Re: Impressions from first tasting in Napa

Roland, I also like Sinskey's Pinot Noirs but have not visited the winery or tasted their other wines.

Mark Lipton

I'd have to concur with you in re: Cakebread Cellars.

If I might, I'd suggest a couple other regions to sample as well. I'm particularly fond of the Dry Creek and Alexander Valley regions just a short drive from the Napa region. The ambiance is much less commercial and the tasting rooms generally reflect a friendlier, more relaxed pace for tasting. My taste leans toward California Zins so I'd recommend Seghesio, Raffanelli, Pezzi King and the like. There are a number of lesser known vineyards that can surprise you along the way, too.

Another region is Paso Robles. It's halfway down the coast, though. While there are a few notables in the Amador County area, I'd be hard pressed to recommend a drive that far inland without another destination in mind.

Everyone feels it necessary to make the Napa trip but I think you'll find, as we have, that there are far better values and more importantly, more enjoyable wine tasting experiences "off the beaten path" away from Napa.

Just my $.02.

Ed

I think that their Pinot's are their best stuff. Bi!!

They have an upper end Cab that is normally available to taste if you ask. Sometimes they charge extra but wineries seem to note if a group are wine enthusiasts and often poor whatever they have. That Cab retails for about $50 and is excellent but not on par with other $50 Cabs such as PlumpJack.

I have not had their current offerings but last years were excellent. Their $50 Cab was outstanding but expensive. We picked up several bottles of their excellent Sangiovese for about $18 which was a good value. We were lucky to visit on a slow day and bartender poured us just about everything they had. Very nice experience.

They do make some great Cabs and Chardonnays but I have not tried any in a few years.

That happens at many wineries. Every time I taste anything I like I look at the price and it's $40 or more. Wineries prices are full retail. Stop at the Liquor Barn in Napa on the way out of town. Prices will be far lower. Also most Costco's in the region will carry quite few wines from even the smaller wineries and will again be much lower priced than at the wineries.

Hi Jason. Nice post, a couple comments:

acrossthe >board.

I've enjoyed many of their wines. The only ones I have cellared are some basic Napa cabs- I think 96 & 97. Interestingly, I think that Parker recently listed Clos du Val on a list of underachieving California producers. Maybe it's just that they make wines a little less hedonisticly gobby than he prefers?

I'm a little surprised, while their other wines are spotty, I usually find the Napa Cab a very pleasant wine (in a somewhat restrained style for Napa). And they have ahistory of some decent dessert wines, too.

Like others I agree the PN is quite good

OK, I just gotta ask- it's not best Zinfandel you ever tasted, just best California? :)

Thanks for posting, good luck to Brooke with the job! Dale

Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply

Better than Turley?

Dimitri

My point was just that I found it funny he qualified Zinfandel with "Californian". There are some Zinfandels produced elsewhere, but such an overwhelming % are Californian that I laughed.

As to Turley, lots of people aren't fans. It's not my favorite style of Zinfandel, for instance. I do recognize the commitment to quality, just that style preferences preclude me from calling it "best". Dale

Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply

I caught that. I cannot imagine a better zinfandel coming from anywhere else, although Italy makes good zinfandel. They call it primitivo, but it is the same grape.

So who makes your favorite?

Dimitri

I am surprised to hear that regarding Clos du Val. I admit to having little experience with Cali wines so maybe they are not producing up to what that used to be? For pouring six plus different wines I still consider them to be of suitable quality for a purchase without prior tasting.

(Freemark Abby) >I'm a little surprised, while their other wines are spotty, I usually find

Looking back at my "notes" from the tasting I found the '99 Napa Cab "hot, peppery, thin, hard and not feeling full in the mouth." I had just expected a little more from them considering their reputation? They were also pouring a '99 Napa Edelwein Gold (9.5% alco, 17.4 RS, no oak, $40 375ml) which was a fine dessert wine- though not as complex as middleweight Sauternes, I happily spent my $40 on '01 Climens with ten bucks to spare instead!

Well, maybe that's part typo-part not thinking clearly. All of the Zins that I have tasted indeed came from Cali with the exception of maybe one from Long Island (?). This Regusci was not as peppery as most that I have tried a definitely more hedonistic, plump, floral and interesting. To reply to another post: I have not have the fortune of trying any Turley Zinfandels for comparison... yet.

Thanks, jason

Ed

Do you think either Dry Creek or Alexander Valley would be good for bicycle touring/tasting? I'd like to avoid heavy traffic and urban congestion while touring, and Napa, as I remember it seemed quite busy (only visited once). Any suggestions?

Thanks

Tom Schellberg

Tom,

You shouldn't rule out Napa. If you avoid 29 and stick to the Silverado Trail and the crossroads, you would have a great time biking in Napa. You could go from Napa starting around Pine Ridge and Stags Leap going north to Calistoga. Most of the nice, small wineries are on the Silverado Trail and the crossroads. Once you get to Calistoga, you can cut over the mountails on Petrified Forest Road and then hit the Sonoma Valley. The Silverado Trail is the most scenic area of Napa and you avoid the traffic going to the large wineries on 29.

Cliff

Hi Dimitri:

Well, I think they have same ancestor, but they're slightly different varieties (lots of previous discussions here, with conclusive evidence from Carole (I forget last name) at UC Davis

I'll take the easy out and say Ridge (though some aren't technically Zin, as they have 25+% other varieties). With honorable mention to Dashe. :)

Take care.

Dale

Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply

I don't think the traffic is particularly heavy in Dry Creek Valley, or in the Russian River Valley, for that matter. The road on the west side of Dry Creek (West Dry Creek Road, which runs into Westside Road) is more scenic and has much less traffic than the road on the east side (Dry Creek Road) -- however, you should be careful on the many curves, since drivers aren't always attentive... The smaller cross streets also don't carry too much traffic. Neither road was even close to as busy as Hwy. 29 in Napa, and my impression was that traffic drives slower than on the Silverado Trail (but I may be wrong, as I haven't been on the Silverado Trail in years).

I saw several people on bikes in Dry Creek Valley when I was out there a couple of months ago (on a Sunday). I'd think that the Russian River Valley section of Westside Road would be pretty nice by bike too.

I don't know of any urban congestion in the growing areas of Dry Creek Valley at all. Healdsburg can get congested, but you could do a very nice tour of Dry Creek Wineries without ever biking into the town itself.

I haven't been to Alexander Valley in a long time, so I'll let someone else answer that part of your question.

Marcel

Tom, I have biked in the Dry Creek area with no ill effects ;-) Westside Road, West Dry Creek Road and Lytton Springs Road are all country roads with small but useful shoulders. Moreover, most of the drivers in my experience are courteous enough to give bicyclists leeway (though they will whizz by you at 55-60 MPH). If you're adventurous (and energetic) enough, you can even follow Westside Road down into the Russian River Valley. I'd expect that the Alexander Valley would be similar, though I have no firsthand experience biking in it.

Mark Lipton

Last I heard, primitivo and zinfandel had been determined though DNA testing to be genetically identical, at least as closely related as two clones of the same variety ever are. Of course it is always possible that this story has morphed again since last I heard - it seems to change slightly every so often ;^) Meredith is the last name of the prof at UC Davis who had led the research - Carole Meredith.

- Mark W.

Thanks, was having a brainblock. I think I heard she and her husband have started their own vineyard. So Zinfandel and Primitivo are clones of same variety? I thought they were both offspring of Crljenak kastelanski , but were slightly different. Thanks for clarifying.

Dale

Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply

Yes - according to Prof. Meredith's results, they are two different clones of the same variety, so there are some small clonal differences.

Nope. Crljenak is also the same variety as Zin and Primitivo, suggesting a Croatian heritage for Zinfandel.

You may be thinking of Plavac Mali, which at one time was thought by some people to be the same as Zin, but which has now been established to be the offspring of Zin/Primitivo/Crljenak and a variety known as Dobricic.

Here's a pretty good article from the Wine Spectator in Jan., 2002:

Marcel

snip

Thanks Cliff. I'll certainly consider the Silverado Trail. I'll take this info and study the map for a future tour.

Tom Schellberg

Re: Zinfandel here's our FAQ on the subject: