Saturday, October 13, 2012

Hunnicutt: The Next Need-To-Know Winery on the Silverado Trail

I began this adventure outside of a random grocery store off of the Silverado Trail. My navigation system obviously did not steer me in the right direction, and our appointment with Hunnicutt was in fifteen minutes. I called the winery in a panic, and Jennifer (the awesome Hunnicutt hostess), told us not to worry, just drive safely and we will start the tasting when we get there. As soon as we arrived the winery, I immediately relaxed. The atmosphere was cool and inviting, and the winery just had a really different vibe to it. Jack Johnson was playing softly in the background, there were plenty of tables and chairs along the wineries edges, and surprisingly a lot of people hanging out and having a good time.


Jennifer greeted us, and seated us at a table with a cold tasting of their chardonnay, from the "up and coming" Coombsville wine region, and it was delish! All of the anxiety from our trip to the winery just melted away as we sipped through this wonderful chardonnay. We hung out and tasted our way through the Hunnicutt and Cutt wines, stopping just in time for a tour of the cave. Once we walked into the caves we noticed that Hunnicutt houses many other winemakers creations, along with their own, and it was cool to see all of the different sizes of the barrels housed in their caves. After completing the tour, we sat back down and tasted the 9-3-5 cabernet sauvignon. It was an awesome cab, and it truly practically sold me on their wine club. It was full bodied, smooth, complex, and well balanced, which is everything that any cab lover would ask for in a great bottle from a Napa winery.


My friends and family are next on the list of people that I have to tell about this winery. I think that everyone will love it! I feel like you could spend as little as an hour, or as long as the day at this winery. The wines were very impressive, but without the attitude of most Napa wineries. The tasting fee is $25/person and they do require an appointment (which you can book here). Now that I have been to the winery, I know that during my next visit I want to check out Failla and Chateau Boswell as well, which are both practically next door. This is definitely not a winery to miss, just don't trust your GPS like I did!