Cade and Odette

Napa Valley, CA

Outside Tasting at Cade

It’s not that we have not been out to wineries much lately; it is more that I’ve been too lazy to write things down.  We were in Napa a couple of months ago and one of our stops was at Odette Winery which is part of the Plumpjack group.  Plumpjack is the organization with ownership which includes Gavin Newson and Gordon Getty with businesses throughout Northern California.  We have been in the past to Plumpjack Winery on the Oakville Crossroad in the valley as well as Plumpjack restaurant in Squaw Valley.  Late last summer we visited Cade Winery, another Plumpjack property on Howell Mountain east of Saint Helena.  We had time to visit one winery as we were on our way to a wedding taking place later in the afternoon in Yountville so I chose to make it to a high profile winery, Cade.  We’ll talk about both stops here.

Cade is a pretty easy ride from the valley floor up Spring Mountain road off the Silverado Trail.  It is barely a 10 minute ride from St. Helena.  Cade like the other Plumpjack properties is a simple yet classic designed facility. You pull into the property to the backside of the tasting room and do not get the wow factor until you enter the building.  The room overlooks the valley towards the south and west with a full 15 foot tall window.  Tastings are done on an appointment basis with limited group sizes.  Tastings are done on the hour and the four others scheduled for our group were no-shows.  We received a private tasting sitting on white leather couches overlooking the valley.  Our host sat with us, was friendly and knowledgeable and we received ample attention.  The wines poured were all Cade labeled and all excellent.  We started with Sauvignon Blanc which was terrific ($28).  We also had the Napa Valley Cab, the Howell Mountain Cab and the Estate Cab.  Maybe because we were somewhat cognizant of the prices for the two upper end Cabs but we were pretty satisfied with the Napa Valley Cab.  The blends seem to have more rounded flavors and are possibly more ready to drink right out of the bottle while the other two possibly needed some extra swirls from us.  The Howell Mountain was $80 while the Estate was $150 per bottle and only available in two packs. 

 

We had out final taste outside as we had reached our 1 hour window for the luxury inside seats.  The outside seats had the same views as from the inside with several seating options.  Both inside or out could accommodate groups of any size.

Odette as seen from the Highway

Odette is the newest property for the Plumpjack group.  It is located on the Silverado Trail right across the street from Pine Ridge winery.  We both commented that despite being close to the Trail it was very quiet.  We had a 2:30 tasting appointment and walked into a fairly full tasting room full of mostly what seemed to be 30 something women.  I asked our host Amanda if this was the norm and her comment was that they had two good looking male hosts along with her.  It turned out there were more guys than I had first thought.  We had five tastes starting with an Adaptation Chardonnay.  Adaptation is their second label, slightly lower priced label.  It was a very good non-malolatic/steel Chard which we liked very much.  We then had the Adaptation Cabernet and then a Cade Cab, a Plumpjack Cab and the Odette Cab.   As before we enjoyed the Cade standard Napa Valley Cab the best of the four.  The Plumpjack was probably our least favorite at $104 a bottle but certainly a very good bottle.  We are talking an 8 vs. the 9 rating for the $60 Cade. 

 

The tasting at Odette is either stand-up inside at the bar or outside at various table arrangements.  We started inside but eventually found a spot outside in the sun.  The building at Odette is again simple but tasteful.  We imagined designing our Palm Springs house similar with a garage type style door opening instead from the inside out to the pool instead of the outdoor tasting area.  The tasting at Odette is not all that personalized or at least it was not on this day mainly because of the crowd.  And there were some older folks that arrived later so we were not the only folks there over 35. 

Outside tasting area at Odette



For tasting value Odette is a good deal at $25.  For wow factor Cade is great as it really is does have a great view from the top of the hill.  The Cade tasting is $40 and purchases do not eliminate the fees.  We did buy a couple of bottles at Cade, a Sauv Blanc and a NV Cab but did not buy anything at Odette.  We would not hesitate to take any group back to Odette while Cade is more of a special event spot.

 

What we liked- Odette had a nice Fun factor and Maureen liked the retail.  Both places are classy well run operations.  The wines are across the board very good.  Odette is really easy to get to

 

What we bought- The Cade NV Cabernet at $60 and the Sauv Blanc at $36.

 

Vitals-

 

Odette Estate Winery

2998 Silverado Trail

Napa, CA 94558

(707) 224-7533

Odetteestate.com

 

Cade Estate Winery

360 Howell Mountain Road

Angwin, CA  94508

(707) 965-2746

Cadewinery.com

 

Where we tasted in 2015

2015 was a busy year and with my work schedule being a bit more intense I have not kept up with many winery reviews.  We did get out there a bit but certainly not at the pace we had taken on earlier with visits to wine country maybe every other week.  There are several factors probably.  Interests change.  We stopped going to the larger Tasting events such as ZAP and Family Wine Makers and Pinot Fest.  Not because we did not always have a good time but maybe because of the ‘done that’ factor.  We also belong to a bunch of wine clubs and it does make sense to frequent places where you receive discounts and usually complimentary tastings.  And there is a cost factor.  Tasting fees and wine prices have continued to increase.  Now when we go on a wine tasting outing we will generally only go to one new winery because with the combination of fees and purchases you can easily spend $100 and leave with just one bottle of wine. 

We did visit Napa several times during the year.  Made it to Sonoma, all parts.  Made it to the Anderson Valley and also visited the foothills, both El Dorado and Amador Counties.  We also visited San Luis Obispo County, both the Paso area and the Edna Valley area.  And we now always do a trip in the fall to the wineries around Chico and the foothill areas near Oroville. We also hit a couple of wineries in Calaveras County.  Our most out of the way winery visit was to a winery called Matchbook, operated by the former R.H Phillips/Toasted Head owners, in Zamora, off of Highway 505.

The view from Matchbook (Yolo County- Dunnigan  Hills)

As far as highlights for the year- well, there we no lowlights, all tasting experience mentioned here are good.  But let me go region by region and talk about some of our favorites moving from North to South.

In the Anderson Valley we tasted at a newer winery called Lula Cellars.  They focus mainly on Pinot Noir (also some Zin and Pinot Gris) and we tasted quite a variety.  It wowed us enough that we are now wine club members.  The tasting was a basic stand-up affair in a pretty sparse tasting room but they were really good folks.  Also in the Anderson Valley we had what was probably one of the most enjoyable personalized tastings we have had in quite a while at Handley Cellars.  Goldeneye and Toulouse were also as good as always.

Sullivan Winery

In Sonoma we mistakenly visited the Estate winery at B-Wise Cellars.  We were actually supposed to go to the tasting room in downtown Kenwood but did not read the directions properly.  The Estate Winery, high above Highway 12 is terrific.  An appointment is necessary but it appears to be a great spot.  We did go to the tasting room in Kenwood and their wines were very good.  We also had a fun afternoon, at a Caddyshack themed event at La Rochelle Winery, also in Kenwood.

While in the Napa area we visited Twenty Row Winery a couple of blocks from downtown on Vallejo Street.  They make some of the best value wines in Napa and the room is a bit funky yet fun.  A couple of our premier tastes of the past year were a couple of spots up Highway 29.  Both Sullivan and Foley Johnson were excellent experiences.  At Sullivan we had our own host who sat with us in a beautiful courtyard type setting.  They specialize in Cabernet but also make Sauv Blanc, Chardonnay and Merlot.  All the wine was excellent.  Foley Johnson has access to grapes from throughout the northern California wine country with several other brands in the Foley Johnson portfolio with Kuleto and Chalk Hill being a couple of them.  The wines were very good.  Although these both have steepish tasting fees but we would recommend these to anyone wanting a premium experience. 

We always visit one our favorite wineries in Camino, Bumgarner, but on this trip we visited two wineries down in the Fairplay/Summerset area that were top notch.  Skinner winery in Somerset specialized in Rhone style wines and sits on top of a hill with a great view of the hills looking up towards the Sierra.  This is a very nice winery with all solid wines.  The other winery we liked in this area was called MV.  MV is a small production facility with a small tasting room.  We were hosted /served by John Miller the owner who took time to thoroughly detail every wine.  The top priced wine was $35 and they were all well made wines.

Further south in Calaveras County we visited Four Winds Winery with a Vallecitos address.  These wines are grown in Calaveras County and made in a facility in Napa and are all priced at around $25.00.  We purchased a case of their Merlot for my daughter’s wedding.  Another winery in the area that was a total surprise is called Prospect 772. They have an Angels Camp address and also specialize in Rhone varietals.  Their blends, the Brawler, the Brat and the Truant were all good and priced around $35.00.  This is a spot we definitely want to go back to soon.

We made a couple of trips to San Luis Obispo County this year (location of the wedding) and had a few good stops in the Paso Robles area.  One stop was Villa San-Julliet (VSJ) way up north with a San Miguel address.  This is a beautiful (almost over the top) facility with pretty good wines.  It really is a pretty ride out here and the facility on the east side of 101 and the tasting area is great.  From the warm side of Paso we went to the cooler west side to Jack Creek Vineyard a smaller winery that makes Pinot, Syrah and Grenache.  A great contrast and equally enjoyable experience to VSJ.  We also stopped at Sextant up here who we have been fans of for many years.  We later visited Sextant in the Edna Valley also this summer as well as Edna Valley Vineyards, Tolosa, Saucelito Vineyards and Talley who we are all fans of.

I think the only thing I have missed is our annual Sierra Oro Farm Trail, Butte County event.  While Butte County may not be a hot bed for great wines there are some enjoyable tastes out there.  It is a weekend where various farm related businesses are open.  This year we went to a Lavender farm, a Mandarin ranch as well as a few wineries.  We bought a case of futures from a winery called Hickman Family Vineyards.  Not even sure what it was.  Hopefully they contact us sometime.  One of the events on the tour that we visited a couple of years ago was the Worm Farm.  It was really pretty fascinating. 

So we did ok in the past year plus but just did not write a lot down.  I hope to do better 2016.

 

Madrona Vineyards

Camino (Placerville), CA

In all the years we have tasted wine around the sierra foothills for some reason we had never been to Madrona Vineyards.  Madrona is just up the road from the areas most popular winery Boeger which we have been to countless times and have now stopped going there because it has become too popular.  Madrona has remained in the same family since it opened in 1973.  Today it is run by the husband and wife team of Paul and Maggie Bush.  We had stopped at our favorite Camino (5 miles east of Placerville) winery, Bumgarner, and were headed back to Placerville and then on to volunteer at our friend Rob Swain’s Motherlode Century, a 100 mile annual bike ride.  I passed by the entrance to Madrona, and then knowing that we were going to be pouring some of their wine at the post-ride party the next day figured we would go back and learn a bit about their wine. 

We drove down their long driveway past many different businesses (christmas tree farm, pumpkin patch, apple business) and arrived at the 1970’s era wood sided winery tasting room surrounded by Madrona and other trees.  The facility is built into the hill with the winery on the lower level and offices and the tasting room up top.  The tasting room probably looks somewhat similar to what it looked 30+ years ago.  Matt, a long time club member and one year employee of the tasting room was our host.  There is a complimentary tasting and an enhanced $5.00 tasting.  We said we wanted to taste everything.  Everything appeared to be about a dozen wines and they were arranged from Red to White.  Matt said the style of their wines really led to that order of tasting.  It seems a bit odd but when starting to taste the red wines which in general were very restrained it made sense I guess.  Reds are generally what we drink so this worked in our favor.   

Zinfandel and Chardonnay seem to be there specialty and the wines are grouped into the Hillside and Signature lines with some additional Single Vineyard bottlings.  The list starts with the Hillside which are the more standard, mixed vineyard and vineyard appellation wines.  They were at first taste very light but I think well balanced and easy drinkers.  I think the grapes may be picked a bit earlier or at lower brix than many of the wines we are used to.  We had the Zinfandel, Shiraz/Cab, Merlot, and Nebbiola from the Hillside line and then we had the Zinfandel, Cab Franc, Cab, Malbec and Quintet (five wine blend) from the Signature line.  I liked all the wines other than the Nebbiola and no doubt the Signature wine packed a bit more punch than the Hillside group.  They were appropriately priced with the Hillside wines below $20 and the Signature wines in the mid $20 range.  We also tried the $12 El Tinto- Lot 34 Red Blend and it certainly has its place with us.

While we were tasting we did meet the owners Paul and Maggie, who had been meeting with a couple of members of a local wine related marketing organization and had come out to pour a special ‘not on the list’ wine.  We too tasted the refreshing Rose and chatted with the group.  We did not taste any of white wines because we had really had enough.  My guess though is that Red wines are what Madrona does best. 

Over the course of the next couple of days we have revisited the Hillside Zinfandel and I think it is a pretty nice $18 (or cheaper at a local wine shop maybe) bottle.  We did pour the Hillside Zin and Chardonnay after the bike ride and unfortunately not enough people got to taste it.  For some reason people riding 100 miles, or 66 in the case of a metric century, prefer to drink a cold beer which was also being poured.

I think if you are in the area or want to stop at one or two wineries right off of Highway 50 on your way up to Tahoe that Madrona should be a stop.  They have been there a long time which says something and the wines are pretty good.  There are many wineries within 5 to 7 miles of Madrona so you can certainly make a day out of it.  I think it is also great to support wineries that support local events, such as the Motherlode Century bike ride.  By the way the beer had been donated by Sierra Nevada of Chico which we also support.

What we liked- Low key, fairly priced wines, a nice area.  It is also always nice to meet the owners.

What we bought- The Quintet at $28 and the El Tinto at $12.  The El Tinto is in the ‘drink now’ pile and won’t be around long.

Madrona Vineyards

2560 High Hill Road

Camino, CA  95709

(530) 644-5948

www.madronavineyards.com