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Wine Country Volume 6

This past weekend, we were in the East Bay of San Francisco for a wedding. No better time, we thought, to go ahead and add on an extra couple days in order to get back up to one of our favorite places on Earth… So, we decided to add an escape to wine country!

We organized our flights out to SFO so that we would be able to spend the afternoon on Thursday, as well as all day Friday in Napa with my parents-in-law. My wife (an IHG employee) was able to secure some great employee rates at the recently-renovated Hotel Indigo in Napa, a VERY convenient location for the majority of our planned activities. While the hotel seemed a bit dated from the outside, the inside was comfortable and clean. It falls very much in line with the other corporate hotel franchises in wine country which are somewhat limited on exterior design limitations (and typically are renovating an existing 3-4 story structure already in place), something that is governed by county regulations.

We visited Del Dotto on Thursday, and then went to Seavey, Chimney Rock, and Saintsbury on Friday. For dinners, we enjoyed meals at FARM for dinner on Thursday, Farmstead at Longmeadow Each for lunch on Friday, and Ad Hoc for dinner on Friday.

As far as the winery reviews:

  • Del Dotto – 8 out of 10. Very similar to our last visit, albeit somewhat less heavy on the volume of pours. This could be attributed to the fact we paid $60 instead of $75, but either way – it still felt like a hefty fee even though the experience is great. We all agreed, though, that it was very unique to actually taste estate wines in a cellar, straight from the aging vessel. Interestingly, this time I was able to taste Missouri Oak barrel aged wine (and, being from Missouri – that’s cool!). They even had a cross-over barrel called “MO/FO” – because it was both Missouri Oak and French Oak.

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  • Seavey – 9 out of 10. Such a great experience! Although the drive was a bit out of the way, and took several miles off the beaten path on winding backroads, we did really enjoy the quaint secluded estate. We had a private tour, got a chance to see some of the local farm animals (goats and cows), and enjoyed a very personal tour of the bottling/aging facilities. It really simplified the overall process and helped us get a great sense of the care they take in their bottling process.

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  • Chimney Rock – 6.5 out of 10. This was a somewhat corporate tasting, standing at a tasting bar. What was nice about this place, though, was we got to see their indoor private event space, which doubles as an aging shed. My parents-in-law were so impressed, they decided they would do their 25th wedding anniversary there. They clearly enjoy Chimney Rock wine a bit more than we do, though, as we thought most of the varietals (besides the Cabernets) were just OK.

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  • Saintsbury – 10 out of 10. We are still so in love with this place. Now, as a member of their wine club, you can really tell how much they appreciate your business. We got a private tasting seated near the private library reserve tasting room. Our guide (Galen) is the same guy who runs all of their customer contact, so I had been in touch with him many times previously. He doesn’t generally do tastings anymore, so I could tell it was because we were members that we received such special treatment. We will definitely be back!

 

Til Next Time,

Michael

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Wine Country Volume 5, Chapter 2

Del Dotto Caves

On our second day in Napa (a Friday), we decided to primarily stay on the Napa side of the valley, although Katy and I lobbied hard to get everyone to Sonoma (more on that during Saturday’s post, though, as we were given the chance to plan that whole day’s itinerary!).

We were actually rather pleased with Napa for once, and the wineries, tasting rooms, and prices didn’t feel quite as exorbitant as other places we’d been on that side (with the exception of one – more to come on that in a moment!). We started the day at Del Dotto, and then migrated to Paraduxx, which was actually all we were able to do that day. Why, you may ask? Well, we actually scored a hard-to-get reservation at the French Laundry, and six of us decided that would be an ideal way to have a once-in-a-lifetime meal at one of the country’s most famous establishments. I’ll have to dedicate a separate post just to the meal, though, as there are so many details that it would get distracting (and I’d start to get hungry as I type).

The reviews from day two:

  • Del Dotto
    • Wine Score: 9/10
    • Property/Tasting Room Score: 9/10
    • In full disclosure, I would usually avoid recommending somewhere like this due to the tasting fee ($75). However, it was simply the best barrel tasting experience I have ever experienced, and the uniqueness with which they customize your group’s tour is unparalleled. Barrel tastings are where you get the chance to taste wine directly from the small batch barrels in which it is aging (sometimes even before they would claim a wine otherwise “ready” to be drank – so that you can see how the wines age with time and how that impacts their aromas, flavors, and tannins). One drawback, though, was the price of the wine itself. While it is some of the best Cabernet I think I’ve ever had – the going rate for most bottles was $100-200 (with some selected bottles like a really cool one they have – THE BEAST – ringing in closer to $300). That’s steep. Plus, even though our group of 8 purchased several thousand dollars worth of wine (mostly all attributed to one of our DINK friends – dual income no kids), they still didn’t refund the tasting fees. This had previously been almost customary, so it’s a bit of a shame that they try to bleed you so much from a financial perspective. Everything else about this stop was incredible!
    • BONUS: They serve you some delicious pizza, homemade sausage and cheese, as well as chocolate at the end of the tour (most likely to help you avoid early intoxication if you’ve got other tastings on the horizon!)

Del Dotto Food

  • Paraduxx
    • Wine Score: 7/10
    • Property/Tasting Room Score: 7/10
    • This was a cool spot, and had some great wine. It’s a part of the extended Duckhorn family, so you know you’re getting a good, quality product. Our tasting table outside, on a very nice day, was a great way to relax the afternoon away, all while enjoying the elixir of the gods.

Stay tuned for the review of the day we planned (Saturday). It’ll have a lot of familiar names that I’ve written about before. Spoiler alert: they did not disappoint at all!

Til Next Time,

Michael