Views and Booze

If Wednesday's experience taught us nothing else, it showed that no matter how repetitive they may get after a while, winery tours take up time that might otherwise be spent drinking, and therefore pace you. So on day four, we set out with a slightly less packed schedule in mind.

We had made an 11am appointment to taste at Reverie, a small family-run operation way out on Diamond Mountain past Calistoga on the northern end of the Valley. We had picked up a bottle of their 2005 Daydream Chardonnay at Total Wines & More in Delaware several months back and been knocked out, so we decided to see what else they had.

But, arriving a bit early, we stopped in first at Clos Pegase, an impressive-looking building owned by a former art book-publisher who has filled the grounds and rooms with his art collection. Standing at the tasting room bar, there's a Francis Bacon on the wall directly behind you.

We tried five wines there, most of which were good; a 2006 Vin Gris of Merlot, which was white like a Rose but not cloyingly sweet; one of their Chardonnays, though I failed to take note of which (I believe it was the 2005 Mitsuko's Vineyard Chard, named for Shrem's wife and partner); the 2005 Mitsuko's Vineyard Pinot Noir; 2005 Pegase Circle Reserve Cabernet Franc; and the 2003 Hommage Artist Series Reserve Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, which was astounding and complex; even as I had handed the glass to Jenn and was watching her taste, the finish was still evolving and revealing new layers. The server mentioned that the 2002 was even more complex, though not as food-friendly, so we bought a bottle of each.

Then up the mountain to Reverie, which does its tastings on a tour of the grounds; bottles are scattered around the area, one bottle in a fermenting tank, another in the caves, another in the midst of a ring of redwoods. The server/guide was an amiable young guy, and this was as much about atmosphere as about tasting. We started with their 2005 Daydream Sauv Blanc, which was crisp and pleasant but forgettable; then that Chard which we'd liked so much and which, to our surprise, completely failed to make an impression this time. Don't know if it was a bottle that had been open too long, or that our first taste had been with some food that paired exceptionally well, but the change was drastic, apparent to both of us, and a bit disappointing considering how excited we'd been about it before.

We then tried the 2004 AS Kiken (pronounced Ass Kickin' but named after the owner's son), a Bordeaux-style blend that would be fine as a table wine; the 2005 Daydream Cabernet, tailored for the east coast and the first red in the Daydream line, again acceptable but bland; and then on to their signature Cabs. We had a 2005 Cab Franc, a 2005 Cab Sauv which had just been bottled, and a 2004 Special Reserve Cab Sauv. All three were good, in ascending order, and we took home one of the Reserves.

Next we went to Sterling Vineyards, a big-name winery on a mountainside with stunning views and horrendous wine. They have a large, monastery-looking building that is reached by an aerial tram, which offers a nice view of the valley floor dropping away below. Once in the building, there's a deck which offers a lofty panorama of mountains and vineyards.


They offered their 2006 Cellar Club Pinot Gris, 2005 Cellar Club Oak Knoll Chardonnay, 2003 Cellar Club Syrah, 2004 Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon, and 2006 Cellar Club Malvasia Bianca. All are dreadful. And the Cellar Club is their Reserve line. Hate to see what kind of aftertaste the standard stuff leaves.

At this point, with four days of tasting behind us, already one bottle over capacity for bringing home, and dwindling finances, the idea of much more tasting started to become less and less appealing. We started down the Silverado Trail, which has several wineries I'm interested in visiting, but only stopped at Joseph Phelps, whose 2002 Insignia blend was once voted the best wine in the world. We tasted their 2005 Sauvignon Blanc, two from their sister winery, Freestone, which doesn't yet have a tasting room: 2005 Fogdod Chard and Pinot Noir, 2004 Syrah, 2004 Cab Sauv, and the 2003 Insignia. All but the Insignia were so-so; the latter was quite good, but at $165 a bottle didn't show nearly the depth or promise of the similarly-priced Opus One, and wasn't even close in quality to the Cab we'd just picked up at Clos Pegase. Maybe if I could get my hands on that '02...

After Phelps I was seriously drained and the thought of tasting anything else right away was downright stomach-churning (I blame the Sterling wines), so we decided to head up to Langtry Estate, which is a lengthy scenic drive over Mt. St. Helena to Guenoc Lake. The estate once belonged to the actress Lily Langtry, and Jenn had once really liked a Guenoc Cab that we drank at a friend's house. We'd had some other Guenocs (that line is fairly widely distributed) that weren't so impressive, but we figured the drive would at least spread the tasting out a bit. There was a Yellow Pages ad salesman there tasting at the same time, whose main concern was quantity, not quality; Langtry had some $2 and $4 bottle specials which he was raving about, taking home a couple of cases for less cash than we'd spent on single bottles. (He also raved about Trader Joes' Two Buck Chuck Cabernet.) Point is, the tasting got very social and informal, and I don't have a good record of everything we tried; didn't exactly stick to a tasting menu. But we did like the 2005 Guenoc Lake County Marsanne, which was very different than anything else we tried, with tropical fruit and citrus; and the 2005 Guenoc Lake County Petite Sirah, which had a rotund vanilla finish.

After all that we declared ourselves done for the day and headed back down the mountain and onto Hwy 29 to grab some dinner. We eyeballed Tra Vigne, a renowned spot in St. Helena which has a great reputation and which for some reason I had in my mind as an ultra-expensive, formal place. Turns out it's not that at all. It's certainly not cheap - you easily drop $100+ for dinner - but it's also not like, say, the French Laundry, Napa's most famous restaurant and reputedly one of the best in the world, where you have to make reservations two months to the day in advance and will drop $500 for dinner for two. It's also not formal at all. But it does live up to its reputation for taste.

We started with an appetizer of prosciutto, peach and arugula which was fantastic but which led to the appetizer worry: so often a mind-blowing appetizer will make an entree pale in comparison. But we needn't have worried. Jenn had the tagliatelle nero con tonno e bottarga (black squid ink pasta with olive oil poached tuna, tuna tartare, tuna roe and fennel pollen), and I had the maiale con salsa di fichi (roasted pork t-bone with celery root and potato gratin and fresh black fig and mint chutney). Jenn's was very good; mine was one of the best meals I've ever had.