Napa and Sonoma Wine Tasting: Lambert Bridge (4.19)

http://www.lambertbridge.com/

Open: 10:30am-4:30pm

Appt required? No

Last barlinwine.com visit: 2012

Directions:

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Tasting:

In May, Meredith and I decided to kick off a day of tasting in Dry Creek Valley with Lambert Bridge. After picking up sandwiches at the Dry Creek General Store where Meredith ordered her patented “Coppa, and Can You Add Turkey?” sandwich, we strolled in just after the tasting room opened. WARNING: this post may contain graphic images unsuitable for young viewers. Parental discretion is advised.

Since it was early in the day and off-season, we had the run of the place to ourselves. Lambert Bridge offers a standard tasting in their main tasting room, or an expanded reserve tasting in the adjacent barrel room. Naturally we went for the reserve tasting.

With a packed schedule ahead of us, we split a tasting. Our hostess was in to ultra-small pours, but we were able to try a lot of different wines. We started the tasting with two single vineyard whites from the Bevill Vineyard in Dry Creek: the 2010 Sauvignon Blanc and the 2009 Viognier. Both were okay, with the Viognier being particularly dry for that style. For wine #3 we went off-menu and tried the 2009 Chambers Vineyard Chardonnay, aged in water-bent barrels which are toasted while still wet, adding additional penetration to the toast. The wine was quite good; probably not $60 good, but still tasty.

Setup for the Barrel Room Food and Wine Pairing (Avail Fri-Sun)

We moved on from there to the reds. First up were two Zinfandels, the 2009 Forchini Vineyard Zin and the 2010 Maple Vineyard Zin. I particularly liked the Forchini, which tasted like the perfect complementary wine to smoked barbeque. Wines #6 (2008 Cabernet Franc) and #7 (2007 Crane Creek Cuvee) were both wine club exclusives. Of note about the Crane Creek Cuvee – this Merlot-based blend is the official wine of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. On our way out we passed by a dislay that housed a large format bottle of Crane Creek Cuvee with perhaps 50 signatures of baseball hall of famers. Pretty awesome.

We weren’t close to leaving yet, though. It was around this time that winery managing partner Greg Wilcox came by with 3 winery dogs: a small terrier, a Great Pyrenees (Wile E.), and a St. Bernard (Bernie, short for Bernadette). We put our tasting temporarily on hold, and this is where things got a little hairy (furry?). Bernie and Meredith clicked right away, and it didn't take long for them to get down to business. As you can tell from the images captured, it was a good thing there weren’t any children in the tasting room. Both seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves in this human-canine lesbian love fest.

Step 1: Proposition. Step 2: Get in position. Step 3: Sexy time!

After Meredith finished having her way with Bernie, we resumed our tasting with two last wines: the 2007 “Limited Selection” Cabernet Sauvignon, and lastly the 2008 Winery Ranch Petite Sirah. After the Forchini Zinfandel, I think the Petite Sirah was my second favorite wine of the stop.

We carried a bottle of Forchini Zin with us but were still charged $25 for the tasting. But given the number of wines we tried and our single bottle purchase, I suppose I’m okay with that. Slightly larger pours would have made the visit better (especially since we were sharing), and a lower price point probably would have led to more purchases (almost all wines were $50+, quite pricey for the area) but the property is beautiful both inside and out and I would place Lambert Bridge in the upper third of wineries in Dry Creek Valley. This is a recommended stop if you’re in the area and enjoy human-animal companionship and some well-made wine. There is also an expansive lawn and picnic area, and so this is a prime spot to stop and eat your lunch if you want an alternative to the craziness of Dry Creek Vineyards around lunchtime.

With Bernie exhausted from all the activity and passed out by the bar, Meredith took a moment to say goodbye and thank her for the short time they got to spend together. We took a quick stroll around the grounds and headed up the road to our next planned tasting destination, Quivira.