A Day in Howell Mountain!

Last week, I had the opportunity to spend a day with the Concierge Alliance of Napa Valley (CANV) and explore the region of Howell Mountain in the Napa Valley.
From the Howell Mountain Association's website, here is a description of the area:
"When the fog rolls off the ocean and into the Napa Valley, the weather on Howell Mountain is generally sunny and cool. The appellation owes its distinctive climate to the fact that it is positioned well above the valley floor. Because of its altitude, generally, evening temperatures are warmer and daytime temperatures are much cooler—leveling out spikes in heat that tend to be more exaggerated at lower elevations. Although it gets nearly twice as much rainfall as the valley below, the soil tends to be dry, because rocky, porous soil conditions allow for adequate drainage and less accumulation. Seasonally, cooler spring temperatures cause buds to break later than average, and warm summer nights produce fruit that demonstrates a great balance between acidity and sugar. All of which, translates into a rich diversity of complexity and flavor in your glass."

Our first stop was Ladera Vineyards - "Ladera Vineyards is the home of estate grown and produced Cabernet Sauvignon focused primarily on our two designated wines, the Lone Canyon Vineyard Cabernet and the Howell Mountain Appellation Cabernet. Behind our fine wines is our historic 1886 restored and renovated stone winery and underground barrel caves." What a fantastic property - the owners gave us a tour, and showed us their facilities. Of all of their wines (we tasted 6 total), my favorite was their Malbec. Yum!

The next stop was O'Shaughnessy, which was an absolutely beautiful facility. The photo below (apologies for the reflection) shows the enclosed tasting table, for more private tasting sessions.

With a glass of their 2006 Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon Varietal Composition (which is phenomenal, by the way!), we headed into their caves to continue the tour.

Their caves are famous, and when you walk through them and experience them firsthand, you understand why! Our guide, Annette, brought us into the owners' private wine cellar, which is a spectacle. 

Moving back to the tasting room, we enjoyed a wonderful meal, and enjoyed the 2006 Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon, which was amazing as well. Walking around on the beautiful, yet crisp morning, I snapped some photos of the private spots on the property:

We headed out, to see another winery - Cimarossa. This spot was so secluded and wonderful - we felt like it was the only house for miles. From the deck, we looked through the mountains and could see St. Helena on the clear day. Unfortunately I did not have my camera to take a picture of the shot...

We tasted the property's one varietal- their 2005 Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon. It is a very rich, full-bodied red wine with notes of black current and blackberries, with a lingering taste of cinnamon.

We took off for the next stop - Arkenstone Winery. This property is still under construction, but has been a working custom crush facility for about 5 years. They are in the process of building a tasting room/winery at the time. But, to accommodate us (there were 15 of us!), we went into the fermentation tank room, and went onto a balcony overlooking the cave/barrel facility. It was a neat perspective - to see the people working away while we drank and enjoyed the fruits of their labor.

From here, we drove to see Spence Winery, which is the Spences' personal home. The home was absolutely beautiful - a classic american home with a wraparound porch and huge, open kitchen where we enjoyed the Spence 2005 Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, which is a beautiful and very drinkable, yet complex Cabernet. Here is a photo of the view from the porch:

How beautiful!

Reluctantly - as the owner had cookies laid out to enjoy with the delectable wine - we headed over to Summit Lake Vineyards. Due to the cold weather setting in (when you're up that high, the sun sets much earlier!), we were greeted by the owners, the Brakesman Family, to head into their home where it was warm. As a great spot to end the day, we enjoyed the estate's wines while telling stories about our experience that day. All of the estate wines were fantastic, but their Zinfandel Port was so amazing, everyone bought a bottle!

We went outside, to see their goats and see the winery (but mostly for the goats!)

This was the perfect ending to a great day - I am so glad I got to learn about the Howell Mountain region, as it is such a hidden gem.

Thank you to all of the wineries, and to the CANV for organizing such a fun day.

New Winery in Coombsville region of Napa

Last week the gang went out to see a very exclusive new property in the Coombsville region of Napa. It is a family-owned winery, that is open only by appointment, and Viviani has developed a great friendship with the owners.

Driving up the long driveway, an enormous French-chateau style home stands at the end of it. The anticipation is huge! After meeting the owners, we have a brief tour of the home, and head outside to where it counts - the beautiful vineyards. Coombsville is known for its small hills and damp, dark temperatures compared to the rest of the valley. Today, however, was one of the hottest of the year, and it was about 95 degrees even in the damp, dark vineyards.
We chatted next to the creek, where they like to have their tastings (it's so calming!), but because of the heat we headed inside. On the way in, we peeked into the owners' guest home and learned that we could rent it to our clients.

On the backside of the home, is a large garage door that opens to a barrell room/personal wine collection. It was very charming - the owners had a vintage VW van off to the side (a great conversation piece!). We all sit to discuss business over this property's amazing wines and a great lunch platter to share. The space was warm and comfortable, but also had a very regal and industrial feel as well. The architect of the home worked very closely with the owners to establish this exact feeling.

As our tasting ended, we enjoyed every last drop of the estate's Cabernet Sauvignon and chatted about this amazing area that we live in.

Tour Director Reception at William Hill Winery

Last night, September 16th, Viviani hosted a tour director reception at William Hill Winery for a meeting/get-to-know-you/learn about a new winery time!
Dan Michael, the winery's Sales Manager, greeted us all with a wonderful glass of William Hill Chardonnay which we enjoyed in the hot sun. We all chatted and enjoyed the view from the patio (a few ground squirrels made an appearance). 
Next, Dan gave us a tour of their newly refurbished tasting room, as well as premiering William Hill's new label design. 

We headed back outside to the property's arbor area, where we had some salami, olives and of course, more wine! We then tasted the estate-grown Cabernet Franc, which was great. 
The group was then invited to enjoy some Cabernet Franc grapes off of the vine, which are almost ready for harvest (2-3 weeks) and learned about sugar content. 

We did come to the property for a meeting, so we began to talk business. The setting was perfect for an introduction of each tour director to our new staff at Viviani. 
While enjoying the property's Malbec varietal, we enjoyed talking about such business matters that much more. 
We ended the evening with a sunset over the vineyards and enjoyed a cupcake from Kara's Cupcakes in downtown along with a late-harvest Chardonnay to leave us on a sweet note. 


Thank you so much Dan and your team for hosting us at William Hill!