Beaulieu -B, Nice tasting room right off Hwy 29, Christine was friendly but did not openly share information about the wines. The Cabs here have always been some of my favorites and the tastings did not disappoint. Do not come here for ambience or a ton of attention. We came at 10am and as we were leaving 30 minutes later a giant tour bus was showing up.
Beringer- A, I was pleasantly surprised by Beringer on this trip, went for the grandious effect of this vineyard and was surprised by the intimate feel of the tour we received. Joey was our tour guide, extremely professional and knowledgeable. There was a nice barrel tasting and a food pairing tasting at the end. Their reserves were much better than you might have expected.
Charbay-C+, This place is certainly interesting off of Spring Mountain Rd. passed it on the way to Pride and decided to try it on the way down, John is much like the aging hippies in Boulder, he smoked a lot of weed in college and has never stopped, very interesting character. Charbay is also a distillery but tasting the distilled products is illegal in Napa Co. so if you are interested in tasting, you can request it and they leave the room. Their port is very good as well as the green tea apertif, as far as the wine they should probably stick to liquor, it seems more suited to them. Beautiful location and dog friendly.
Cline-C, Not much to say about this place, very reasonably priced, taste five wines for free. Wines are nothing exceptional. I did like that they had a rose, so few places in Napa do.
Europa Village: A-, Beautiful Outdoor venue with unique tasting set up, many tables set u outside with a staff member at each table to help your party specifically. Hands down most knowledgeable staff we encountered in Temecula.
Grgich Hills-A+, Loved this winery, this winery was part of the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976 and one the white category with their fume blanc- which is excellent, I bought a bottle. Marcel was our tour guide and bartender, he was extremely knowledgeable, laid back and fun, everything you want as part of your experience. Turns out Fume Blanc was created by Robert Mondavi's wife as a marketing trick to appeal to the French who were really the main wine market in the 60s and 70s. I was also very happy with our tasting here because when I asked Marcel about the Violetta, he opened a fresh bottle of this 100 dollar specialty to let me try it out. Violetta is made of Botrytis cinerea, a mold that grows on the grapes after the harvest, sometimes the weather does not even accommodate for mold to grow, I would compare it to your standard ice wine, mmm delicious.
Gundlach Bundschu-D, Overall, I was the most disappointed in this winery, we signed up for the tasting and harvest tour, offered only during late September and October. Our tour guide was Johnathan, he was very knowledgeable and took his job much too seriously. Do not get me wrong, knowledge is important, but talking over the heads of your guests and refusing to joke around, does not win any points with me. He reminded a lot of the Boulder Barista crowd, plus he was dressed a little ridiculous- I am all for freedom of expression but practicality is important when you are working. His shoes were definitely not the right attire or trampsing around a vineyard. The other reason I dislike Gun Bun was they really stressed being on time to the tour, so much so that the woman we spoke to on the phone informed us we needed to arrive a half hour early, we did but no one else did, they tour took off 20 minutes late. We all payed 20 dollars per person and in the end people were part of the tour that did not pay. Also, they requested a credit card to "hold our reservation" but ended up charging me for our party of six upon our arrival 'huh?'
Jacuzzi Family Vineyards-A, Surprisingly one of my favorites of Sonoma, looks like a tourist Mecca off the side of Sonoma Hwy, owned by the Cline family who are directly across the street. These people know Italian wines, lots of wineries in America claim to do winemaking in the 'style of Italy' but few actually do. Love their Moscato Bianco! Great tasting room, with a gift shop full of little trinkets.
Kaz-B+, Small organic winery in Sonoma with a Zany owner. They have a red and a WHITE port done properly which makes me a fan. Very laid back, child and dog friendly, some people might not enjoy this, but we are have no problem with either so it was a welcome change.
Kuleto-A, A beautiful property that few ever reach, do not go to Kuleto if you have spent a whole day drinking and have no driver, you need one and a good at that. 15 miles up a steep mountain road, to a call box, you enter your code, and then travel 3 miles almost directly upward on a one way cliff hugging road...but its worth it. From the winery you can view, both Sonoma and Napa Valley, from an elevation of something like 2000 feet, which is nothing to us but sincerely impressed a few other people there. A story of completely sickening oppulence, Pat Kuleto bought the prime property for a hunting retreat, finding there was nothing to hunt here, hmm, he planted acres of sangiovese, which no do not grow in Napa. Finally, had a successful vineyard, after bringing in serious soil experts from around the world. Yep, this guy has tons of money and is up to no good, but its to your advantage, great wine friendly tours, and you will feel like you are part of Napa's best kept secret. Here is Jon ringing their bell, yes he has a bell.
Kunde- B, Tourist Mecca,mediocre wine, beautiful property, enough said.
Long Meadow Ranch- C, We received to free tasting tokens to this place by eating at their restaurant The Farm (see review in restaurants). They should probably stick to the amazing food they are making.
Merryvale- A, Maurice was our guide here and his asshole nature was very endearing, this is an odd phenomena in Napa, the more of asshole you encounter the more they will share with you, the more wine, the more recommendations, and the more education. Went in here, on a whim, and had a great find, their Antigua, is a white wine based port fortified with peach brandy, its amazing. You can even use it to replace Sweet and Sour in drinks like margaritas which is very yummy. Wish I had lived here for my wedding, check out this room you can rent!
Oak Mountain: C-, Excellent spot on the top of the mountain with an outdoor entertainment center, we ate lunch here listening to music and was so excited to try the wines based on the atmosphere. Unfortunately, not a single wine was worth purchasing, the olive oil was delicious, they should probably stick to that.
Pride Mountain- A-, Dave was our guide here, and has a special place in our heart, as he is a Colorado Native. Pride is a beautiful winery, right on the border of Napa/Sonoma county lines in the Mayacamus mountain range. Therefore, they actually have wines produced in Napa and Sonoma counties, naturally, because California law sucks, they have to keep these grapes completely separate. They are a little pricey for their quality, I am not a giant fan of the giant Cabs of Napa, most people are, and they can justify dropping a hundred on a bottle, I could not. However, at ten dollars, for six wines the tasting is a great vallue when you consider the price of the bottles they open for you. One of the best cave systems in Napa.
Sequoia Grove- B-, I give this place a B- because of our guide, lots of people were having an amazing time at this vineyard, and I was quite jealous of them, but our guide was such a pompous prick, it really ruined the experience. Liked their cabs though and a quaint little property.
South Coast Winery: A-, This was probably the best winery of our trip to Temecula, mostly due to the numerous bartender that were not afraid to give heavy pours and extra tastes. The presentation here is exceptional and they can handle a large group with ease. However, the are very large and produce about 25 wines, of course, with so many wines non of them are perfection but found the ports to be good and was only really disappointed by the Fume.
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Van Roekel: B, The wines here are really just ok there is an excellent Viognier, but what I loved about this place was their champagne menu, not something I am usually a fan of, but their peach and raspberry was exceptional.
William Harrison- D, went here on the recommendation of Sequoia Grove guy, obviously this was his best friend.
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