Every morning while enjoying our coffee and breakfast, we watched the hot air balloons float from Yountville down to Napa. It was the perfect way to start each day. And we were able to enjoy these blue skies all weekend.
Tasting #1: Frank Family Vineyards
Regan came to pick us up early because our first stop of the day was North to Frank Family Vineyards. I’ve enjoyed Frank Family for years, going back to the days when my friend, Marie was in their club. We arrived on time for our appointment and we were escorted to the back porch.
Our host came out to greet us with a glass of Sparkling wine which was the Rouge, the beautiful sparkling wine reminded me of Christmas in a glass. This definitely would be a great holiday wine and honestly was my favorite of the entire tasting. After what felt like a very long wait, we received our next pour of the 2018 Lewis Vineyard Chardonnay, it wasn’t my favorite chardonnay of the trip, I think White Rock’s was better.
The third pour was the 2017 Chiles Valley Zinfandel, I have always liked the Zinfandel from Frank Family. Our host was also taking care of three other women seated in the other corner of the porch, she delivered the exact same speech to them as she did for us, it was almost like a recording. I normally really enjoy interacting with our hosts and having interesting conversation, this experience definitely wasn’t meeting our expectations.
Our final pour was the 2017 RHF Cabernet Sauvignon, it was good but not great. I was disappointed in the overall experience at Frank, maybe it was because of COVID. I had always tasted in one of the unique tasting rooms with the memorabilia, it just wasn’t the same experience and felt almost too scripted with no spontaneous conversation.
Tasting #2: Far Niente
Randi and I used to be members of the club at Far Niente. We added this to our schedule because Todd had never been to the winery.
The grounds at Far Niente are still beautiful, Regan dropped us off for our tasting and then she was off to place our lunch order from Ad Hoc, more on the amazing fried chicken later. We started with a pour of the Bella Union Sauvignon Blanc, which was very nice, we enjoyed this as we walked down to the tasting area. We unfortunately waited about 20 minutes for our host to take us to our table, our first pour long gone. We were finally escorted to a table and our wine was ready for us to taste.
The first pour at our seated tasting was the 2017 Cave Collection Chardonnay, your typical more buttery, chardonnay. The second pour was one that I was excited to try, I’ve always liked the EnRoute Pinot Noir, this one from the “Bucher” vineyard. This is a Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, but not as good as the Handwritten Pinot Noir.
The third wine in our flight was the 2017 Estate Bottled Cabernet Sauvignon from Oakville. It wasn’t as good as I remember for their Cabernet. What I didn’t know, is the Nickel family doesn’t have majority ownership in the winery any more. A private equity firm, the same that owns Duckhorn, bought out a majority ownership stake. It seems once private equity takes over the small family feel leaves and it becomes a big corporation feel.
The fourth pour was the 2014 Cave Collection Cabernet Sauvignon from Oakville, this one was better than the 2017 but still not one I was willing to spend $220 on for the bottle.
The final pour was the liquid gold, the 2013 Dolce Late Harvest, I have several bottles of this in my cellar. It is a beautiful and delicious dessert wine. It was paired with blue cheese, which I don’t enjoy but tried it just to see, it wasn’t that bad it balanced the sweetness.
We were off to get lunch at Ad Hoc. Regan placed our order ahead of time so when we arrived, our lunch was ready. I’ve always wanted to try the fried chicken it did not disappoint. The best fried chicken I’ve every had, super crispy and juicy. The perfect lunch after two wine tastings.
Tasting #3: Porter Family Vineyards
After our yummy lunch, we were off to Coombsville to visit Porter Family Vineyards. This stop was another of Gary’s recommendations. The ride to Coombsville was interesting with some narrow roads, but the location was beautiful.
The Porter Family built a cave into the mountain, so we were able to enjoy a cave tour on this visit. The caves keep the wine at the perfect temperature for aging in barrel. Florencia was our host and she started us with the Sandpiper Rose, which was a crisp, clean and lovely rose. There were fresh strawberries in the gardens and they paired perfectly with the rose.
We walked to the caves and were able to tour and taste in the cave. The caves are 515 feet long and contain barrels and fermentation tanks.
We tasted through four red wines in the cave. Starting with the 2016 Sandpiper Red Blend, this is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Malbec. This blend was the perfect balance with a very smooth finish. The next red was the 2016 Cave Dwellers Blend, this blend of cabernet sauvignon and syrah. It was interesting and you could taste the deep syrah in this blend.
The third red was the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon, this is 100% cabernet and was distinctively Coombsville. The lush fruit and long finish makes this a favorite for me. The last pour was the 2016 Barre Azure Blend, a powerful deep blend that did not disappoint.
We all loved the wines so much, Randi and Todd joined this club. We each order 3 bottles to ship home, the Sandpiper Red Blend, Cabernet Sauvignon and the Barre Azure Blend.
Tasting #4: Heron House Yountville
Our last stop for the day was a change of plans, originally we were going to taste at one of my wine clubs, but Jen Norris from Heron House Yountville reached out and invited us to taste in their tasting room. She saw some of my posts on Instagram and reached out through there to invite us. We decided to try another new spot.
Jen was there to greet us as we walked in and started us off with the 2019 Switchback Semillon from Rutherford. It was a delicious white wine that we enjoyed. We were escorted into a private room that reminded me of a small board room, decorated tastefully and fit with the esthetic of the entire tasting room.
Jen and Rebecca led us through the King of Kings; Cabernet Experience. Jen talked about the concept of Heron House Yountville. Allison Steltzner-Sharp created the concept to showcase smaller wine brands. They currently have 8 different labels that they feature.
Here are the six pours (plus our bonus pour from Allison) we tasted through:
1. Lindstrom Wines 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap District
2. Switchback Ridge 2016 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Calistoga
3. Steltzner Vineyards 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap District
4. Hobel Wines 2017 “The Grain” Cabernet Sauvignon, Calistoga
5. Zeitgeist Cellars 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon, St. Helena
6. Bench Vineyards 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap District
7. Bench Vineyards Circa 64 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Blend (bonus pour)
Each wine was better than the next, they were paired with black truffle potato chips and pistachios. My favorites were Switchback Ridge, Hobel Wines and the Bench Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon. We took a bottle of the Circa 64 with us to dinner and it really is an amazing blend with 25% Petite Verdot. Normally, I don’t enjoy a heavy content of Petite Verdot, but again you have to try new things to learn and see, you need to be open and can’t have preconceived notions on what you like or don’t like. And I’m hooked on the truffle potato chips to pair with my red wines.
I shipped my three favorites home as did Randi and Todd. The experience was top notch, with Jen and Rebecca sharing information about the wine makers, where the grapes are grown and how to pair each with food. These girls know there stuff. The other notable part of the experience was having Allison join us for a portion of our tasting and taking time to discuss the concept and wines with us. Allison is a fun lady to get to know and she knows wine, the wine business and how to appreciate her customers. Her new tasting experience in Yountville is highly recommended.
Our dinner spot for Saturday night was Cole’s Chop House. We were seated outside, it was a beautiful night to dine al fresco. The Circa 64 was a great pairing with our meal and our waiter was impressed with the wine, we had him try a taste and he really liked it. So much fun sharing good wine and new finds.