Vineyards Above it All

Linda, Keith and Kelsey visited a winery that has been in this valley for a very long time. High above Oakville and Rutherford, a view clear out to San Francisco is seen from the vineyards of this winery - a real gem and great perk!
Starting the tour, we all hopped into the Suburban, and started driving through the roads through the vineyards. A naturally rocky terrain, this 'road' is very bumpy and fun in the Suburban. Amber, our tour guide, narrated the tour with history about the winery and vineyards and kept us intrigued. She climbed a steep hill and showed us what the Suburban was made of - a true 4-wheeling experience. It was a blast!
We hopped out of the car to enjoy the view of the City, and to appreciate how wonderful the weather was at 1400 feet.

Heading out into more of the 1200 acre property, we were amazed by Amber's ability to maneuver through the tight vineyard roads! We stopped periodically to enjoy the Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec grapes off the vine - all almost ready for harvest.

As we ended our tour, we stopped at the property's Pavilion - a great stone patio in the middle of the vineyards, with sweeping views of the valley below.
Enjoying lunch, we talked about the area, the wildlife at 1500 feet, and fun facts about the vineyards.
Amber drove us back to our cars after lunch, and we realized what a gem this vineyard is - we all can not wait to send clients here to experience a completely different and unique place in Napa.

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.