Napa Valley, Day 1, Part 2. Gandona Winery and Vineyards.

Wow! It is all I could say as I drove back down the unmarked, potholed, steep and winding driveway back into the valley. I had done a significant amount of research before going to Napa this year. My first visit was a year before, at which point I realized how little I knew even though I had done a lot of research prior to that trip as well. So I had a decent plan of where I wanted to go after my tasting at Robert Craig. I also did not have any reservations (an outcome of my fluctuating work schedule) which is bad and good. Good, in fact, great in this case.

Disclaimer. Unless you have some serious connections, of which apparently I do now, DO NOT expect to just walk into this experience!! I HIGHLY recommend having reservations for anywhere that you really want to visit!

SO, at the end of my Robert Craig tasting, KC (read part 1) asked where I was going next. I told him my ideas and rough plan. His next question; “Do you have any reservations?” “No.” I answered and explained my crazy work schedule that can change day to day. So he recommended a Winery owned by a man from Portugal, and not just Portugal, from the Douro, which is where my mother is from! A quick phone call to the Winery was not answered so he said to try and drive up (up is the key word) there and maybe you can find someone. A Wine Safari, I liked the idea.

Gandona has no fancy sign, is mostly unmarked, off of the main roads inside Napa Valley. This is not a place that you would just happen upon. Even with Google and Apple Maps it took me 40 minutes to find, even after they both said that I “have arrived at your destination.” Determined, and after driving up, up, up, up the third unmarked, rutted and potholed driveway, I reached the top and found it! There was only one other vehicle in the small gravel parking area. I stepped out and start walking towards the winery which had its big barn-like door open when another gentleman walked out. This gentleman, Adam, turned out to be The wine maker at Gandona. After a “Who are you and why are you here” question session; with me, very humbly, explaining my story he invited me in. And I am not trying to sound like some kind of elitist here, but it was during this “who are you” questioning that everyone else would have been turned away. Take the time and make reservations if at all possible.

As I walked in to the winery with Adam we discussed their wine making philosophy, and their techniques for different varieties. He showed me their wine presses, their different wine storage areas, and their barrel room. Outside we toured the main estate vineyard, discussed the soil, the different valley winds, the specific clones of their varieties. Note: and to not get into the weeds here; after the phylloxera outbreak in the mid 1860s, almost all European grape varieties in the world are clones and or hybrids. Back inside we got back on the topic of his wine making approach, especially with Port Style wine. Gandona is one of the few vineyards growing a Portuguese Native grape Touriga National, one of the main varieties in Port Wine. Gandona makes a Port Style wine, a vintage no less. You cannot call a wine a Port Wine unless it is from Portugal. It must be labeled “Port Style,” or just “Dessert” Wine. I had the privilege to try their 2014 vintage Port Style wine and it was incredible! Definitely a Wine of Note. Finally I was lucky enough to buy some as they do not sell to the general public. If you are interested you must contact them and sign up to be on their allocation list for a chance to buy some.

At the end of my three hour visit and tour of Gandona I thanked Adam graciously. He ended the visit with “Yeah, we don’t do this kind of thing [visit], but you didn’t seem entitled to it, it was a pleasure.” Thank you Adam! Stay turned next week for Day 2 of Napa.

Napa Valley, Day 1, Part 1. Wine Tasting at Robert Craig

There are SOOOO many great wineries to visit in Napa. For me, a combination of research, recommendations, and dumb luck have shaped my Napa experience. My visit to Robert Craig’s tasting salon (fancy sounding I know) was possible with a combination of outstanding friends and research.The tasting room manager and Certified Wine Educator (CWE) KC gave me a superlative experience. It has become the bar to measure all other wine experiences to. As the two of us tasted through a sample of their wine portfolio I was given an education in the soil of that vineyard, how that affects the taste; the climate that year, and how that affects the taste; the vision that their wine maker had for that vintage, and, of course, how we get to that point of wine to mouth. It was enlightening, even to someone who others call a “ wine expert.” I generally don’t like being called that, because I don’t think that I am a wine expert, and I know that there are very, very few true experts out there.As renowned as Robert Craig’s wines are, I was amazed to find out that the entire operation only has eight employees, and that includes the owner!! Bob Craig (who passed several years ago) was a partner with the world famous Robert Mondavi before setting out on his own many decades ago. The winery, Robert Craig, specializes in mountain fruit. They have vineyards on top of all of the surrounding mountain tops. Therefore a tasting with them gives you a sample tour of the best that the Vacas and Mayacamas Mountains can offer. In the end I left with two bottles that are not available in stores; a Cabernet Franc and a Cabernet Sauvignon, both from their Mount Veeder estate. You can drink both of them now, but they will only get better with time. These two wines, today, would be the Wine of Note at any tasting! After a few more years in the bottle they will be right where I want them to be, and I will share them with my friends who recommended the visit, and think back to KC and my amazing time!

Planning a visit to Napa Valley, California

Napa. The word, the location, has come to define “fine” wine from the United States. But what is Napa? It’s the main town (really a small city) at the southern end, the mouth, of the namesake’s Valley. Yet in the world of wine, Napa is Napa Valley, the 1st AVA (American Viticultural Area) in California, and the 2nd in the U.S. Then within Napa Valley (Just “Napa”for the rest of this article) there are 16 nested AVAs! According to the Napa Vintners association, Napa AVA is 122,735 acres, 612 recognized wineries with more than 400 vineyards! Ooofff, where to start?!The main thing that makes Napa so special, and the reason that there are 16 nested AVAs with the main Napa AVA, is the unbelievable diversity of “Terroir.” Terroir is everything, ground, climate, etc, that influences a grape by the time of harvest. To keep the geology simple; Napa sits between volcanic soil and ancient seabed soil, containing both. It sits at the confluence of hot winds blowing south and cool bay winds blowing north. Therefore there are hundreds of Terroir possibilities for grapes, so there can be large taste differences in Napa wine depending on where those grapes where grown.It can get complicated! With a little bit of knowledge you can begin to break Napa down and choose where to visit. I would break it down in this way: first; Valley grown grapes from the north, middle, and south. Second; mountain grown grapes. The Vaca Mountains on the east side of Napa Valley are volcanic. The Mayacamas Mountains on the west side are ancient sea bed, and form the boundary between Napa and Sonoma. Break down the mountain ranges the same way as the Valley; from north, to mid/central, to south. You could easily go from south to north, one direction is not better than the other.The biggest differences in Napa wine come from Valley grapes vs Mountain grapes. Next are the differences between grapes grown on the Vacas vs the Mayacamas. Finally, the differences in latitude (south to north or vice versa). Keeping it as simple as possible (because there are 16 different AVA’s), that’s three main wine tasting areas to plan a visit; the Valley, the Mayacamas, and the Vacas.SOOO, you could potentially do one of those three areas in one day, but only if you run and gun through your wineries, and with A LOT of planning! More realistically, I would plan at least two days for each of the three main areas, and that still might be pushing it. If you have only one day, DO SOME RESEARCH! You could do four wineries, with tasting at each, in one day, but it will be a FULL day, and you would need a DD, and bring a lunch! I would also highly recommend doing a Napa visit in the late winter/early spring, and during the week. The fall is fantastic, but very busy.So that is my recommendation on how to break down Napa for a wine trip. At a minimum, drive the entire valley, roughly 40 miles from top to bottom. Go up (or down) the Silverado Trail and then use Rt 121 to reverse course. Silverado Trail is the “original” road on the eastern side of the valley and Rt. 121 in on western side.Stay turned for next week where I will tell the stories of three Napa Wineries!Happy Valentine’s Day, Happy Galentine’s Day, or at least cheers to enjoying a glass of good wine!