Robinson Family (4.38)



Open: By Appointment

Appt required? Yes

Last barlinwine.com visit: 2011

Directions:

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Tasting:
In my quest to continue to find off-the-beaten-path wineries in Napa and Sonoma, I can across Robinson Family Vineyards. After some research on the web and after I saw their current release was 2007 Cabernet from the Stag’s Leap region (a vintage/region combo that I love), I contacted them and scheduled an appointment.

There are virtually no signs on the way to RFV, but a GPS will get you there. We pulled up to a small mountainside home flanked by a smaller room. A man with close-cropped gray hair (where he still had it) and a laborer’s hands came out to greet us warmly. This was Tom Robinson, owner and winemaker at Robinson Family Vineyards. We stepped into the tasting room and started in on the wines.

While Tom poured us selections from his second label “Great Legs”, he showed us a photo album of pictures of the winery and his family over the years, pointing out his relatives, his 3 daughters, and his 6 grandkids. We moved from Great Legs to the Robinson Family Vineyards label. The Great Legs wasn’t particularly great, but the RFV turned out to be much better. Tom started the Robinson Family Vineyards wines with a delicious 2007 Merlot. We grabbed our glasses and took a quick tour of the cellar.

Our first cellar stop was his father’s wine nook, left untouched since his death a number of years prior. Several racks in the small alcove were full of wine and dust, and featured wines all the way back to the 1940s and made for a great picture. We continued deeper into the cellar, where the current family wine stash resided, heavily stocked with RSV wines from 1998 on with a smattering of older bottles as well. Beyond that, we came to the barrels stacked three high and bending around the corner. Tom talked to us about his plans to expand the cellar another 80 feet through the hillside so he’d have enough space for all of his wine to reside and set things up to require less lifting, both for his benefit as he got older and his daughters’ benefit as they eventually take a more prominent role in the winemaking process.

We returned to the tasting room for a sample of the Robinson Family Cabernet and Reserve Cabernet, the last of which we took on a stroll outside to see the rest of the property. Tom graciously offered to take pictures of us both in the cellar and framed by the vineyards outside and shared with us his plans for a house on the hill in the easy way of someone talking about their life’s work. We returned to the tasting room to talk about restaurants and wineries he enjoyed and settle up.

Wine-wise, the Merlot was outstanding, and along with Pride’s the best that we tasted on the trip. The Cabernets were good, but the overall atmosphere of the visit was what made this stop a success. Tom did charge me for one of two tastings after I bought six bottles and the wines were a bit pricier than I expected, but other than that the stop was great.






Recommended wine: The 2007 Merlot was really great, and the Cabernets were quite good as well.

Ratings (out of 5):


WINE
4.25
TASTING ROOM
4.50

ATMOSPHERE
4.75
VALUE
4.00

OVERALL
4.38

Redd (4.75)



Open:
Lunch 11:30am to 2:30pm Monday to Saturday
Dinner 5:30pm to 9:30pm Nightly
Brunch 11am to 2:30pm Sundays

Reservation required? No, but recommended. Click below to reserve a table:



Last barlinwine.com visit: 2011

Directions:

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The Meal:

Yum! While we certainly haven’t visited every wine country restaurant, Redd is probably in the lead as our consensus favorite. Located in downtown Yountville amidst a few other notables, Redd stands out for their California cuisine tasting menu with Asian, Mexican and European influences. The chef, Richard Reddington, is formerly of Masa and Jardiniere in San Francisco, and Auberge du Soleil in Napa Valley and he describes this restaurant as "the type of restaurant I like to spend time at."

They offer a la carte options or a "chef's choice" five course tasting for $80. We have done the tasting menu on our two visits and have not been disappointed. The tasting consists of one raw fish, one cooked fish, one poultry/fowl/game, one red meat course and one dessert. For each course they have two different surprise offerings, so for a table of two there are 10 individual courses which are both large enough and great for sharing. The last time there were three of us so we had fun deciding whether we had received two of our favorite dish for that course or not (though in many cases it was even hard to determine which of the two was best).

Each course seems better than the last. Favorites on our last visit include a tuna tartare, halibut with clam and chorizo, and a prime rib/short rib combo that melted in your mouth. The portions are very sizable for a tasting menu and the a la carte options are downright large. Having tried numerous tasting menus, I think this is one of the most accessible tasting menus I've had - there's nothing too out there for the casual diner and still plenty to excite the foodies that flock to the valley. There is, of course, a great California wine list with plenty of great wines by the glass (we have had both Larkmead Cabernet and Vineyard 29 by the glass) and they also offer a wine pairing with the tasting menu.

The atmosphere is very minimalist and clean indoors and there is a chic patio outside under the shade of olive trees. The service each time we've been there has been great. The staff is very attentive to details without being too in your face. The last time we were there the waiter came over to tell me how much he loved my necklace so of course I thought he was great.

There are so many restaurants in Napa that we always try to visit new ones but I think that Redd will continue to be an every trip stop for the foreseeable future.

Recommended food: The chef's tasting menu is a great way to try a lot of different dishes, especially if you have an even number of people.


Ratings (out of 5):


FOOD
5.00
SERVICE
4.75

ATMOSPHERE
4.75
VALUE
4.50

OVERALL
4.75

Rombauer (3.94)





Open 10:00am-5:00pm

Appt required? No

Last barlinwine.com visit: 2011

Directions:


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Tasting:
I'd been to Rombauer many years ago and remembered them producing a couple of pretty solid wines, and so we stopped by on our most recent trip to Napa Valley to see how things currently operate. Rombauer is located on the Silverado Trail, just north of Deer Park Road. A large American flag marks the driveway, which leads visitors up a winding wooded path to the winery and tasting room.

Rombauer's tasting room is divided into four mini tasting bars, each of which can accommodate around 4 guests. On our visit, Rombauer offered two tasting options: a "Classic Flight" for $10, featuring a taste of Merlot, Cabernet, Chardonnay, and Zinfandel, and a "Proprietor Flight", offering tastes of five reserve wines. We decided to try the Proprietor Flight.

The first wine we tried was the 2005 Le Meilleur du Chai, which my mastery of the French language (or perhaps the tasting notes) tells me means "The Best of the Cellar". I thought this blended wine was okay, but not the best of the tasting, and certainly not the best of the cellar. We moved on to a 2004 Atlas Peak Cabernet and a 2005 Stags Leap Cabernet, both of which were good but not good enough to justify the $70 and $90 price tags. Next on the tasting sheet was the Rombauer Chardonnay. Wait a second...a Chardonnay after just tasting 2 Cabs? It wasn't a mistake, apparently. Nevertheless, I requested we sub in a taste of the 2007 Napa Cabernet from the Classic Flight, secretly hoping maybe we'd just try both. Sure enough, we had the Cab, but then our hostess suggested we try the Chardonnay since that is what Rombauer is best known for. We did, and the Chardonnay was quite good in the classic buttery Napa style. We finished the tasting with the 2009 Proprietary Zinfandel. This was the winner of the tasting, a delicious well-made fruit bomb, but at $60, I think there are comparable bottles available for a fraction of the price.

We took a quick loop through the Rombauer grounds after our tasting. Rombauer sports a metal Pegasus sculpture, at least two large ceramic cows (always a highlight for Chicagoans), as well as a series of winding paths through their forested grounds and picnic tables overlooking the valley. The grounds are really nice, and this would be a great picnic spot. As for the tasting, it was fine but generally unremarkable.






Recommended wine:The Proprietary Zinfandel was really good but not worth the price. The Chardonnay is widely distributed and not a bad option if you're in the mood for that type of wine.

Ratings (out of 5):


WINE
4.00
TASTING ROOM
4.25

ATMOSPHERE
4.00
VALUE
3.50

OVERALL
3.94

Oakville Grocery (4.06)



Open:
Napa location: 7:00am-5:00pm (til 6:00pm on Friday and Saturday)
Healdsburg location: 8:00am-6:00pm (til 7:00pm in the summer)

Reservation required? No

Last barlinwine.com visit: 2011

Directions:

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The Meal:

Oakville Grocery was my first stop in Napa many years ago when we stopped to pick up sandwiches for lunch so it holds a special place in my heart. In addition to sandwiches, cheeses, breads and salads, they sell an assortment of wines, wine country mementos and sauces/spreads. They often have olive oils or mustards out for sampling which is a fun distraction while waiting for your order to be ready. In addition to sandwiches, they also offer boxed lunches complete with drinks, dessert and a side. These seem overpriced in my mind at at least $18 (sandwiches start at $9.95).

On our most recent trip, we had sandwiches from Oakville Grocery and the Dry Creek General Store on back-to-back days. What was very apparent is that the Dry Creek General Store won the head-to-head battle hands-down. Better bread, more meat, and a better price make it our preferred choice when touring the wineries of Sonoma County. On the Napa side, though, Oakville is still a decent option.



Recommended food:The sandwiches are quite good. I recommend buying individual sandwiches and sides over the box lunches they sell.


Ratings (out of 5):


FOOD
4.25
SERVICE
4.00

ATMOSPHERE
4.50
VALUE
3.50

OVERALL
4.06