MCBEE'S WINE DIARY: The Perfect Trip to Napa (Day 2)

THE MCBEE WINE BLOG DIARY

My mother, Camille McBee, partnered with Bobby G. Smith, Winemaker, in North Texas for over 30 years. Together they worked to develop a National and International name for Texas Wines. In 2009 she passed away too young, but she left behind a Texas Wine Industry that was better because of her dedication and she left a family with a deep rooted love and appreciation for wine and entertaining. This blog serves as a diary of my adventures in wine and as a lasting toast to my mother. -Cheers!

This blog is NOT intended to be the authority on tasting notes, or a professional guide for wine experts; it's simply a place for me to share some of my opinions and findings about wine with my friends and other wine lovers.

I truly hope you will use this blog to help you the next time you are thinking about what to buy at the wine store or deciding what to order at a local restaurant or when you travel to the wine country. ENJOY!

Monday, January 14, 2013

The Perfect Trip to Napa (Day 2)

Day 2 began with a tasting up in the Howell Mountains East of Napa at Cade Winery. This is one of the newer wineries in Napa, but has quickly become one of our favorites. The tasting began with a reception on their patio with glass of Sauvignon Blanc in front of their zero edge pond overlooking the Napa Valley. There are very few views in Napa that are this amazing... the pictures cannot due it justice. (Click on their link above and check out their website for more information) Cade's architecture is a modern steel, concrete and wood, which serves as both pleasing to the eye and functional. After plenty of time mingling about the grounds and sipping wine, we were led into their wine caves. We saw the grapes in the bins as they were beginning the fermenting process and we were able to speak with the winemaker about this year's harvest, which was BIG. This means that there will be a lot of grapes available for the 2012 vintage which lets the winemaker be selective on which grapes make it into the press.

The cave tour included some of the wineries red wine selections and some education about the construction of the cases. After this our guide led us back to the tasting room and shared some of Cade's reserve wines as well as a few selections from their flagship brand, Plumpjack. The staff at Cade took excellent care of us and I feel certain that we made at least ten new Sauvignon Blanc drinkers after sipping Cade with that view.

After Cade we raced down the mountain to St. Helena for a tasting in the Barrell Room at Merryvale. Merryvale made for a very casual quick tasting for our large group. The winery made it real easy, no rental or special charges. They were accommodating and supplied a dedicated wine specialist in thier large private tasting room. Merryvale is a great reasonable option for wine while in Napa. I like this tasting room because it reminds me of my Mother's Tasting room at LBV Vineyards. Lot's of wine stuff lying around for purchase and a long bar where you can walk right up and just drink some wine. Lot's of fun here.

Conveniently, lunch was located directly across the street. No trip to Napa is complete without a visit to Gott's Roadside Burgers, formerly Taylor's Refresher. There is so much good food in Napa... gourmet restaurants, fine hotels and world class chefs... but sometimes after drinking wine since 10AM... a good burger and fries just really works. Gott's is set along side the two lane Napa highway. You stand and order at a little window and choose from a giant menu of gourmet burger options. Your order arrives and you take a seat at one of the picnic tables in the park behind the restaurant. I promise, this one is worth the stop and my friends agreed.