Our group is going to spend a couple of days in Napa before heading to Healdsburg for Passport to Dry Creek at the end of April. We will have a couple of days to spend in Napa, and we're looking for recommendations for wineries to visit.

There are so many. What kind of experience do you want?

You have posted about Passport to DCV before. Which events and wineries do you visit?

We all prefer reds, and would love a couple of wineries with nice patios and views, and possibly a limited menu, like a charcuterie tray.

In Sonoma, we usually start Passport at Dutcher Crossing, because most of our group are club members. We always make Wilson, Mauritson, Mazzocco and Truett Hurst. Other favorites are Bella, Michel Schlumberger, Fritz and Sbragia. In the past, we would begin at Seghesio, but since the family sold out, you can find their wine everywhere, so we've been skipping that one. My personal favorite is Passalacqua, but they no longer participate in Passport because their club takes all of their production. They invite certain members to visit during the weekend, so we'll go there Sunday morning. We try to go to one or two new ones each year.

Go to Darioush. They will give you a private tasting. The fine wine and artisan cheeses. Worth it.

They have great batteries.

We have a tasting at Trinchero, which I'd never heard of, but got a free tasting from a connection. Will try the Wine and Artisan cheese at Darioush, and are still mulling over others.

lrwells50 said:

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We have a tasting at Trinchero, which I'd never heard of, but got a free tasting from a connection. Will try the Wine and Artisan cheese at Darioush, and are still mulling over others.

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Darioush is ****** tastic, which many love. Super rich and sweet cabs that are vastly overpriced, IMO. But I feel the same about Trinchero wines, too, so maybe it is me.

Well, not into sweet cabs either, so we'll see.

lrwells50 said:

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Well, not into sweet cabs either, so we'll see.

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I'm being an ass. Sweet is relative. I enjoy the occasional Napa cab, but can't do them very often. They tend to give me palate fatigue and I think it's from the RS and high alcohol.

I think there is a "sameness" that is pervasive in a lot of the wines from Napa. But many disagree with me, so as I said, maybe just me.

My last trip to DCV we visited Comstock. I didn't much care for the wines, but beautiful property. Really nice merlot but kinda pricey.

Daughter is a member of the Comstock wine club. It was our last visit of the day, so it didn't really stand out for me. As I said, we go to Sonoma every year, and this is our first Napa trip, so it will be interesting regardless. The prices are certainly sky high compared to Sonoma.

bularry said:

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lrwells50 said:

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Well, not into sweet cabs either, so we'll see.

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I'm being an ass. Sweet is relative. I enjoy the occasional Napa cab, but can't do them very often. They tend to give me palate fatigue and I think it's from the RS and high alcohol.

I think there is a "sameness" that is pervasive in a lot of the wines from Napa. But many disagree with me, so as I said, maybe just me.

My last trip to DCV we visited Comstock. I didn't much care for the wines, but beautiful property. Really nice merlot but kinda pricey.

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I feel that way about Mazzocco wines - too jammy, or something, but a lot of our group loves them.

Exactly. Some wines just don't hit us right

Going to Valley of the Moon for a wine and cheese paring. We were there last year, but were late and didn't get to spend much time tasting.

lrwells50 said:

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Going to Valley of the Moon for a wine and cheese paring. We were there last year, but were late and didn't get to spend much time tasting.

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All their grapes from Sonoma Valley? Not an appellation I drink much.

For the most part, although there were some from Russian River Valley, and the Carneros Valley, as well as from the Sonoma Coast.

Went to a few interesting tastings in Napa. Started our trip at Domaine Carneros with a sparkling flight and a charcuterie plate. Sparkling isn't really my thing, but it was an enjoyable afternoon. My favorite was Brown Estate, where we ordered a case of Rosemary's Block Zinfandel. A salesman for Trinchero sponsored our tasting there, and we bought a mixed case of Cab, Malbec, Petite Sirah and an unoaked Chardonnay that was really nice. Darioush was very interesting, and I liked the wine well enough to sign up for a few bottles a year.

The next day we were in Sonoma, and started off at Kunde, which has a beautiful patio, and some nice wines. That afternoon we did an artisan cheese tasting at Valley of the Moon, which also has a pretty patio. Saturday we did 7 of the wineries that were part of Passport to Dry Creek, which was enjoyable, but I didn't buy anything. We started out Sunday at Wilson, which most of our group likes, but isn't my favorite. Next had a private tasting at Passalacqua, because most of our group are members of their club. We bought a case each of their Watson Ranch zin, and the Lavender Hill Primitivo futures, and then had a tasting of their block cabs on their patio overlooking the vineyard, along with a charcuterie tray. Did a few more wineries that were part of the Passport setup, and called it a day.

Our flight home was delayed 4 hours because of a Sabre problem, lots of unhappy people at SFO.

Forgot to mention Hunnicutt, which had a gorgeous, if small, outdoor tasting area, where we bought a mixed case, and Whetstone, also nice, where we bought a couple of bottles to take back to the house.

lrwells50 said:

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Went to a few interesting tastings in Napa. Started our trip at Domaine Carneros with a sparkling flight and a charcuterie plate. Sparkling isn't really my thing, but it was an enjoyable afternoon. My favorite was Brown Estate, where we ordered a case of Rosemary's Block Zinfandel. A salesman for Trinchero sponsored our tasting there, and we bought a mixed case of Cab, Malbec, Petite Sirah and an unoaked Chardonnay that was really nice. Darioush was very interesting, and I liked the wine well enough to sign up for a few bottles a year.

The next day we were in Sonoma, and started off at Kunde, which has a beautiful patio, and some nice wines. That afternoon we did an artisan cheese tasting at Valley of the Moon, which also has a pretty patio. Saturday we did 7 of the wineries that were part of Passport to Dry Creek, which was enjoyable, but I didn't buy anything. We started out Sunday at Wilson, which most of our group likes, but isn't my favorite. Next had a private tasting at Passalacqua, because most of our group are members of their club. We bought a case each of their Watson Ranch zin, and the Lavender Hill Primitivo futures, and then had a tasting of their block cabs on their patio overlooking the vineyard, along with a charcuterie tray. Did a few more wineries that were part of the Passport setup, and called it a day.

Our flight home was delayed 4 hours because of a Sabre problem, lots of unhappy people at SFO.

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Nice.

Sounds like a great trip!

So, how many bottles in your cellar?

Just 120 or so. I'd have to give up some crafting room to add more space, and I'm not willing to do that yet.

lrwells50 said:

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Just 120 or so. I'd have to give up some crafting room to add more space, and I'm not willing to do that yet.

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I've got about 20 cases haphazardly piled up in boxes in a closet.

bularry said:

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lrwells50 said:

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Well, not into sweet cabs either, so we'll see.

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I'm being an ass. Sweet is relative. I enjoy the occasional Napa cab, but can't do them very often. They tend to give me palate fatigue and I think it's from the RS and high alcohol.

I think there is a "sameness" that is pervasive in a lot of the wines from Napa. But many disagree with me, so as I said, maybe just me.

My last trip to DCV we visited Comstock. I didn't much care for the wines, but beautiful property. Really nice merlot but kinda pricey.

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I'm with you on that, Larry.