Bennett
Lane Winery - Crafting Fine Wine at the Pinnacle
of Napa Valley. Follow Napa Valley's Route 29 north to
Calistoga, and then keep going just 2 1/2 more miles.
You'll arrive at the pinnacle of the Napa Valley - the
northernmost wedge where the Vaca mountain range meets
the Mayacamas range. Here you will also find Bennett Lane
Winery, sitting snugly at the edge of its own well-maintained
Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard. Owners Randy and Lisa Lynch
purchased the property only three years ago. But Bennett
Lane is already making a splash in wine country with its
lush textured Cabernet Sauvignon and a no-nonsense red
wine varietal blend called Maximus, composed of Cabernet
Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah.
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629-6272 DIRECTIONS
Madonna
Estate wines have been handcrafted by the
Bartolucci family, Napa Valley winegrowers and winemakers
for more than eighty years. They are created from 100
percent organically grown grapes, which are dry farmed
on the Estate Vineyard. Located in the world renowned
Carneros Region, the Bartolucci's take great pride in
the wines they craft. Through great skill, elegance and
care, Madonna Estate wines are styled to capture the best
of the vintage, the vineyard, and the variety. In addition
to organic farming, Andrea believes dry farming is the
best method to ensure maximum quality and grape flavor.
Using the dry farming method the newly planted vines are
irrigated only until they create an extensive root system.
After the roots become established, all irrigation lines
are removed and the vines are left to fend for themselves.
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255-8864 DIRECTIONS
Rubicon
Estate - founded as Inglenook in 1880, the
historic Rubicon Estate has the honor of being one of
the few remaining family-owned wine estates of this magnitude
in existence. Francis and Eleanor Coppola purchased the
property in 1975, and then spent twenty years restoring
it to its original dimensions by acquiring the famed Inglenook
Chateau and its adjacent vineyards. Today, Rubicon Estate
offers a truly unique VIP guest experience and a level
of elegance and personal attention rarely available at
other wineries. Rubicon, the flagship wine of Rubicon
Estate, reflects the unique terroir of this world-renowned
property. Using only 100% organically-farmed grapes sourced
directly from Estate vineyards, Rubicon has become a role
model for Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon. Rubicon is blended
primarily from Cabernet Sauvignon, which was first planted
on the Estate between 1882 and 1885 by Inglenook founder
Captain Gustave Niebaum. Recently, laboratory analysis
verified that the vineyard clone is indeed the same genetic
material as the vines Niebaum brought back from France
in the 1880s. Because the Niebaum clone - Clone #29 technically
speaking - has been continuously planted here, it is one
of California's most historic and important clones of
Cabernet Sauvignon, and totally unique to Rubicon Estate.
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Quixote
Winery - We've spent decades working against
the conventional wisdom of the Napa Valley. When Cabernet
Sauvignon dominated the California wine industry, we passionately
supported Petite Syrah. We still do. But a little cabernet
is nice, too. We want to make good wine, not a good name.
If our wine doesn't speak for itself, no signature will
make it any better. Ours is a family-owned winery. As
you can see, given the number of owners and the size of
our production, we have a strictly enforced allocation
system to ensure that customers can have a few bottles
of Panza and Quixote to enjoy. Unlike many winemakers,
Monticelli doesn't have concerns about leaving a “wine
widow” at home. His wife Anna, whom he met at Davis
, is the winemaker for Bryant Family Winery. “Wine
governs our lives,” says Mario.
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944-2659 DIRECTIONS
St.
Barthelemy Cellars - While we cultivate our
own vineyards dedicated to growing grapes for our ports,
we have forged relationships with vineyard owners and
growers in order to harvest the best quality grapes at
the ripeness levels we seek. The hand-harvested grapes
arrive at the winery picked much later than grapes used
for a still wine. The longer “hang time” of
up to one additional month on the vine allows the grapes
to develop higher levels of ripeness and more intense
flavors. At the winery, the juice is tasted daily during
fermentation in order to determine the optimum time to
fortify with brandy. Combined with testing the wine’s
natural sugar content, we use taste as the main factor
when deciding to stop the fermentation process. We then
add aged brandy from RMS Caneros Alambic Distillery to
raise the alcohol level and halt the natural fermentation
of the wine. The wine, now a port, is then put into oak
barrels to age for 18 months.
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966-1513 DIRECTIONS
Van
Der Heyden Vineyards - is a family owned
winery nestled in the beautiful, world famous Napa Valley
wine growing region. We are located on the charming and
prestigious Silverado Trail just south of the Stags Leap
District. We bottled our first wine in 1984 and a couple
years later we opened our tasting room up for the public.
Wine enthusiasts will truly appreciate us since we specialize
in Estate Bottled Chardonnay Wines, Cabernet Sauvignon
and Late Harvest Desert Wines. The Van Der Heyden name
and subsequent reputation has become world renowned because
we are the only winery in the world that produces a Late
Harvest Cabernet Sauvignon. Casual wine lovers and tourists
visiting the Wine Country will be delighted to find a
personal, quaint wine tasting experience. You might just
become one of our hard-core wine lovers after sampling
our wines! We look forward to sharing our family history
and passion of wine-making with you!
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257-0130 DIRECTIONS
Elyse
Wine Cellars - What will you find in a bottle
of Elyse or Jacob Franklin wine? I make wines that I want
to sit down and enjoy – juicy, rich, voluptuous
wines. I like a little oak, but I don’t want it
to be overpowering – I want to taste the fruit.
I love wines that pair well with food. A meal without
wine is eating; a meal with wine is dining – it’s
a conversation, an event. It’s what wine is about.
When I make a wine, my tastes and techniques will influence
the process, but what’s most important is the fruit.
The fruit dictates what the wine will be. We’re
fortunate to work with an amazing group of growers and
vineyards, whose fruit keeps taking us to wonderful places.
We started out making Zinfandel, then expanded into Cabernet
Sauvignon and Petite Sirah. No doubt those will continue
to be the focus of our winemaking, but now we’ve
made a tiny quantity of Chardonnay, and soon we’ll
be releasing our first Pinot Noir. What wines we make
after that will depend on the fruit that’s available,
because I just can’t say no to wonderful fruit.
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963-5496 DIRECTIONS
Buoncristiani
Family Winery - We, the Buoncristiani brothers,
take pride in performing all aspects of enology, viticulture,
wine production, and art design in order to share with
you a true expression of our wine making passion. Our
motto is quality not quantity and we craft our wines without
compromise. Handcrafting these limited production wines
allows for the utmost attention to detail of every gallon
in each barrel. We are very pleased to share with you
Buoncristiani wine. We are excited to be a part of a new
cave winery in the southeastern hills of the Napa Valley.
Come meet the brothers! We are offering limited private
tours and tastings strictly by appointment only. Please
call us at 707-259-1681.
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(707) 259-1681 DIRECTIONS
Domaine
Carneros - Located in the heart of the Carneros
region, Domaine Carneros stands alone as the only sparkling
wine producer using exclusively Carneros grapes. The Carneros
Appellation is the first American Viticultural appellation
to be defined according to climate rather than along political
lines. The appellation is characterized by a long, moderately
cool growing season tempered by the maritime breezes and
lingering fog off the San Pablo Bay just to the south.
These are optimum growing conditions for pinot noir and
chardonnay, the two primary grape varieties used in Domaine
Carneros wines.
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257-0101 DIRECTIONS
Signorello
Vineyards - Signorello vineyards makes limited
quantities of premium varietals that blend classic French
wine making characteristics with California fruit. Our
style of winemaking is directly tied to our vineyards.
We strive for lush, concentrated fruit flavors, and good
acid balance in all of our wines. The goal is to have
wines with early accessibility, as well as the potential
to develop additional complexity as they mature. Signorello
Vineyards began to develop a style of winemaking based
on the idea of "winegrowing" described by a
French word "Vigneron". It means that everything
done in the vineyards is intimately connected to the winemaking.
His technique or style is used in the Burgundy region
of France. Ray Signorello's preferences and tastes are
decidedly Burgundian; striving for lush fruit to produce
rich Chardonnays, like those of Domaine Coche-Dury and
Domaine Leflaive. The winery focuses on elegance, balance
and depth thus producing the magnificent Pinot Noirs like
those from Domaine de la Romanee-Conti and Domaine Leroy.
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255-5990 DIRECTIONS
Storybook
Mountain Vineyards - Climate - in the broad
context of temperature, precipitation, prevailing wind
and storm patterns as well as exposure to the sun - is
of crucial importance for optimum fruit development and
thus the quality of a vineyard. Storybook Mountain is
located at the top of the Napa Valley, on an eastern slope
of the Mayacamas Range whose ridges separate Napa from
Sonoma. This gives us the desired eastern exposure, an
orientation we share with many of the greatest vineyards
in Bordeaux and Burgundy. Adequately warm weather for
ripening is rarely a problem in the Napa Valley - and
certainly not for us. Open to the morning sun and providing
an oblique angle to the hot afternoon sun for a growing
day of even temperature, an easterly exposure helps avoid
both the heat spikes and heat accumulation that can occur
on a late summer afternoon.
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Frank
Family Vineyards - Approximately 20 acres
of vines were planted on Winston Hill starting in1991.
Cabernet Sauvignon is the primary variety, along with
small amounts of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Sangiovese.
Through site specific vineyard management, several clonal
selections are matched with the appropriate rootstocks.
Extensive hand labor balances the vine canopy and maintains
the yields to produce rich and concentrated wines. The
soil consists of well-drained, volcanic deposits and sandstone.
Due to its southwest exposure, Winston Hill has a high
radiant value. Typical warm summer days give way to cool
nights with soft mountain breezes. The vineyard has an
average rainfall of 24-36 inches per year.
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942-0859 DIRECTIONS
Madrigal
Vineyards - The Madrigal family originally
came to California via Numarin Mexico in 1932. My grandparents
boarded a train bound, or so they thought, for California.
On a cold and snowy day the conductor told them it was
time to get off and that they were in California. They
were actually in Kansas and it was the middle of a cold
and windy winter. My grandfather ended up having to work
for the railroad for a few years until they saved enough
money to continue on to California. When they arrived
in California, they originally stopped in Azusa, a suburb
of Los Angeles. My grandfather, not satisfied with his
prospects in Azusa in '37, traveled north to join a cousin
in a town called Calistoga. Convinced that a better life
could be had here, he sent for his family and settled
in a cabin that's a stone's throw from what is now Madrigal
Estate.
TASTINGS (707)
942-6577 DIRECTIONS
Schramsberg
- Hugh Davies, President and Winemaker of Schramsberg,
is devoted to carrying on his parent's vision: to create
America's premier sparkling wines. His passion for constant
refinement of vineyard sources and winemaking techniques
is captured in each bottle. Our small winery spares no
effort to create the complex bouquet, refreshing acidity
and depth of flavors found in the finest of sparkling
wines. Schramsberg grapes are sourced from 80 cool-climate
vineyards located in four counties. In a century-old tradition
rarely practiced today, the winemakers use barrel fermentation
and barrel aging in the creation of our sparkling wines.
After bottling, the wines are hand-stacked and hand-riddled
in our historic Diamond Mountain caves. Our releases have
been heralded as some of the best sparkling wines available
in the world.
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942-4558 DIRECTIONS
von
Strasser Winery is located in the Diamond
Mountain region of the Napa Valley nestled between the
towns of St. Helena and Calistoga. Diamond Mountain is
situated in the Valley's western Mayacamas mountain range.
Althought outwardly an inhospitable place for agriculture
to take root, Diamond Mountain has long been known for
producing some of the Napa Valley's most concentrated
red wine. In fact, viticulture and wine making in the
region dates back to at least the 1860's. As a champion
of this rich heritage, in 1999 Rudy von Strasser spearheaded
a committee of fellow property owners to petition the
BATF to acknowledge Diamond Mountain as an official American
Viticultural Area. In May 2001, Rudy's efforts came to
fruition: "Diamond Mountain District" was declared
as a unique AVA.
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942-0930 DIRECTIONS
Paoletti
Vineyards Paoletti
Vineyards is located in the Calistoga district of the
Napa Valley. The winery is situated between Sterling Vineyards
to the west and Cuvaison Winery on the east with Clos
Pagase Winery to the north. The Silverado Trail Vineyard
where the winery is located was purchased by Gianni Paoletti
in January 1989. After harvesting the Zinfandel and Petite
Sirah. The Vineyard was replanted to Cabernet Sauvignon,
Merlot and Sangiovese. As Paolettis' goal was to produce
the finest Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon his desire grew
to improve the quality and complexity of his wine, he
purchased a second vineyard in the Calistoga area which
has been replanted to Merlot, a third vineyard has just
recently been purchased and will be planted to the Bordeaux
varieties - Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petite
Verdot, Merlot and Malbec. Paoletti Vineyards is committed
to producing premium Napa Valley wines that demonstrate
the character and elegance of one of the premier wine
growing regions of California.
TASTINGS (707)
942-0689 DIRECTIONS
Charles
Krug Winery - The Charles Krug Winery, first
in the Napa Valley and established in 1861, is owned and
operated by the Peter Mondavi Family. Since 1943, three
generations of the Peter Mondavi Family have been pioneers
and innovators in the Napa Valley wine industry. Today
the family continues their stewardship of 850 acres of
estate land with organic and sustainable farming practices
and state-of-the art winemaking techniques. Located one-and-a-half
miles north of St. Helena, the Charles Krug Winery focuses
production on lush red Bordeaux style blends, New Zealand
style Sauvignon Blanc and classically crafted Chardonnay
and Pinot Noir and Zinfandel.
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