Wineries of Napa Valley Tasting Room

This article was originally published in the Benicia Herald on March 22, 2009.

A few weeks ago, I sang the praises of the Downtown Napa "Taste" card. For those of you who missed it, this $20 punch card entitles you to tastings at 14 downtown tasting rooms for just 10 cents a piece.

For those who like me, are limited with wine tasting funds, yet are still not willing to steer the car away from Napa, this is a great solution to the generally high cost associated with a day of tasting. In addition, the card promises that all tasting rooms are within walking distance of each other (there's even a little map on the card), and so no one has to stress too much about driving from estate to estate.

When I purchased my card from the visitor's center in the Napa Town Center shopping mall, I quickly noted that one of the tasting rooms was located just next door. Anxious to get started, I walked into the Wineries of Napa Valley tasting room and presented my card. The host that day explained that our 10 cents would get us three tastings from their list of 17 current offerings. The special featured wines that month were all “Winemakers Blends”, of which there were five listed.

As the tasting room represents a handful of smaller wineries, I decided to sample blends from three different spots that I had previously never visited: Burgess, Girard and R.A. Harrison.
The 2001 Burgess Enveiere, a blend of Cabernet, Cab Franc and Merlot, was very acidic on the nose. Once I sipped it, it proved to be very spicy and low in fruit flavor - a trait I tend to go for in reds and red blends. For the $50 price tag, I think there are much better bottles coming out of the Napa area.

I was much more impressed with the 2005 Girard Artistry Red Blend I sampled next. The complex blend of Cabernet, Cab Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec was not only more tasty, but also a much brighter wine. The flavors of ripe cherries and fruit punch filled the palate, leaving behind a sweet, smoky finish. This wine, at only $40 per bottle is one I can recommend with confidence.

With just one taste left in my visit, I chose to sample a blended dessert wine. I settled on the 2006 R.A. Harrison Nobility, a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon priced at $75 per bottle. Again, I was not let down. The wine was sweet like any good dessert wine should be - with peach, nectarine and apricot notes. It was also sugary - like perhaps the flavors were mirroring a fruit tart covered with a thick glaze. It was delicious to sip and could easily be in my top five dessert wines I've ever tasted.

If you decide to go sample the wines at the Wineries of Napa Valley tasting room, they are located at 1285 Napa Town Center in downtown Napa. Check out the current offerings on their website at www.napavintages.com.