Open: 11:00am-5:00pm
Appt required? No, although some private tasting options available by appointment
Last barlinwine.com visit: 2012
Directions:
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Tasting:
Back in the day, Miner was one of my favorite places to taste. The wines were excellent, tastings were free (or at least I was never charged), and it was rarely crowded. These days, the small tasting bar is normally stacked 3 people deep while others wait outside on the patio for associates to bring them wine and much like another old favorite Frank Family, the days of free tastings are long gone.
While it used to be a regular stop, I had not revisited since it became so popular. I decided a slow Monday afternoon in May as good a time as ever to try it again. We walked in to a mostly empty tasting room, a good first step. I was presented with a tasting sheet announcing that tastings are now a whopping $25 for 5 pours, but there were several good wines on a list of around a dozen to choose from.
I elected to start with the 2008 Wild Yeast Chardonnay. For much of my early years in Napa, this wine and the Frank Family Chardonnay were my two favorite whites. Frank always won given it’s about half the price of the $50 Miner wine, but that doesn’t change my appreciation for it. It’s a big buttery Chardonnay, but well-crafted and it was still as good as I remembered it.
One white was one more than I would usually have, but I made a worthwhile special exception. Now it was time for reds. To get things started with reds, I selected the 2009 Odyssey blend. This mix of Grenache and Syrah was good and a solid value at $40 for the quality of the wine. I chose the 2008 Cabernet Franc next, having never had Miner’s Cab Franc before. It was decent, but not something I would be purchasing. For my last two selections I chose the 2006 and 2008 Oracle red blend, side-by-side of course. The 2006 was my favorite of the two and also my favorite red of the visit.
Whether it was because it was slow, late in the day, or because Meredith was chatting up the guys pouring, they gave us a couple of bonus pours to our list of 5. Wine #6 was the 2009 Malbec, a wine club-only wine that they happened to have open. It was good, good enough for a bottle to come home with me. In our other glass from the side-by-side Oracle tasting, they poured a taste of the 2009 Gibson Ranch Sangiovese, a so-so wine.
The $25 tasting fee was refundable with an $80 purchase, and so a couple of bottles of Malbec (one for dinner that night at Mustard’s and one for the cellar) left with me. Overall, the guys pouring were friendly, the bonus pours were consistent with how Miner used to run, and the timing on a Monday afternoon let us avoid the crowds. The overall experience was good, not great, but I think it was as good as Miner would get. Avoid this place Thursday-Sunday, but give it a try if you find yourself with a free 30 minutes mid-week.
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While it used to be a regular stop, I had not revisited since it became so popular. I decided a slow Monday afternoon in May as good a time as ever to try it again. We walked in to a mostly empty tasting room, a good first step. I was presented with a tasting sheet announcing that tastings are now a whopping $25 for 5 pours, but there were several good wines on a list of around a dozen to choose from.
I elected to start with the 2008 Wild Yeast Chardonnay. For much of my early years in Napa, this wine and the Frank Family Chardonnay were my two favorite whites. Frank always won given it’s about half the price of the $50 Miner wine, but that doesn’t change my appreciation for it. It’s a big buttery Chardonnay, but well-crafted and it was still as good as I remembered it.
One white was one more than I would usually have, but I made a worthwhile special exception. Now it was time for reds. To get things started with reds, I selected the 2009 Odyssey blend. This mix of Grenache and Syrah was good and a solid value at $40 for the quality of the wine. I chose the 2008 Cabernet Franc next, having never had Miner’s Cab Franc before. It was decent, but not something I would be purchasing. For my last two selections I chose the 2006 and 2008 Oracle red blend, side-by-side of course. The 2006 was my favorite of the two and also my favorite red of the visit.Whether it was because it was slow, late in the day, or because Meredith was chatting up the guys pouring, they gave us a couple of bonus pours to our list of 5. Wine #6 was the 2009 Malbec, a wine club-only wine that they happened to have open. It was good, good enough for a bottle to come home with me. In our other glass from the side-by-side Oracle tasting, they poured a taste of the 2009 Gibson Ranch Sangiovese, a so-so wine.
The $25 tasting fee was refundable with an $80 purchase, and so a couple of bottles of Malbec (one for dinner that night at Mustard’s and one for the cellar) left with me. Overall, the guys pouring were friendly, the bonus pours were consistent with how Miner used to run, and the timing on a Monday afternoon let us avoid the crowds. The overall experience was good, not great, but I think it was as good as Miner would get. Avoid this place Thursday-Sunday, but give it a try if you find yourself with a free 30 minutes mid-week.
Recommended wine: The Wild Yeast Chardonnay is always great.
Ratings (out of 5):
 WINE | 4.25 |  TASTING ROOM | 4.25 |
 ATMOSPHERE | 4.00 |  VALUE | 4.00 |
 OVERALL | 4.13 | ||
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