Acacia Vineyard
2750 Las Amigas Rd. Napa, CA
(707) 226-9991 acaciavineyard.com
Acacia Vineyard was the 7th winery we visited during the Carneros Harvest Passport Experience. My husband was driving, so he didn't finish all the wine he was poured today...but I did. He liked the 2006 Lone Tree Pinot Noir that Acacia Vineyard featured today and I have to admit that I didn't taste it because I had enough wine already! :)
Adastra Wines
2545 Las Amigas Road Napa, CA 94559
(707) 255-4818 adastrawines.com
Adastra Wines is located on Las Amigas Road in the Carneros region of Napa Valley Wine Country. Their tasting room is an old wooden barn with lots of rustic charm. Today for the Carneros Harvest Passport Experience, Adastra Wines was pouring their 2007 Adastra Chardonnay, 2006 Adastra Proximus Chardonnay and their 2007 Adastra Pinot Noir. They also offered a variety of cheeses to go with the wines, along with their pairing recommendations.
Bouchaine Vineyards & Winery
1075 Buchli Station Road Napa, CA 94559
(707) 252-9065 bouchaine.com
Bouchaine Vineyards & Winery is located in the world famous Carneros region of the Napa Valley. They are open from 10:30am to 4:00pm and they have an indoor tasting room plus an outdoor deck that is for food pairings. During the Carneros Harvest Passport Experience, Bouchaine Vineyards & Winery was pouring their 2008 Bouchaine Bacchus Collection Chardonnay, 2008 Bouchaine Bacchus Collection Pinot Blanc and their 2007 Bouchaine Bacchus Collection Pinot Noir...the last of which was our favorite. However, what we couldn't resist taking home with us was a bottle of their Bouchaine Chocolate Sauce, made from their very own Pinot Noir!
Ceja Vineyards
1019 Las Amigas Road
Napa, CA 94559
(707) 255-3954 cejavineyards.com
Ceja Vineyards was our 4th stop during the Carneros Harvest Passport Experience today. They have a bocce ball court and an outdoor kitchen where they were pouring some of the wines. Today, they featured their 2007 Ceja Carneros Chardonnay, 2007 Ceja Carneros Pinot Noir and their 2005 Ceja Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. The highlight of our visit was the Truffle Gateau vendor, though...their chocolate truffles are SO decadently delicious that a $20 splurge for 6 pieces was worth it!
Etude Wines is located in the famous Carneros region in Napa county. The wines they were pouring for the Carneros Harvest Passport Experience ticket holders were their 2008 Pinot Gris Carneros and their 2006 Pinot Noir Carneros - Estate. Perhaps if we tried their Cabernet Sauvignon, we may have liked Etude Wines a little better. They do have a beautiful tasting room that overlooks the barrel storage area...and some interesting topiaries on their grounds!
Saintsbury Vineyard
1500 Los Carneros Ave. Napa, CA 94559
(707) 252-0592 saintsbury.com
Saintsbury Vineyard is located in the Carneros Region of the Napa Valley Wine Country. Normally, they are open by appointment only, but today they were open to Carneros Harvest Passport Experience ticket holders.
We were greeted by their very friendly French winemaker, who poured us the Chardonnay, and even their winery cat came by to say hello! Saintsbury specializes in the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wine varieties...and I thought their 2007 Saintsbury Lee Vineyard Carneros Pinot Noir was spectacular!
Starmont Winery - NOT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
1451 Stanly Lane Napa, CA 94559 merryvale.com
Starmont Winery, although not open to the public, was open to Carneros Harvest Passport holders today and that was where we started our winery tour. Starmont Winery is located on Stanly Lane, right off the Carneros Hwy at Highway 29 in Napa. Starmont and Merryvale wines were being poured at the Carneros location today by Starmont Winery's Vineyard Manager, Remi Cohen.
Starmont Winery in the Carneros region of Napa had a cheese platter, figs, strawberries and goodies from Whole Foods Market for us...yummy! We tasted five different Merryvale and/or Starmont wines from the Napa Valley and Carneros regions:
I thoroughly enjoyed Merryvale's Sauvignon Blanc and the Chardonnay, but the real winner was the Profile, a Bordeaux blend (80% Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc) that ended up being my absolute favorite wine of the Carneros Harvest Passport Experience!
Come and celebrate the harvest with 18 different CWA (Carneros Wine Alliance) wineries in the highly acclaimed Carneros region, some of which will be their first time pouring wine to the public!
List of participating CWA wineries:
Acacia - 2750 Las Amigas Road, Napa, CA
Adastra - 2545 Las Amigas Road, Napa, CA
Bouchaine Vineyards - 1075 Buchli Station Road, Napa, CA
Buena Vista Carneros - 18000 Old Winery Road, Sonoma, CA
Ceja Vineyards - 1019 Las Amigas Road, Napa, CA
Clos du Val(pouring at the Carneros Vineyard) - Old Sonoma Road & Buhman Avenue, Napa, CA
Cuvaison Carneros Estate Wines(pouring at the Carneros Tasting Room) - 1221 Duhig Road, Napa, CA
Crazy Flower Wines(pouring at Merryvale Starmont/Carneros) - 1451 Stanly Lane, Napa, CA
Donum Estate (pouring at the Ramal Road Vineyard) - 24520 Ramal Road, Sonoma, CA
The Sonoma Valley Crush event weekend began and ended with wineries that turned out to be where we bought the most wine! Everyone at VJB Vineyards & Cellars was fantastic and we were glad our wine tasting weekend ended with such an outstanding experience.
The wines we couldn't resist taking home with us were their Rosso Family Blend, 2005 V Estate Cabernet Sauvignon and 2007 Chardonnay Port. We also purchased a fabulous Caramel Port Sauce from VJB...after trying a sample, there was no way we were leaving without it!
We stopped in for a quick wine tasting at the tasting room for Muscardini Cellars and Ty Caton Vineyards. They were pretty busy towards the end of the Sonoma Valley Crush event, so we decided to try a few wines here before heading to our last stop of the weekend. We ended up being lucky enough to have Michael Muscardini pouring his own wine for us!
The wines we did taste were very good...the Sangiovese and the Barbera. We absolutely need to come back here when we're not limited on time and taste the rest of Muscardini's wines and all of Ty Caton's wines!
Enkidu Wine has a small tasting room with a simplistic style that matches their label. If you're wondering about their unique name, its origins come from the Epic of Gilgamesh (the oldest story ever written) which originated in Iraq almost 4,000 years ago.
Enkidu was staffed by a couple of wine pourers this afternoon...both very helpful and friendly. We tasted a few of their red wine selections and our two favorites were their 2006 Diener Ranch Petite Sirah and their 2007 "E" Label Cabernet Sauvignon.
Paradise Ridge Winery has a new tasting room in Kenwood and we stopped there during the Sonoma Valley Crush event this weekend. It was quite a thoughtful gesture of Paradise Ridge to leave fresh cucumber water for guests, since the temperatures did get pretty high that afternoon...so thank you, we really appreciated that refreshing treat!
The staff at Paradise Ridge is lively and Annette is not only a fun wine pourer, but she is an accomplished pie baker...as evidenced by her delectable grape pie. It was fabulous...one of the best pies I've ever had and I'm so glad that I got a copy of the recipe!
The red wines we tasted at Paradise Ridge Winery were very good (we skipped the white wines) but my surprising favorite was their Sparkling Shiraz, which was an excellent pairing with Annette's Grape Pie! I have no idea how or why I left without a bottle...perhaps I was too busy thinking how I would steal the rest of the pie???
Chateau St. Jean Winery
8555 Sonoma Hwy
Kenwood, CA 95452
(707) 833-4134 chateaustjean.com
Chateau St. Jean has the most beautiful and lush grounds we've seen in a Sonoma county winery so far...kudos to their landscape architect and grounds keepers! Their "Courtyard Garden" inspiration comes from French and Italian formal estate gardens and it is a magnificent, peaceful setting. They also have a bocce ball court and host private/corporate events and weddings (for up to 200 guests).
We skipped the whites (Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay) and tasted three of their reds, the Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Although the wines were all pleasing, we didn't take home any bottles because we weren't as passionate about them as we were about other wines we had been tasting this weekend...there is some pretty tough competition in Sonoma Wine Country!
Kenwood Vineyards gives me a very comforting and cozy feeling, not only from its rustic, wooden structures but continuing on to its warm and welcoming staff. The tasting room itself is small, but behind those pair of doors lies a fabulous barrel storage room...where they keep their chocolate and cabernet tasting...shhhhh. Besides that ultimate pairing, my highlight of the visit was the discovery of "Sauvignon Blanc Juice" which they poured first. It was similar to a sweet nectar of the gods with a lighter consistency and I really loved it! Too bad they don't bottle and sell it...I would have bought an entire case! Instead, we bought a couple of bottles of their 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, just like what was paired with the chocolate. :)
Kunde Estate Winery & Vineyards 9825 Sonoma Hwy Kenwood, CA 95452 (707) 833-5501 kunde.com
The Kunde Family Estate Winery has been around since 1989, although the property has been in the Kunde family since 1904. German-born Louis Kunde purchased 1,000 acres (which encompass approximately 2 1/2 miles along the Sonoma Highway) from Wildwood Vineyards. They have a beautiful facility and well-kept grounds including an outdoor patio overlooking a man-made pond, a demonstration vineyard and even a very cool aging wine cave with free tours on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
We started day two of the Sonoma Valley Crush Harvest Celebration event at Kunde Family Estate. Their tasting room reminded me of a Napa-style lodge with soaring wood-panel ceilings. The tasting for Crush participants was in a separate room from the regular tasting and they had crackers and dip laid out, as well as four varieties of grapes from their vineyards to taste.
The wines available for tasting today were their Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Barbera and Cuvee. Everything we tasted was good, although none were memorable enough for us to want to take home. Our wine pourer was very friendly and knowledgeable about the winery and told us that the estate had been the setting for scenes in the movie "Bottle Shock". We wouldn't mind coming back here for a wine cave tour and perhaps they might even be pouring something different that may catch our attention!
Imagery Estate Winery 14335 Hwy 12 Glen Ellen, CA 95442 (707) 935-4515 imagerywinery.com
Imagery Estate Winery was our last stop of day one during the Sonoma Valley Crush event. They are a sister winery to the Benziger Family Winery, also located in Glen Ellen. An interesting factoid about Imagery Wine: they have an artist who creates all of their wine labels and the common denominator among them all is the ever-present Parthenon symbol! Here's a short video clip of their vineyards by the entrance:
They have quite a large facility with a large tasting room and a wine bar island, art gallery, retail sales section and outdoor patio that accommodates a live band...and even a bocce ball court!
Here's a quick panoramic video of their tasting room:
We sampled a variety of wines at Imagery this afternoon, including a variety we had never tasted...a 2005 Lagrein...interesting, but not something we liked enough to bring home. On the other hand, their amazing 2007 Petite Sirah Port did come home with us!
Audelssa Estate Winery 13647 Arnold Dr. Glen Ellen, CA (707) 933-8514 audelssa.com
Audelssa Estate Winery's owners came up with their unique winery name by combining parts of their three daughters' names...what a sweet personal touch!
Their tasting room is very tastefully decorated with unique, faux-finished walls, coved ceilings and a cozy feel.
We tasted 7 different magnificent wines today and although we really, really loved their 2007 Summit Estate Reserve wine...we bought our second favorite Audelssa wine, their 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon. Perhaps we'll splurge on the Summit wine during our next visit, but we decided to be a little frugal today, considering it's $125/bottle and we knew we would probably be buying a lot of wine this weekend from the different wineries! Oh, well...at least now we have a good reason to come back. :)
Andy was our fabulous and friendly wine pourer...and he also let us sample their heavenly chocolate cabernet sauce...mmm!!! We couldn't leave without a bottle of that, as well. :)
Eric Ross Winery 14300 Arnold Dr. Glen Ellen, CA 95442 (707) 939-8525 ericross.com
Our second stop of the day was at Eric Ross Winery, with its famous rooster in the parking lot...did you know that Eric Ross is an amateur photographer and will take a picture of you "avec le coq" with the "Eric Ross Winery" sign in the background?
The entire staff is welcoming and friendly and they offered delicious meatballs to be paired with their Old Vine Zin. Here is a video clip of their tasting room:
They were pouring five different selections today and my favorite was their 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon from the Bonino Vineyard...mmm!!!
Valley of the Moon Winery 777 Madrone Rd. Glen Ellen, CA 95442 (707) 939-4500 valleyofthemoonwinery.com
We began this weekend's "Sonoma Valley Crush! A Harvest Celebration" at Valley of the Moon Winery in Glen Ellen...what a beautiful winery with an amazing old vine zinfandel vineyard!
They were out of "Crush" wine glasses for the event when we arrived (Valley of the Moon Winery must have been a popular starting point!) but we started the tasting while they went to get more. They have friendly wine pourers and a large and inviting tasting room with a wine bar on one half of the room and retail displays on the other. Here is a video clip of the wine bar:
We proceeded to taste each of our 5 different selections from their tasting menu:
I started out trying their 2003 Sparkling Wine, then their 2006 So Co Barbera, 2006 Saini Farms Old Vine Zinfandel, 2006 Cuvee de la Luna and finished off with their 205 So Co (Sonoma County) Port. Both of us absolutely fell in love with that Port and purchased the 4 bottle maximum...plus we bought 2 bottles of their Cuvee de la Luna, our favorite Valley of the Moon wine!
Thomas Coyne Winery 51 Vallecitos Rd Livermore, CA 94550 (925) 443-2603
We were warmly greeted by very friendly staff and owners into the historic Thomas Coyne tasting room. My favorite Thomas Coyne wine today was the one they called "The Big Daddy" which was a mix of Portuguese varietals. I found their display collection of local historic wines to be quite interesting, as well as their "official weather station" rock:
Rock Dry - Sunny Rock Wet - Rainy Rock Swinging - Windy Can't See Rock - Foggy
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