In the interest trying new things this weekend I checkout out the Home Winemakers Classic held at Charles Krug winery. It was a beautiful outdoor event held as a Benefit for the Dry Creek-Lokoya Volunteer Fire Department Inc.  Firemen and wine!

There were a number of good wines but there is no point in talking about them or describing them as neither you or I will ever get a chance to drink them.  These are all made by home producers who may make as little as three cases.  They come on this day to share and that is it.

So I’ll share a few of my favorites and their creative labels.  Maybe I’ll get to try them again next year!  Oh and I’ll throw in a picture of a fireman for good measure since we were there to support the cause!

Cheers for #31 on week #29!

I have no idea how many wines I tasted yesterday.  I started out the day so organized taking a picture of every label that I tasted but by noon (yes noon) it was too much to keep track of so I’ll just highlight a few of the rosés and leave the rest for another day.  It was A Taste of Napa held as part of the Festival Del Sole at the old Copia building.

My favorite wine of the day was the Isabel Mondavi Deep Rosé.  A rosé made from cabernet sauvignon from the Mondavi family.  I must stop at the winery and pick up a few bottles of this great value $20 wine today as they are moving from the tasting room and don’t have a new spot yet!

My second favorite rosé was from Cairdean Vineyards.  Never heard of them?  Neither had I!  They are in St. Helena where the old outlet mall used to be.  With 62% cab it was another rosé that had a lot more flavor and structure than most.  I can’t wait to check out their tasting room, restaurant and more of their wines!

Too many wines to count at Taste of Napa so we’ll call this #30 on week #28!  Cheers!

Today we topped off the long weekend with a visit to two wineries in St. Helena.  First stop Duckhorn.

The Lorini clan

Another beautiful winery on the Napa Neighbors program!  We had a seat on their lovely porch and tasted five wines from Duckhorn:  2013 Sauvignon Blanc, 2011 Merlot, 2011 Three Palms Vineyard Merlot, 2011 Rector Creek Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon and my favorite the 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon.  My very fave of the day was from their Goldeneye label a 2010 Pinot Noir from the Anderson Valley.

Second stop Benessere Vineyards the real reason we made the trek up valley. Of note was their 2013 Rosato — a Sangiovese rose left on the skins for 6-10 hours and their 2009 Sangiovese.  While tasting their “Phenomenon” blend I learned that a Super Tuscan uses Italian varietals along with grapes that are not indigenous to Italy like the 54% Cabernet Sauvignon in Benessere’s wine (along with 35% Sangiovese, Merlot and Syrah).

The weekend started with a Provenance tasting at our 4th of July evening out at Napa Valley General store.  The Provenance Sauvignon Blanc became a quick favorite and I opened another bottle at lunch poolside the very next day!

Saturday we went to Robert Mondavi for their concert series to hear Big Bad Voodoo Daddy!  Can’t believe this was my first time at this iconic winery.  Margrit Mondavi, who founded the Mondavi summer music festival in 1969, welcomed the crowd and went on about how handsome the band was!  So cute!  And yes we had a bottle of their Fume Blanc – perfect on a hot summer night in Napa!

Week #27 wineries #26-29!  Half way through the year and on track!