Napa Valley 12/20/08

In keeping with our routine of visiting Napa as often as possible, we decided to take my Father in Law there for a day trip.  It was a beautiful, clear, and freezing cold day, which proved to be perfect for tasting!  Gone was the normal Forever 21 clad, barfly Napa tasting room crowd.  A perfect day for those serious about their sniffing.  We started out at our favorite burger joint, Taylors, for an icy cold lunch and we were on our way.

Our first stop was Charles Krug.  The first bonded winery in Napa Valley, Krug was purchased by Cesare Mondavi (Robert's Dad).  His son, Peter Mondavi and family continue to operate the winery.  We all know what happened to his son Bob and his little establishment down in Oakville.  We tasted some decent wines here.  Our favorite was the 2005 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, but at $120 a pop, we didn't trust ourselves to get it home safely.  We left with a nice Pinot from Russian River Valley.  We did take a couple of photos there of the historic plaque as well as the sweeping views of the Mayacamas moutains.

Next on our list was farther North up by Calistoga.  The famed Chateau Montelena winery.  Purchased by Jim Barrett in the late 1960s, the old lady is known for her the 1976 win for the 1973 Chardonnay in Paris.  This has been immortalized in the current flick "Bottle Shock."  They even have one of the original bottles on display in a classy plexiglass case, as seen in the photo.  The Chateau itself is absolutely majestic and situated on a duck pond.  It looks more European than Calistogan (is that a word?)  Anyway, we tried a terrific Riesling, a steal at $22 (see post).  They were not pouring the Chardonnay, being that it is so famous and all.  We did bring home a bottle of that too (see post).  

We topped off our day with a trip to Mumm Sparkling Wine.  The tasting room is great, as you actually get to sit an enjoy the scenery while your server pours a flight of sparklers.  My father and law felt this would be a great opportunity to pull out his iPhone and play some Frank Sinatra for all of us.  The bubbly was great nonetheless and the views were breathtaking.  

After our usual coffee and cookie stop at Bouchon in St. Helena, we were headed for home.  Another fantastic day in Napa!