Fritz (3.63)

http://www.fritzwinery.com/

Open 10:30am-4:30pm

Appt required? No

Last barlinwine.com visit: 2011

Directions

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Tasting:

We came excited to Fritz Winery for our tasting experience. I'm still not certain what to call this place. It makes me think of a legal transaction like a home closing, where they list every variation of your name that you've ever gone by. J Fritz Winery, Fritz Underground Winery, Fritz Winery...can you confirm, Fritz, that these places are all in fact you? Yes? Okay, please proceed with the tasting. From now on, you will be called Fritz.

Fritz Winery is located at the far northern end of Dry Creek Valley. We turned into the winery facility, crossed a cute white bridge, and made our way up a hill to the parking area. The Fritz tasting room was perched at the peak, large doors open and beckoning us as we arrived.

I had high hopes for our reserve tasting of Fritz wines. We started with Reserve Chardonnay, and followed that with Reserve Pinot Noir, Reserve Zinfandel, and Reserve Cabernet. We also had a bonus taste of the 2006 Cabernet which was on sale for $25/bottle. Unfortunately, none of the wines impressed. My favorite was probably the Chardonnay, which should tell you something given my strong preference for reds, but I left empty-handed. Given the quality of the wine, the $15 tasting fee for 4 wines is way too steep.

We were the first appointment of the day and it was already unusually hot inside the tasting room (which made me worry about the boxes of wine stacked there), but other than that, the tasting was mostly positive. The location of the winery is beautiful, and the tasting room itself is nice. It's a hike to get there, and so I probably wouldn't recommend a stop. But if you do make your way to Fritz, go for a picnic or to see the grounds, but don't bother with the reserve tasting. Shell out your $5 for the estate tasting, take some pictures, and head on to another stop.

Recommended wine:None.

Ratings (out of 5):

WINE	3.00	TASTING ROOM	4.00
ATMOSPHERE	4.00	VALUE	3.50
OVERALL		3.63

Pride (4.88)

http://www.pridewines.com/

Open: Daily. Tastings scheduled at 10:30am, 11:15am, 12:00pm, 12:45pm, 1:30pm, and 2:15pm

Appt required? Yes

Last barlinwine.com visit: 2011

Directions:

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Tasting:

Years ago, I made my first trip up Spring Mountain Road. As a birthday gift to myself, I rented a Porsche Boxster from San Francisco for the day trip to Napa (what? Only a single day?). I bring this up because the thing I remember the most from the day wasn't the wine or the wineries; it was speeding up and down Spring Mountain Road in that car. The two tasting stops we made back in 2004 at Pride and Schweiger were fine, but not memorable enough to get me back up on Spring Mountain.

On my second trip up Spring Mountain, seven years after the first, the tasting experience at Pride was 100% different. Granted, I was in a Kia Soul in 2011 (this is how we roll) instead of a Porsche Boxster, but even if I was in the Boxster I would have remembered fondly my trip to Pride and already been planning another. In 2004, we tasted in a small room that could accommodate a maximum of 6-8 people. It was a bar tasting, and I believe we tried 3 wines. Since then, Pride has built a brand new tasting room and completely revamped their tasting experience. We started in the tasting room with two white wines: their Chardonnay, a good balance of oakey butteriness with crisp fruit and their famous Viognier, which has been served at White House dinners for the last 7-8 years. Jason, our host, mentioned that Michelle Obama had good things to say about the wine, and while Michelle and I don’t always see eye-to-eye, I can appreciate her taste in wine. This one was good enough to make me break my vow of “no white wine purchases on the trip.”

Where tasting at the old Pride would have continued at the bar, here’s where things now got interesting. We took our glasses of Viognier and walked around the corner to a quick map of the property, Jason showed us the different vineyards and soil types that Pride has over hundreds of acres on the mountain. All of the wine from the vineyards is picked and barreled separately, and only at the end is it blended together to produce the final product.

We then took a stroll from the tasting room a short distance, crossed the Sonoma-Napa county line, and entered the Pride Mountain caves. We were joined by two ladies who I was worried were going to be a disaster (they opened up the tasting with “we saw you in the 'Spectator' and just had to come visit!”) but turned out to be amusing companions on our short journey. Once in the caves, we stopped at a barrel where a few bottles of Pride Mountain Merlot rested. I remembered the Merlot fondly from my previous visit, and the taste of the current vintage confirmed those memories. We continued down a branch of the cave, and the ladies peppered Jason with questions. “Are the candles there for a special reason?” they asked, to which Jason coolly replied, “Yes, for a very special reason…AMBIANCE” which prompted a discussion of birds in mine shafts and how the cave air was completely safe. Jason grabbed a wine thief from a spot in the caves. Barrel tasting? Nice!

We tried two separate Cabernets from the barrel, one of which was fruit-forward with light tannins and one of which was nearly the opposite, with heavy tannins and much less fruit. He explained how the different vineyards we examined on the map produce significantly different wines, and noted how blending the two Cabernets we tried could produce a much more balanced wine. He put his suggestion to the test by pouring a taste of blended Cabernet from the bottle, and what do you know -- he was right!

After a quick look at the great view from Pride Mountain, we returned to the tasting room to conclude our tasting. The overall experience far exceeded my expectations from my first visit and was as enjoyable as any other tasting of my most recent trip. Pride’s wines stand up to almost anyone’s, the atmosphere was friendly and low-key, and the wine prices are fair. I would highly recommend a stop for anyone looking for a great tasting experience. If I have one regret, it's that we didn't build in enough time to enjoy a picnic lunch at one of Pride’s many secluded picnic areas. Overall, this is a top-notch stop.

Recommended wine:Everything we tasted was legitimately good, but the Viognier, the Merlot, and the Cabernet were all outstanding.

Ratings (out of 5):

WINE	4.75	TASTING ROOM	5.00
ATMOSPHERE	5.00	VALUE	4.75
OVERALL		4.88

Sherwin Family (4.75)

http://www.sherwinfamilyvineyards.com/

Open: By appointment

Appt required? Yes

Last barlinwine.com visit: 2013

Directions:

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Tasting:

I had not heard of Sherwin Vineyards before I started planning my 2011 day on Spring Mountain, and I never expected to discover what I did. Sherwin was my “fill-in” tasting, conveniently located in between two spots I knew I wanted to hit (Pride and Barnett). I had hopes for a nice smaller winery we could relax at before finishing our day at Barnett, and I found that and then some.

The Sherwin tasting room is in what looks by all accounts to be a home. There is a kitchen, and I believe I saw a bedroom made up. The house backs up to a beautiful porch overlooking a large pond. As the only two guests at our 2pm tasting, we had the pick of spots at which to try Sherwin wines, and Stephanie and I selected a shaded patio table with large cushioned chairs near their outdoor fireplace. We asked if we could have our lunch while we tasted and were told that of course this would be fine.



Sherwin Winery has 3 employees: the owner (and winemaker) Steve Sherwin and his wife, plus Donna, who runs hospitality and hosted our tasting. Sherwin uses Mike Hirby as a winemaking consultant, and Donna started us with a pour of a chardonnay that the Mike had made for himself and Sherwin had purchased a few bottles of. As we ate sandwiches from Dean and Deluca, we moved on to try Sherwin’s “Cellar Scraps” wine, a blend that they produce each year. This was quite good, but couldn’t prepare us for the Sherwin 2007 Cabernet, possibly my favorite wine of the day.

We noticed that all of the bottles had wax tops, and Donna explained that when the winery was just starting out, the Sherwins wanted a way to distinguish themselves and so they decided to hand-dip all of the bottles. The winery is still quite small, but much larger than it was in those days, but they now spend (with Donna’s help) 2-3 weeks hand dipping each year’s wines. The extra personal touch is indicative of the type of relationship Sherwin likes to have with its customers.



We finished the tasting with a very good Syrah. My only surprise was the order sheet – I expected given the size of the winery that the prices would have been a bit more favorable, but the Cellar Scraps was listed at $55, the Cabernet at $90, and the Syrah at $70. While I think the wines were probably worth the price, they certainly weren’t underpriced by any means, and I likely would have taken more with me if they were more what I expected ($45 and $65 for the Cellar Scraps and Cabernet, respectively). Aside from the slightly expensive on wine, everything else about the tasting was great.

Recommended wine:The 2007 Sherwin Cabernet was outstanding -- one of the better wines of the trip. The Cellar Scraps was also very good.

Ratings (out of 5):

WINE	5.00	TASTING ROOM	5.00
ATMOSPHERE	5.00	VALUE	4.00
OVERALL		4.69

Dry Creek General Store (4.50)

http://drycreekgeneralstore1881.com/

Open: Open Monday-Saturday, 6:30am-5:30pm; Sunday 7:00am-5:30pm

Reservation required? No

Last barlinwine.com visit: 2011

Directions:

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The Meal:

The Dry Creek General Store is a perennial favorite on our wine trips. The store was established in 1881 and has that old time general store feel. They sell various locally sourced spreads, oils and vinegars, artisanal cheeses and meats and make a killer sandwich. While they are open for breakfast and do have a porch with picnic tables and a few indoor tables, we usually stop by in the morning to pick up sandwiches for lunch. We find the meats on their sandwiches to be delicious and the bread to be fresh, crusty and perfect for a wine country sandwich. The sandwiches are a bit pricey ($10-13) but quite large and seem to be priced consistent with others in wine country. On our last visit I ordered the Speck, a smoked prosciutto sandwich with aged provolone, tomato, olive oil, and arugula on crusty ciabatta bread. I’m still dreaming of it!

They also sell a nice assortment of tasteful wine country mementos, local wines and books. The location and excellent lunches make the Dry Creek General Store a must for a trip to Dry Creek or neighboring areas.

Recommended food:The sandwiches are amazing. The Prosciutto di Parma sandwich with fresh mozzarella and tomatoes is especially outstanding. If you're really hungry, regulars order "The Meredith": the Coppa sandwich with an extra pound of turkey!

Ratings (out of 5):

FOOD	5.00	SERVICE	4.00
ATMOSPHERE	4.50	VALUE	4.50
OVERALL		4.50

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