A Visit to Napa, Part 1

Steve Wernick, Special Order Manager of our Lawrenceville location, recently spent some time in Napa Valley. Enjoy this chronicle of his trip!

Silver Oak

Through the magic of frequent flier miles, I was able to meet up with my girlfriend out in San Francisco. Once the business part of her trip was completed, we drove up to the Napa Valley for some wine business. And because we have such great relationships with our distributor partners, we were able to get tastings at some of the best wineries that Napa has to offer.

My only previous trip to Napa was a brief one, where I visited two wineries in about a half day. We had two full days on this trip, and we scheduled visits to six wineries, as well as a side trip for more wine tasting at the Vintner’s Collective, in downtown Napa.

Our tasting experience started off on a recent Friday at Silver Oak, in Oakville. The tower that graces their label is about the first thing you see as you reach the beautifully-maintained property. You enter the immaculate tasting room/gift shop to the natural friendliness that is everywhere in Napa.

While we waited for another couple to join our brief tour, we were started with a couple of Twomey wines. The Twomey label is Silver Oak’s progression beyond Cabernet. First, we sampled the Twomey Russian River Pinot Noir. The color was on the darker side, relatively speaking, with lots of blueberry and blackberry, balanced by floral notes. Up next was the Merlot, which includes about 8% Cabernet Franc, giving the wine strong earthy tones. The well-balanced wine offers black cherry, violet and mocha, with enough of a tannic grip to suggest the ability to cellar for perhaps ten more years.

And those were just the warm-up wines. Once the other couple arrived and caught up, we got to the serious wines.

We were treated to tastes of the newly-released Silver Oak Alexander Valley and Napa Cabernets. These wines can legally be called Cabernets, but the 2008 Napa wine is more in the Bordeaux style; it is blended with Merlot (7%), Cabernet Franc (7%) and Petit Verdot (3%). The 2008 Alexander Valley, however, is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Obviously, these were young wines with tremendous aging potential. And, without question, Silver Oak has maintained their standards – these 2008 wines were beautifully made.

While we were tasting the Napa Cabernet, we were shown around the Visitor’s Center, which included a complete history of Silver Oak. Among the memorabilia was an ad, showing the first vintage (1972) being sold for $6.00 per bottle; for some reason, they didn’t offer that pricing on their library wines.

After a few photos, and a refill of the Napa Cabernet, we headed out to grab a quick lunch. And, in Napa, Gott’s Roadside (formerly Taylor’s Refresher) is a must. If you haven’t been there, it is a roadside stand, with some covered seats, and a larger area in the back with about a dozen picnic tables. Indulge in the garlic fries.

Next on our agenda was a patio tasting at Honig Vineyard & Winery. The patio setting was peaceful and quiet, which was almost surprising given the proximity to Highway 29. We had the opportunity to taste two Sauvignon Blanc’s, one unoaked, and the other was oaked (labeled Rutherford), with a profile that resembled Chardonnay. Their basic Sauvignon Blanc is available at Joe Canal’s, and the Rutherford Sauvignon Blanc is available as a special order. Both are great wines to consider for the approaching summer season, with lighter meals, often outdoors.

Left: Michael Honig

As expected, the Cabernets were also a treat. The Rutherford area produces some amazing Cabernets, and Honig is consistently among the finest. If you let them, the winemakers in the area will talk all day about the “Rutherford dust”. The hazards of an outdoor tasting became evident after one sip of the Cabernet, as a leaf dropped right into my glass. Fortunately, they had plenty more, and that glass was quickly filled. At Honig, as at Silver Oak, we tasted the newly-released vintage, which has not yet arrived at Joe Canal’s.

While we were enjoying the tasting and the fresh air (we later learned that it had been snowing back home in New Jersey), Michael Honig, president of the company, stopped by to talk for a bit. Given the amount of time Michael spends on the road, we were fortunate to catch him at the winery. We talked about Honig’s sustainable practices, among other topics.

Although Michael had to move on to his next project, we had the time to move on to their Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc. Also available as a special order item, this wine was light-bodied, with a sweetness that was almost ethereal. I highly recommend this as an alternative to lighter-style dessert wines.

Now we could have stayed there until they kicked us out, but our other afternoon appointment beckoned. Fortunately, Opus One was only about 5 minutes away.

We had driven past Opus One a couple of times already that day, but its distinctive style sets it apart from most other wineries in Napa. The modern structure sits on a hill, with the barrel room underneath. The design was meant to evoke the classic Chateaus of Bordeaux, blended with California style, much like the wine itself.

Opus One

This is where we were part of the largest tasting group of the weekend. There was a group of 5, from a hotel in Michigan, and a couple of students from the CIA. No, not that one. This is the Culinary Institute of America.

Our tour guide brought out wine glasses, covered with glass. To keep the fruit flies out, he explained. The wine was Overture, the second label from Opus One. This non-vintage wine is not available in New Jersey, and is sold only at the winery. We were told that Overture is made only when certain grapes just aren’t good enough to make it into Opus One. Overture retails for $80 per bottle at the winery, and was delightful.

Opus Barrel Room

We got the explanation of how the winery came to be, and how dogged Robert Mondavi was in pursuing this dream. Our tour moved into the barrel room before we settled into a nearby tasting room. We had the opportunity to taste, side-by-side, the 2006 and 2009 vintages of Opus One. These Bordeaux blends over-deliver, even at their significant price point. The 2006, from a very cool year, is unfined, with blackberry, dark chocolate (it is 12% Merlot), cassis and black cherry, all among the swirl of flavors. It definitely tasted like more. 2009 was also a fairly cool growing season, with heavy rains around harvest. The 2009 shows cola, espresso and blueberry, with a more tannic feel (naturally) than the 2006.

Not a bad first day in Napa, but we weren’t done. We drove next to downtown Napa, to taste some more at the Vintner’s Collective. The Collective brings together many small producers who don’t have their own tasting rooms. I was fortunate to stumble onto a Howell Mountain Zin by noted winemaker Heidi Barrett. And we timed it well, arriving at 5:30, just ahead of the 6pm closing time.

Since we were flexible on our dinner plans, we took suggestions from the staff at the Collective. We settled on Grace’s Table, at the corner of Second and Franklin. It’s just far enough from the main attractions to draw both locals and visitors. After a full day of wine, I opted for the Napa Smith Amber Ale, along with some California-influenced Mexican food.

It was early enough for a walk around downtown Napa, with a rest by the river, before calling it a night. After all, there were three more wineries on the schedule for Saturday.