A Saturday in Napa Valley

It was a bit strange today to start another day of our vacation and knowing the tragically happening in Norway. We just needed to hit the road and try to forget for some hours and we did.

We were thinking of do the Silverado Trial today and do the 29 on our way back home.

First winery we stopped at come suddenly, due to we had forgotten the recommendation from Chef Dean and his wife in Temecula. DARIOUSH (http://www.darioush.com), nothing like it in Napa I must say. Noted for its Bordaux style estate wines, implements old world labor-intensive, micro-vineyard management and new world state of the art technology to craft fine wines from its estates located in the appellations of Napa Valley. Under direction of Darioush Khaledi and wine maker Steve Devitt, precision and quality are of the utmost important at the winery.

Darioush Khaledi grew up in Shiraz, one of Iran’s prominent wine-growing regions. His father was a hobbyist winemaker and as a young boy, Khaledi used to sneak sips from the barrel; as a young adult he became a devoted collector of fine wine.

Darioush is the culmination of the worldwide search for the ultimate vineyard estate. The Darioush Estate’s ninety-five acres are planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Merlot, Malbeck, Petit Verdot, Chardonnay and Viognier.

At Darioush we tasted the 2007 Darioush Signature Chardonnay*Napa Valley. Fruit sourced from Darioush’s cool vineyards in Napa Valley, Oak Knoll and Carneros supports slow, even ripening which result in a wine that balance light acidity and gorgeously textured fruit. Cool climates with very little rainfall in 2008 resulted in their lowest Chardonnay yield this decade.

There after we sipped to the 2007 Duel. Grown from two designated blocks on the Darioush estate in Napa Valley and Oak Knoll, Duel is the idyllic marriage of two distinguished varietals: 60% Cabernet and 40% Shiraz. The finished wine offers unique attributes of both varietals; a rich chocolate core and earthy minerality is lent by Cabernet Sauvignon, while Shiraz reveals its inherent exotic spice and ripe red fruit. Good reasons for us to bring home a bottle.

Next stop on the road was Chimney Rock, crossing the street with the same name is to me a good enough reason to check out the winery. Nice building, nice surrounding, but not a mach on the wine.

When hitting the road again we decided to go to the end of Silverado trail, up in Calistoga we found the beauty of a Chateau.

Chateau Montelena (http://www.montelena.com), and we got the complete fascinating story by Mannette Diederich who today assisted behind the bar in the tasting room as we tasted 5 wines on the “menu”.

They have a great small lake in the garden bellow the tasting room and Chateau that original was build as storage for the wine back in 1882. We got the story about owners and not at least the Chinese couple who took over in the 50’s and created the Chinese garden where you today can enjoy your special event in some of the Teahouses at the islands on the lake.

Being in China last year we felt we were back to vacation a year ago.

I am not going into details of the 5 wines we tasted just the Zinfandel, Montelena Estate 2008. It is bright ruby-red in the glass with good clarity and intensity of color, the 2008 Zinfandel draws you in, delivering rich aromas of bright red berry, slightly earthy briar berry, alluring spice and rhubarb pie. All complemented by soft, well-integrated oak tone. Dried currants and ripe blackberry are accompanied by notes of fresh vanilla bean while the finish echoes the rhubarb pie from the nose.

We brought a bottle to our Inn so we could enjoy the evening with it, we were tempted to have a bottle of each of the other once like the great Riesling Potter Valley 2010, Chardonnay Napa Valley 2009, Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2006 or the excellent Cabernet Sauvignon Montelena Estate 2007.

29 was the road back to Napa, we had some thoughts where to have lunch so it would fit in with a stop at Beringer.

For those who read my blog back from Marsh 9^th know we met chief winemaker Laurie Hook than. We learned a lot from her with regards to the Beringer wines but at this time we were curious to have a look around and have a deep breath of the atmosphere at the place.

It was a great place for a Saturday or Sunday visit. They had many tasting rooms and to too packed even there was a lot of people around they had the space. I will do some more on the different vineyards later, so with this.

When we saw the new wines we had not seen before or noticed in the grocery stores back in Houston we was even more tempted to taste the low cost wines.

What about a White Merlot 2010

or a Red Moscato 2010,

good starter wines for those who are not too used with wine also the blend Premier Vineyard Selection White Zinfandel/Chardonnay 2010 was for the, but I enjoyed them too. Price range $ 7 and 8 US dollars.

The Red Moscato 2010 is a wine bursting with signature honeysuckle aromas of Moscato combined with delicious fruit flavors and a smooth and refreshing finish. Stated as a perfect for poolside sipping it is dangerous, we already talked about how to keep it cold when being there.

The perfect sparkling wine for a Sunday Mimosa is the Sparkling White Zinfandel. Created in celebration of the 20^th Anniversary of the first release of Beringer White Zinfandel, this wine has wonderfully bright strawberries aromas and flavors backed by a sweetness balanced with vibrant bubbles. Also a perfect for parties and gifts! ($ 12 USD)

My plan was to go to V. Sattui Winery & Italian Market for lunch, but it was so crowded with people that after having a look around I was thinking first of all to noisy for a tasting room have all these people around with the market next door.

 I am sure they have good business, but something important was missing for me to stay. Atmosphere was not as expected, but Ok their choice so jumped into the car to find the recommended Bistro by Chef Dean. Bistro Jeanty (http://www.bistrojeanty.com) was the name and lay central in Yountville. We found the larger parking and popped into the local market place with shops and a few restaurants, one too nice and it was just after 3pm so lunch was stopped and dinner not before 5pm.

Than we was sure to find the Bistro, walking along Washington Street we did see it, nice and ready with a table for two.

It was a long time since I had Escargots

so at this recommended restaurants when I saw it on the menu it was tempting so both Laila and I went for that as an appetizer. With Quiche aux Poireaux for Laila

and Daube deBoeuf for me,

yes we got dessert to along with a little bottle of Chateau du Rouet “Cuvee Reservee Tradition”, Rosé, Cote de Provence 2010.

This matched the Italian restaurant in Sonoma. Thanks for the recommendation; they have kept the purity of the French food, they taste to the mouth and as we could have the food melt on our tongue, it was just heaven again, in a way we have had it on special occasions on this vacation.

Make sure to visit this place if you ever is in the area of Napa or Sonoma it is worth it and not expensive either.

After an espresso it was to find the car and head back to the Inn and update us on the latest news and do the blog.