots of limousines in the parking lot. These may have been from some of th Napa Valley limousine winery tours.

Beringer Vineyards, Part of a Global Conglomerate, But with Great Wines

When we visited Beringer Vineyards and Winery in October, I knew the company was a large producer, but I had no idea that it was part of a huge global conglomerate and that it produced some really incredible wines. 

Beringer Vineyards and Winery (http://www.beringer.com/) were founded by brothers Jacob and Frederick Beringer, who were German immigrants. They purchased the land in 1875 and founded the winery in 1876. They hired Chinese workers to hand-chisel 1,200 feet of rock tunnels in the side of Spring Mountain to use for storing and aging wines.

In 1884, a magnificent house, known as Rhine House, was built as Frederick Beringer’s residence. It’s style was Victorian, with gables and turrets. It had magnificent stone work, stained-glass windows, and wood paneling. The 17-room mansion was completely refurbished in 2006-2008 (http://www.napaman.com/napamancom/2008/12/everything-old-is-new-again.html)

Rhine House

Today, Beringer is part of a huge global wine conglomerate called Treasury Wine Estates. Treasury Wine Estates was split off from the Foster’s Group (Formerly Foster’s Brewing Group) of Australia in May of 2011. Treasury Wine Estates owns such companies as Stag’s Leap, Lindemans, Penfolds, Rosemount, Chateau St. Jean, and Etude.  

Beringer was owned by the Beringer family until 1971, when it sold the business to the Nestlé Company (http://digitalcommons.pace.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=business_cases). Under Nestlé ownership, the business expanded significantly. In 1996, Another group bought Beringer in a leveraged buyout. The business continued to expand, acquiring wineries such as Chateau St. Jean and Stag’s Leap. In 2000, it was acquired by Foster’s.

Beringer owns and manages 14 vineyards in a variety of microclimates, with different soils, and at different altitudes. They are all in Napa County or at the edge of the county. (http://www.beringer.com/index.cfm?method=pages.showPage&pageid=67ed41c9-bcff-203f-843a-bf0e9ddff56c)

Beringer is the oldest continuous operating winery in the Napa Valley.

Beringer produces wines at many different price points - from $7 per bottle to $270 per bottle.

We did two tastings in two different buildings at Beringer. The first was while we were seated at a table on the porch of the Rhine House. The temperature was perfect outside. The man who served us was Eric, a real gentleman, who was very knowledgeable. That tasting was the Beringer Reserve Experience which cost $25 for any four wines selected from a menu of nine wines - one white, six reds, and two dessert wines. The menu also offered several food pairing snacks.

 Eric

My wife and I shared a tasting, and also ordered a plate of mixed olives for $4 and a LaBrea Bakery demi-baguette for $2.

We tasted four cabernet sauvignons, all of which we rated excellent. They were among the best wines we tasted at any wineries on our trip. I can only imagine what these cabs would be like with a few more years of aging. The retail bottle prices and wine club discounted prices are listed below:

- 2008 St. Helena Home Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon - excellent - $90/$72, rated 90 points by Robert Parker.

- 2007 Bancroft Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon from Howell Mountain, 100% Cabernet Sauvignon - excellent - $90/$72, rated 94 points by Robert Parker.

- 2006 Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, 97% Cabernet Sauvignon from 7 vineyards, and 3% Cabernet Franc - excellent - $115/$92, rated 93+ points by Robert Parker

- 2007 Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, 97% Cabernet Sauvignon from 6 vineyards, and 3% Cabernet Franc - excellent - $115/$92, rated 97 points by Robert Parker.

The olives and baguette paired very nicely with these wines.

After finishing the reserve tasting, we walked out of the Rhine house and through a small plaza with a fountain toward the right rear of the house. We then walked up a few stairs to the Old Winery Tasting Room, which also had a shop. There, we did a second tasting - a Wine & Chocolate Tasting - for $26.94. We tasted four more reds. They were very nice to nice, but did not begin to compare to the reserve wines we had just tasted.

Plaza and Fountain Behind Rhine House

We tasted the following wines. Retail prices were only available for two of the four wines.:

- 2007 Napa Valley Merlot - very nice

- 2007 Knights Valley Meritage, 52% Merlot, 36% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 1% Malbec - nice

- 2008 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, 97% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc - very nice - $40

- 2009 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot - very nice - $27, rated 91 points by Wine Spectator

The Hess Collection, Napa

The Hess Collection (http://www.hesscollection.com/) winery is an unusual combination of winery and art museum. It was established in 1978 by Swiss entrepreneur Donald Hess.

It is probably worth a visit to the art museum, which we did not explore. Its white wines might also merit a visit. However, I would not go for the reds, which we tasted. The winery is mostly highly rated in yelp.com and tripadvisor.com reviews.

It is located at 4411 Redwood Rd. a couple of miles northwest of the town of Napa.

It is right next door to the Mont La Salle Christian Brothers Retreat and Conference Center, which owns the winery property and once produced wine there.

The winery was originally established by Colonel Theodore Gier in 1903. His arrest and steep fines for illegal wine production during prohibition brought his business to an end in 1929. He sold the winery on Redwood Rd to the Christian Brothers. They produced Mont La Salle wines there until 1986, when Donald Hess leased the winery from the Christian Brothers.

Colonel Gier (http://pre-prowhiskeymen.blogspot.com/2011_11_01_archive.html) appears to have been a very interesting character. He was born in Hanover, Germany in 1860 and immigrated to the U.S. about 1880. He was involved in a variety of businesses. He eventually ended up in the wine business, purchasing vineyards in Alameda County, Livermore, and the Napa Valley.

After immigrating to the U.S., he maintained strong ties with Germany, and even received a medal from Kaiser Wilhelm. He was briefly arrested during World War I for singing patriotic German songs about our German enemy.

During prohibition, he illegally produced wine. He was arrested, jailed, and steeply fined.

Donald Hess, the Swiss entrepreneur, who leases the winery is also very interesting. He has eight wineries (http://www.hess-family.com/wineries.html) in four countries - the U.S., Argentina, Australia, and South Africa. His four U.S. wineries - Artezin, the Hess Collection, MacPhail Wines, and Sequana - are in northern California.

Hess began collecting art in 1966. His extensive collection  originally focused on modern European and American artists, but is now international in scope. The collection comprises 1,000 works of art by 65 artists. He focuses on living artists and follows works throughout their careers.

The collection is displayed at three of his museums, with a fourth under construction. The existing three museums are collocated with three of his wineries - the one at the Hess Collection winery, one in Argentina, and one in South Africa. The fourth is under construction at his winery in Australia.

The Hess Collection has four vineyards totaling 635 acres. Two are on Mt. Veeder near the winery. The vineyards are in very different microclimates at altitudes ranging from 50 ft to 2,000 ft above sea level. They grow 14 different types of grapes.

The tasting room and museum are both in the old stone winery built by Colonel Gier. The atmosphere was nice. The tasting room was relatively quiet, but it was still early on Sunday afternoon.

The Tasting Room

The charge for a Hess Collection tasting was $10 for four wines, and $5 for a dessert tasting of one wine. The menu offered six white wines, five red wines, and one dessert wine. We shared a tasting of four red wines. They ranged in taste from very nice to nice. We did not judge any of them to be excellent. Retail and club prices are listed with each wine:

- 2009 Hess Small Block Syrah - nice - $36/$28.80

- 2008 Hess Allomi Petite Sirah - very nice - $36/$28.80

- 2008 Hess Collection Mount Veeder 19 Block Cuvée, 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Malbec, 8% Merlot, 8% Syrah, 1% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot - nice - $36/$28.80

- 2007 Hess Collection Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon, 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Malbec, 7% Merlot - very nice - $48/$38.4

We did not visit the art museum.

As we walked out in the parking lot after the tasting, I enjoyed the beauty of a tree with its leaves color in bright autumn red - something I missed seeing at home in Florida.

Domaine Carneros, Napa - Well Worth A Visit

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 18^th-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

See the menu at: (http://www.domainecarneros.com/assets/client/File/Spring_2011.pdf) .

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.

Darioush Winery - Definitely Worth A Visit

One of the most fascinating wineries we visited in California in October was Darioush Winery (http://www.darioush.com/)/ A visit to Darioush is a real trip - its architecture and atmosphere are extraordinary; ithas good wines; it is very popular, and the prices of its tastings are on the high side.

Darioush is the Persian word for Darius. The winery was founded and is owned by Darioush Khaledi, an Iranian-American. He grew up in the Iranian region of Shiraz - an area that used to produce wines before the 1979 revolution.

Khaledi was educated in Iran as a civil engineer. He immigrated to the US in 1976. He and his brother-in-law started, K.V. Mart, a chain of supermarkets that has over 20 markets. He is currently the CEO.

The winery is a huge stone structure which is architecturally very interesting. Its design was influenced by the palace of Persian Emperor Darius the Great at Persepolis near Shiraz in Iran. The palace was built in the late 6^th Century B.C. The yellow stone used in the building was quarried near Persepolis.

In front of the winery are 16 columns that are 18’ tall. At the tops of the columns are double bulls. They are copies of the columns from the Palace of Darius the Great. While at the Louvre last summer, I saw the real thing.

 The Palace of Darioush the Winery King

 A Capital from a Real Column, at the Louvre

The Persian influence continues inside the tasting room. Inter alia, there were life-size sculptures of Persian warriors.

 

Persian Warriors in the Tasting Room

The winery building was designed by talented Iranian-American architects Ardeshir and Roshan Nozari.

The tasting room was large, classy, beautiful and very busy.

The Tasting Room

The tastings cost $18 for two wines or $35 for five wines. We chose to share a $35 tasting. There were only five wines on the tasting menu - four reds and one white. We rated the wines very nice or excellent:

- 2009 Signature Chardonnay - very nice - $43

- 2008 Signature Merlot, 90% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc - very nice - $46

- 2007 Duel - Cabernet/Shiraz, 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Shiraz - excellent - $48. This wine is only sold at the winery.

- 2006 Signature Cabernet Sauvignon, 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 3% Malbec - very nice - $88

- 2008 Signature Cabernet Sauvignon, 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 4% Malbec - very nice - $88

While the wines were very good, I would not buy them because I think I can find wines I like more at a lower price.

With reference to the Shiraz grape, there are claims and counterclaims on where the grape originated. Some believe it originated in Iran and others that it originated in France. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrah#The_name_Shiraz). No matter, it produces wonderful wines.

With our tastings came a bowl of tasty pistachios. Pistachios originated in Iran. In the U.S., they are grown in California.

The winery has the typical shop with books, wine accessories, etc. Some of the items are different than those usually found at such shops. For example, there was an interesting book entitled, “From Persia to Napa: Wine at the Persian Table.” I bought a more pedestrian item - a Darioush hat for $21.55.

As a side note, California has a very large population of Iranian-Americans. Los Angeles has an estimated 700,000 - 800,000. There are so many that Los Angeles is called Tehrangeles by some.