Day 1 - Morning on the Wine Trail in Napa Valley

Hello Everyone! We got up early after our late night arrival in Napa and had a bit of a breakfast, which is key if you plan to taste many wines. Additionally, we made a stop for some basic wine tasting supplies, which for us now includes plenty of water, diet coke for Rachel, and some V8 juice. We picked up a collapsible cooler on our last trip, so now we just flatten it and throw it into the carry-on, load it with ice from the hotel, and fill it with our water and juices. Having plenty of water is key to wine tasting. In the past, we purchased cheese, bread, and olive oil to have along the way, but the big breakfast, water, and V8 is a great help in keeping us hydrated. We will often share a single tasting at the winery’s tasting room, which also helps keep us in good form.

Loaded up with our tasting survival kit, we headed off to our first winery – Luna Vineyards. Our first experience with Luna wines was while we were living in Bermuda, when a friend brought along a bottle of the Sangiovese to a dinner party where we were serving Moussaka. Last year during a visit to the winery, we joined the club because we loved their excellent Sangiovese and Napa Valley Howell Mountain wines. There are only a few vineyards up on Howell Mountain which produce low-yielding, intensely flavored grapes that make incredible Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Using our club criteria mentioned in the last post, this winery had two of those criteria: Howell Mountain fruit which is not widely distributed in our area. (Also we have to confess that Luna is a name that is endearing to us - in 2004 we rescued a little jet black kitty from the coldest night since the 1880s, and named her Luna.)

The facility has been recently remodeled and is absolutely beautiful. The best way to describe it is modern luxury Italian. Lots of stone and earthy colors, columns, beautiful tile, doors imported from Italy, and plush couches. Yvonne was working the tasting room and she greeted us with an enthusiastic smile. When we mentioned that we were club members, she told us that the tasting was open. We started off with 2007 Pinot Grigio which had 5% Chardonnay added to round out the flavors. It was a well-balanced, fruity, and minerally wine that was perfect for the first taste of the day. We then proceeded to the 2007 Napa Valley Sangiovese, which had small amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Sirah to help power the wine forward. The wine had all of the nice flavors of a Sangiovese with some added structure from the Cabernet and Petite Sirah. This wine was very full-bodied, intensely and inky-colored. We were then offered the 2006 Sangiovese Reserve from Napa Valley, which was 100% Sangiovese. This was just great – juicy, fruity, cherry flavors held together with smooth velvety tannins. We have heard that Sangiovese is difficult to grow in the Napa Valley, but Luna is apparently not having any problems with it. Next came one of our favorites, Howell Mountain Merlot – a big bold brambly Merlot that handles like a Cabernet. This wine has the softness of a Merlot with the muscle of a Cabernet. During the course of the tasting we chatted with Yvonne about cooking and cats and general life in Napa. She informed us that as club members, we had access to “the Tower” which is a nice structure atop the building with panoramic views of southern Napa Valley; a nice place to enjoy wine on a beautiful day.

We finished up with some great Cabernets including a few reserve comparisons, and a very rich apricot, honey, and fig tasting Late Harvest wine that had hints of toast and butter from the oak aging. One of our favorite wines of the day was the 2005 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, which was a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot. The wine had lots of good tannin, earthy aromas and a spicy mint flavor. Sometimes, the non-reserve wines are a little more approachable especially if blended like this one. We made a few purchases, thanked Yvonne for her time and headed out.

We then headed back toward the town of Napa to pick up some spices at The Whole Spice in the Oxbow Market. The Oxbow Market is a great place to get sandwiches, coffee, meats, spices, etc. It is an open marketplace in a building with a variety of specialized small businesses. We were so excited to come across Whole Spice since we love cooking, and it can be difficult to find some of the more obscure spices. After smelling a lot of canisters, we picked up a series of spices to help us with our Moroccan cooking, including sumac, Ras el hanout, a special red pepper spice (like Moroccan Paprika), and some smoked Serrano chile powder. With warm earthy scents in our bag, we walked across the street to the tasting room of Gustavo Thrace.

Gustavo Thrace is a joint venture between Gustavo Brambila and Thrace Bromberger. We first learned of Gustavo from the movie “Bottleshock,” in which he worked for Jim Barrett and Mike Grgich at Chateau Montelena. When Mike left Montelena to open his own winery, he asked Gustavo to join him. Gustavo stayed with Grgich Hills Cellars for twenty-three years. Thrace now handles the sales and marketing for the winery while Gustavo handles the winemaking not only for his own label, but also for some other wineries in the valley. Having spent so many years at Grgich Hills, Gustavo became somewhat of an expert at chardonnay, and his 2006 Carneros Chardonnay is very well-known. It had lots of pear and tropical fruits with some vanilla, caramel and hazelnuts from the oak aging. The wine did not undergo malolactic fermentation (this is the process that gives many California Chardonnays that big, oaky, buttery taste), and has plenty of acid to keep it fresh and crisp. Not being big fans of chardonnay, we liked this wine quite a lot. The next wine that we tried was the 2006 Napa Valley Merlot. This is a serious Merlot, just the way we like ‘em; lots of cherry balanced with the oak flavors of cocoa, tobacco, and good tannins for a nice long finish. Next, we tasted a dark, inky 2006 Petite Sirah full of spicy cloves and a very concentrated, extracted flavor. This is a huge wine so you’ll want a hefty meal like lamb or duck to go with it. The last, and definitely not least of the tasting was the 2005 Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon. With its tight tannins and flavors of earth, tobacco, black licorice, cocoa, and sweet cherries, it was our favorite of the tasting. During the tasting we really enjoyed talking to Thrace and hearing the story of how she met Gustavo (he was her son’s little league coach). One of the funniest stories we heard from Thrace involved dinner parties and “the third bottle.” This is the wine you serve after opening the first two “big” wines so that you don’t wake up the next morning with a bunch of expensive half-drunk uncorked wines. (When we have guests over, it’s more like the 4th or 5th bottle but who’s counting.) So, they make an inexpensive, easy-drinking red wine called 3rd Bottle Red Table Wine. We swapped a few more good stories about Gustavo and 3rd bottle experiences with Thrace, picked up a Petite Sirah, and headed back up the Silverado Trail to Cliff Lede.

Before we left for Napa, we were able to get in contact with our friend Jack Bittner at Cliff Lede, so that was the next stop. Cliff Lede is a beautiful winery on the northern edge of the Stags Leap district that specializes in high end Cabernet Sauvignon. Cliff Lede’s flagship wine is the Poetry, which we wrote about awhile back. In 2002, Canadian Cliff Lede bought the winery of S. Anderson, which was a producer of sparkling wine. Over the years, we have been able to purchase some of these wines and have really enjoyed them. They are a bit unique for US sparkling wine, since the wine is left in contact with lees (the yeast) for several years to develop a complex flavor profile. We met up with Jack around noon and enjoyed some sparkling wine, a nice Sauvignon Blanc and a very special Cabernet Sauvignon while we sharing the latest news with each other. (Jack is the master of the “Wine Under the Table.” Many wineries keep some special wine on hand under the table that they will pour for their special guests. If you’ve struck up a good conversation with the person pouring you the wine (especially if it’s not too crowded), you may be able to taste some of those under the table wines.) After getting the upcoming events and visits, we said goodbye to Jack and to Caesar, the winery cat, and continued up the Silverado Trail to meet up with another friend.

It was a great way to start our first morning in wine country.

Drink what you like, like what you drink!

Rachel and Bryan Gavini