Napa Valley Day 4: Paradigm Winery, Silver Trident Winery, Jessup Cellars, and Handwritten Wines

Note: We had appointments for all tastings mentioned in this post unless otherwise specified.

I woke up around 5:00AM with a sore throat. I managed to go back to sleep until 7:00AM. When I was awake for the day, my first thought was "I should stay in bed". I still had a sore throat, but I decided it was allergies. I didn't feel sick, and after I took an allergy pill and had a big breakfast, I was feeling more "normal".

Tasting 1: Paradigm Winery

Paradigm Winery is west of Highway 29 in Oakville. Paradigm is another favorite of ours; we've been visiting since the early 2000s and their wine is nothing short of excellent. Ren and Marilyn Harris own and operate Paradigm. Heidi Barrett -- who many refer to as The First Lady of Napa -- is their winemaker. The property is surrounded by prime Oakville grapes. You really can't go wrong by visiting here!

Mary Ann greeted us with a glass of Rosé of Merlot and gave us a quick tour of the small winery. Other than the winery staff and our group of four, there was a small crew installing a generator for the power outages predicted during fire season in October. Overall, it was very quiet!

We moved to a table outside overlooking the vineyard and the Mayacamas mountain range. In short: gorgeous and peaceful.

Once seated, we tasted the following wines:

• 2016 Oakville Zinfandel
• 2016 Oakville Merlot
• 2016 Oakville Cabernet Franc
• 2015 Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon

Ren Harris, the owner, was working in his office during our visit and stopped by for a quick chat. It's so nice when people -- who we know are beyond busy in so many facets of the business -- take time out of their day to greet tasters like us!

We tried a fantastic selection of wines. As I mentioned you can't go wrong with any wine at Paradigm, but our favorite was the 2016 Oakville Cabernet Franc.

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After our tasting at Paradigm, we drove south to Yountville.  We walked through The French Laundry gardens -- so gorgeous and everything smells great -- before checking in for our lunch reservation at Redd Wood.

We opted to sit outside in the shade at Redd Wood. All the outdoor tables had a small container with an essential oil meant to repel bugs, which was a nice touch. I really liked that our server and other people stopped by the table to point out that this small container wasn't food and we should not dip anything in it. I don't think I would ever randomly dip food into an unknwn liquid on the table, but it was great from a customer service (and safety) perspective that the staff was on top of this.

We all ordered a beer or cocktail with lunch. We split salads and pizzas. Their wood oven pizza is excellent!

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Tasting 2: Silver Trident Winery

Silver Trident was a 15 minute walk from Redd Wood. The tasting room is located in a house, decorated in Ralph Lauren Home. Think furniture, floor coverings, drapery, artwork. It's gorgeous. When we entered, we were greeted by Keith Richards the dog. I wasn't able to snap a photo of Keith, but he stayed close to our table hoping for attention, and crumbs of food from our tasting.

We tasted the following five wines:

• 2017 Apollo's Folly Rose, Mendocino County, Rose of Pinot Noir
• 2017 Symphony No. 9, Napa Valley, Sauvignon Blanc
• 2016 Benevolent Dictator, Russian River Valley, Pinot Noir
• 2017 Playing With Fire, Napa Valley, Red Blend
• 2016 Twenty Seven Fathoms, Napa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon
• 2016 Friends & Family, Napa Valley, Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

I was too busy drooling over the decor to take photos of the wines we tasted, but we had a really great time here. I really love the wine names! Our tasting fees were waived with a specific purchase amount, which we took advantage of!

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‍Tasting 3: Jessup Cellars

We had some time after Silver Trident and before our scheduled tasting at Handwritten Wines, so we dropped by Jessup Cellars for a walk in tasting. When I have a choice between three wines or six wines, I usually select the tasting with more wines, but on this particular day I decided to be responsible and choose three wines. We all did!

Between the four of us, we tried all six wines available that day:

• 2018 Sauvignon Blanc
• 2017 Rougette
• 2016 Merlot
• 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon
• 2015 "Table For Four" Signature Cabernet Sauvignon Blend
• 2015 "Juel" Signature Merlot Blend

I had two favorites: 2016 Merlot and 2015 "Juel" Signature Merlot Blend.

If you have time, reserve a tasting in their tasting gallery! You'll experience great wine paired with cheese, while surrounded by rotating art exhibits curated by Jessup Cellars.

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Tasting 4: Handwritten Wines

Our final tasting of the day was at Handwritten Wines, which is a sister property to Jessup Cellars. Handwritten produces small lot wines, focusing on high elevation, hillside, and mountain fruit. We met Bill in the private cottage they use for tastings. Our wines were poured into perfectly polished glasses and ready to enjoy.

We tasted the following six wines:

• 2018 Carneros Chardonnay
• 2015 Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir
• 2015 Carneros Cabernet Sauvignon
• 2015 Oak Knolll Cabernet Sauvignon
• 2015 Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon
• 2012 "Three Words" Signature Blend

We tried a fantastic selection of wines. We loved all of the cabs -- surprise -- but my favorite was the Carneros Cabernet Sauvignon. We ordered several bottles and can't wait to try them at home!

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After a great day of wine tasting, we had dinner at Il Posto Trattoria. Located in a shopping plaza with a small market, fish monger, and shipping center, it doesn't look like much. This is a great example of the phrase "don't judge a book by its cover". The restaurant was filled with locals when we went, which is usually a good sign. It's not a large restaurant, so definitely make a reservation if you want to try it.

We enjoyed caesar salad, caprese salad, garlic bread, and several pastas, including an orecchiette with sausage, cauliflower, red cabbage, fontina, and calabrian chiles that I'm still thinking about!

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‍Thanks for reading! Cheers!