Summer 2008 Wine Tour(a brief discription)

all photos taken by R.& A. Turner

Instead of lounging on the sand and having a vacation based on sun and water, my husband and I decided to have a vacation based on sun and wine this summer. What better way to have both than to travel to the West Coast  wine country and sample some fine wines and eat great food. Below is a sampling of our 4 legged,1800 mile  tour starting from NJ. We started our tour flying out of Newark and landing in San Francisco and picking up our Rent a Car.

A word to the wise: The days of "free tastings" are just about over now.  Most of the wineries now charge "tasting fees" and some can be pricey. However if you buy a bottle from them the fee is usually waived. Addiitonally hunt around on websites for coupons ie "tasting for 2" to save some money.We actually did go to a winery that charged $25.The fees can add up especially if you go to 3-4 wineries per day. So if you're on a tight budget, visit their website to get an idea of the tasting fees or call the winery and make an inquiry. Also, all the wineries we visited allowed you to share a tasting. Just another way to save some money.

Trip Itinerary: June 19-July 3 2008

California Wineries: Leg 1 Napa Valley

 

We picked up our rent-a-car, toured San Francisco hitting some of the well known tourist spots: Fisherman's Wharf, Ghiardelli Square, Cable Car and of course the infamous Buena-Vista Cafe known for their Irish Coffee. On day 2 we hit the wineries in Napa:

First Winery: William Hill Winery Pretty well known, large winery making some great fruit forward cabernet sauvignon. We fell in love with the 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve and bought a bottle-"tasting fee" waived. Their cabs are very fruit forward, integrated with French Oak, big and juicy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Second WInery: Darioush Winery: Beautiful winery! This was a surprise winery for us. I had never heard of them.  Darioush was reccommended to us by another winery. It's Iranian owned and had gorgeous landscaping and a spectacular interior.

Our flight consisted of a 2006 Signature Chardonnay, 2007 Signature Viognier, 2005 Duel, 2005 Signature Shiraz and the 2005 Signature Cabernet Sauvignon. The tasting was a little pricey, yet the wines were great. We especially loved the Duel and Chardonnay and shippped them home. This too can be pricey especially if you live in a state where there are tight shipping rules. Some states have tight rules concerning alcohol shipping, so beware!

At this point in our touring we don't care about the shipping fee so what the heck..we're feeling good. We spend $30 to ship home some hard to find wine.

By now it's getting hot outside( around 100 degrees) and we're feeling the effects of the wine and off we go to our next stop.

WInery 3:Stag's Leap Cellars

 Napa is having a heat wave today and it's around 100 degrees, but we're still drinking. I have my trusty wine map and we make it to Stag Leaps Cellars at around 4pm. We have a pricey tasting of some Cabs and decide we were not impressed ( just our opinion).For what ever reason, maybe the heat, maybe the price of the wine, a combination of both, we're dissapointed, so we decide to move on. Nice winery, though. Nice grounds.

 

 

Winery 4: Pine Ridge Winery: In the heart of Stag's Leap district, we find what we are looking for. Pine Ridege produces some fine Bordeaux styled reds. Rich, with hints of cherry. blackberry  and chocolate. The grounds are nice and we have a $25 tasting of all Cabs and fall in love with the 2005 Stag's Leap District Cabernet with it's vines located along the Siverado Trail. We like the cabs so much we even sign up for their wine club. The wine club consists of 5-6 shippments of some really good, hard to find wines( at least in NJ).  By now it's getting late, we're hungry, so we  call it a "day" of drinking and we're off to dinner. Four wineries in 1 day is really enough for us. You tend to get " wined out". The heat doesn't help much either.

It's 5pm.   Neither man nor woman can  survive on alcohol alone. Napa has some really fine restaurants,so off we go to eat.

 Day 2: Clos du Val Winery Located in the Stag's Leap District we have another fine sampling of some great Cabernets and Chardonnays. Our flight consist of rich, smooth cabs, most notably the 2004 Stag's Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon, made from 100% estate grown grapes , a Napa Valley 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon and a lovely 2006 Caneros Chardonnay. All in all a very pleasant tasting for $20 and a lovely winery tucked away in the Stag's Leap District of Napa Valley. So many wineries, yet so little time.

next leg: Sonoma Wineries