Note: We had appointments for all tastings mentioned in this post unless otherwise specified.
Our first day was a travel day. We woke up at 3:00AM and flew to SFO. Our flight was very close to on time! After getting our checked luggage and rental car, we hit the road. The GPS initially said 1 hour and 20 minutes but we did hit some traffic -- no surprise -- so it took us closer to 1 hour and 45 minutes. All in all, not bad for a Friday!
We had wine on our brains, but our first stop was lunch at Oakville Grocery. It was packed! Oakville Grocery is a great stop for a relatively quick lunch. They have a great selection of salads, made to order sandwiches, panini, and wood oven pizza. They also have a cheese counter, a counter for sliced meats and charcuterie, oils, vinegars, sauces, salts, and spices, as well as a nice selection of beer and lots of wine. They have beer on tap and wine by the glass. You can also order in advance if you just want to drop in and grab your lunch to go. We ordered a roast beef sandwich -- piled with meat, fresh greens, tomatoes, red onion, olive tapenade, and basil aioli -- and a BLTA -- lots of bacon, lettuce, tomato, avocado and garlic aioli -- both on fresh artisan bread. We decided on water instead of beer or wine, but it was very tempting!
With full stomachs, we were ready for wine!
Tasting 1: Sequoia Grove Winery
A short drive north on Highway 29 and we arrived at Sequoia Grove Winery. Founded in 1979, Sequoia Grove is a family-owned winery in Rutherford. They make excellent Cabernet Sauvignon! For walk in tastings, they have two tasting options: Current Release and Single Vineyard. We decided to have one of each and share.
Our Current Release Tasting consisted of the following four wines:
- 2018 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc
- 2016 Haire Vineyard Chardonnay
- 2016 Napa Valley Syrah
- 2015 Rutherford Bench Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
We were supposed to start with the 2018 Napa Valley Rosé, but they ran out Friday morning! In general, I'm not a big fan of Napa Valley Chardonnay; I usually find they are very buttery and heavily oaked, but I always try everything! As it turns out, this wine smelled a little off. Maybe not corked, but not right. Our tasting host, Oscar, was happy to open a new bottle. What a difference! There was definitely something flawed with the first bottle. So don't ever hesitate to mention if you think there is something flawed in what you've been poured! Of these four, the 2016 Napa Valley Syrah was the favorite.
The Single Vineyard Tasting was next. The term "Single Vineyard" just means that the wine in the bottle comes from a single vineyard site. The grapes from a particular vineyard are harvested, fermented, and bottled separate from other wines. We had the following four wines in the line up:
- 2014 Tonella Vineyard Cabernet Franc
- 2015 Lamoureux Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
- 2014 Tonella Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
- 2014 Morisoli Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
The tasting room was (surprisingly) not very busy, so we were very fortunate to be offered the following two bonus pours:
- 2014 Cambium
- 2015 Stagecoach Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
The Cambium is their most high end wine. All the grapes that go in to the Cambium are specifically selected for each vintage, and only the best lots are chosen.
For us, the 2015 Stagecoach Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon was the winner between the two bonus wines and the entire tasting...and that's okay! Wine is personal. Don't ever let anyone tell you that you have to like a wine because it's the most popular, or the most expensive, or the highest rated. Buy and drink what you like!
Tasting 2: Mayacamas Vineyards (Downtown Tasting Room)
Our second -- and last -- stop of the day was at the downtown tasting room of Mayacamas Vineyards. Mayacamas Vineyards is located on Howell Mountain on the west side of Napa Valley, so the downtown tasting room is a nice way to taste some of their wines without making the drive there. We had two tasting options: Current Vintage and Library Vintage. The Library Vintage Tasting has the same three wines as the Current Release Tasting, as well as two older vintages of Cabernet Sauvignon. We decided to have one of each and share the two older vintages.
The Current Release Tasting included three wines:
- 2017 Mount Veeder Chardonnay
- 2015 Mount Veeder Merlot
- 2015 Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon.
The Library Vintage Tasting included the three wines from the Current Release Tasting, as well as:
- 2003 Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon
- 2005 Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon
Of the five wines, we had two favorites: 2005 Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon to drink now, and 2015 Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon to drink after a few years of rest in the cellar.
After our tasting at Mayacamas, it was a quick walk to Oenotri for dinner. Oenotri serves Italian food, and they print their menu daily, so no matter how often we go there is always something new for us to consider. We started with a margherita pizza -- an old favorite -- followed by two pastas: a long noodle with meat sauce, and a short pasta with fresh pesto, garlic, pine nuts, parmigiano reggiano cheese with sausage added. By the time we finished our pasta, we were stuffed and tired, so no room for dessert!
Thanks for reading! Cheers!
