Sonoma and Napa, back to back

Once again my sincerest apologies to my few readers. I am late witha post again, big shocker. So we left off at Gary Farrell. After descending their insanely steep driveway, we shot back up Westside Road towards Healdsberg. We were hoping to stop by at Twomey. Twomey is run by the wonderful folks over in Napa at Silver Oak Cellars. At their Sonoma winery, they make a Napa Valley Merlot, a Russian River Pinot Noir, and a Napa valley Sauvignon Blanc. Of course we pull in and they are closed. Damn! So if you ever spot a bottle of Twomey at a local wine shop, please drop me a line so I can check it out! So we ventured backwards down Westside again to Arista. Mike had heard rumblings about their wines, and they were open till six, so we stopped by. The people at Arista, the friendliest, the wines, good but not earth shattering. I enjoyed their Pinots and they made an excellent Gewurztraminer, but nothing that wowed me. We ambled back into Healdsburg around five-ish and were thankful to find La Crema still pouring. Their wines were exactly as I remembered them from a wine dinner at Nicola's. The Sonoma appellation wines were blah, the Russian River ones were excellent! They are a true example of how sometimes a broader appellation, with more volume of production creates a so-so wine, while smaller volume, more specific region, and more careful winemaking, create a better wine. Of course those better wines also usually cost quite a bit more. We departed La Crema and returned to Rosenblum for some dessert wines, while my palate was just about shot, I did manage to enjoy their Syrah Port, and procured a bottle of Rose, a bottle of Maggie's Reserve Zinfandel, and the Port.

The next day we once again rose early to trek North from San Rafeal. This time we set our sights on Napa. And instead of the dull drive up through the southern mouth of the valley, Mike decided to take us (Christie included) over the Mayacamas Mountains from Sonoma. What a breathtaking, and sometimes stomach churning ride up and down those winding roads! We stopped first at a new winery called Alpha Omega. The tasting room was still under construction, but what great wines. Their winemaker comes from newton, one of my favorites, and their consultant is Michel Rolland, the world's foremost consultant and wine guru. Their Sauvignon Blanc was hands down my favorite of the trip, and their reds! Wow! I bought a bottle of the '03 and '04 Cabernets, as well as the '04 Proprietary Blend (Think Bordeaux style blend). I'll discuss shipping these wines home in a later post. After this unexpectedly good start we went North on Highway 29 to Corison Winery. Mike had sworn that they made the best Napa Cab he had ever had, after tasting I just might have to agree. I am hoping that their 2004 Kronos Vineyard that I picked up, will eveolve into what glimpses it gave me. A fantastic wine with supple tannins and delicious dark fruit flavors, it could rank up there as one of the best I've ever had if it matures just right. Cross your fingers! Next i had Mike stop at Beaulieau so we could taste the Clone 4 that they were pouring. It was $15 a glass, and the only tasting I paid for all week. The three of us shared it and were very pleased. The juice from the '97 Clone 4 we tasted makes up almost 60% of our 1997 Georges De Latour Private Reserve. So in essence it was a sneak peak at how our '97 was drinking. And I am thinking of opening soon! Maybe for the hard core wino's at the next wine tasting (October 26th!). We manged to wait almost an hour for two sandwiches at Oakville Grocery before ending up at Seqouia Grove. While their tasting room was being remodeled, we sipped under a tent surrounded by lush Sequoias. The wines, as from most reliable wineries, didn't dissapoint. The real treat was when the Assistant Winemaker Molly, an acquaintance of Mike, took us out back to taste the 2006 Cabernet from the tanks. Truly a treat, tasting these young Cabs in an overwhelming experience in flavor but enjoyable noe the less. People at Sequoia feel this might be the best they have ever made! Aftyer Sequoia Grove we had an appointment for a tour and tasting at Cakebread. I'll sum it up quickly, decent tour, strong portfolio of wines, but no real blockbusters. I did buy a bottle of the Rubyiat. This is a fascinating blend of Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, and Syrah. What a fun and different wine! A stop at St. Supery showed how delicious their wines always are, followed by a tasting at Honig. Honig makes one of my favorite Napa Valley Sauvignon Blancs, but we were able to taste their entire portfolio, and I was extremely happy afterwards, and it wasn't just the buzz. They make two additional Sauv Blancs I had never had, that made the Napa one look like child's play. The reds, phenomenal! I was thrilled to taste their Cabs and was just floored by their Stagecoach Vineyard Cab, if I didn't buy a bottle I knew I'd regret it forever. Not to mention the free postcards they gave me are a riot!

I know that was a long winded post, but hopefully informative. I'll have one more on our second day in Napa, and a wrap up of the whole trip. That should be followed by a new series of posts on, get this, wine in box! That's right, Jack ol' boy, the wine snob, is sipping Chardonnay from a box right now! I'll fill you in soon. Till next time..."Mark your calendars, clear the night, October 26th, Wine from A to Zin: Episode 3"