Posted on April 19, 2012
It seems that everyone and I mean everyone who has been to Napa and Sonoma has their favorite wineries to visit. Of course! That’s what it’s all about – creating memories with those you enjoy and oh yeah, having some alotta wine along the way to help those memories become a bit more…creative! When I told friends that I was visiting the area, I received a long list of great suggestions and I’m keeping many of them for my next foray into the area. However, with one day to visit some wineries my girls and I chose three…mainly because I was the designated driver and wanted to be *responsible* and honestly, I can’t visit more than three wineries in a day and actually remember anything about them for writing purposes!! So, the wineries we visited were:
**Benessere Vineyards ~ If you are a regular reader of this site, you’ll know how much I love the wines from Benessere and appreciate the intelligence and business sense of the owner, John Benish. And now, my daughters remarked that after our visit to the winery in St. Helena they feel “like family” (hear that John??!) thanks to the kindness and warmth of Dennis and Barb who greeted us, poured delicious wines in the tasting room, and explained the ins and outs of the winemaking process of this small, boutique winery. My favorite continues to be their 2008 Sangiovese which pairs with just about any food you can think of, but I also loved the 2009 “Holy Stone Collins” Old Vine Zinfandel (pretty heady to taste at 10:30 a.m. but hey, it’s wine!) Only 158 cases were produced and the berries bursing from the glass and the tastes of dark spices, some oak, and minerality were an eye-opener (in a good way)! Make sure you add this winery to your list when you go to St. Helena – you’ll see the yellow farmhouse once you turn onto the lane and know that you’ll be welcome!
**V.Sattui Winery ~ A perfect place for a picnic, we stopped at V.Sattui for more tastings and some lunch. I will admit that the winery was packed with people and a completely different vibe compared to Benessere. The tasting room was quite large yet we managed to find a spot for tastings of six wines. Although they were all good, the standout was the 2011 Gamay Rouge (click on the link for my review) which apparently is everyone’s favorite since it is an easy drinking wine for any occasion. We purchased several bottles and have already enjoyed one with Easter brunch! For lunch we chose delicious gourmet sandwiches (and water-yep!) at the deli offering plenty of choices and took them outside to enjoy on the picnic tables – a casual, mid-day break before more wine tasting!
**Whitehall Lane Winery and Vineyards ~ The last stop for the day was Whitehall Lane farther down the road on St. Helena Highway. We arrived at the tasting room around 2:30 or 3pm and as time went on, the room was packed with more winelovers! (Apparently, others knew that this was a go-to spot.) Jennifer, our tasting room expert, was funny, engaging, and poured some really good wine for us! Standouts and those which I purchased were the 2010 Sauvignon Blanc (click on the link for my review), the 2009 Perfect Union Red Table Wine, and the 2008 Las Brisas Pinot Noir. The Perfect Union was just that – a very nice blend of Napa Valley grown Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah grapes and yet another smooth wine with a cost of around $28.00. The 2008 Las Brisas is from a single vineyard at Whitehall and had aromas of violets and cherries and tastes of strawberries, cranberries, and some sweet oak. Wow! This Pinot Noir cost $48.00 and is only available at the winery but if interested, you can have bottles shipped…so worth it!
We had a wonderful day in Napa…but our wine tasting wasn’t finished. …On to our beautiful hotel and the wine tasting there! But more about Sonoma next week!
Cheers! ~ Cindy
Tags: Benessere Vineyards, cabernet sauvignon, gamay, merlot, pinot noir, sangiovese, sauvignon blanc, syrah, zinfandel
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