Linda and Lucca's Line on Wine

Linda and Lucca set out on another day of visiting wineries in the Sonoma Valley!

First stop:

The highest elevation vineyards in Sonoma up to 2400 ‘ is one of the most beautiful estates in wine country,

A small producer with fabulous Sauvignon Blanc and Lucca loves tasting the cork of course;

Their great reds will be released in the future….beautiful property and beautiful people.

Second Stop:

A small producer of bio-dynamic varietals

Lucca loved the scent of the vineyards

Little dog meets big dog: 

Great place for views, tapas and fabulous wines married with dog envy.

Linda and Lucca

Linda and Lucca's Line on Wine

Time to enjoy the sunshine and roses, it’s wine time in California.  Lucca loves to travel the backroads to visit the obscure estates nestled in the mountain ranges which cradles wine country.  This winery has the most beautiful views in the appellation and this region also joins Sonoma Valley which is very unique in the world of wine.

Enjoy not only the bubbly but also the great still wines,  Lucca loves them too!!

Come visit, let me know  where you would like to see Lucca travel next, we also include San Francisco and he’ll be flying high with me shortly.

Linda and Lucca

The Green and Beautiful Napa Valley!

There are so many businesses in the Napa Valley that are taking the initiative to be environmentally friendly, so as to preserve the amazing region we call home.

One business that we recognize as a great partner of ours, is the Napa Valley Wine Train. The Wine Train runs on 100% compressed natural gas. Here is a description, from the Train's website: "CNG is natural gas that is compressed – literally compacted – to pressures above 3,100 pounds per square inch. It remains clear, essentially odorless and smokeless, is non-corrosive and is an efficient fuel source. Sounds great, doesn’t it?

By and large, it is. Natural gas can be produced at a cost lower than gasoline or diesel. And, here is the biggie: according to the California Energy Commission, natural gas vehicles show an average reduction in ozone-forming emissions of 80 percent compared to gasoline vehicles.
“It’s a major breakthrough, because we are the really the only ones doing this. It is kind of the wave of the future – saving diesel, reducing smoke emissions,” says Napa Valley Railroad’s COO Gregg Evensen.
“This is a modern new technology; this is a brand new engine – still running our old equipment. This thing is really a clean air vehicle.”

Along with the Wine Train, hundreds of wineries are doing what they can do become certified organic, or "Napa Green". While most wineries are now practicing organic farming, it is a daunting task to become certified, and here is a link that describes all that the wineries must do: Click Here.

If you can imagine how difficult it is for a winery to become a certified 'Green' facility, it is a feat all it's own to become a 'Green Hotel'. One of our many hotel partners, Bardessono, is located in Yountville, and is one of the Napa Valley's newest hotels. It is a beautiful property with so much to offer, but they have also done their part in minimizing their carbon footprint. To find out how they did this, Click Here.

A lot of transportation companies are using hybrid vehicles to help keep their emissions as low as possible, which really helps keep our air clean!

Let us put together a Napa Valley trip for you or your clients that will highlight all of the 'Green' companies in the area. Imagine checking into Bardessono, driving in hybrid vehicles for your wine tour, visiting all certified organic wineries, and having dinner or lunch in the Wine Train!

Thank you to all of our local environmentalists!!

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.