So here goes the first one!

Best Tour: Pride Mountain, on Spring Mountain in Napa

My tour of Pride started at 10am, and my husband and I were the only ones! It was such a treat.  We had made the drive over from Healdsburg that morning through the winding forested back-roads up to Spring Mountain.  Spring Mountain is quite a site and has a very different feel from the rest of Napa.  Many Napa visitors spend the day on Spring Mountain.

Pride is actually an estate winery but cannot advertise as such since their grounds fall into 2 counties.  Since they are estate in the sense of what most consumers expect, they handle all of their own growing, harvesting, crushing, bottling etc.  The tour starts in the tasting room where you get acquainted with your guide and some of their history.  They explain the tour and then you are off with your glasses!  With glasses in hand they walk you outside and explain a little about the property and equipment.

Then they wind you back to their caves which really is what makes this tour stand out from many other tours in Napa or Sonoma.  They explain the hows and why of the caves and take you to a few areas to taste out of selected bottles and barrels.  The caves make for great pictures.

After we were done in the caves we took a few pictures outside…

Then we headed back inside to taste a few other wines and make any purchases.  They also allow you to sign up for free tot heir mailing list to receive updates on new releases.  Their wines are highly esteemed and very delicious so many wines sell out.  We ended up taking home a delicious Cabernet and a Chardonnay, ver typical for Napa Valley visitors.  Although we didn’t purchase it, I really was surprised by their Merlots.  They are very good and not at all what you expect when you hear about Merlots.

All in all, I would NOT visit Napa without visiting Pride Mountain and taking their tour. Their tour is only given on certain days at certain times so please always check with them.  At the time of my visit, the tour was free but it is always nice to show how much you like the wines by purchasing your favorites.

So my plan is to hit up Whole Foods tomorrow for some delicious sliced salami’s and cheese.  Unfortunately we haven’t found anything similar to the Dry Creek General Store or Oakville Grocery in the Santa Barbara area.

Tomorrow’s shopping list:

• 1/4 lb dry salami
• 1/4 lb garlic and wine salami
• 1/4 lb german salami
• a mixture of hard and soft cheeses
• kettle potato chips- buffalo bleu most likely
• all natural honey
• chocolate truffles
• 3-4 large bottles of water
• a bag of ice
• maybe a few ready to go salads like cucumber tomato etc

What do you pack for a day of wine tasting?

Recently my hubby and I made 2 trips up to Santa Barbara County. These two trips were back to back weekends. These trips were our first trips up to Santa Barbara Wine area because we were not looking forward to the drive. I am not sure where I stand now as I am not a fan of a long drive, but I do have to say- Santa Barbara County is exactly what I expected. I would simply describe it as something between Temecula and Sonoma. As a final clarification, it was closer to Sonoma, but uniquely.

Below is a short run down of our stops. I hope to expand each stop at a later date, but I thought I would give you a quick taste of our fun time.

Trip 1: Day 1

Koehler

I loved the pretty grounds and the drive up. Our tasting room host was personable and made our visit fun.  All around for me the wines were okay.  I did find a favorite.

Purchased: 2007 Santa Ynez Valley Grenache

Fess Parker

I loved the great big yard for my dog to run around and a huge tasting room. I found this stop to be very touristy and the tour was not up to my expectations.

Purchased: nothing- so unlike me!

Cambria

This winery was out  on the Foxen Canyon wine trail. It is one of the Jackson Family Wines labels. Ahem! Kendall Jackson. The wine tasting was wonderful as were the wines.

Purchased: 13 bottles! (1 2009 Viogner, 2 2007 Pinot Noir Clone 23, 2 2007 Pinot Noir Clone 667, 2 2006 Santa Maria Valley Syrah, 1 2009 Late Harvest Viogner, 4 2006 Rae’s Chardonnay)

Rideau

This was our last stop.My in-laws are members so we enjoyed a free tasting with a discounted purchases. I thought the syrah and petit syrah were great. We plan to come back and make this winery one of our first stops.

Purchased: 3 Petite Sirah, 3 Iris Syrah

Trip 1: Day 2

Byron

Visited the new tasting room in downtown Los Olivos. We found this stop to be very dog friendly with great tasting wine. Again this winery is under the Jackson Family Wine umbrella.  Nice and roomy with wine displays. Dexter enjoyed the view and the activity. Ruff! Ruff! for Byron.

Purchased: 2006 Nielson Vineyard Santa Maria Grenache, 2006 Bien Nacido Santa Maria Pinot Noir

Stolpman

This stop became my favorite of this trip. While chatting at Byron this stop was recommended. A-man to the suggestion as the experience was amazing.  Our tasting room host really knew his/her stuff and VOLUNTEER the info. We came away with awesome info and amazing wines. We loved it so much we joined the club.

Purchased: 9 bottles (2 2006 Hilltops Syrah, 2 2007 Hilltops Syrah, 2 2008 Sauvingon Blanc, 2 L’Avion, 1 Rose (sangiovese))

Sarloos and Sons

This place is insane busy. They have a cupcake pairing. Be sure to get there early or you will miss out on  the cupcakes paring. I found the wines to be decent for my tasting. The atmosphere was fun with a modern vibe.  I defiantly would be this on the must visit as yummy.. cupcake, nice relaxing porch with chairs.  Free tasting if you check in on four square! Sorry I do not have a picture of the cupcake. My appetite took over and hmmm.. down it went. You’ll just have to go and experience the wine and the cupcakes.

Purchased: nothing, at this point I had so much wine already in the car and I wasn’t in love with any they offered

Carhartt

This winery is family owned and operated. Owner, Mike, poured for us even though it was after closing. He said they close whenever. The place got really busy half way through our tasting. They offer patio tastings  since they have the a small tasting room. I really did like their wine and casual atmosphere. Dexter also gives it a paw-up!

Purchased: 1 2009 Camp Four Santa Ynez Grenache Blanc, 2008 Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir

Trip 2: Day 1

Lafond

I was really excited about visiting this winery because of its historical background in the county. Sadly the tasting room staff offered no insight into their background. My thirst for info and lack of fulfillment must have impacted my wine experience as I found their wines to be okay. If you are like me and information is as eventful as a great glass of wine you might skip this winery.

Purchased: 1 2006 Sta. Rita Hills

Alma Rosa

A friend of a friend recommended we stop here.  Their wines were not memorable. We made two stops in the Sta. Rita Hills  area and did not have a favorite. Any suggestions out there?

Purchased: 1 2008 Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir (interesting note- this was the only screw top bottle we came across in the county)

Lincourt

The owner has several wineries. Each are named after his duaghters: Lindsey and Courtney. I enjoyed the friendly talkative tasting room staff.

Purchased: 1 2008 Sta. Rite Hills Pinot Blanc

Longoria

This was another recommendation from our visit at Byron.  Different take on wines from the typical Rhone-varietals. I found this to be  common in the county.  The atmosphere was nice inside/outside. Dexter did not make this trip. He missed out on making a new friend.

Purchased: 1 2007 Fe Ciega Sta Rita Hills Pinot Noir

Roblar

ehh, can’t say I would recommend, we received little to no attention, they were setting up for a wedding, wines were forgettable for me but this was our last stop before we went back to the hotel, also no deli as advertised, sad hungry husband

Purchased: nada

Stolpman Wine Dinner

This is what we came in town for again (2nd week in a row).  We joined the wine club on our last trip up and they have this dinner once a year.  We couldn’t miss out!  It was a blast being out in the vineyard since their tasting room is in Los Olivos.  We got to drink all of their great wine as well as some older ones too.  We had guided vineyard tours by the owner, live music, food all under the shade of a large oak tree.  Can’t get much better!

Trip 2: Day 2

Firestone

Heard this place was big and touristy but most of the wineries we wanted to go to weren’t open yet so we made this our first stop.  We had the tasting room to ourself; they do have a great view indoors out over the vineyard.  Their wines weren’t anything compared to the Stolpman we had before.  The prices were quite a bit less than what we had been purchasing so we neded up buying something anyways.

Purchased: 1 2008 Santa Barbara County Chardonnay, 1

Rusack

New friends we met at the Stolpman dinner recommended a few places.  Thsi was one of them; they were members.  We loved their wine and decided that Ballard Canyon was our favorite area on Santa Barbara County.  It is a very very windy road but well worth it!  After we bought 6 bottles and had left, we thought “We should have joined the club!”.  So next time we just might do that!

Purchased: 1 2008 Santa Barbara County Chardonnay, 1 2008 Santa Maria Valley Reserve Chardonnay, 1 2007 Ballarc Canyon Estate Syrah, 1 2008 Santa Maria Pinot Noir

Bridlewood

We tried to go here Saturday but it was too packed and their tour was sold out.  So we decided to grab a spot on the tour for Sunday and come back.  It was a great idea.  While this place is a large tasting room that does get crowded, I would highly recommend upgrading to the tour.  I only have only been on one tour in the area and I don’t think you could do worse (Fess Parker).  ANyhow this tour surprised me, we got the story of the winery, little tid bits about the area and property (backs up to Neverland Ranch), and the tour end with a truffle and Syrah port pairing.  The last thing should be reason enough, and I am not even a port person!

Purchased: 6 bottles (2 2007 Santa Lucia Highlands Reserve Chardonnay, 2 2007 Reserve Arabesque (blend), 2 2007 Syrah Port)

Beckman

Also was recommended to go here by our Stolpman friends, the tasting room was nothing impressive, the staff was courteous but that was about it, however the wines we great!  if you love the wines then you love the wines, so we joined their wine club

Purchased: 4 bottles (1 2007 Block 6 Purisima Mountain Syrah, 1 2008 Block 6 Purisima Mountain Syrah, 1 2008 Purisima Mountain Syrah, 1 2008 Barrel Select Cuvee)

Well that was my trip!  More details to come!

So this recipe called for a small amount of wine in the risotto, usually I would by a cheap bottle. I wanted the best for this dish so I decided to open our bottle of unfiltered Chardonnay from Hop Kiln.

So glad I did! The dish was delicious and I would be afraid to change anything about it. Which I guess means we will need to get more of the Chardonnay, which is more than fine by me.

We visited Hop Kiln our last day of our trip in January of 2010. It is in Russian River more on the side closest to Dry Creek. This winery is in a unique building because of its unique history; they will go into that at the winery. The winemaker here is quite young and does a fantastic job. We did two tastings here, one of the regular and on of the upgraded wines. Some of the nicer wines here go by a different label, HK Generations. This Chardonnay I highly recommend and the price is even quite affordable, $28. We also got a bottle of their Malbec which was good as we knew we were loaded up on Zins and Pinots from the last 4 days of our trip.

Spring Mountain is a special place in Napa.  Most of the wineries there are by appointment not because they are snooty but because they want to maintain the small intimate atmosphere.  My favorite that I have visited so far on Spring Mountain is Pride.  They do a great tour of their property and caves with your tasting.  We bought a couple of bottles afterwards, one which we still are saving for a special occasion.  Here are some pictures of our tour.

Sad we didn’t get to visit Pride this trip but we will definitely be back there this year.  But this trip after my parents when to Kennan and Cindy’s we made our way out to Chateau Montelena.  A lot of people have either heard of or seen the movie Bottle Shock.  Well this is the winery the film was based.  It has a long tradition of great wine and also has a unique story.  They experience there is not what you would expect from the perspective of a winery that has a movie made about it.  The tasting room is quite conservative in size compared to other big names in the valley.  They do a great job at making people feel welcome and maintaining their small estate winery feel.  We are wine club members there however so we bypassed the tasting room and did a CellarMaster tasting.  Josh hosted us and we drank some great wines along with a spread of snacks.  They served some very unique and delicious cheeses from all over with the wine.  It was a fun relaxing tasting and we ended it with a short tour of the guest house where the family sometimes stays when visiting.

This trip we bought 3 bottles, a Riesling, Estate Napa Cab, and the Zin.  I can’t remember the years on any of them right now and I can’t look at the bottles either.  My parents are driving all of our wine purchases down to us later in July after their vacation.  Can’t wait!

After Chateau Montelena, we went just down the road to Bennett Lane Winery.  I had seen it had good ratings on yelp and it was open a little later than most.  Unfortunately I can’t say it was a great experience.  The workers seemed very ready to leave even though they were open for another hour.  They were closing up and leaving one girl behind.  Our server left in the middle of our tasting and didn’t offer any insight into or description about the wines.  He was not very talkative in general but I think that just had to due with trying to get us out.  Anyhow they are a newer winery and when I asked about the history he laughed and said there really wasn’t one.  We still bought a bottle of their blended red and enjoyed that night.

At that point we headed back to meet two friends for dinner at Diavola.  It is in Geyserville, north of Healdsburg.  It is a MUST if you are in the wine county.  If you go get the Cha-Cha-Cha pizza.  Goat cheese and pork belly- enough said!  Also we had some great wine.  We loved them both so much the next day we wanted to visit.  We ended up getting to go to Zichichi- more on that another day!

Tip from this trip: Check the traffic and plan your route when you land at the airport! Also you simply must visit Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen- and make reservations to avoid the wait!

Sonoma plans are still up in the air although we will be revisiting a few of our faves: Iron Horse, KJ Wine Center, and Joseph Swan.  The rest will most likely be new adventures in Alexander Valley and Mountain and maybe a few more in the Russian River area.  We have done quite a few in Dry Creek in the past.  For food in Sonoma, there are so many places I look forward returning to: Dry Creek General Store, Zin, Bovolo, and Willow Wood.

I am starting this site to help the new comers to California as San Diego has its fare share of comers and goers.  I have been to Temecula many times and now to Northern California (Sonoma, Napa) twice.  Many things to tell and share, stay tuned.

-SCWC