We chose to visit Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, in Napa Valley’s picturesque and low-key Stags Leap District, primarily due to the winery’s historic role in the famous Paris tasting of 1976.  We had expected throngs of tourists and tour buses, given the winery’s significance in California wine history.  Fortunatey for us, since we’re really not much for big crowds, our preconceived […]

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We were thoroughly pleased with our visit to Pine Ridge Winery, in Napa Valley’s Stags Leap District, last Sunday — the location was gorgeous, the tasting room’s atmosphere lively, the pourers friendly, and the wine, exquisite.  As we pulled into the winery’s parking area, we were struck by the unique beauty of the setting.  The tasting room, which resembles an Italian […]

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Since we had the fortune of spending a decadent night at Calistoga Ranch (as we described two weeks ago), we decided to combine the trip with a visit to nearby Chateau Montelena.  We had recently finished reading Judgment of Paris by George M. Taber, the only reporter to have witnessed the 1976 blind tasting contest that […]

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We had just about accepted that we weren’t going to make it in time for our 11:30 a.m. tasting appointment last Sunday at Barnett.  We had rushed out of the house in a frenzy, and according to our GPS, at 10:15 a.m., had an hour-and-a-half’s drive ahead of us.   Luckily for us, though, we managed to pick […]

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