Trione Winery: Small Production, Delicious Wines in Geyserville

We have been to Trione Vineyards & Winery several times now, and we just can't leave this place without a few bottles of their consistently delicious wines! My boyfriend Alex is the one who found Trione after attending the Family Winemakers of California event in San Francisco last summer (an event that I highly recommend attending if you will be in town September 9th this year). Their "Primitivo" stood out over the 100+ other wines that were poured at the event, and during our next trip out to Sonoma, we had to visit the winery.

We went to the winery and tasted through their portfolio of wines, which were all very good. From their crisp sauvignon blanc, light and well balanced pinot noir, and full bodied red blend, they truly had a well made wine for which ever type of taste you were looking for. Unfortunately, the Primitivo was already sold out for the year, and we weren't able to try it. We left with a few bottles of pinot noir and the red blend, and have enjoyed them over the past year.

During our last Sonoma day trip, we decided to go back and try their wines again again. Our taste buds could have changed, maybe it was our third stop the last time, so we wanted to verify that it was as good as we remembered (or at least that was our excuse for going back). We went back to the winery and gave it another try. We learned a lot about this family owned winery, who spent part of their fortune made in the banking industry to start Trione. It was interesting to see how the family's history in banking influenced the labeling of the wines. Alex noticed right away and we had to take a picture!

This trip we finally tried the Primitivo, and WOW, it was great! We had to buy a few bottles...it is one of those wines that you want to drink yourself, and you want to share it with others to see what they think about it too. We had another great experience here and hope to come back again soon!


Tips - Trione Vineyards & Winery:

• This winery does not require an appointment and it is a laid back tasting room, with a tasting bar.
• If you have a Visa Signature card, your tasting will be complimentary! 
• The tasting room is open Thursday-Monday from 10am-5pm. 
• It is right down the street from Francis Ford Coppola, Silver Oak, and many other Sonoma wineries.
• If they have several vintages of the Red Wine open, try it!

Nickel & Nickel's Bacchanalia 2012: Why You Must Splurge on Dinner in a Winery Cave

After years of curiosity, we finally went to our first dinner in a cave last night! The event was called Bacchanalia and it was held at Nickel & Nickel winery. The entire evening was amazing! From the reception with chilled chardonnay and delicious hors d'oeuvres, to the five course meal paired with eleven wines, I couldn't have even dreamt of a better night of food, laughs, and wine! This was the first time that Alex and I had splurged on this type of experience ($175/person), and we both felt that it was completely worth it. The meal gave us a deeper appreciation for some of our favorite wines, and it was a rare opportunity to taste different vintages of several of the cabernet sauvignons and the Dolce ("liquid gold" dessert wine). If you haven't attended a dinner in the cave before, you must add it to your list of experiences in Napa to try. Make sure to bring a wrap and/or a coat. Even though it was 100 degrees outside, the cave was cold all night! A readable version of the event's menu and wine pairings will be posted tomorrow. Below are photos from the evening. Enjoy!

Francis Ford Coppola: Family Friendly Winery for Vino and Movie Lovers Alike!

Francis Ford Coppola Winery, located in Geyserville, CA, is a great place to go spend the day with your family this summer! The estate feels almost like an amusement park, with plenty of friendly staff members and activities for everyone. There is a great pool at the winery, and you can reserve pool passes ($20 for adults, $10 for children) and even cabines (cool miniature cabins filled with pool goodies and equipt with a shower) for your day ($125) in the water. There are also two restaurants on-site, one at the pool and another overlooking the vineyards. You could easily spend hours there, although I'd assume it gets pretty crowded later on in the day.

We arrived at the winery right when it opened and went straight to the pool restaurant for a casual brunch. Our breakfast crepes were a decent and filling meal prior to a day of wine tasting. After we finished our meal, we went inside for a tasting at one of the bars. We flashed our Visa Signature cards and received complimentary tastings. If you do not have a Visa Signature, tastings are $7/person. Our tasting host offered a wide selection of wines, since their are typically approximately 40 different wines sold at any given time. Some of the wines were pretty interesting, my favorites were part of the FC Reserve selection. Francis Ford Coppola has good wines, but the focus here is really on the experience. There is a movie museum on-site, restaurants, a pool, bocce ball courts, and many other activities. I would recommend coming here with your family when you want to relax and have fun...and maybe taste a little bit of wine!

Tribute Post: Farewell Cellar 360 - Where I Fell in Love with Wine

Cellar 360, located in Fisherman's Wharf, was the place that changed the way that I thought about wine. Sadly, after Memorial Day Weekend this year, they closed their doors. I'll try to keep this post short, but I had to share this special place and say my "good-byes", because it was so important to me.

Several years ago, on my quest to find fun and exciting things to try in the city, I stumbled across Cellar 360. They were hosting a class over the weekend for wine and chocolate pairings and it was free! My boyfriend Alex and I were planning a double date with some friends in SF, and we all decided that we had nothing to lose - we had to check it out!

We arrived at Cellar 360 and looked around the place while waiting for our class to begin. Cellar 360 was owned by Treasury Wine Estates, and they had many different varietals and brands represented. We took the class and loved it, but we were not ready to leave just yet! Once we walked into the "Wine Club Members Only" room, with a beautiful view of the bay and Alcatraz, we each sampled a wine flight. We joined the club that day, and began our wine tasting journey.

Throughout the years, we have shared many great memories at Cellar 360. I've had birthdays starting there, taken all of my closest friends and family to try their wines, made great friends and met some truly amazing people who were employed there, and finally - it was a very special place to my boyfriend Alex and I, one that we will always remember when looking back on living in San Francisco. I am truly sad to see it go. We actually went to say goodbye and have one final glass of wine during the weekend prior to it closing. Fortunately, Treasury Wine Estates have opened a new tasting room in the Paso Robles area, which we will definitely visit on our next drive to San Diego. Until then, I will just have to drink a nice bottle of Etude or Stags' Leap and maybe create my own tasting here in SF! Good-bye Cellar 360! You will be missed.

Napa's Dream Team Creation: The Kenzo Estate Experience

On the drive to Kenzo Estate I felt like a little kid heading to Disneyland for the first time. I had waited for months to come here, and the anticipation of the day finally arriving was making me very excited. I had extremely high expectations for a place that a Japanese gaming mogul (Kenzo Tsujimoto) dreamt and built over the past 10 years. This is the one place in Napa where you will find David Abreu, Heidi Barrett, and Thomas Keller's names all attached to a single winery. I had been reserving visiting Kenzo Estate, until my father could join us. It was his first trip to Napa, and I knew that this would be a place that he would love and appreciate.

 From the moment that we entered the first gate, high on the mountains in Napa, I knew that we were in for a big treat! There were beautiful lakes and rolling hills of vines all around us. As we approached the beautiful tasting room, we were warmly greeted by Cynthia, our Tasting Room Host. We started off with a taste of Asatsuyu, their lovely Sauvignon Blanc, then we began our private tour of the grounds.

The architecture was beautiful, simple, but very elegant...as we were walking around I kept thinking, "What a perfect place this would be for an intimate wedding...or a party." While making our way through the vineyard, Cynthia pointed out something that was very unique to this tour, it was the small block of vines that displayed all of the different varietals that Kenzo produces. This block of vines is specifically for visitors to be able to see the difference between the leaves and grapes. I thought that this was really innovative, because typically you will see different varietals along your tours, but never side by side so that you can actually assess the uniqueness of each set of vines. We kept walking along and taking in the beautiful views of the mountain. We finished off the tour by visiting the caves, which only had a single layer of barrels displayed. Cynthia informed us that this was to keep the wine at an even temperature, and that if more wines were produced they would build out the cave further to accommodate. I loved the dedication to the quality of the wines, and was very excited to try the reds when we made it back to the tasting room.

We were lead to a beautiful private room, which had glasses ready for us to taste the red wines to complete the Kenzo portfolio. Soon after we sat down, a Bouchon lunch arrived with a delicious sandwich, salad, and potato chips. It was a perfect wine country meal. After we ate our lunch, we began to get serious about the wines. Rindo, Ai, Murasaki, and Asuka were very unique, well balanced, and had a perfect finish. Heidi Barrett makes some of the most beautiful wines that I have ever tasted, and Kenzo did not disappoint. My personal favorite was Ai, however we all loved Rindo. Since Kenzo distributes the majority of their wines (70%) to Japan, there is a limited amount of wine available to purchase through the winery. If you enjoy their wines, I highly recommend joining their mailing list to receive your personal allocations in the future. The tour and tasting was one of the best, most intimate experiences that I have had in wine country. This place is perfect for someone who really loves California wines and is ready to experience some of the best that Napa has to offer.

Tips - Kenzo Estate:

• There are 3 tasting experiences offered at this winery: Seated tasting $40/person, Tour & Tasting $60/person, Tour & Tasting with Bouchon Pairing $80/person. Our experience was the tour and tasting with the Bouchon pairing, but please allow up to 2 hours for this experience.
• If you're going to plan a tour or tasting here, make this your first or second stop. You won't regret it!
• This winery is by appointment only and they do book up. Call well in advance if you have a specific date/time in mind. All of the tasting options are private, which makes the appointment times limited. 
• Plan at least 15 minutes more for your drive than your GPS calls for, because you will be driving up a mountain.
• Recommend this place to your Japanese friends, they will love it! Several of the tasting hosts can even provide tours in Japanese. 
• Be prepared to buy some wines here! You will love them and will not be able to walk away without several pricey bottles. Also, you will not find Kenzo wines available to purchase anywhere except very nice restaurants that are listed here.