When we found out we would be spending the night in wine country, we knew wine tasting was in our future. When we arrived in Napa and saw this view, we knew it was going to be a great day. According to Earle, our host for the weekend, wine is not worth drinking if it doesn't come with a story. I like that, however, I would like to add that wine isn't worth buying if the person pouring doesn't inspire a story.
Our first stop of the day was Laird Winery. We enjoyed the wine, but enjoyed the pourer even more. He loved to tell jokes and kept embarrassing himself. He was trying to send us off to a winery that sold vine-agra. Apparently the wine is sold in large bottles only which he found very amusing. He may have made the whole thing up, but we had a good time listening to him. There was a $10 tasting fee, however it was waived if you made a purchase. The wine was very good so we came home with a couple of bottles and a couple of jokes. When we pop the cork, we will have an amusing story to go with the wine.
Monticello Vineyards was our next stop. This is one of those unmemorable places. The wine was fine and the pourer was pleasant. The problem was that when you were finished your tasting there was no story to tell. In all fairness, the gentleman from Laird was a hard act to follow, but without a story, we could not purchase this wine.
Our next stop was Stags Leap Wine Cellars and a very quick stop it was. The tasting fee was $20 and consisted mostly white wines. Since we prefer red we decided to pass on the tasting. We had glanced at the wine list and realized we couldn't afford do much but smell the wine anyway.
Our next winery will remain unnamed. I don't even remember how the wine tasted. I just remember the guy pouring the wine was personality challenged. I vowed that before we left the winery, I would make him smile. Well, we didn't have all day and there is only so much you can do. He never smiled and I was throwing some pretty funny stuff his way. A tickle attack seemed a little extreme, so I gave up and bought a bottle of wine. After all, he did make a good story. I guess I should get some more clarification about the type of story that goes with wine. Seriously, do white wines have a different criteria than red wine. Do you need a light hearted story for white wine and heavier story for red. Just something to ponder.
Paraduxx is one of those wineries everyone should visit once. The pourers were very professional and would have been out of place telling viagra jokes. The wine tasting is $20, but you get a flight of wines (get it, par-a-ducks, flight of wine) and some cheese and crackers.
Once you have ordered your wine, you go outside, have a seat and enjoy yourself while waiting for your wine and cheese to be delivered. The wine is a bit pricey, but very good. We pooled our money and bought one bottle. I received physical custody of the wine and they received supervised visitation. We decided to save the bottle for a special day. It is my understanding that the person with custody gets to decide what is special and what is not.
Murphy Goode is the only winery that we had previously been too. They make the best Petite Verdot. Unfortunately, you can only purchase it at the winery and they seldom have it. We called first to make sure they had some in stock. We lucked out today. They only bottle 400 cases a year and the wine club members get first pick. I discovered Murphy Goode about four and half years ago when Karen and I went on a sip and cycle for her 50th birthday. Wine tasting on a bike makes for a fun story to tell while sipping a glass of their wine.
Our last winery of the day was Geyser Peak. We drove into their parking lot a little after five. Someone had forgotten to lock the door and Bart made it in. Need I say more? They were gracious enough to stay open late and let us taste some of their wine. It was the first time I had ever done express wine tasting. Someone had recommended that we go there and insisted they had the best Malbec. I don't know that it is the best but is is very good.
We ended the day by joining the rest of the group for dinner. We have our wine, our stories and another "Best Day Ever" I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings our way.
When we found out we would be spending the night in wine country, we knew wine tasting was in our future. When we arrived in Napa and saw this view, we knew it was going to be a great day. According to Earle, our host for the weekend, wine is not worth drinking if it doesn't come with a story. I like that, however, I would like to add that wine isn't worth buying if the person pouring doesn't inspire a story.
Our first stop of the day was Laird Winery. We enjoyed the wine, but enjoyed the pourer even more. He loved to tell jokes and kept embarrassing himself. He was trying to send us off to a winery that sold vine-agra. Apparently the wine is sold in large bottles only which he found very amusing. He may have made the whole thing up, but we had a good time listening to him. There was a $10 tasting fee, however it was waived if you made a purchase. The wine was very good so we came home with a couple of bottles and a couple of jokes. When we pop the cork, we will have an amusing story to go with the wine.
Monticello Vineyards was our next stop. This is one of those unmemorable places. The wine was fine and the pourer was pleasant. The problem was that when you were finished your tasting there was no story to tell. In all fairness, the gentleman from Laird was a hard act to follow, but without a story, we could not purchase this wine.
Our next stop was Stags Leap Wine Cellars and a very quick stop it was. The tasting fee was $20 and consisted mostly white wines. Since we prefer red we decided to pass on the tasting. We had glanced at the wine list and realized we couldn't afford do much but smell the wine anyway.
Our next winery will remain unnamed. I don't even remember how the wine tasted. I just remember the guy pouring the wine was personality challenged. I vowed that before we left the winery, I would make him smile. Well, we didn't have all day and there is only so much you can do. He never smiled and I was throwing some pretty funny stuff his way. A tickle attack seemed a little extreme, so I gave up and bought a bottle of wine. After all, he did make a good story. I guess I should get some more clarification about the type of story that goes with wine. Seriously, do white wines have a different criteria than red wine. Do you need a light hearted story for white wine and heavier story for red. Just something to ponder.
Paraduxx is one of those wineries everyone should visit once. The pourers were very professional and would have been out of place telling viagra jokes. The wine tasting is $20, but you get a flight of wines (get it, par-a-ducks, flight of wine) and some cheese and crackers.
Once you have ordered your wine, you go outside, have a seat and enjoy yourself while waiting for your wine and cheese to be delivered. The wine is a bit pricey, but very good. We pooled our money and bought one bottle. I received physical custody of the wine and they received supervised visitation. We decided to save the bottle for a special day. It is my understanding that the person with custody gets to decide what is special and what is not.
Murphy Goode is the only winery that we had previously been too. They make the best Petite Verdot. Unfortunately, you can only purchase it at the winery and they seldom have it. We called first to make sure they had some in stock. We lucked out today. They only bottle 400 cases a year and the wine club members get first pick. I discovered Murphy Goode about four and half years ago when Karen and I went on a sip and cycle for her 50th birthday. Wine tasting on a bike makes for a fun story to tell while sipping a glass of their wine. 
Our last winery of the day was Geyser Peak. We drove into their parking lot a little after five. Someone had forgotten to lock the door and Bart made it in. Need I say more? They were gracious enough to stay open late and let us taste some of their wine. It was the first time I had ever done express wine tasting. Someone had recommended that we go there and insisted they had the best Malbec. I don't know that it is the best but is is very good.
We ended the day by joining the rest of the group for dinner. We have our wine, our stories and another "Best Day Ever" I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings our way.
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