October in the Napa Valley is a special time.
The vineyards are a flurry of harvest activity, the scent
of crushed and fermenting grapes permeates the air,
lights are on in the barrel rooms until the wee hours of the
morning as winemakers tweak their wines to perfection,
and wineries are overflowing with their new releases.
There is a general feeling of goodwill and festivity
as visitors descend upon the valley in a flurry of
tasting and touring, eating and celebrating.
If you didn't book a table at your favorite
restaurant back in September, you'll have to wait
until mid-November for a seat, even on a Monday night.
It's hard not to get caught up in the swell of
wine-tasting fever in this beautiful valley,
so when some friends landed from Denver with
an off-the-beaten-path tasting itinerary,
tagging along was the only option for me.
Let's enter the caves at Caldwell Vineyard in Coombsville,
tucked away in the southeast corner of Napa Valley.
Grapes are being de-stemmed and sorted,
then do their time in the fermenting tanks.
Basically a highly tweaked combination of yeast and grape,
the "juice" is constantly tested and tasted.
Final concoctions are stored away in oak barrels.
This particular tasting was all about the
wines of Drew Nieman, an independent winemaker
who hones his craft at Caldwell Vineyards.
Unlike the reds that ferment in stainless steel tanks,
Drew's chardonnay grapes ferment in the barrels
(you can hear them crackle if you put your ear to the hole).
Now the fun part.
What a cool tasting cave.
Drew painstakingly paired some amazing cheeses
to go in perfect harmony with each wine. Divine.
His 2005 Proprietary Red was phenomenal.
Drew had a story (and an anecdote) about everything,
including his label (you'll have to hear it from the horse's
mouth, I couldn't possibly do it justice).
An exceptional winemaker,
he is also quite the character.
(just ask his cult following who started
Drewpie Nation on Facebook).
Lock up the brakes....we're doing a 180.
Complete opposite side of the valley, we're heading
to the remote Yates Family Winery at Mount Veeder.
One of the oldest wineries in the country, and way way out IN the country
Castle Rock winery was established in the late 1800s
(not to be confused with the modern-day Castle Rock - different
entity entirely). The Yates family bought the property in the 1950s,
and started tinkering.
The original barrel room (white section to the left) was built in the 1800s,
the addition came in the early 1900s.
Original fermenting barrels.
And a couple of "modern day" chain saws
(the forest was cleared for the vines one tree at a time).
De-stemmer.
During prohibition, wine grapes became
"wine-grape-juice," and labeled as such with the barrel stencil.
(I'm thinking this is ripe for incorporating in a mixed media sculpture)
Antique sorter,
and bottler.
This thing is called a ram-crusher...
a big giant tree trunk that squishes grapes underneath wood panels.
True vintage bottles....a collector's dream.
This is a taster's bottle, from 1902,
complete with the winemaker's notes on the label.
Loved the humble and homey tasting room.
Grandpa Yates (or someone like that)
began a quirky corkscrew collection.
Final stop of the day was at O'Brien Estate Winery
smack in the middle of the two previous
wineries, dead-center on the valley floor.
We didn't taste the O'Brien wines, but we tasted
O'Brien winemaker David Yorgensen's private
label, Kind.
The tasting was ultra casual in the barrel room,
and David was a very cool Vermont transplant
living his dream as a winemaker.
David is purist in his approach, minimalist in
his interference with the wine's natural processes,
and has developed relationships with small family
vineyards for his grapes, including Henry Brothers
Vineyards on the remote 1900-foot Howell Mountain.
Kind has no retail presence and is only sold direct
through his wine club, rare for a winemaker with
such a small production. The Sauvignon blanc
and Syrah wines were particularly noteworthy.
Anyone can go to the big-label wineries and taste
"good juice," but it is well worth it to find someone
with connections to the hard-to-find
vineyards and winemakers. It's ultimately all about
the experience - which was, in this case, absolutely delightful.
For this "Boutique Wine Experience," we were escorted
by "Owner & Guide Extraordinaire" Paul Diaz.
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