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Open 10:00am-4:00pm
Appt required? Yes
Last barlinwine.com visit: 2011
Directions:
View Napa in a larger map or Get Directions
Tasting:
CADE! No, I’m not yelling. For reasons I don’t know, CADE winery always capitalizes its entire name. Then I looked at its label, and it’s 100% lowercase. Maybe it’s a marketing thing? Maybe they have a computer with a really sticky CAPS LOCK key? Maybe CADE stands for something (Captivating And Desirable Enoteca?)…ultimately, it makes no difference to me. I will continue to call it CADE (and think "KAHNNNN!" every time I read it).
CADE sits well off the beaten path, 5 miles east of the Silverado Trail off of Deer Park Rd. The tasting room and winery is a beautiful modern structure built on a cliff side, with possibly the best views of any winery I've ever been to. Richard was extra-chatty at our prior stop at Bremer, and so we arrived regrettably late to our 2pm tasting appointment. We were ushered in and told it would have to be a speedy tasting, since the winery was closing early that day at 3pm. Not a problem for us, and our hostess Jenny quickly got us caught up with the other more punctual tasters. We sat on couches in their tasting room, with massive picture windows overlooking the valley beyond.
Having just left Bremer and Richard’s heavy pours, our group was in a chatty mood. Jenny was a quite a handful, too. Born in Pittsburgh, she quickly established her love of the Steelers. We congratulated her on finishing second this season to the Packers, at which point she immediately pointed out how they had more total championships. We debated how many Super Bowls the Steelers had been in, and suggested it was 8, six of which they won. “Oh, no, it’s way more than that,” Jenny argued. Way more? Really? “I’m going to check the internet,” she said.
Now, most people fall victim to taking as truth too much of what exists on the internet, but not our Jenny! She looked up Wikipedia which confirmed our 8 and 6 statement, but she was having none of that. “I’m going to text my friend who’s a huge Steelers fan. She’ll totally know.” She fired off a text while we waited for her to pour another wine in our “quick tasting”, and then when on to explain how you’d never guess her friend was a big football fan. “She’s hot and blond and has some…fake parts, but she’s always the one that is screaming loudest at the bar during Steelers games. No offense.” Well, that sounds to me like a source I’d trust over Wikipedia. And while we’re on the topic, who was she offending with that comment? All of the plastic surgery in the room? Unfortunately her friend never texted her back (or did and she never mentioned it since we were right), but we did have enough time left to discuss Jenny's dislike for people who leave negative restaurant reviews and one group that Jenny despises even more.
We were talking about restaurants (since our Jenny used to wait tables at one in Napa), and discussing the one star reviews people post on Yelp about a restaurant based on a single isolated event. Then she went on a rant that made yours truly almost choke on his tasty wine: “You know what’s even worse? Wine bloggers. And these people have like 70,000 followers. No offense, but those people are idiots.” Oh boy. Little did she know there was an idiot in the room! She’d already firmly established that filtering wasn’t her strong suit, so I shouldn’t have been surprised. And there’s that “no offense” comment again! Jenny loved to say that…I guess if you go through life constantly making offensive comments, it just becomes second nature to throw a “no offense” in after most things you say. No offense.
Did they pour wine at this place or just talk about Steelers football and idiot wine bloggers? Yes, they poured wines, and good ones at that! For the tasting, we tried five wines: the CADE Sauvignon Blanc (good, not amazing), the 2008 CADE Cuvée, the 2007 CADE Howell Mountain Cabernet, the 2009 Plumpjack Cabernet…wait a second…Plumpjack? I thought we were at CADE? CADE is a sister winery to Plumpjack, much like Freestone is to Joseph Phelps earlier on our trip. But where Freestone paled in comparison to its big sister, CADE wines stood up to the well-regarded Plumpjack. That being said, the 2009 Plumpjack was a delicious wine and the star of the tasting, even at this young age. With 5-7 years of cellaring, I think it will be amazing. We finished with CADE’s flagship wine, the 2008 CADE Estate Howell Mountain Cabernet. At $270/2-pack, this was pricey, but not the wine that the 2009 Plumpjack was for me, and certainly not $50+ better.
I’d love to return to CADE when we have more time to enjoy the tasting and the scenery. It’s a beautiful spot with solid wines and I would recommend a visit. I had scheduled the tasting for outside on their patio, but with our late arrival and the 100 degree temps that day, we stayed inside. But the view from outside is even more amazing than the view from inside, and so I'd like to return to taste there. Despite Jenny’s hatred of wine bloggers, I still enjoyed my visit and I’m mature enough not to take her comments out on CADE. Like hell I am! Minus a half point for atmosphere for offending the secret wine blogger in the room! Brewhahahahaha!
CADE sits well off the beaten path, 5 miles east of the Silverado Trail off of Deer Park Rd. The tasting room and winery is a beautiful modern structure built on a cliff side, with possibly the best views of any winery I've ever been to. Richard was extra-chatty at our prior stop at Bremer, and so we arrived regrettably late to our 2pm tasting appointment. We were ushered in and told it would have to be a speedy tasting, since the winery was closing early that day at 3pm. Not a problem for us, and our hostess Jenny quickly got us caught up with the other more punctual tasters. We sat on couches in their tasting room, with massive picture windows overlooking the valley beyond.
Having just left Bremer and Richard’s heavy pours, our group was in a chatty mood. Jenny was a quite a handful, too. Born in Pittsburgh, she quickly established her love of the Steelers. We congratulated her on finishing second this season to the Packers, at which point she immediately pointed out how they had more total championships. We debated how many Super Bowls the Steelers had been in, and suggested it was 8, six of which they won. “Oh, no, it’s way more than that,” Jenny argued. Way more? Really? “I’m going to check the internet,” she said.
Now, most people fall victim to taking as truth too much of what exists on the internet, but not our Jenny! She looked up Wikipedia which confirmed our 8 and 6 statement, but she was having none of that. “I’m going to text my friend who’s a huge Steelers fan. She’ll totally know.” She fired off a text while we waited for her to pour another wine in our “quick tasting”, and then when on to explain how you’d never guess her friend was a big football fan. “She’s hot and blond and has some…fake parts, but she’s always the one that is screaming loudest at the bar during Steelers games. No offense.” Well, that sounds to me like a source I’d trust over Wikipedia. And while we’re on the topic, who was she offending with that comment? All of the plastic surgery in the room? Unfortunately her friend never texted her back (or did and she never mentioned it since we were right), but we did have enough time left to discuss Jenny's dislike for people who leave negative restaurant reviews and one group that Jenny despises even more.
Did they pour wine at this place or just talk about Steelers football and idiot wine bloggers? Yes, they poured wines, and good ones at that! For the tasting, we tried five wines: the CADE Sauvignon Blanc (good, not amazing), the 2008 CADE Cuvée, the 2007 CADE Howell Mountain Cabernet, the 2009 Plumpjack Cabernet…wait a second…Plumpjack? I thought we were at CADE? CADE is a sister winery to Plumpjack, much like Freestone is to Joseph Phelps earlier on our trip. But where Freestone paled in comparison to its big sister, CADE wines stood up to the well-regarded Plumpjack. That being said, the 2009 Plumpjack was a delicious wine and the star of the tasting, even at this young age. With 5-7 years of cellaring, I think it will be amazing. We finished with CADE’s flagship wine, the 2008 CADE Estate Howell Mountain Cabernet. At $270/2-pack, this was pricey, but not the wine that the 2009 Plumpjack was for me, and certainly not $50+ better.
I’d love to return to CADE when we have more time to enjoy the tasting and the scenery. It’s a beautiful spot with solid wines and I would recommend a visit. I had scheduled the tasting for outside on their patio, but with our late arrival and the 100 degree temps that day, we stayed inside. But the view from outside is even more amazing than the view from inside, and so I'd like to return to taste there. Despite Jenny’s hatred of wine bloggers, I still enjoyed my visit and I’m mature enough not to take her comments out on CADE. Like hell I am! Minus a half point for atmosphere for offending the secret wine blogger in the room! Brewhahahahaha!
Recommended wine:The 2009 Plumpjack Cabernet was one the best wines we had over the course of our week-long trip. The CADE Cabernets were quite good as well.
Ratings (out of 5):
 WINE | 4.75 |  TASTING ROOM | 5.00 |
 ATMOSPHERE | 4.25 |  VALUE | 3.75 |
 OVERALL | 4.44 | ||
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