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I recently had the opportunity to spend some quality time in the California wine regions of Napa and Sonoma. I was there to enhance my knowledge of some of the top wineries and to gain a greater understanding of the beautiful and unque lay of the land that allows the best winemakers to produce truly world-class wines.
Both Napa and Sonoma Valley are complex jigsaw puzzles of pastoral valley floors and dramatic volcanic mountain ranges. Both also share a unique climatic phenomenon, where cooling winds and fog are nightly pulled in from the nearby Pacific coast and the San Francisco Bay. This allows the otherwise overly hot areas to ripen the grapes slowly and evenly, producing the thrilling flavors and aromas we enjoy in a well-made wine.
I was privileged with a number of special tours at some excellent wineries. My visit to Chateau Montelena at the head of the Napa Valley was outstanding. I was able to taste the newly released 2000 vintage Estate Cabenet Sauvignon, considered to be on par with first-growth Bordeaux, along with the rest of their exquisitely balanced wines. It was, by the way, Chateau Montelena’s 1973 Chardonnay, along with Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet, that rocked the wine world when they beat the most revered Bordeaux and Burgundy wines, winning the now-famous 1975 “Judgement of Paris.”
Another highlight was my visit to the Robert Mondavi Winery. It was an adventurous drive from Sonoma Valley over the Mayacmus Mountain range to the breathtaking beautiful panorama of the serene Napa Valley. There, I was given a most interesting tour of the vineyards. Throughout the Oakvile and Stag’s Leap we stopped along the way to taste the wines that were made in each vineyard. Certainly, this must be the most dramatic of wine-tasting “classrooms.” After a hands-on tour of Mondavi’s state-of-the-art facilities, I was invited to enjoy a gourmet lunch, specially prepared to highlight some of their top wines. The Mondavi Cabernet Reserve was superb, exhibiting great complexity and depth that continued to evolve throughout our meal. Truly, an experience to savor!
To be continued...
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