A good friend of mine is heading over to the US in September and will be spending part of his time driving round the Napa & Sonoma Valleys visiting wineries. He asked for my suggestions on some wineries to visit and I thought that it might be best to put out a call here for advice to those of you ‘on the ground’ so to speak!
He is not into the ‘manicured’ tastings put on for bus loads of tourists at bigger wineries but is looking for smaller, more interesting places with a more human feel. He drinks widely but tends more towards the elegant rather than the blockbuster in wine styles. Having tried a rather lovely 2008 Stags Leap Cabernet recently I was going to suggest Cliff Lede in Yountville to him as a starter but I am a bit worried by the plethora of ever more pricy tasting options listed on the website.
Forman -One of the finest wineries with a very long track record.
Bressler Cabernet- flys under the radar a bit. Outstanding wine. You’ll taste with the owner at his home overlooking his vineyard in St Helena
Trespass Winery- you taste with the owner in the vineyard in St Helena
These are all very close to each other in Calistoga and offer the type of visit he is looking for
EMH Black Cat Cabernet
Myriad Cellars- Mike Smith
Aspera Cellars- Robin Ackhurst
Matthiasson - In between Napa and Yountville
You should be able to find contact info on their websites. The one on one visits are great but recommended if your friend is looking to try wine to buy and establish a relationship with these small producers.
I’d agree with many of the names listed so far and will echo Fred’s comment that these kinds of visits are great if your friend is looking to potentially start a relationship with the winery.
In Sonoma County there are lots of places like this. Swan, Woodenhead, Limmerick Lane, Coffaro, Porter Creek, Inman Family, Nale are all places I’ve been recently that are small, interesting, and have a human feel.
But remember, the boutique operations are about to disappear off the radar, for six to eight weeks [or more?], during harvest and fermentation and barrelling season, and when they finally re-emerge, circa December [?], they are going to be completely exhausted, with great big dark circles under their eyes.
Many thanks for the responses which will give my friend lots to be getting on with. Quite a few names that I do recognise and have read about but a number that are understandably new to me. A good point Nathan about harvest which will completely tie up some of these smaller producers. I have been having the same complication in the Southern Rhone. A good friend has decided to celebrate a significant birthday in France so a group are going to join him (basing ourselves in Sablet some 2km from Gigondas) for the last week of September. I have taken on the job of organising appointments but as it is smack in the middle of harvest most of the visits will be somewhat truncated. I have some trade connections which has helped enormously, but certainly, some direct emails have gone unanswered and a couple have responded that they are just too busy to host us. Thankfully, a number of excellent producers in Gigondas do have a cellar door so we can just rock up for a tasting while the Cave has an excellent range as well. I am very much looking forward to it!
Mark- We go every year in October and typically in the middle of Harvest. Has not caused any issues for us in Napa but does impact some of the smaller producers in Sonoma.
This a really nice list and most, if not all, will not be curtailed by havest during their regular hours. Getting an appointment when they are not usually open may be difficult. Joseph Swan is really cool to visit during harvest as the tasting is done in the intamate winery and you can get a first hand view of their process plus the wines are great.
There are a lot of good suggestions above. I would add Rafanelli in Sonoma. They are a small family-oriented winery. One of the daughter’s (Stacy, I believe?) is now working in the tasting room and she is really nice and professional. They will most likely only be taking afternoon appointments during harvest. Full disclosure – we have been buying wines from their mailing list for many years. Dry Creek is not a small operation, but they make a lot of very good wines in a more restrained style and they are very close to Rafanelli.
On the Sonoma side, there are many to choose from - it’s a much more “laid back” area, more low key than Napa Valley. I’m a big fan of Copain, which is doing tastings by appt only now, but it’s easy to do that through their web site.
Slightly earlier than I had thought Alan. He’ll be there the last week of this month but with all the wonderful suggestions that have come in he will have plenty to keep him busy. I am mindful myself that Sonoma can tend to be a little more relaxed than Napa and will suggest that he might have a little more luck there.