We didn’t use a driver for Sunday, we started close to where we stayed, another new winery recommended by Gary. Fortunati Vineyards hosted us for our first tasting. What a lovely couple that owns the winery Gary and Ellen Luchtel, Gary is the winemaker. The name Fortunati means Lucky or Fortunate in Italian, a fun play on words. There estate is situated in a beautiful part of Napa, not a bad place to for them to live.
The tasting room is relatively new and beautifully appointed. Ellen led us through the tasting.
We started the tasting with the 2019 Chardonnay from the Oak Knoll District a beautifully complex and well-balanced Chardonnay. One of my favorite chardonnay’s of this trip. Our next white was the 2019 Estate Viognier, it paired better with the dry fruit and nuts than on it’s own.
As we were preparing to move on to the reds Gary joined us for the tasting. We started with the 2018 Pinot Noir from Santa Rita Hills. This fruit comes from the same vineyard as the Handwritten Pinot Noir, needless to say, Todd and I both loved this Pinot. This is a cabernet lovers Pinot, with a heavier mouth feel that is food friendly. The second red we tried was the 2017 Vinto Estate Syrah Rhone Blend that is a blend of Syrah and Viognier. Dark fruits with a full-bodied and long lasting finish, we all really liked this blend.
The next pour was the 2018 Fortivo Red Bordeaux Blend. Fortivo means strong in Italian. The blend contains Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Cabernet Franc. It was a deep colored, aromatic and silky fruit flavored wine. The final red was the 2016 Signature Cabernet Sauvignon with fruit from the Oak Knoll District. This was a winning Cabernet that we all really enjoyed.
I loved the hospitality that Ellen and Gary showed us during the tasting. I enjoyed the wines so much that I joined the club. I’m excited to try the Rose when it is released in the spring.
Tasting #2: Ehlers Estate
Randi and Todd are in the Ehlers Estate wine club, this was a logical choice for a tasting since we all love the wines here. We took the drive up the St. Helena using the Silverado Trail, it was shocking to see the devastation from the Glass Fire up close and personal as we heading north, you could see where the fire jumped the Silverado Trail to the valley.
We started with a pour of the 2019 Sauvignon Blanc, this is a favorite for me and one I try to purchase when Randi places an order. It’s 100% Sauvignon Blanc, it’s clean, light and has bright acidity. It’s the perfect patio pounder and it was warm sitting outside, so a perfect way to start.
We moved on to the reds, starting with the 2017 Cabernet Franc, again, I really enjoy this wine, I don’t always like Cabernet Franc, some can have green pepper on the nose, this one is more fruit forward. On to the 2017 Merlot, this is one of my favorite Merlots from Napa Valley.
We started to explore the Cabernets. Our first one was the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon, intense on the nose and exploded in your mouth with dark fruits. The final Cabernet, the Ehlers 1886 Cabernet Sauvignon, named after the year the winery was originally founded.
Ehlers Estate has a great story, the profits are donated to heart research. We totally enjoyed the outdoor tasting and the sunshine.
Tasting #3: Jessup Cellars
Our final stop on Sunday, one of my favorite and longest club membership, Jessup Cellars. We were able to enjoy an indoor seated tasting paired with cheese, nuts and chocolate. Hosted by one of my many favorite people at Jessup, Grant Wood.
We started the tasting with the Sauvignon Blanc, I enjoy the clean and balanced acid in this one. I have many bottle of this in my cellar, it pairs well with seafood and in the warmer weather my perfect patio pounder.
We moved on to the Pinot Noir, good but not as great as the Handwritten. Then Grant had us do a side by side of the Alexander Valley Zinfandel and the Dry Creek Zinfandel, both were really good but so different. One more jammy and the other more zesty, I have the Alexander Valley in my cellar, had to purchase some Dry Creek for the cellar.
Next the Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, a really good, solid Cabernet. Then on to the blends, first up Table for Four the flagship Cabernet based blend, the 2016 is a new release and it’s solid. This blend is great for pairing with food and is intended to be paired with a variety of food, from salmon to chicken to steak. Moving on to Juel, the Merlot based blend, the 2016 was delicious and another that paired really well with the cheese.
Grant had the Rougette open, so we tasted this one too, I hadn’t tasted this one in a while, a lighter bodied red, but really good.
We finished off the tasting with Infinite Recursion, Jessup’s version of a tawny port. This pairs so well with dark chocolate.
After three days of tastings, we were tired and decided to do takeout from Morimoto Napa. The sushi and black cod were really good and it was nice to have an evening relaxing at the loft.