I am woefully behind.  Have not posted since July and it is October!  Sometimes it just takes a few out of town visitors to kick start everything with a fab weekend of wine!  It certainly felt like summer with temps almost hitting 100 in Napa this weekend so my NY visitors Jim and Gayle were in for quite an experience.

The weekend started with a visit to Chappellet.  What a treat as Jim is a member and we were treated to a very special tasting which included access to their members meadow that overlooks Lake Hennessy.   We brought a picnic lunch and were treated to tastings of their blends like Cultivation and Las Piedras (amazing Bordeaux style) as well as the outstanding Pritchard Hill Cabernet Sauvignon.  We learned later in the weekend that Chappellet has trademarked Pritchard Hill and is the only winery that can use the name!

We then went on to the Ehlers Estate harvest party!  What a beautiful spot with lovely food, a band, bocce and a fun photo booth.  The highlight was the name the blind tasting when we were standing there and started speaking to the guy next to us to see what he thought.  He said they probably wouldn’t let him try as he might get it wrong!  Well of course he was the winemaker!  My favorite wine of the night was their Petit Verdot which is described as a “full-bodied gem of a red wine that satisfies like a powerful Cabernet, while sporting a completely different swagger.”

Sunday started with a visit to Venge.  A recommendation from a friend and it was a great one!  I had just tried their Scout’s Honor at a restaurant in Napa just a week ago.  It is an amazing value from this small family producer of just 7500 cases.  My favorites on this stop their Penny Lane Vineyard Sangiovese – a great wine for Italian food made in the ripasso style where in this case the pressed sangiovese juice is poured over the skins of Charbono.  I also had to go home with their Late Harvest Zin as finding a nice dessert wine is always a treat.  Great visit and our host Regina was amazing!

Last stop Ma(i)sonry where I’ve been before but got to try some new wines this visit.  This is such an amazing place to bring guests as it is a beautiful space filled with interesting art and their style is to learn about what you like and help you select what to taste!  This trip my favorite taste was the 2012 Rock Cuvee Cooper Grenache from Tor Kenward Family Wines.  I’m new to Grenache so it was great to try this one and their Tuck Beckstoffer Melee Grenache.  We also learned from our host Brian that one barrel is enough to make 250 bottles!  What a great way to end the weekend before heading out to a lovely meal at Oenotri in downtown Napa.

Doing it tough on week #40 at 33 wines / wineries!

Added bonus this week — I have two wineries from a few months back that need to be updated Reid Family‘s August 2 MS Fundraiser…

And a really great new winery in Napa called St. Claire Brown where I attended a Women for Wine Sense function and got to try their amazing rose!

Plus the very tasty Davis Bynum Pinot Noir tasting at the wine garden at the Russian River Blues Festival.

But wait there is more!  Last weekend Kathy, Mike and I hit two of the Napa Oxbow area tasting rooms with a visit to Waterstone that had a tasty Zin and a really fun visit to Herold.  What is fun about Herold?  The guys in their tasting room, the music and the cheeky wines.  How can you resist the “Joy Flight” with wines like Flux and Dropout (an Albarino that went home with me)?  A tasting room with a party atmosphere!

 

So that brings us to #38 at week 40.  More work to do in October!