Clif Family Winery

St. Helena, CA

The Clif Family Winery tasting room is located in St. Helena just as you enter town from the south on the left side of the highway.  The Clif Family Winery is an offshoot of the Clif Bar Company, the maker of organic energy and nutrition foods (CLIF BAR).  The tasting room is located in Velo Vino which doubles as somewhat a shrine to all things biking and a retail outlet to many Clif Bar and related products.  There is an indoor tasting bar with bar stools and an outdoor area with additional seating for tasting and picnics. 

Cliff produces a half dozen wine from Sauvignon Blanc ($14 and $20), Gewürztraminer, Zin and Cab (up to $40) and features the premium line as well as the lower in Climber Label line.  A pouch Chardonnay and Cabernet are also available for the sports minded enthusiasts. Tastings are $15 up to $25 which features a sit-down tasting accompanied by assorted dried fruits and nuts. 

The staff is very attentive and you get the sense that like the premium products from the original Clif Bar product line, the company is striving to produce premium wine and a premium wine tasting experience also.  We really felt like we were pretty much provided one on one tasting.  Wines are produced from grapes from the company owned Howell Mountain vineyards as well as purchased grapes from throughout the valley and state.

What we like: Great location (you can walk to other nearby wineries and restaurants), great patio, nice pairings with wine and if you are an avid cycler this is a great place to end your day or even start your day with a bike ride.

What we bought- Over the past year we have bought nearly everything from Clif.  I personally like the lower priced Sauv Blanc and the Gary’s Improv Zin.

Vitals:

Clif Family Winery
709 Main Street
St. Helena, CA  94574
(707) 968-0625
www.cliffamilywinery.com

Toulouse Vineyards

Anderson Valley

We have been tasting wine in the Anderson Valley for 20+ years and it is nice to have a newer tasting room that is open on a regular basis and has a really friendly tasting room staff.  Toulouse started making wines in 2002 and opened a full time tasting room just outside of Philo in the last couple of years.  Like most Anderson Valley wineries, Pinot is the focus. However, unlike some wineries in the area the tasting room is in the corner of the winery itself (a barn) which presents a real casual environment.  Dan and Kathy were the hosts and seem to have a very intimate understanding of all aspects of the operation and the wine itself.  It feels like a family operation.  We were greeted by Tess, the winery Labrador, on our arrival.

Tasting is free, which is a real treat even up in the Anderson Valley.  We tasted 5 or 6 wines including a Pinot Gris (at $24.00), a Gewurztraminer, a Rose of Pinot and a couple of Pinot Noirs (topping out at $50.00) and a second label red wine blend.  All wines were good including the 2008 which was the year of the fires in the valley and most of the wines tasted of smoke.  An added bonus was the snacks that were served along with the wine.   

Nearby are quite a few wineries- some that have been around for years and some that have just opened in the last year or two.  Navarro Vineyards, Handley Cellars, and Husch Vineyards are all good and have been around for years.  Then there are a couple of Sparkling wine facilities including Roederer and Scharffenberger (Handley also makes Sparklers). You will also find many places that specialize in Pinot Noir.  Goldeneye from Duckhorn, Breggo, Foursight and Phillips Hill are all premium Pinot places.

What we liked (besides the wine)- Casual and friendly atmosphere and hosts

What we bought- The bargain priced second label red wine blend and the Anderson Valley Pinot.

Vitals:

8001 Highway 128
Philo, CA  95466
707 895-2828

www.toulousevineyards.com

TAPAS - Grand Wine Tasting
San Francisco, CA

TAPAS is an acronym for Tempranillo Advocates Producers and Amigos Society and they held their annual Grand Tasting event last weekend at Fort Mason in San Francisco.  Although we have gone to many of the other annual tastings at Ft. Mason (ZAP, Family Wine Makers, Pinot Days, Rhone Rangers) this was our first time at this event.  Represented were 40-45 wineries that all produce one or more of the Spanish and Portuguese varietal wines.  Tempranillo was certainly the most common wine being poured but there was also Garnacha, Albarino, Verdejo, Graciano, Mouvedre, Touriga , Souzao and Torrontes  (in no particular order here).  Being pretty new to these wines we tended to stick to the Albarino’s (the most common white wine) and the Tempranillo.  For those of you that have not drunk a lot of Tempranillo I think you will find a lot of variety of flavors depending on where it is grown but the short description of the wine is- medium to full bodied red wine, low acid and characteristics of plum, cherry and strawberry.  We found most of it to be rather tasty.

Although we are seasoned tasters, we are not spitters (unless the wine is un-drinkable) so although this was a small event at 45 wineries we did not make it to most of them.  At these events sometimes it is good to have a strategy (some of which I cannot mention) and sometimes just wandering around works for you.  We quickly surveyed the room and I can say we were probably unfamiliar with 2/3^rds of the wineries pouring.  The first three we stopped at were familiar ones that we know make good wine.  Our first stop was Viader, who we know makes excellent Cabernet, and our second stop was Truchard.  Both were pouring a single Tempranillo and both were good.  Our next stop was Kenneth Volk Vineyards who have really jumped into the Spanish/Portuguese varietals.  Volk, who was pouring had four whites and four reds.  For those of you unfamiliar with Kenneth Volk, his first winery was Wild Horse, which he founded and sold off, and he how operates the winery bearing his name based in Santa Maria along the central coast.  We learned a little bit about the white varietals here but decided that the balance of the day was going to be for mostly red wine tasting.  Later in the day I noticed the longest lines at Kenneth Volk indicating their good reputation.

Other wineries we enjoyed were Irwin Family (Nevada County grapes), Terchovich (Yolo County grapes) and Match Book from the Crew Wine Company.  Match Book is one of the new wine brands from the founders of R/H. Phillips/Toasted Head.  Virtually all wine growing regions were represented at the event including a winery from Oregon as well as Arizona and Texas. 

If you are interested in tasting a bunch of wines without having to drive these kinds of events can really be a lot of fun.  We took public transportation to SF and a cab to the event and spent the night in the City.  The area is also great for walking around after the event for cooling down or possibly sobering up a bit.  One direction takes you to the base of the Golden Gate Bridge and the other to Ghirardelli Square/Fisherman’s Wharf.  You might want to put this on your schedule for next year.  Chances are you will be able to taste some wines you have not had before from some wineries you have also never seen or heard of before.

Vitals-

TAPAS

Ft. Mason, San Francisco

Every Year- Early June

www.tapasociety.org

Bumgarner Winery     
Camino, CA (Placerville)
                                            

One our favorite stops on the way to South Lake Tahoe these days is Bumgarner Winery which is just off the freeway at Carson Road in Camino (five mile past Placerville).  Brian Bumgarner with previous experience with sierra foothill wineries opened this facility in the past year or two.  And he makes some pretty nice wine and quite a variety of wine.  He also has at times wines available on tap and has a program

developed for locals where they can return their bottles and receive a discount on the refillables.  We have stopped at the winery over the course of the last year or two and have tasted Chardonnay, a rose, Petit Sirah, Tempranillo, Pinot Noir, Mouvedre, Barbera and Cabernet.  On a recent visit the Chardonnay, Rose and Mouvedre were available from the tap.  Also a hard cider is available.

The tasting room from the outside and as you drive up appears to be not much more than a shack but it really is quite pleasant inside and there is a nice lawn area outside with seating.  This is a small winery and you are going to run into Brian, Brian’s wife Jennifer or Nicole.  Nicole has poured for us the last couple of visits and you can tell she really has some kind of food background as she has a great way of describing the wine she is pouring for you but not in a way that makes you feel like a dummy because you don’t get as much out of it as she does.  The wines across the board are good and I think are very restrained.  We have tasted the Pinot Noir, actually made from foothill grapes, and been pleasantly surprised.   The Cabernets also.   I don’t think you would immediately identify these as being from foothill grapes.  I believe the tastings are free but if not they can’t be more than $5.00. 

There are several tasting rooms in the area and even a couple within walking distance of the Bumgarner parking lot.  Chateau Davell, an organic winery 75 steps away, is quite interesting and we enjoyed their cheese and wine pairings.

What we like- The owners and Nicole
What we bought- It was a warm day and we bought the Rose

Vitals-

3550 Carson Road
Camino, CA  95709
(530) 303-3418
www.bumgarnerwines.com

Hall Winery

St. Helena, CA

The sign on the road outside Hall Winery says Great Cabs and that really is the case.  We have been visiting Hall since we became Wine Club members shortly after they opened their tasting room 6-7 years ago.  On top of having great wine, whenever we stop by, we have always been treated like we really were part of an exclusive club.  Any winery thinking about opening a tasting room should make a couple of visits to Hall to see how customers should be treated.  

Hall Winery is owned by Craig and Kathryn Hall.  Both have had varied and illustrious careers; Craig, mainly in the Finance arena while Kathryn’s family has been in the wine/grape business since the early 70’s.  Craig was once part owner of the Dallas Cowboys while Kathryn served as the United States Ambassador to Austria in the late 90’s to 2001.  In addition to the Hall St. Helena winery facility, the Hall’s has a second facility in Rutherford very close to Auberge du Soleil. 

The Hall’s tasting room is in a small stand alone building and the tasting takes place either at stand-up tables or the bar inside or outside under trees as various table and chair configurations.  The Hall’s are art collectors and art objects are found throughout the property.

Tastings start at $15 and more can be spent which will yield you some additional Cabernet tastes.  Although I counted nine different Cabernet’s on the tasting list, the varieties also include Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Syrah and Malbec.  We always start with the crisp Napa Valley Sauv Blanc and then quickly get into the Cabs.  The Kathryn Hall 2008 Cabernet was named the #2 Wine in the World for 2011 in Wine Spectator.  Some of the wines are not inexpensive.  Our favorite is the Jack’s Masterpiece Cabernet that checks in just above $100 (we get one bottle a year).  Their standard Napa Valley Cabernet is available at my Costco for under $40.  The last time we were in the tasting room they were pairing the Cabernet’s with three different chocolates as a Mother's Day treat. 

Since the tasting room does see some pretty heavy traffic at time, there are quite a few staff members (hosts). For the higher-end experience but still without any stuffiness, inquire about visiting the Rutherford facility.

What we like- Everything.  One of our favorite Napa wineries

What we bought- We have a Hall section in our wine closet.

Vitals-

401 St. Helena Highway South
St. Helena, CA 94574
(707) 967-2626

www.hallwines.com