Napa Trip - October 2017

This will be my 5th or 6th time to Napa. I’m taking someone who’s never been. If anyone sees something that jumps out (in a negative way) then please chime in!

I’m also looking for a 11:30 am gap on Saturday (preferably a small producer). Please let me know what you recommend. TYIA!

FRIDAY:
10 - Corison
12 - O’Shaughnessy
1:30 - Viader
3 - Inglenook

SATURDAY:
10:15 - Domaine Carneros
1 - Schweiger
3 - Keenan

Four per day is rather ambitious? Otherwise the Day 1 itinerary is a lot of back and forth. Perhaps group Corison and Inglenook together and the Howell Mtn wineries together if anything.

Agreed. Just flipped Viader/Inglenook (edited from original).

I’ve usually done 4/day.

Domaine Carneros makes some of the worst Pinots I’ve ever had and their tastings are insanely overpriced and uninspiring. Also, if you’re not seated outdoors, the inside area is remarkably dull. Plus, there were tons of fruit flies, one of which actually made its way into my sparkling wine.

Major pass.

Tried to get into schramsberg to no avail. Chandon is crowded. May just scrap this one.

Sooooooooo, other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play???

Skip Domaine Carneros. Start at Pride and spend the day up on Spring Mountain. Personally i think Pride is the single best place to take someone whose never been to Napa. Shoot for a 10:00am appointment. Interesting tour includes caves and barrel tasting, reasonable cost for tasting, beautiful property and tasting covers many varietals that are all very good. Bonus tip: Pick up picnic lunch (Dean and Deluca) before you head up the mountain and have it in vineyard picnic area then proceed to other 2. Done this many times and sent others who have all loved it too.

Another vote for Pride (bring your lunch), Keenan, and Schweiger on Spring Mtn. We did that, and it was enjoyed by all. Unless there have been some changes, the driveway into Keenan is an interesting drive, more so than Spring Mountain itself.

I would consider cutting the 1:30 time slot and make time for a relaxed lunch.

10 - Corison
12 - O’Shaughnessy
1:30 - Stop and smell the roses
3 - Viader or Inglenook

Unless you are a big fan of Corison, I found our visit at Corison this summer to be pretty sterile and not that much fun. If you want to go down from 4 to 3, I would drop that one.

thats surprising. id figure corison to be a pretty raucous and wild scene, like del dotto but better

While Corison is in what I call the thick of the big tasting rooms it’s more of a throwback to the old days. If you want glitter and gold in your tasting room skip it. If you want an authentic small producer experience the way Napa used to be before the days of hordes of buses you’re set. I love Corison, not only for their wines, but I like that their tasting room isn’t trying to sell me 10 different t-shirts, pots and pans, towels, and everything but the kitchen sink like so many other places in the Valley do. It’s pretty bare bones but with knowledgeable and friendly staff and good vino

Sounds like they did away with the sea monkey and flea circus exhibit. A real shame as that was fun for the whole family. Not sure how they’ll get along now only using classic napa cab tastings as a lure.

by classic you mean picked at 20 brix in june and aged in thrice used oak?

Steven - you should have open dialogue with Nolan. I know both of you and you share a similar…um…way of expressing yourselves. [cheers.gif]I miss both you back here in Napa Valley.

While on Howell Mountain I would visit Neal. Small
Producer and my favorite go to wine.

… and VERY reasonably priced.

merrill-
i do miss calistoga (and you and RB of course). though my $ goes farther here in North Carolina, as long as the hurricaines dont reach me
i’ll probably be out to visit in the second half of 2018. will the (don’t call it the) four seasons be open then?

No, I do not expect it will be open. But we should all get together - haven’t seen RB for a long time. Solbar is as good as ever - saw Ray there last night!

If it fits in with the style of wine you like, I would suggest visiting Shafer on Friday - it’s casual and feels like a small producer (i.e. the opposite of Opus One)

Also I would recommend a visit to Charter Oak in St Helena for brunch on Saturday - they recently opened, the food is really good, and the wine list is amazing (it goes back to the 70s and isn’t extortionate)