All of our managers and wine staff travel at least once a year to a wine-growing region somewhere throughout the world. Traveling is one of the many aspects of Joe Canal’s that sets us apart from other wine shops. We know that by meeting the winemakers, walking the vineyards and tasting new wine from the barrel, we can see first-hand the passion that goes into each bottle. We can then convey this commitment to quality to our customers. Rather than having you just looking at a label and a score, we believe it is our responsibility to bring you closer to how the wine was made and the people who made it. We'll be sharing their trip reports with you here on the BottleBlog.
In June 2011, members of our staff including Jerry Baker from our Lawrenceville store, had the privilege of traveling to California wine country! Here is the 2st installment of their trip.
Shafer Vineyards
We were up early the next morning and on our way to Napa for the remainder of the trip. Our second day consisted of stops at three different wineries, the first being Shafer. Our time at Shafer was spent with Director of Sales, Andrew Wesson. The tour started outside where we were shown the different vineyards on the property including the Sunspot Vineyard, where their Auction Napa Valley wine has come from the past couple of years. We then headed inside the winery where all was not quiet in the beginning of June. Their barrels were being cleaned by a few of the year-round employees in preparation for them to be sold to other wineries for use in the upcoming harvest. After a couple more stops, we had the privilege of tasting some of their wines in their corporate meeting room. This space, on the second floor, is where the wineries meetings and tastings are held. It was a large room with plenty of natural light that was filled with pictures and memorabilia that the Shafer family holds close to their hearts. Among them was a guitar made by a man from Europe that was crafted from the wood case that Shafer Hillside Select is shipped in. It was a gift to the Shafer family in appreciation for producing such great wines. We finished the tasting with a major highlight of the trip. We were one of the first people outside the winery to taste their 2007 vintage Hillside Select Cabernet. Although this won’t be released for a few months it was amazing already. It had great fruit, structure and tannins but remained perfectly balanced. Before we ventured on to our next stop we talked about the Auction Napa Valley, which had taken place the weekend before our arrival, where Shafer had a 25-year vertical of their Hillside Select (representing the entire history of the wine) auctioned off for $160,000 for charity. Rather impressive.
Wines Tasted: Red Shoulder Ranch Chardonnay 2009, Napa Valley Merlot 2008, One Point Five Cabernet Sauvignon 2008, Relentless Syrah 2007, Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
Cade Winery
Whoever we visited after Shafer had a tough act to follow, but relative newcomer Cade Winery was up to the challenge. Cade is a project owned by billionaire oil heir Gordon Getty and current Lt. Governor of California and former Mayor of San Francisco, Gavin Newsom. They are also the owners of Plumpjack in Napa Valley. Cade Winery is located on Howell Mountain and was completed in 2006. This was the most awe-inspiring winery on our trip. Located on Howell Mountain the view of the Valley was over an artificial spillway was spectacular.
The facility is not only very beautiful to look at but it is also state-of-the-art, awarded LEED Gold Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. They are also Napa Valley's first organically farmed, LEED Gold Certified Winery. We grabbed a glass of Cade Sauvignon Blanc while we were on the patio overlooking Napa and headed into the winery. There, we met up with winemaker Tony Biagi who was doing some end of the week clean up. He took us in the cellar, which was dug into the side of the mountain which naturally creates conditions perfect for aging wine. We tried a couple of barrel samples of Cade Estate while talking about a variety of topics including the 2010 Bordeaux futures pricing that were just being released. We left the cellar and headed back to the scenic patio off the Visitor’s Center to taste through the rest of their wines.
Wines Tasted: Cade Sauvignon Blanc, Cade Napa Cuvee Cabernet Sauvignon, Cade Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain, Cade Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain, Plumpjack Chardonnay, Plumpjack Merlot, Plumpjack Syrah
Frog’s Leap Winery
Our last stop for the day was a tour and dinner at Frog’s Leap Winery. We were greeted upon our arrival by owner John Williams, who is one of the most influential and recognizable people in Napa Valley. John gave us a full tour of his property which includes much more than vineyards. He grows other fruits, vegetables and plant life and also has typical farm animals living on the property. He is a big proponent of sustainable farming as well as dry farming. Dry farming is when you don’t use irrigation methods to water the vines. He believes that there is enough moisture below the surface in which the roots can reach on their own, making them more hearty in turn producing better fruit. He is very passionate on this subject and gives countless lectures across the country trying to educate the masses. At the conclusion of the tour, we headed into the winery and tried a few of his wines.
After the tasting, we were treated to dinner at the winery with some other special guests. Representatives from Rombauer (including K.R. Rombauer), Duckhorn, Miner and Cain also attended. Wine was plentiful and was accompanied by a great meal prepared by Chef Seamus Feeley of Farmstead Restaurant. After dinner, we raided John’s personal wine cellar and grabbed some grappa from 1961 to finish off our meal.
Wines Tasted: Frog’s Leap Sauvignon Blanc, Frog’s Leap Chardonnay, Frog’s Leap Merlot, Frog’s Leap Cabernet Sauvignon, Frog’s Leap Zinfandel, Frog’s Leap Petite Syrah
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