Mayacamas Vineyards is one of the greatest cabernet sauvignon producers in the history of California. While so many of its contemporaries who once shared the spotlight with Mayacamas have succumbed to the tides of fashion, Mayacamas continues to proudly maintain its heritage of producing long-lived, structured and classic mountain cabernets that seemingly offer little to a modern wine world scarred with impatience and the child-like need for immediate gratification. But for those who long for great red wines that cellar with conviction and evolve in the course of time into brilliantly complex and compelling wines, Mayacamas remains one of the brightest stars in the constellation of California wine It is arguably the last man standing from the glory days of California’s past, when pioneering spirits sowed these fields from which so many subsequent producers have reaped the bounty. The great irony is that while Mayacamas Vineyards has faithfully stayed the course first fashioned by Bob and Elinor Travers soon after their purchase of this historically important estate in 1968, the world of wine has seen its attention span lessen, and the great quality of the cabernet sauvignon at Mayacamas has gone from the center of the California wine universe to one of the best-kept and little discussed secrets buried in the mountain vineyards that tower above the Napa Valley.

Located high up on Mount Veeder, Mayacamas Vineyards has been in the hands of Bob Travers since early 1968, when he and his wife Elinor turned their backs on careers in finance in San Francisco and moved north. Since the first Travers’ era release, the 1968 cabernet sauvignon, the winery was recognized as one of the greatest cab producers in the state. When Englishman Steven Spurrier canvassed California looking for top examples from the state to include in a blind tasting of top French wines versus Californian wines for a 1976 tasting for his Parisian wine shop, the 1970 Mayacamas cabernet was the one wine that he really wanted to include in the lineup, but which had already been sold out at the winery. As Bob Travers relates of that time, “I still had a few cases of the 1970 set aside for my own cellar, and if I had known then how important the Spurrier tasting would become over time, I might have been inclined to pull a couple of bottles out of my cellar for Steven for the tasting.” But instead, three bottles of the closed and still unreleased at that time, 1971 Mayacamas cabernet went off to Paris, where the wine placed lower down in the pack, due to its very structured and reticent style at that point in its evolution. Interestingly, in remakes of the Spurrier Tasting of 1976 conducted on its twenty-fifth anniversary in 2001, the now fully-blossomed 1971 Mayacamas cabernet placed first amongst the reds from either side of the Atlantic.

Today, Mayacamas Vineyards does not possess the same high wattage name recognition of cabernet producers such as Harlan Estate, Colgin or Screaming Eagle, but to my mind it remains unequivocally California’s greatest cabernet sauvignon producer, with very little remaining competition amongst California wineries for producing long-lived, ageworthy and structured wines that evolve for many decades and improve immeasurably with extended bottle age. Simply put, Mayacamas is the only First Growth caliber cabernet still produced in California, and the only wine that one can reliably tuck away in the cellar and know that twenty or forty years down the road, the wine will have developed brilliantly. To give some idea of its longevity (and I now have tasted almost all of the top vintages of Mayacamas cabernets between the 1968 and 2003 vintages over the course of the last few years), even the inaugural vintage of 1968 continues to drink beautifully, and wines such as the 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1978 still have decades of life still ahead of them. As Bob Travers recalls, “since day one, my inspiration was the wines that I knew best from France prior to my arrival in Napa, with Bordeaux wines such as Château Latour always the wines that I sought to emulate- wines that were not made for the cellar and were not crafted to blossom over the long haul simply were not that interesting to me, and I had little desire to try to make wines in any other style than that of the wines like Latour that were always my favorites to drink.”

Tasting several vintages emphatically demonstrates the slight early herbaceousness of Mayacamas cabernets, which gives way in the fullness of time, with these early herbal tones of bell pepper and green peppercorn evolving into notes of tobacco leaf, earth and often a very distinct note of chipotle pepper that I also find in many mature vintages of La Mission Haut Brion. In fact, Mayacamas cabernet at its peak often delivers an aromatic and flavor profile that shares many elements with La Mission or other top Graves properties, coupled to a deep core of sweet black cherry fruit that could only hail from California. Needless to say, it is a rather impressive and exciting mélange of flavors and aromas.

The secret to Mayacamas’ contemporary cabernet dominance over its neighbors in California was once no secret at all, as Bob Travers continues to make wines exactly as he has done since his very first vintage, and which he recalls “was the way everyone made cabernet here in Napa when I was first starting out.” Prior to buying Mayacamas Vineyards in 1968, Bob spent the year of 1967 working alongside Joe Heitz at Heitz Cellars, and he credits Joe Heitz with much of his winemaking skills, though he is quick to point out that other seminal California winemakers at the time, including Louis Martini and André Tchelistcheff were also very free with their advice and were great influences on the Mayacamas style. The winemaking style here is quite old world in its methodology, with the yields in the vineyards kept quite low to allow the grapes to ripen without allowing the sugar levels to soar, so that Mayacamas cabernets retain some of the finest natural acidity of any red wines in California and rarely weigh in over thirteen percent natural alcohol. As Bob Travers ventures to say, “all that talk of physiological ripeness these days with cabernet is simply an excuse to try and get huge crop loads to ripen sufficiently, as cabernet is always going to taste really green at those yields unless you let the grapes hang out there until they are nearly raisins.” But if the yields are kept low, then one can get good phenolic ripeness in the grapes without having to produce a wine at ridiculously high alcohol levels of over fifteen percent.

Once the grapes arrive at the Mayacamas cellars, the goal of making a long-lived wine continues with winemaking practices that are quite different from what is routinely practiced at most other cabernet-producing wineries these days. It is not only in the realm of viticultural philosophy that Bob Travers and his beloved Mayacamas Vineyards fly in the face of today’s conventional wisdom, as his cellar techniques would be anathema to ninety-five percent (or perhaps more) of all winemakers on the gold coast these days, though ironically, they sound very much akin to what is practiced by many of Europe’s greatest red wine producers. For his cabernet sauvignon, he utilizes whole berry fermentation for the initial seven to fourteen days (depending on the quality of the stems), followed by crushing and destemming. The wine undergoes alcoholic fermentation in cement tanks, and is then aged initially in large, one thousand gallon old oak foudres for eighteen months. After this period the wine is racked into sixty gallon French oak barrels (less than twenty percent of which are new in any given vintage) for a bit more barrel aging of six to twelve months, depending on the needs of the wine. The Mayacamas cabernets are then bottled without fining, and aged an additional two years in bottle prior to release. In many regards, Mr. Travers’ vinification techniques and elevage regimen sounds much more akin to those of a great Piemonte producer such as Bruno Giacosa or Bartolo Mascarello than it does to any of the technical cellar wizardry propounded by most California winemakers today.

But it does not take a genius to decide whether or not the Mayacamas approach to cabernet is successful, as with sufficient bottle age, these magical cabernet sauvignons simply tower over most of their contemporaries. At a recent tasting of the highly-reputed 1991 California cabernets, which I will be writing about in an upcoming issue of my newsletter, the ’91 Mayacamas was the youngest of all the wines in the tasting, and was still climbing up in search of its magical apogee, while many of the other highly-touted 1991s were already getting long in the tooth and starting to show overt signs of oxidation and imminent decline. Interestingly, Mayacamas Vineyards today generally has a reputation outside of the realm of cabernet insiders of once having been great, but having lost their way after the decade of the 1970s, with conventional wisdom being that the cabernets today from Mr. Travers are not in the same league as they once were in their glory days. However, nothing could be further from the truth, as the new vintages of Mayacamas cabernet are every bit as good as their legendary wines made in the 1970s, and in reality, the newer vintages will probably prove over the fullness of time to be even a tad superior in terms of elegance and refinement than their early descendants, as they are made from more mature vineyards than was the case with the wines of the 1970s. But the key to understanding Mayacamas cabernets is to allow the wines to receive the bottle age that they both deserve and demand, as a top vintage of Mayacamas needs at least twenty years of cellaring to really begin to blossom and show of all of its magical depth and complexity. While other top cabernet producers in California, such as Ridge Monte Bello and Château Montelena also continue to make classic, age-worthy wines that evolve beautifully with long-term cellaring, it has been my experience that neither estate can quite match the depth, complexity and breed exhibited by the vast majority of vintages of Mayacamas cabernet at age twenty-five or thirty.

As Bob Travers observes, “we have always aspired to make long-lived wines, and if a wine takes fifteen or twenty years to reach its peak, then that is just fine with me,” as “I am perfectly happy to be patient as long as the wine turns out to be worth waiting for.” However, such philosophy is not shared by the vast majority of cabernet producers in California today, nor many of the influential critics who form a key constituency for most wineries in this day and age. The general trend is to make riper, more alcoholic and more simple wines that show best right at the outset, gussied up with high percentages of new oak, with the potential for graceful evolution in the bottle blithely traded for early accessibility and more obvious profiles that garner higher scores from easily impressed and really rather unsavvy critics. That this style of wine generally has a ridiculously short shelf life for cabernet sauvignon- one of the longest-lived red wine varietals- seems to be immaterial to most winery owners and cabernet advocates, who are happy to see these fat and happy cabernets rolled out a few years after the vintage and consumed while still in their simple, pumped up and boringly monolithic youths. Fortunately for those who still want cabernets that age with the grace and complexity of the wines from California’s golden age- the decade of the 1970s, where not coincidentally, the state’s reputation as a world class wine region was justifiably earned–Bob Travers and Mayacamas Vineyards remain standing on the pinnacle of Mount Veeder, overlooking a dramatically altered landscape below in Napa Valley, but still quietly acting as guardians of California’s historical legacy of great cabernet sauvignon.

2003 Mayacamas Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon (about $65; find this wine)
The soon to be released 2003 cabernet from Mayacamas shows a bit more ripeness and generosity than is customary with this great wine (weighing in at a full thirteen percent alcohol, rather than the optimal 12.5%), but also delivers all of the structural integrity that makes this California’s greatest red wine. The bouquet on the 2003 is almost exuberant today, as it offers up notes of black cherries, sweet cassis, tarry tones, tobacco leaf, a great base of stony mountain soil, lead pencil and the faintest whiff of cedar. On the palate the wine is classically deep, full-bodied and structured, with a rock solid core of sweet black fruit, bracing acidity, firm, chewy tannins and outstanding length and grip on the very, very long, primary and oh, so serious finish. Tasting this wine takes me back to the excitement I had tasting the newly released 1986 Bordeaux vintage, as this wine very much resembles structurally the very best of those wines. Simply a great wine in the making, and perhaps a Mayacamas cabernet vintage that will drink brilliantly at fifteen years of age, rather than the customary thirty. Get in line now, as this is a wine that one does not want to miss. 2015-2050. 94

1991 Mayacamas Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon
The 1991 Mayacamas cabernet is really beginning to blossom at sixteen years of age and offers up another very Graves-like personality on both the nose and palate. The bouquet is deep and lovely, as it offers up a complex mélange of tobacco leaf, black cherries, cassis, hot stones, herbs and a fine base of complex soil tones. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, firm and tangy, with a fine core of sweet fruit, great focus and balance and a very long, classy and moderately tannic finish. The 1991 is already a lovely drink with some decanting time, but given how great Mayacamas cabernets become with twenty-five odd years of bottle age, I would still be strongly inclined to hold off on drinking this fine 1991 for another eight to ten years. Not that it is a bad drink today, but there are very clearly plenty more layers of complexity, not to mention more generosity, that will emerge with further bottle age. A superb vintage for Mayacamas. 2017-2050. 93+

1985 Mayacamas Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon
I vividly remember the hype surrounding the quality of the 1985 cabernets, and I studiously tucked away a myriad of the most highly recommended examples of the vintage in my cellar when these wines were on the market. Funny how, what clearly appears to be one of the best, if not the very finest cabernet of the vintage was not on everyone’s short list of must have wines back in 1987, but Mayacamas’ star had already begun to wane amongst the fashionable cabernet cognoscenti by the late 1980s. This was clearly too bad for my own cellar, for many of the most highly acclaimed 1985 cabs have decidedly not panned out, the ’85 Mayacamas is a brilliant bottle of wine that emphatically demonstrates what all the vintage fuss was about in the first place. The nose is deep and brilliant, as it soars from the glass in a complex blaze of black cherries, cassis, road tar, tobacco, a bit of green peppercorn and a complex base of mountain soil tones. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, deep, very pure and soil-driven, with a stunning core of sweet, black fruit, laser-like focus, impeccable balance and a nearly endless, still moderately tannic finish that closes with stunning depth and grip. Again, this is eminently drinkable today, but the best is yet to come. 2020-2060. 95+

1974 Mayacamas Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon
What a run of vintages California had in the decade of the 1970s, and how fortunate we all are that Mayacamas was in the hands of Bob Travers and at the top of its game during this remarkable decade of munificence. When all is said and done, the 1974 will probably be considered the finest wine ever produced at this legendary winery, and the wine is now entering into its brilliant apogee of peak drinkability. The bouquet offers up a celestial blend of black cherries, allspice, tobacco, very complex, Graves-like soil tones, dark chocolate, smoke and a touch of roses in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, very sweet at the bottomless core and utterly refined, with melting tannins, lovely framing acidity and great length and grip on the thundering and brilliantly complex finish. A stupendous wine with decades of magical drinking still ahead of it. 2007-2040. 98

1968 Mayacamas Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon
The 1968 Mayacamas was the first vintage ever made by the Travers family, and it is a remarkable wine by any stretch of the imagination, and is simply challenges credulity as a first effort! The beautiful, fully mature nose offers up a sweet mélange of red and black cherries, fresh nutmeg, sweet Cuban tobacco, again, Graves-like soil tones, and even a hint of brick dust in the upper register. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, plush and wide open, with lovely focus and balance, still sound acids, but little sign of remaining tannin and an almost gentle, caressing core of fruit by Mayacamas normally firm standards. The finish is very long, graceful and complex, but the wine has been fully mature for many years and is probably now nearing the end of its plateau of maturity. I would opt for drinking it over the next decade if I had any bottles in the cellar, but it would not shock me to still see this wine cruising along longer than that, as it is beautifully balanced. 2007-2017? 93

For more from John Gilman, check out his newsletter A View from the Cellar.

By Evan Dawson

Whither Napa Cabernet? The economy dealt a blow to the iconic American wine as consumers started reaching for less expensive bottles. Now, a growing number of critics and consumers, including those in California, are openly wondering if the Napa Cabernet train has come off the rails: commentator Dan Berger, for one, last week dismissed California Cabernet as “little more than a parody of itself.”

High up the side of Mount Veeder one sunny but cool, midwinter morning a couple of weeks ago, I couldn’t help wondering if the way back might offer ideas for Napa’s way forward. After all, the Cabernets of the 1970s helped put Napa on the world wine map, so it seemed reasonable to wonder if in wine, as in fashion, the past could provide inspiration.

To find one answer to this question, I had ventured to the Maycamas Vineyards. Celebrated in the 1970s as a leading producer of Cabernet, I was curious if the once-hot style would seem as out of place as bell bottoms or as appealing as Mad Men. After all, not much had changed there.

Unlike most of their competitors, Mayacamas doesn’t go out of their way to attract visitors. There is no tasting room on one of Napa’s two main thoroughfares. My appointment confirmation included instructions to drive to the top of Mount Veeder, find the cluster of 13 mailboxes, and turn up the dirt road. That’s it. While Rubicon Estate rolls out a literal red carpet for visitors, Mayacamas makes it a scavenger hunt.

But Bob Travers, the 70-year old owner and winemaker, is not there simply to tell stories of Napa’s halcyon days, nor has he sought to create a numinous landmark to excite traditionalists. In fact, it appears that Travers hasn’t altered a thing since taking over the property in 1968.

“This is the most enjoyable thing I can think of doing,” he told us with a smile as he joined us in the small visitor’s building.. “Maybe Napa has changed over the years. But we have not.”

It’s an admirable sentiment in a region that has seen a flood of high-wattage consultants and high-alcohol wines. “I enjoy those big Cabernets,” Travers said, and then with a wink he added, “for a sip or two. They make me tired. I don’t find myself wanting to drink another glass. I don’t think they go well with food. And I don’t think they age very well, either.”

The Mayacamas barrel room is designed for utility, not photo shoots. While many Napa barrel rooms are temples of modern cooperage, the storage at Mayacamas seems complacently disheveled. No two barrels look alike; even the barriques are different colors. Travers proudly announced that he “uses two percent new oak each year.” An employee urged us to touch the walls, which were covered in black mold. “They’re like velvet!” she said. “Isn’t that cool?”

Given the state of the barrel room and the approach of the winemaker, some cynics might assume they’d find Brett in the wines – or, at least, those nefarious and nebulous “green flavors.” This is, after all, a mountain winery using mountain fruit. The valley floor sees hotter mesoclimates and more concentrated grapes but the mountains provide cooler weather and, if harvest dates are the same, lower sugars in the grapes. Hell, Travers even owns a snow shovel.

But the assumptions of flawed wines are wrong. Back in the tasting room, we tasted the current release (2004) and a library release (1996). The 2004 was introverted but elegant. The ’96 was gorgeous, showing a loamy black cherry that evoked a Brunello from Biondi-Santi, as well as menthol and grilled herbs. It checked in with an anachronistic 12.5% alcohol by volume, and its lithe profile hints at a wine that might evolve impressively for years to come.

Travers always offers a library wine for visitors to taste. “We can’t just pour the current wine because no one would know what they’re getting,” he explained. Unlike other Napa producers who have had to slash prices (some from triple to double digits), Mayacamas Cabernet has seen a very gradual price increase over the years. The current release sells for $65, right in the middle of the Napa Cabernet pack but miles below the lofty prices staked on bigger, brawnier wines. On average the price for Mayacamas Cabernet rises about $1 per year, which the staff calls “comfortable.” The library release sells for about twice that price, but visitors can buy half-bottles, which have the dual benefit of keeping the cost down while providing the wine in a vessel that promotes slightly faster aging. Travers has never found an occasion to crank up the price and he clearly doubts the business practice of charging triple-digits for wines that might fall apart after only a few years. “We’ve never made wines to drink young. It’s not always the best business plan, but we make wine to reward patience. This is how it was in 1968, and this is how it ought to be today.” He heavily disputes the notion that in Napa, Cabernet can’t ripen physiologically unless it essentially withers into a raisin on the vine, one grape-growing technique that can lead to the higher-alcohol style prevalent today.

Eventually someone else will take over the winemaking at Mayacamas, and they’ll have to decide whether to increase the 4,000-case production. The staff at Mayacamas admits that during an economic downturn, smaller producers might have an edge. Mayacamas enjoys a small but devoted following, and as the trend has begun to turn away from monstrously large wines, more tourists have been seeking appointments and tours on top of Mount Veeder. (The tour and tasting are free – another throwback practice in the valley. “If you can make it up the mountain, you shouldn’t have to pay extra to walk around,” an employee explained.)

Travers only plans to keep making elegant Cabernet for the foreseeable future, but a succession plan might already be in place. Two of Travers’ sons are “highly involved” in the business, and a relative is his assistant winemaker. It’s an indication to customers that whether Travers works for another three or thirty years, the style is unlikely to change.

The critics, perhaps seduced by high-alcohol, high-octane Cabernets, don’t seem to understand Travers’ stubborn adherence to tradition. Last summer, Wine Spectator’s Jim Laube tasted a 1974 Mayacamas Cabernet and raved about its depth and balance. He awarded the wine 95 points, then wrote, “I’m not sure why Mayacamas Cabernets after 1978 never achieved the same level of quality, since they come from the same vineyard and most of the same winemaking techniques are still employed.” But since Travers says the winemaking didn’t change, then perhaps Laube’s preferences have.

That’s okay with Bob Travers, who no longer submits wines for review. The community of reviewers on CellarTracker seem to appreciate Mayacamas wines more than professionals; Mayacamas Cabernets routinely average higher than 90 points on the site.

So perhaps wines like Mayacamas Cabernet are indeed the bell bottoms of the wine world: out of style with most, longing to make a comeback. But Bob Travers would prefer to think of his wines less like the faddish bell bottoms and more like blue jeans: Consistent, not flashy, built to last. It’s the style that never fell out of fashion on top of Mount Veeder, and it might be the style that will allow more producers to bring stability back to the valley.

Photos by Evan Dawson

My wine experience during my stay in India was eye-opening. If you told me five years ago that Indians would put down their bottles of Johnny Walker Black Label for a glass of Shiraz, I would laugh. After spending the first portion of my trip in the southern city of Chennai (formerly Madras), my concept of an Indian wine shop was bleak: a wine stand (see the first photo above) with men standing around in lungis all day, taking shots of “wine” i.e. liquor or port.

Then I arrived in Mumbai where swank hotels and restaurants serve Veuve yellow label for Rs. 2000 or $50 a glass. Top wineries attract Indians eager for tours with beautiful tasting rooms (see the second photo). As if welcoming me to the city, the current issue of Time Out Mumbai featured “Wine: Why we’re all drinking it,” a 12 page spread about wine bars, producers and sommeliers around town. According to a Newsweek International online article, Bollywood, which just graduated to showing its first scandalous on screen kiss on the lips, features stars sipping wine in recent movies.

Wine, while trendy, also seems to have serious takers. A friend publishes the wine magazine Sommelier India that circulates to India’s growing wine enthusiasts. When invited to witness a Wine Society of India tasting, I quickly dropped my previous plans to see Stephen Spurrier speak to 500 assembled Indian guests (see photo).

India’s wine future seems bright. Euromonitor predicts 100% growth from the 9 million bottles currently consumed in India over the next five years. Consumption per capita is low in the billion-person country, but concentrated, as Mumbai drinks 40% of wine by value and will continue as one of the highest growing markets. No wonder the WTO, led by the EU and US, pressures India to change the import duties on foreign wines which currently reach up to 550%.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of India’s wine culture is its own wine production. More on this in Wine in India, Part 2.

Our agent: Grace Nguyen, 27….Studied Environmental Economics and Policy at Berkeley….Then became a line cook and pastry cook for five years…Now studying for a Master’s in NYU’s Food Studies program…She wants to learn more about wine…And now, over to Grace, with notes from the field.

They’re calling them Gen Y wine shops because they have one thing in common; they cater to the neophytes of wine drinkers. Customers will no longer have to suffer wine-shop inferiority. A smaller wine selection, wine descriptors by flavor, and printable tasting notes, are some of the recent trends. These shops have taken a new angle and have figured out the reasons why the average person drinks wine: for taste and for dinner.

So let’s see what these shops have to offer. My wine price range: $10-$15. My dinner: chicken with mustard. The recommendation: a 2005 Verdicchio and a 1990 Vouvray from Moore Brothers Wine Company (map it). And a 2004 Corbieres from Bottlerocket Wine and Spirits. Although both shops were eager to help me find that perfect wine to complement my dinner, they offered conflicting recommendations.

“You’ll want something earthy with a little acidity. You don’t want too much fruit, especially with mustard.” The clerk at Moore Brothers suggested the Vouvray Aigle Blanc 1990 at $25, and although apologetic for suggesting a more expensive bottle, he couldn’t stop praising it (find this wine). “It’s earthy, with hints of mushrooms, slight fruit, and just enough acidity. It’ll go very nicely with chicken and mustard.” It sounded sincere enough.

He went on to talk about the winery. Apparently, the original winemaker is of Polish royalty (Prince Poniatowski) and had just sold his vineyard. They’re emptying out the cellars and these happen to be the last bottles under the Poniatowski name. Sounds good to me. I was sold, but still insisted on a less expensive bottle. He recommended several bottles which, after my reminder that I needed just one, he recommended the Verdicchio dei Castielli di Jesi Classico Le Gemme Bronori 2005 for $13 (find this wine). “It’s nutty, a little earth. It’ll be interesting next to the Vouvray.”

A surprisingly intriguing lesson about the geography and history of the wine came from this unassuming wine shop. Unfortunately, you’d only discover this if you actually stepped inside and spoke with someone. Unnoticeable from the street, you’ll see that the Moore Brothers wine shop is nothing to gossip about: white walls, plain wine racks, and some vineyard photography. Understated, at best. They do boast of carrying only artisanal wines, which might tease one’s feel-good psychology. But then again, if knowing food and wine is what they do best, I won’t complain.

A few blocks away, the newish Bottlerocket Wine and Spirits (map it) is making its mark. Spending some time at Bottlerocket will leave a memorable experience. Making wine fun is their motivation. It’s what you’d expect a wine shop not to be – colorful, eye-catching, and visually loud. The wine clerk, eager to show-off their shop, happily told me that their select 350 wines are “displayed in the traditional manner by varietal, and then duplicated by different pairing themes down the center; seafood, poultry, chocolate, even take-out.”

I asked the same questions: $10-$15, for a dinner with chicken and mustard. She suggested a red, “It’s still a little cold out. How something a medium bodied? This is my go-to favorite, a 2004 Corbieres from Chateau Ollieux for $13 (find this wine). Lots of black fruits. You’ll want fruit to balance the mustard.” Fruits? Not according to Moore Brothers. And there you have it: two conflicting recommendations.

So what do you do when you get contradicting wine suggestions? Simple enough. Have a dinner party and let the guests battle it out. So the few days of wine inquiries culminated into last night’s humble dinner: roasted chicken, spinach gratin, and mustard roasted potatoes.

We started with the two whites from Moore Brothers, the Verdicchio and then the Vouvray. The Verdicchio, I was told, to drink first: dry and nutty, with just a little acidity. This was the favorite for two guests. The Vouvray was next in line, already opened and ready to pour. It was noticeably richer and sweet, but a sweetness more like toffee and not fruit. One friend tasted strawberry jam. The Vouvray complemented the delicate flavor of the spinach and rounded out the acidity of the mustard, an easy wine to drink. Two yays and two nays for this wine. One guest apparently dislikes sweet wine all together.

From there we moved onto the red: the 2004 Corbieres. And was this the shock of the night! Surprisingly, the least favorite, this potentially good wine left us with an eye-widening, mouth smacking acidity that forced us to finish our meal before we continued to drink. And great wine shop, but a not-so-great pairing. But not all was lost; by that time around our tummies were full and we were all happy.

But who are we to talk about wine pairings? It could’ve been the wine, it could’ve been my food, hell, it could’ve been my friends. Can I really trust anyone who bans all sweet wine anyway? I’m no expert when it comes to wine pairings, and quite honestly, I can’t imagine any ease in pairing wines with the flavor complexity of a full dinner. So I wouldn’t knock off Bottlerocket just yet. Besides, it’s actually a lot fun just being in the store. They emphasize flavor components and pairings over the history and geography of wine, the way Moore Brothers had. Bottlerocket stays true to their mission: wine is fun! Regardless of each wine shop’s style, one fact remains: shops now cater to our whims and fancies. It feels good to be in control.

In nearly every supermarket I visited, including some smaller shops outside of city centers, there were two predominant Californian wine brands available. Gallo and, secondarily, Fetzer. (Interestingly, Chilean and South African brands are more prominent and varied on store shelves.)

But one wine in particular caught my eye. I noticed a Gallo wine that was called “Gallo Sierra Valley Merlot.” I thought, “Sierra Valley? Where the heck is that?!”

Visitors to California looking for Sierra Valley will be disappointed. I looked closer at the bottle, to find a tiny “(tm)” after the name. Indeed, there is no Sierra Valley — it’s an “appellation” invented by Gallo’s marketing department for sending bulk-produced wines to Europe with fancier labels.

The company’s website for the Sierra Valley brand offers this description:

Let us introduce you to California. The grapes for our Ernest & Julio Gallo Sierra Valley are sourced from our sun-drenched vineyards throughout California. By balancing Old World heritage with New World innovation, we harness the potential of the California terroir and bring it to you in the bottle.

“Vineyards throughout California” allow them to “harness the potential of the California terroir“??! One terroir for an entire state? Obtained by blending wines from the Central Valley? Who wrote this?

Sadly, it turns out that “Sierra Valley” and its broad notion of terroir are not limited to Germany, or even Europe. The brand is sold to Canada and Japan as well. For many people, sadly, this bulk wine with the phony-baloney appellation is the only exposure to Californian wine they can readily receive.

– Mark Ashley, Upgrade: Travel Better

tags: wine | Gallo Sierra Valley | Germany

After a blind tasting or a big party, every host has wondered what to do with those bottle ends. If you are as frugal as I am, you just can’t bring yourself pour out that last glass of Laughing Magpie or Macon Lugny especially when it’s so easy to put it to good use. Got leftovers? Think opportunity.

Obviously you can cook with it. Add that gulp of red to a barbecue marinade, a stew or spaghetti sauce. Or salt it and refrigerate it until that cooking opportunity presents itself, reducing the salt in your recipe. Deglaze a pan with it, along with a little grainy Dijon mustard and a splash of cream, to make a classic sauce for sauteed boneless chicken, salmon filets or veal medallions.

Or combine red or white wine with orange slices, strawberries, grapes and some seltzer for an impromptu sangria. Stir even Champagne into a Scandinavian-style, cold berry soup. Whir a mix of berries, the wine and additional water or fruit juice in a blender, sweeten (or not) to taste and serve with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt.

To transform the wine further and keep it longer, bring the leftovers to mother…a vinegar mother, as the starter is called. The word “vinegar” comes from the French “vin aigre,” or “sour wine.” Formulas vary but essentially, you will mix roughly 2/3 the quantity of any wine with 1/3 the quantity of white or cider vinegar in a clean jar, bottle or crock… and wait.

Depending on temperatures, alcohol content and acidity, you will have wine vinegar in about two to four weeks. Once a filmy substance forms at the bottom of your container, you have a mother. Some recipes suggest putting the container in the dark and covering it lightly. Some suggest keeping it in a warm spot to speed the process.You can then carefully decant it into another bottle. Or use the vinegar above the mother and then continue to add a new supply of wine to it, waiting after each addition for the vinegar to develop.

Once you have transferred the vinegar to another container, you can spike it with herbs, spices, citrus peel, berries or garlic. Steep sprigs of classic tarragon with lemon peel, a combination of basil leaves, garlic cloves and a few peppercorns or slender chili peppers, dried or fresh. In a decorative bottle, these vinegars are beautifully sparkly gifts too. Attach a tag with a reliable vinaigrette recipe.

Here’s a last and favorite way to use up that red. You may have seen artfully wrapped Italian wine biscuits in specialty stores but they are not difficult to make at home. Elegant and not too sweet, the plump, crunchy biscuits pair well with a dry, assertive cheese, such as Parmegiano Reggiano or Asiago, before a meal or with coffee afterwards.

Wine biscuits
Adapted from They Called it Macaroni, Nancy Verde Barr (Knopf, 1990)

4/12 c. white flour
1/4 c. sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. baking powder
3/4 to 1 c. vegetable oil, a combination of sunflower, olive oil or other
1 c. red wine

Pre-heat the oven to 350. Put racks on the upper third of the oven.
Sift the dry ingredients and then mix in oil and wine, kneading well to make a soft dough that does not stick, or using an electric mixer with a paddle attachment. If the dough is dry, the biscuits will crack.

Divide dough into 40 pieces and roll each gently into a 5” “snake,” which you can then shape into rings or figure 8’s.

Place them on an ungreased cookie sheet 2’ apart and bake for 20 min. at 350 in the top third of the oven. Then lower the temperature to 300 and bake for 15-20 min. more or until golden.

Cool on a rack and store in a closed tin. Serve with aperitives and cheese or as dessert with coffee.

Image credit: Ha-Vi

tags: wine | vinegar | food & drink

Over to Mark, reporting live from the Chicago bureau….

Great Route 48 — Exploring the Northern Route in Long Island Wine Country

By Lenn Thompson

Wineries in New York State crank out about 200 million bottles of wine every year, making it the nation’s third-largest wine producer behind California and Washington. And while producers in the Finger Lakes and Hudson Valley regions have longer histories of making wine, it’s the wines of Long Island that many feel hold the most promise.

Long Island is relative newcomer as a wine region with the first commercial vines planted in 1973 (see a map of LI wineries). New winemakers are popping up almost every year and the few long-standing wineries are starting to hit their strides. The region’s well-drained soil and climate tempered by Long Island Sound, Peconic Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, it is ideal for growing vinifera grapes and making refined, balanced wine.

Bordeaux serves as a reference point for the grape varietals, particularly for the reds with cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and particularly merlot in abundance. There is a movement afoot to really focus on merlot and position Long Island as “merlot country” much the same way that Oregon used to push pinot noir. Many wineries have already invested heavily in the vines, which may explain why they’re keen on it – or maybe it is just an act of defiance against the popular movie “Sideways” (where the lead character humorously trashed merlot).

On the white side of wine, chardonnay is the most planted variety and it’s made in a variety of styles, as well as used for blending. But, there’s also some increasingly good sauvignon blanc being made too. The style is less fruity/tropical than California versions, but less aggressively herbal and grassy than New Zealand bottling. They can be thought of as the best of CA and NZ together with hints of Graves minerality and definitely thirst-quenchingly drinkable. There’s also riesling, pinot noir, some syrah, malbec, petit verdot and (on the South Fork) some other diverse varieties that we’ll explore in a future story.

Post-Labor Day is a great time to visit. Not only have the summer crowds subsided but the harvest enters full swing grapes as well as pumpkins. The scene is very picturesque and winery tasting rooms are filled with the enticing aroma of just-picked grapes as they are pressed and then fermented.

Long Island wine country is divided into three unofficial wine trails. The Hamptons on the South Fork and Route 25 and Route 48 on the North Fork. To help you get the most out of your foray into Long Island wine country, I’m writing a three-part series, which each focusing on one of Long Island’s wine trails. We begin with the northernmost trail, Route 48.

Route 48, which is also known locally as North Road, is sometimes a forgotten wine trail. While Route 25 (just a block south) runs right through the North Fork’s many quaint villages, and right by some of Long Island’s most revered, not to mention well-marketed, producers, Route 48 a decidedly different flavor than the other two trails, with its bucolic, rural feel.

There are nine tasting rooms sprinkled along 13 miles of Route 48, with the must-stops being (from west to east):

Roanoke Vineyards. Owned by Richard and Soraya Pisacano, Roanoke Vineyards is one of the Island’s newest producers. Rich is the vineyard manager at Wolffer Estate Vineyards (on the South Fork) and has been working with vines since high school. The wines are made at Wolffer by winemaker Roman Roth and you can also sample the wines of Atwater Estate in the Finger Lakes, which are made by former Roth assistant Vincent Aliperti. Wolffer Estate wines are also available.

Must-taste Wines: Roanoke Vineyards 2000 Merlot, Roanoke Vineyards 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon, Atwater Estate Vineyards 2004 Dry Riesling

Macari Vineyards & Winery. Stop at Macari to enjoy your picnic lunch on their beautiful deck, which offers some of the East Coast’s best vineyard views. The wines are made by Austrian Helmut Gangl and Paola Valverde a native of Chile. It’s also a favorite spot for wedding receptions or other affairs.

Must-taste Wines: Macari Vineyards Block E 2003 Ice Wine, Macari Vineyards 2005 Early Wine (late fall release), Macari Vineyards 2001 Bergen Road (a merlot-heavy blend)

Lieb Family Cellars. Russell Hearn produces Lieb Family Cellars’ wines at The Premium Wine Group, a custom-crush facility located in Mattituck, NY, that he is part owner of. Their small tasting room is located in a building adjoining the winemaking facility. Lieb is well-known for making some of the best pinot blanc this side of Alsace.

Must-taste Wines: Lieb Cellars 2001 Blanc de Blanc (sparkling pinot blanc), Lieb Cellars 2003 Pinot Blanc, Bridge Lane Chardonnay (their 2nd-label), Lieb Cellars 2002 Merlot Reserve

Shinn Estate Vineyards. Shinn Estate Vineyards is owned by David Page and Barabara Shinn, who also own the cozy Home restaurant in Manhattan’s West Village, where David is executive chef. Technically it’s on Oregon Road a block north of Route 48, but go on a weekend take you on a tour of their vines and learn about sustainable grape farming and the organic and biodynamic techniques they employ in the vineyard. The wines are made by Roman Roth.

Must-taste Wines: Shinn Estate Merlot Vineyards 2003, Shinn Estate Vineyards 2002 Six Barrel Merlot

Castello di Borghese. Formerly Hargrave Vineyards (Long Island’s first), Castello di Borghese was purchased by Marco and Ann Marie Borghese in 1999. Since then, they’ve expanded the vineyard and hired Stan Schumacher as winemaker. With vines that date back over thirty years, CdB offers wines that are as close to “old vines” as one can find on Long Island. This is truly the birthplace of the Long Island wine industry.

Must-taste Wines: Castello di Borghese 2004 Founder’s Field Reserve Sauvignon Blanc, Castello di Borghese 2002 Reserve Pinot Noir, Castello di Borghese Novello (a Beaujolais noveau-style red released in the spring)

Waters Crest Winery. One of the area’s smallest producers, home winemaker turned professional winemaker and winery owner Jim Waters’ wines are far from minuscule. Charming and engaging, you’re virtually guaranteed to meet Jim and his wife Linda in the tasting room where they pour wines and share their story. They’ll even take you in the back and show you their whole operation, from crusher to stacks of French oak barrels.

Must-taste Wines: Waters Crest Winery 2003 Cabernet Franc, Waters Crest Winery 2004 Private Reserve Chardonnay, Waters Crest Winery 2004 Gewurztraminer

If this sounds like plenty for this leg of your trip, then here are a few B&Bs to rest until we hit Route 25 together. Stay tuned!

- Ellis House
- Harvest Inn
- Homeport

By Mark Ashley

With the increasing popularity and quality of wines from Washington, interest in wine tourism in the region has been growing rapidly. Travelers to Seattle will find brochures touting wineries at their concierge’s desk, and with well-known names like Chateau Ste. Michelle in the area, wine tourists might assume that Seattle is the next San Francisco – a big city with a beautiful wine country a short drive away.

They’d be wrong.

While there are indeed wineries near Seattle, travelers hoping for a miniature Napa Valley will be sorely disappointed. The real Washington wine country is far to the east, separated from the nearest major city by hundreds of miles. (The closest airport is the Tri-City Airport in Pasco, WA.)

However, if you’re less interested in “Napa style” and more interested in wine itself, with some great natural vistas thrown in, then greater Seattle does indeed offer some worthwhile tastings.

The Woodinville area, a half hour’s drive north of Seattle, offers the best wines in the region. The irony is that none of the grapes that are crushed in Woodinville wineries’ presses are actually grown here. Rather, they are picked in eastern Washington, loaded onto trucks, and driven 3 to 4 hours west to be vinted in Seattle’s suburbia.

Why go through this trouble? Why have the winery so far removed from the vineyards? In a word: Marketing. Tourists have not discovered eastern Washington yet, so the wineries have come to where the tourists already are many in town before or after their cruise to Alaska. For the larger wineries, having the facilities closer to the masses is an exercise in brand building, while the smaller players who sell all of their wine directly to the consumer are simply maximizing their odds of a sale.

Some wineries, such as Chateau Ste. Michelle and Columbia, inhabit grand structures that create the illusion of a long, cherished history of winemaking at this location. Some have planted a few token vines out front to signify that this is indeed a winery. There is even a dinner train, much like in Napa, which winds along Lake Washington to its final stop adjacent to Columbia’s facility.

Chateau Ste. Michelle has the most elaborate grounds, which are often rented out for weddings, corporate functions and even the odd concert including Natalie Merchant and Kenny G at the 4,000 seat (!) amphitheater. You are encouraged to picnic here, weather permitting, of course. To taste their wines, you must take their 45-minute tour of the facilities, where most of their wines (but not their sparklers) are produced.

Though our tour guide was informative, I thought he got on a bit of a high horse during the guide-managed tasting he insisted on teaching everyone about how to taste wine, from how to hold the glass, to how to swirl, to the search for particular flavors in the wine. Well-meant, perhaps, but tedious, frustratingly slow, and not optional. In the end, the visit wasn’t worth it, from a tasting perspective. Four of their large-production wines were served as part of the complimentary tour, with the cabernet sauvignon being the best, but none were particularly interesting, unusual, or difficult to find in the local Safeway. The reserve tastings, for a charge, offer a better option, and allow you to skip the tour.

Just across the street, and a stone’s throw from the vaunted (and pricey) Herbfarm restaurant, Columbia Winery offers tours as well, but doesn’t require them for entry to their tasting room. Try to avoid the tasting bar when the wine train arrives with its passengers: Not only will you get space at the bar, but you’ll actually have a longer (and better!) list of wines to choose from. I found the German-varietal whites to be particularly good here.

Forgoing a neo-chateau for their facilities, other producers have taken a less ostentatious approach, choosing to make their wines in the backs of corrugated-walled warehouses, with a purely functional tasting area that consists of a bar and a cash register. Still others have simply built full-service tasting rooms behind the drab exteriors, with all the knick-knacks for sale as in the most commercialized Napa winery.

Perhaps the best of the “warehouse wines” is Facelli Winery, a small family operation where owner and chief winemaker Louis Facelli pours his handicraft from behind a spartan bar on weekends. His reds are especially worthwhile, and include some quirky wines. While I didn’t care particularly for the Lemberger, a fairly uncommon varietal that originated in Austria, I really enjoyed the late harvest syrah. This was far and away the most memorable wine that any Woodinville winery poured, and it is a wine that Louis is particularly (and justifiably!) proud of. This inky dessert wine was a real surprise, a complex, fruit-forward concentrate, without being syrupy-sweet. (My wife still grumbles that we left without buying a bottle.)

Besides Woodinville, there are wineries to the west of the city, on the Olympic Peninsula in Port Angeles, Sequim, and Port Townsend, as well as on Whidbey and Bainbridge Islands. As in Woodinville, most of the wine is produced from grapes trucked in from the east. However, some do grow their own grapes on tiny plots nearby, from relatively unknown varietals better suited to the difficult climate, such as Madeleine Angevine, and many make wines from honey, berries or other fruit. Production is tiny, usually with less than 2000 cases per producer per year.

For the most part, these wines are unfortunately not very good. For example, Greenbank Cellars on Whidbey Island touts their wines as “Alsatian style,” but their whites were high in acid without a balance of minerality. The nearby Whidbey Island Winery’s wines were far superior overall, though generally unremarkable. Whidbey’s rhubarb wine (!!) was an odd surprise. I would love to see this wine in a blind tasting competition, just to see what contestants would guess it to be. Produced by first freezing the rhubarb, which causes the cell structure to break down, the resulting wine is a light, fairly dry rose with an unexpected but not entirely unpleasant finish. Stump your friends! Alas, Whidbey asks $2 tasting fee for its wines.

I cannot wholeheartedly recommend a trip to these western maritime areas just for the wine. (These producers have combined to form the North Olympic Peninsula and Islands Winery Loop Association, www.wineryloop.org, which offers details on each of its members on the website.) But the small wineries are indeed charming, and a brief visit is a nice way to break up a day of hiking in the beautiful surroundings.

On the other hand, the Woodinville area is indeed worth a short drive. I would certainly go back on my next trip to Seattle, to sample some of the smaller family-owned wineries’ offerings. To visit these tasting rooms is truly to come for the wine. You’ll find natural beauty–including vineyard charm–elsewhere in the state.

***

Here’s a link to Seattle area wineries. Yowza. I wish I had that list before going…

http://www.weekendwinery.com/Wineries/Wineries_WA_Seattle.htm

By Mark Ashley, Senior Free Wine Correspondent
See his travel blog, Upgrade: travel better

Napa Valley isn’t Sonoma.

This doesn’t just apply to the wines, but to their business practices. While Sonoma is the land of free wine, and it would take a week to cover all the great wineries that serve it up without asking for a penny, Napa is mostly business. Most of the wineries in Sonoma County still pour their wines for free (though this is starting to change). The norm in Napa is to pay for the privilege.

The majority of Napa wineries will charge tasting fees that range from $3 to $12 for the standard tastings. Reserve or library edition wines will cost you more.

But have no fear! I’ve assembled a list of 25 wineries that will pour their wine for free. Things change, of course, so please bear in mind that I’m writing this in July 2003. If you have additional wineries in Napa to add, or if some of my information needs updating, drop me a line.

Some general advice: If you can, go on weekdays. The folks doing the pouring seem to be more generous when there aren’t as many tourists around.

Also, even though free is free, and free wine is fantastic, you should probably indulge in a few select wineries that charge a tasting fee, especially if you’re itching to try their wine.

Plus, some wineries offer other perks, such as the Hess Collection Winery, which stands at the low end of the price range ($3) for a tasting of 3 current releases, but offers an extensive art gallery with free admission. (It may not be wine, but it’s free!).

Finally, check the NapaValley.com website for promotional goodies and coupons before you go. You can click HERE
for the full list of comp stuff. Some wineries, such as Luna,
offer a coupon for free reserve tastings (with the purchase of a regular tasting).

Happy Tastings!
—————

1075 Buchli Station Rd.
Napa, CA 94559
(707)
252-9065 or (800) 654-9463
info@bouchaine.com

Daily, 10:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
Tours by appointment only, tastings don’t require an appointment. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Cain Vineyard and Winery
3800 Langtry Rd.
St. Helena, CA 94574
(707)
963-1616
winery@cainfive.com

Tastings are offered twice a week by APPOINTMENT ONLY. Otherwise closed to the
public. Call or e-mail them to find out the dates and times, and to make your
reservation. Cain serves Bordeaux style blends – 3 reds, 1 white – with names
like Cain Five (mostly Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot), Cain Cuvee (mostly Cabernet
Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc), and Cain Musqué (Musqué clone Sauvignon
Blanc).

Caymus Vineyards

8700 Conn Creek Rd.
Rutherford, CA 94573
(707) 967-3010
Tastings are
free, but by APPOINTMENT ONLY. Be sure to call at least a week or two in advance.
Cabernet Sauvignon.

Chateau Potelle Winery
3875 Mt. Veeder Road
Napa, California 94558

(707) 255-9440
info@chateaupotelle.com

Daily, 11:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.
Hours are shorter in the winter months; pouring
both Napa and Paso Robles vintages. Try the Zinfandel VGS.

Folie a Deux Winery
3070 North St. Helena Highway
St. Helena, CA 94574
(800) 473-4454 or 707-963-1160
tasting@folieadeux.com

Daily, 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.; Free tastings ONLY from 10:00 a.m.-12:00 noon

Here’s the place to start your pre-lunch tastings… If you arrive before noon,
the tastings are free. After 12:00, you’ll have to shell out $5. The frugal taster
arrives early! Tastings don’t require an appointment, but you’ll need one for
cellar tours and the possibility of barrel tastings. Notable offerings include
their "Menage a Trois" blends and zinfandels.

Frank Family
Vineyard
1091 Larkmead Lane
Calistoga CA 94515
(800) 574-9463 or
(707) 942-0859
Tastings don’t require an appointment but if you want a tour,
you’ll need to call ahead. Tasting room Mon.-Fri. 10 a.m.- 5 p.m., Tours Mon.-Fri.
10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sparkling wines, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel.

Frog’s Leap
Winery
8815 Conn Creek Rd.
Rutherford, CA 94573
(800) 959-4704
or (707) 963-4704
ribbit@frogsleap.com

Monday-Saturday, 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
Tastings available ONLY at the conclusion
of a tour, and tours are by APPOINTMENT ONLY. Call or e-mail to make your appointment.
Merlot, Zinfandel, Cabernet, Sauvignon Blanc, and "Leapfrogmilch"…
a white blend. I hope the wine is better than the pun.

Graeser
Winery
255 Petrified Forest Rd.
Calistoga, CA 94515
(707) 942-4437

richard@graeserwinery.com
Daily, 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Bordeaux style wines from the Diamond Mountain District. Tours possible; call ahead if you have a group. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, red table wine.

Heitz Cellars
436 St. Helena Highway South
St. Helena, CA 94574
(707) 963-3542
Daily, 11:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
This is one of the wineries where I would gladly pay money to taste their offerings. But it’s free! The Heitz Cabernet Sauvignons are legendary, though you probably won’t get to sample their Martha’s Vineyard Cab. The tasting room is separate from the winery itself. In addition to Cabernet, they offer Chardonnay, Grignolino, Zinfandel, and a port.

Koves-Newlan Winery

5225 Solano Avenue
Napa, California 94558
(707) 257-2399
hospitality@kovesnewlanwine.com

Daily, 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
While Koves-Newlan charges for their tastings ($5 for 3 tastings or $7 for 4 tastings with a commemorative glass to keep) you can get FREE tastings of ALL their wines by clicking HERE,
printing out the page, and bringing it with you to the winery. (It says you can just say you saw it on the internet, but better to have a hard copy just in case… But tell them you saw their winery listed on Dr. Vino.com!) Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Merlot, Cabernet.

Louis M. Martini Winery
254 S. St. Helena Hwy.
St. Helena, CA 94574

(800) 321-9463 or (707) 963-2736
info@louismartini.com

Daily, 10:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Free tastings of current releases, $5 each for reserve tastings. Tours are free, no appointment required. Especially the Italian varietals such as Barbera and Sangiovese, but plenty of wines to choose from.

Mayacamas Vineyards

1155 Lokoya Road
Napa CA 94558
(707) 224-4030
mayacama@napanet.net

Tastings and tours are available free Monday through Friday by APPOINTMENT ONLY.
Small production (total of about 5000 cases) of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, some Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir.

Nichelini
Winery
2950 Sage Canyon Rd.
St Helena, CA 94574
707-963-0717

nichwine@nicheliniwinery.com

Saturday-Sunday 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m., Monday-Friday by appointment
Call or
write if you want a free tasting and tour during the week, or if you have more than 10 people coming on a weekend. You can even play bocce after you picnic. Cabernet, Zinfandel, Riesling.

Raymond
Vineyard
849 Zinfandel Ln.
St. Helena, CA 94574
(707) 963-3141

director@raymondwine.com
Daily,
10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
Current releases are free, library/reserve selections
"for a modest fee." (Tasting fee for groups over 25.) BUT: If you click
HERE, print
out the page and bring it to the winery, you’ll get a FREE library selection!
Tours offered by appointment in the mornings only. Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel,
Merlot, Chardonnay.

Robert Keenan Winery
3660 Spring Mountain Rd.

St. Helena, CA 94574
(707) 963-9177
rkw@robertkeenanwinery.com

Free tour and tasting by APPOINTMENT ONLY, call ahead. Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon,
Merlot.

Rombauer Vineyards
3522 Silverado Trail
St. Helena, CA 94574
(800)
622-2206 or (707) 963-5170
Free tour and tasting by APPOINTMENT ONLY, call
ahead. Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot.

Round Hill Vineyards
1680 Silverado Trail
Rutherford, CA 94574
(707)
968-3200
Free tasting by APPOINTMENT ONLY, no tours. Producers of the Round Hill, Rutherford Ranch, and Van Asperen wines. Chadonnay, Zinfandel, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon.

Sutter Home Winery
277 St. Helena Hwy (Hwy. 29) South, St. Helena, CA 94574
(707) 963-3104
info@sutterhome.com

Daily, 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Complimentary tastings of Sutter Home and M. Trinchero
wines. Be prepared for a corporate experience from the folks who invented white zinfandel…

V. Sattui Winery
1111 White Lane St. Helena, CA 94574
(707) 963-7774

info@vsattui.com
Daily, 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. (5:00 p.m in winter)
Free tasting of 8 different V. Sattui wines, plus a cheese/deli plate to nibble on. Tours are self-guided. Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot…

Vigil Vineyards
3340 Hwy. 128
Calistoga, CA 94515
(800) 948-4445 or (707) 942-2900
vigilwine@aol.com

Daily, 10:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
Definitely call ahead to make sure they’re open, but reservations shouldn’t be necessary. Some of Vigil’s production is organic. Carignane, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon.

Vincent Arroyo Winery
2361 Greenwood Avenue
Calistoga, CA 94515
(707)
942-6995
info@vincentarroyowinery.com

Tasting and tours by APPOINTMENT ONLY. Proprietary blends (such as the Melange, based primarily on Gamay) or Joy’s Choice (Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec), plus Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petite Sirah.

For most people, Hungary probably doesn’t immediately spring to mind as a great wine-producing country. Yet Hungarian wines have a tradition that goes back at least to Roman times, and a renown that was once second to none. France’s Louis XIV, for instance, famously referred to Hungarian Tokaj wine as “the king of wines and the wine of kings.” This royal reputation was unfortunately tarnished by forty years behind the iron curtain. Communism, with its unique ability to turn gold into lead, triggered a precipitous decline in the quality of Hungarian wine. Since 1989, though, Hungarian vintners have been avidly trying to repair that damage, and once again the fame of Hungarian wines is spreading beyond the country’s borders.

A visit to Hungary’s numerous grape-growing regions, then, is a chance to see vineyards not yet overexposed to globe-trotting enophiles, and moreover to enjoy some charming villages and lovely countryside, all at prices still very reasonable compared to those in Western Europe. The main problem is one of choice: wine is such a deeply rooted part of Hungarian culture that many areas are worth exploring, from the pastel-hued city of Eger in the north, whose Valley of the Beautiful Women produces the red Bull’s Blood wine, to the Villány-Siklós wine route in the south, with its Mediterranean climate. That said, though, there are perhaps two main regions that best reward a traveler’s time.

The first, not surprisingly, is Tokaj itself. This is a region of volcanic hills in the northeastern part of Hungary, dotted with vineyards and villages that are relatively little changed over the past hundred years. The area centers on the town of Tokaj: strolling along its Baroque main street, you’ll pass by any number of wine cellars where, besides tasting the local tipples, you can learn about the arcane Tokaj classification system of “butts” (in Hungarian puttony) designed to indicate how much sweet aszú grape nectar a given wine contains. Aszú in Hungarian means “withered,” and it refers to grapes that are left to ripen so long that they become shriveled but extremely sweet—or “nobly rotten” in wine parlance. The aszú nectar is what makes Tokaj unique.

Cellars here and indeed throughout Hungary are often simple, rustic affairs, definitely not as corporatized and shiny as, say, their Napa Valley counterparts, but with much more character. Tokaj cellars are particularly distinctive for their mould-covered walls, which are critical to the fermentation of Tokaj wine. Many of the biggest wineries around Tokaj are now in fact owned by French, Spanish, and German firms, and international investment has gone a long way to modernizing what the communists so long neglected.

All was not plonk in the Bad Old Days, though: the Oremus winery, today owned by the Spanish company Bodegas Vega Sicilia, produced in 1972 a vintage that was recently voted the best dessert wine in the world. Other names to look out for include the winery Disznókö, which has also recently won several gold medals, and almost anything from the vintner István Szepsy, whose wines often sell out quickly.

The other area most worth touring surrounds Lake Balaton in the western part of Hungary, about two hours south of Budapest. This lake—known somewhat jokingly as “the Hungarian sea” to ocean-starved central Europeans—sits at the heart of a region with many attractions. The village of Tihany, with its ancient Benedictine abbey and its location high on a hill extending into the lake, takes the prize for picturesqueness. At the southeastern end of the region there bubbles the separate lake and spa of Hévíz, fed entirely by geothermal water—it’s the second-largest geothermal lake in the world, but just one of Hungary’s many hot springs.

The town of Badacsony is the Balaton’s most famous wine center, known particularly for its Rieslings. Lying in a broad valley ringed by extinct volcanoes, Badacsony is very scenic, and if you have one too many glasses at all the wine bars in town you can walk it off on the hiking trails in the area. One of the best local wines is produced by the vintner Huba Szeremley; look for recent vintages of his Badacsonyi Szent Orbán to find out what you’ve been missing.

Finally, though no great wines come from Budapest, even on hillsides within the city limits you can see little family plots laced with grapevines. The capital is also a great place to taste and shop for wines from all over the country. Wine stores are plentiful, especially on the Pest side of the river, while smack in the middle of Buda’s castle district, in the cellars of a big neo-Gothic building, you’ll find the Museum of Hungarian Wine. Also in Budapest every September the Hungarian Wine Festival takes place. Growers, vintners, and wineries from around the country assemble to show off their stuff and talk business, accompanied by lots of tastings, competitions, folk music and dancing. It’s quite a party, but then they have a lot to celebrate, since Hungarian wines are once again making a name for themselves all over the world.

For more information on Hungarian wines and wine tourism, surf over to www.winesofhungary.com.