Wine Wednesday Part: Trois

Welcome back to my third installment of Wine Wednesday.  What a coincidence, this is the third wine post, and I visited three wineries today.  I visited Etude, Domaine Carneros, and the Ceja tasting room in downtown Napa. 

    I stayed in the Los Carneros region today.  A brief history on the Carneros region is that it's reminiscent of the Burgundy region of France.  Most of the grapes grown in this region are Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay.  Both types of grapes have a thinner skin, and since the Carneros region gets wind breeze from the San Pablo bay, it's has the prime weather and location for these grapes to produce at its best.

      I started out with Etude Winery, and tasted six different wines.  Their wine tasting room was beautiful, it had a modern minimalist effect to me.

#1
Pinot Gris, Carneros, 2010
-Aged in all stainless steel.
      -I could definitely tell this wine was aged in steel, and not oak.  It was a very fruity wine, perfect for warmer weather, best chilled.

#2
Pinot Blanc, (ranch 15 mi W of winery) 2009
-Aged partially in French oak, and steel.
      -Immediately I got a taste of the oak when I tried this one.  I liked this one better than the first, although the temperature of the wine was a less chilled.

#3
Pinot Noir Estate, 2008
-Aged in French oak.
      -I wasn't too impressed with this wine, it gave a creamy bold after taste and wasn't soothing on the pallet.

#4 Deer Camp Pinot Noir, Estate 2007
      -I liked this one a lot better than the third wine I tasted.  I felt like this wine could go with just about anything.

#5 GBR, Proprietor Red Blend 2007
     -By far the nastiest glass I tasted all day.  To be brutally honest, I did not dig this one, I’ll leave it at that.

#6 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, 2007
      -This was my favorite wine from this particular winery.  It's a blend of seven different ranches in the NV.  Bottle price is $85, and as usual I like the most expensive wine before even knowing the price.

      After tasting six different wines, I felt pretty good.  I didn't get to the point where I was just "drinking" I was still tasting, with class. 

      From Etude I ventured to Domaine Carneros where I enjoyed four different types of sparkeling wine, and three different wines.  I liked their Merlot so much that I ended up leaving with a bottle.  Not to mention the views looking all directions are breath taking.  From the N terrace, there's the view of Artesa, another Carneros featuring local artists, and amazing wine, and spectacular views.  Artesa is viewable on the left side of the picture.

Of their sparkeling wines I tried

2005 Le Rev Blanc de Blancs, which was all chardonnay.
2007 Vintage Rose, blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir
2007 Vintage Brut Cuvee, also a blend of Chardonney and Pinot Noir
2007 Vermiel Demi-sec, definately the sweetest of the four, another blend.

Of their red wines I tried

2009 The Famous Gate Pinot Noir
2007 Avant-Garde Pinot Noir
2007 Avant-Garde Merlot

      All while tasting, I enjoyed a lovely cheese platter accompanied with dried fruits.  It was quite the pairing.  The three different reds paired with three different cheeses was quite exquisit.  My reccomentdation to anyone is find a good cheese and drink with it.  My most favorite was the Merlot, I left with a bottle I loved it so much.  I may be joining Domaine's wine club.  Ps: fromage d'affinois cheese is the best cheese in life!!!!! (thats: for modge daf enwahh). 

Upon touching back in the city, I hit Ceja tasting room, and tasted four different wines there.

#1 2008 Sauvignon Blanc, Sonoma Coast
#2 2008 Red Blend VDC
#3 2007 Syrah, Sonoma Coast
#4 2007 Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast.  Wierd because this one I liked the most.
-I cant remember which one, but one of these wines were served at Obama's inauguration.

       At the end of the day, after tasting 15 different wines, I have come to the conclusion that 2007 is the best year for wine. 

Peace and Wine,

Don't be afraid to be cheesy.