Boutique Wineries Napa
 

My husband and I are planning a trip next week to Napa and are looking for a couple fabulous boutique wineries that may not be as well known as others. Big Cabs and Merlots are high on the list, of course.If it matters we are staying at Napa Valley Lodge. I have seen some great responses from the Fodorites regarding dining, I'm sure you all will come through in the clutch ! Thank You

I would recommend Freemark Abbey, in St. Helena. www.freemarkabbey.com They were recognized in Wine Enthusiast for having the #1 Viognier in the world! (The only one on the list for Viognier.) Cheers! ***kim*** ((f))

Ah, yes the Mustard is blooming...
Bring us a round of dry weather won't you!
First stop in Yountville should be
Groezingers Wine shop. They can give you the latest and greatest tips.
A trip over to the Bounty Hunter
Wine Bar and Shop in Napa is a definite.

My favorite boutique wineries over in Napa: (some are old faves and some I add as I find them on any given day:)
Super Cab's and Merlot's
Turnbull
Ggrich Hill
Robert Sinskey
Chimney Rock
Heitz Cellars
Duckhorn is worth a stop.

Had one of the best meals ever at
Martini House (St.Helena)2 weeks ago.
In Yountville: Hurleys, Napa Valley Grill, maybe one of Jeanty's.

Cindy's Backstreet kitchen is where I keep ending up for lunch-though I had a fine meal at Market-both in St. Helena.

In Napa town I would certainly seek out Celedon, Pearl and get there before it gets famous-Budo.
Welcome!
R5

OOOpppss, I meant Grgich
and By The Way....
>>>>>>>My husband and I are planning a trip next week to Napa and are looking for a couple fabulous boutique wineries that may not be as well known as others. Big Cabs and Merlots are high on the list<<<<<<<

Uh, Kim, Viognier is a WHITE wine.
Just wanted to clarify.
R5

Thanks for all the great information. I really appreciate you guys sharing your knowledge and experience. By the way what is the Mustard Festival all about?

Here you go:
http://www.mustardfestival.org/about/
R5

Is a Boutique Winery the female version of a Dude Hunting ranch?

I thought "boutique" was some sort of ghostwood.:-O

We liked the <i>very</i> funky Van der Heyden Vineyards. Big regular Cabs, Late Harvest Cabs and a decent Merlot.
Located off the Silverado Trail north of Trancas/south of Oak Knoll.

The other one we like is Noah's. Good Merlots, Cabs and a good Zin..plus Mrs Kal says the &quot;Noah Boys&quot; (Noah and Alan) are easy on the eyes. Hmmmm. Wonder what that means? :-?

One of our favorites is Quintessa. I believe they charge $25.00 to taste, but it is wonderful.

pattyd1, you will love dining in Napa Valley, I don't really think there's a bad place in the entire area! :)

My faves are: Auberge du Soleil, Domaine Chandon, Bistro Jeanty, Terra, Tra Vigne and Taylor's Refresher. In May I want to try: Martini House, Cindy's and possibly Pere Jeanty. Cheers! ***kim*** ((f))

Had a '73 Mayacamas Napa Cab on Valentine's Day - almost the equal of the very great '74 (only one of those left now).
The winery was stunning years ago.
Did a google and the Wine Skinny was very positive.
M

Since some of the Posts don't in my opinion all list &quot;Botique Wineries&quot; I will give you a suggestion of a couple of our favorite smaller wineries:

1. Whitehall Lane in Rutheford
2. Stags Leap Wine Cellars

Big Cabs - How about Opus One, Silver Oak?

Or how about a place with 11 wineries all small - some award winning! I really like Howell Mountain...

A Dozen Vintners: 3000 St. Helena Highway N., St. Helena. 707-967-0666. Tasting 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily. Serving the wines of Adams Ridge Winery, Destino Wines, Domaine Charbay, Eagle and Rose Estate, Fife Vineyards, Howell Mountain Vineyards, Koves-Newlan, Lamborn Family, Livingston-Moffett, Reverie, Spelletich Cellars and von Strasser. www.adozenvintners.com

We found a little winery called GooseCross on our last trip - a great little place, only sell directly from the winery and through a few restaurants. nice variety - our limo driver knew about it and took us there. Duckhorn, Cakebread, Silver Oak,Chimney Rock, StagsLeap, markham are all nice. I really like the atmosphere at Ferrari Carreno for glitz and if you like a little more down home type of place,Benzinger is fun.

Once again thanks for the great suggestions. I am taking notes on all of it. This board beats any travel book by far. Don't think I will ever waste my money on one again. ( No offense Fodors.) Keep the info coming please.

Not boutique, but V. Sattui has some very nice Gamay Rouge there and I believe there is no fee for tastings here. Cheers! ***kim*** ((f))

August Briggs in Calistoga, great wines and no charge for tasting. No appt. needed either.

&quot;Big Cabs and Merlots are high on the list...&quot;

&quot;..V. Sattui has some very nice Gamay Rouge...&quot;

&quot;[u]uh[hhh]&quot; (you stole my line R5) you do know the difference don't you, kimamom?

UUHHHHH, Twice in one thread ???
It's not looking like
she does know does it ?
R5

TTT for Pam SF.
R5

Heard on a morning talk show that the winery used in the movie &quot;Sideways&quot; was the Fess Parker winery - but they didn't want them to use the name. The faux name had a very interesting origin...

Try Staglin in Napa Valley

and

Rafanelli in Sonoma County.

Oh my,my Pattd1-I think it a good idea
to stay FAR, FAR AWAY from V.SATTUI !!

Read on from my local paper:

&quot;A Little Something To Wash It Down
Thursday, February 17, 2005

By CHRIS SMITH
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Maybe you, too, have heard of the beef in Napa Valley, the one in which a couple who lunched at the V. Sattui Winery's deli complained that they found
<b>pieces of rat in their sandwiches.</b>&quot;

:-o

&quot;The owner of the St. Helena winery denounces the allegations as false and overblown, insisting that in fact the sandwiches contained <i>only parts of field mice.</i>&quot;

=-o

&quot;In Dry Creek Valley, winemaker Rick Hutchinson of Amphora Winery heard the tale and promptly lauded Napa Valley for fearlessly seeking out new foods that might pair well with its wines.&quot;

b-(

R5

starrsville: We actually saw Sideways at the Rivera Theater in SB, up by the El Encanto. It was lots of fun to see the movie there, then tour the region the next day! :)

We had dinner at the Los Olivos Cafe and chatted with the waitress about the filming of the movie and Fess Parker. (She said he's still handsome as ever and drives a silver Hummer!) ***kim*** ((*))

&quot;In Dry Creek Valley, winemaker Rick Hutchinson of Amphora Winery heard the tale and promptly lauded Napa Valley for fearlessly seeking out new foods that might pair well with its wines.&quot;

rotflol, R5.....

uuhhhh, wondering what wine the poor couple had with their
rat,sorry, field mouse sandwhich....
Gamay Rouge ?
:))
R5

lol.... stop it, R5, please.... i think rat, errr, mouse is a white meat, so perhaps viognier would have been a better pairing.

My kids have a couple of gerbils that I would let the restaurant have for free. I hear it tastes just like chicken.:D

It isn's a restaurant, mms, it's a deli! :) I'm waiting to hear back from V. Sattui about the incident. The reporter from the DP e-mailed me that it is true! Yikes!

Too bad, apparently they had received the Winery of the Year award according to their website. www.vsattui.com

Enjoyed the funny story about the kitchen fire at the Madrona Manor (mms didn't you rave about this place?) that sent couples out to the parking lot. That guy is quite a humorous writer. He gave me some links to some other articles related to the V. Sattui episode, also! ***kim*** ((f))

Apparently, the SF couple is suing the winery, so I no longer find it humorous to balk at other's misfortunes. I have also chastised Chris (DP) a bit for mocking fun of V. Sattui, it's too bad that happened and I definitely feel sorry for the owners at V. Sattui. :( ***kim***

V.Satuui is totally in the wrong on this one-they got a D grade in Nov. and Dec. 2004 in their deli sales area
and geez the poor woman was pregnant!

Besides that there was not one, but two sandwhiches turned in that day.

The couple sued V. Satuui because they only offered an apology and to pay for lunch-what a bunch of irresponsible
slobs.

Kim chastised Chris Smith, of the
<b>PD&lt;/&gt;
(not the DP, just to clarify,Kim)
I'll bet he's terrified of you.
:))
He had every responsible right to report the sloppiness of V. Satuui!

Oh, yeah, it's real hilarious about the kitchen fire at Madronna Manor-what person would find that funny?

R5</b>

I attended a beautiful wedding at Madrona Manor. Yes, it is a lovely place.

R5,et.al.
A pregnant woman ate deli food? In the US?
Not smart.
M

mikemo:
and paticularly not smart at
<i><b>this</b></i>
deli.
=-o
R5

Actually, Chris just informed that there has never been a better time to eat at the deli at V. Sattui! :)

Very nice guy to correspond with actually! He copied the original article for me to read which was very nice. Apparently, it is going to trial in July, so we'll see what happens! ***kim*** ((r))) ((r)) ((r))

The couple asked to settle out of court for $15,000 which Daryl Sattui described as extortion.

Pattyd1, I'll second the suggestion for Stag's Leap. We received a complimentary tasting there with our stay at the Yountville Inn, very nice wines there. :D Cheers! ***kim*** ((f))

&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;Chris just informed that there has never been a better time to eat at the deli at V. Sattui!&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;

Oh yes, I surely want my newspaper reporters to deem dining establishments clean and healthy !
Toooooo funny !
R5



http://naparegister.com/templates/in...4-BD9C9F5A5E17

I never imagined that an inquiry about &quot;Boutique Wineries&quot; would illicit such responses. Thanks to all for the info..We may have to modify our original plan for a mid afternoon picnic at the fine deli on HW #29. Are rodents Atkins/South Beach approved proteins ?

Ah, yes a picnic along HWY 29-
romance in the shade of Tour Buses...

You're a good sport,BTW Pattyd1 !

May I offer that a picnic with fixins'
from Palisades Market in Calistoga,
(just up there 2 weeks ago ~sigh~)
the Sunshine Grocery in St. Helena,
or the Oakville Grocery would be marvelous when paired with an
off-the-beaten path place on the Silverado Trail such as Robert Sinskey
Winery or Boothe State Park.

Bring some sunshine with you from wherever you are coming from-enough
with all this rain!
Happy Travels!
R5

and yes, it does appear that some folks
approve of the rodents at V. RATtui-
I mean V. Sattui- as well as the burning
of other establishment's kitchen,
sad.....
R5

Att Stu Dudley: If you see this thread, you may want to notify RChasken on AOL about the episode. He just recommended the V. Sattui deli to a poster and stated that it was &quot;the best deli in the area.&quot; Apparently he doesn't know about the incident yet. ***kim*** :)