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Day 1: The Road to Napa with Steve
- The Estate Vineyard at Turnbull taken from my trusty blackberry!
9:41 am
Its 39 degrees and foggy as we make our way through the wine disneyland known as Napa Valley. Our destination is in the town of Oakville but the view from the road is a “Who’s Who” of wineries and vineyards. Even through fog, the sites of wineries such as St. Clement, Beringer and Freemark Abbey elicit “oohs” and “ahs” in this idyllic setting. Check back often as I will be journaling my trip to Napa and ZAP convention (Zinfandel Advocates & Producers). I’ll be taking pictures along the way. Here is a shot of the estate vineyard at Turnbull I just took from the road.
- Steve
1:12 pm
Here's a snapshot I got of Winemaker Peter Heitz with B-21's Proprietor Bob Sprentall
The day has warmed up a bit and the sun is shining. We tasted with winemaker Peter Heitz at Turnbull Cellars. He is doing good things here with natural yeast fermentation and I’m also impressed with the vineyard management. Best of all the wines are delicious from Sauvignon Blanc on up. This is a winery to watch. I wonder how many people know they are just north of Opus One and across hwy 29 from Robert Mondavi winery.
We also had a quick visit at Louis Martini which is one of the oldest wineries in Napa valley having been established in 1933. Its interesting that their Sonoma Cabernet is our best selling Cab.
Back on the road…
5:28 pm
- Robert Foley, Winemaker
This afternoon we drove way up Howell Mtn. Rd. into Angwin and then kept going further into the boonies.
Our goal was to see Bob Foley and we accomplished that. Felt pretty honored too, as we later learned not many get that invite.Bob’s a passionate guy about wine and music, and co-runs an amazing winery with his wife. Besides Robert Foley and Switchback Ridge he also handles winemaking for a couple of other tiny-production wines.
Iconic gryphon atop a barrel at the entrance to Robert Foley's aging cave on Howell Mountain
This was a nice continuation to our time with Peter Heitz at Turnbull as both Bob and Peter, I would say make wine more by taste than by numbers. And you know it when you taste their wines. These may or may not be your favorite wines but then you won’t ever think they taste just like someone else’s wine. Both Peter and Bob are experts at coaxing flavor that reflects the terroir of the grapes with little winemaking signature. I think that increases the chances of creating something great. Actually it may be the only way.
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