Greetings and salutations! June, sweet June! The kids are out of school, my rapidly deteriorating math homework skills are placed securely on the back shelf, the grass is a vibrant shade of green and the living is easy! What better time than this month to talk about a memorable trip to Wine Country USA: Napa Valley, California. No less than four times in the past month have casual conversations with good friends turned to that topic, with most remarking, “I’d love to get back there.” One even ended in the memorable statement, “That’s a trip on my bucket list!” For those who have not been to Wine Country in a decade or two or even are looking forward to their maiden voyage, this month we will delve into some helpful wine factoids and a few places not to miss!
The Bay Area of California is the point of entry to Napa Valley. Whether you opt to fly into San Francisco, Oakland or San Jose, you have an hour or two drive north, depending on traffic. I prefer flying to San Francisco, truly one of the most beautiful cities in the USA if not the world, as an enhancement to the excursion. Although in my humble opinion the neighboring Sonoma Valley is also well worth a visit, this month’s Chapter will focus on the more famous valley just east of the Mayacamas Mountains.
The city of Napa is the southern gateway to the Napa Valley wine region. Napa has become a small yet cosmopolitan city, with charming inns, comfy bed-and-breakfasts and sophisticated restaurants dotting the burg’s landscape. Not surprisingly since great wine pairs with great food, some of the finest restaurants in California lie within the deceptively compact valley which officially begins with the city of Napa and runs north to Calistoga. Accordingly, if you think of yourself more of a foodie than a wine enthusiast, you will be anything but disappointed with your Napa excursion!
One bit of advice to avoid disappointment if it has been a few moons since you haunted Napa Valley: many of the more famous vineyards and vintners require reservations these days, so it pays to plan ahead if you have designs on visiting that certain favorite of yours. Don’t forget the PPPPP rule (See Chapter 14)! My first trip to Wine Country was in (gulp!) 1986, and back in the day one could simply whip off Highway 29 and get a decent tasting of anything in the Valley with no more than a thirst and a big smile. These days, you’ll get much further with an advance reservation and a twenty spot, although most savvy producers waive the tasting fee if you buy a bottle or three of your new favorite juice!
Assuming you find suitable lodging for your visit in the city of Napa (for helpful hints, try www.napavalley.com ), there are two primary roads to sample your way up the Valley to the north: Highway 29 connects the spine of the Valley, and the Silverado Trail meanders up the east ridge of the Valley. Highway 29 takes you from Napa to the epicurean mecca of Yountville (the home of world-famous The French Laundry, Bouchon and several other incredible eateries), the plains of Oakville (from where many cult Cabs such as Screaming Eagle, Cardinale, Plumpjack and Far Niente eminate), the dust of Rutherford (the home of venerable producers such as Beaulieu Vineyard, Inglenook, Robert Mondavi (which also straddles Oakville) and a personal favorite, Peju), the charming town of St. Helena (don’t miss Hall, Franciscan, Grgich Hills and Charles Krug, the granddaddy of them all) and, last but not least, Calistoga (Chateau Montelena and Frank Family, among others). The Silverado Trail will cruise north by Stag’s Leap (the namesake Stag’s Leap Winery produced the legendary 1973 SRV Cabernet that humbled the French in the 1976 Judgment at Paris), the eastern edge of Oakville, Rutherford Hill, the gateway to the Lakes Region (Chappellet), Howell Mountain (Dunn, CADE and other producers of powerful Howell Mountain wines) and, finally, St. Helena.

 

Above all else you should remember that Napa Valley remains a farming community. With the exception of the cities of Napa and St. Helena, the places I listed are much less towns than formal “AVA’s”, or designated American Viticultural Areas, in Napa. Wine enthusiasts have been known to argue the relative merits of Oakville versus Howell Mountain, Rutherford versus St. Helena, Diamond Mountain versus Stag’s Leap, for example. If you have a favorite Napa wine, you should identify the AVA from which it is sourced and consider sampling other neighboring vineyards to better identify the characteristics of that wine you treasure. Do you like the plush, rounded juice produced by the warm Valley floor vineyards of Rutherford, Oakville or St. Helena? Or are you more of a fan of the concentrated mountain fruit of the producers on cooler Howell Mountain, Stag’s Leap or Diamond Mountain?
One other stop that should not be missed as you start your journey north on Highway 29: the greatness of Oakville Grocery, at the intersection of Highway 29 and aptly named Oakville Crossing Road. This deceptively simple looking establishment has a world-class deli for provisioning mouth-watering snack treats such as scrumptious sandwiches, unique cheeses and bakery-fresh breads to keep you well-fed and to balance the required wine-tasting of the incredible producers within a 10 mile radius of the legendary store. Speaking of which, Oakville Grocery has a remarkable selection of local Napa Valley wines, just in case you weren’t able to visit the wineries.
My final piece of advice is that you should not try to overplan your visit to avoid wine tasting fatigue. Instead, limit your enthusiasm to perhaps 3 vineyards per day to make your visit more memorable and take the time to learn about the fascinating wine making process and its people.
I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to buy my fun ticket and head west about now! Hopefully this month’s Chapter has piqued your interest and fortified a resolution to take that Napa Valley Bucket List getaway!
And now, without further ado, here are this month’s recommendations:

 

Value Wine No. 1: A Perfect Grilling Partner from Sonoma
With so much focus on this month’s Chapter on Napa Valley, I don’t think it hurts to brag a little on a jewel of a wine from neighboring Sonoma Valley. This month’s Value Wine No. 1 is the 2011 Seghesio Zinfandel Sonoma County. This widely distributed gem can be had with careful shopping for under $20, and it is hard to come up with a more consistent value Zinfandel over the years than Seghesio’s Sonoma County version. The experts at Wine Spectator devoted their June issue to the greatness of red Zinfandel, proclaiming “Zinfandel Roars Back.” That same issue proclaimed the 2011 Seghesio as a “Smart Buy” and bestowed a stout 92 rating on the wine. Your Wine Bargain Sleuth is of the view that a well-produced Zinfandel is an outstanding pairing to many favorite grilled foods, including BBQ ribs and chicken, burgers, smoked sausages and fajitas. The 2011 Seghesio shows flavors of black cherry and other dark fruits, spice and smooth tannins, with good acidity to cleanse one’s palette from the fatty beef and sausage dishes. If you associate Zinfandel with the pink “kool-aid” wine so prevalent in the late 80’s, now is the opportunity to erase that image permanently. Stock up now to avoid the rush!

Value Wine No. 2: The Value Cali Blend
This month’s Value Wine No. 2 is an incredible bargain from a wine value producer you should be familiar with: the 2010 Bogle Essential Red. Bogle is that rare California high-production producer that still manages to focus on the quality of its bargain wines. In fact, the 2010 Essential Red is widely distributed and can be had for under $10 per bottle. This wine’s price point likely puts it the display case of your friendly local wine retailer near decidedly average wine, but the 2010 Essential Red is anything but, so don’t judge this book by its cover. The Bogle offering is a blend of Zinfandel, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Sirah, and its wild cherry, mocha and tobacco flavors are described by Wine Enthusiast as impressing “for sheer deliciousness.” Wine Enthusiast awarded this value wine with an impressive 89 rating and named it a “Best Buy” for July. Like the Seghesio Zinfandel noted above, the Essential Red makes a great grilling partner, at less than half the price! That, my wine sleuth friends, is a value. Go pick up several bottles for the grilling season!

Worth a Splurge Wine of the Month: Single Vineyard Excellence
Just because warmer weather is coming doesn’t mean that red wine fans will change their colors. This month’s Worth a Splurge Wine is an elegant powerhouse wine from Nickel & Nickel, the sister vineyard to legendary Far Niente: the 2010 Nickel & Nickel Harris Vineyard Merlot. Unlike many Napa Valley producers who prefer to blend their varietals, Nickel & Nickel’s wines each are sourced using a single varietal from a single vineyard. The 2010 Harris Vineyard Merlot obtains its fruit from the Valley floor in the storied Oakville AVA adjacent to many big league Cabernet Sauvignon producers. Like last month’s Worth a Splurge Wine from Meeker, the Nickel & Nickel Harris Vineyard Merlot is a full-bodied, polished wine. Its flavor profile is black cherry, with hints of cocoa and oak, and it has sufficient tannin structure to age for several years. Available for about $50, this beauty from Nickel & Nickel makes a compelling argument that Merlot can measure up to Cabernet Sauvignon when sourced from the right vineyard and produced with care by expertise. This month’s issue of Wine Enthusiast awarded the wine a stellar 95 rating and raved thusly: “This is a great Merlot that’s intensely concentrated and dazzlingly rich…one of the best Merlots of the vintage.”

Thought for the Day: More Wine Wisdom:
What is the definition of a good wine? It should start and end with a smile.
William Sokolin
If God forbid drinking, would HE have made wine so good?!
Cardinal Richelieu
If food is the body of good living, then wine is its soul.
Clifton Fadiman

Until next month– Cheers!

 

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