Sbragia (1.56)



Open: 11:00am-5:00pm

Appt required? No

Last barlinwine.com visit: 2011

Directions:

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Tasting:
We came to Sbragia on the recommendation of our host at Truett-Hurst who had given us a coupon for two free tastings. His synopsis was that it was a great stop for a view of Lake Sonoma and an opportunity to drink some pretty good Cabernet in Dry Creek. Good Cab and a picture spot, plus a free tasting? Sign me up!

We found the winery and took the winding drive up a hill to the tasting room. The modern facility featured a large tasting room flanked by a broad stone patio overlooking the lake, as advertised. I never made it to the view though. Why, you ask? Oh, just wait!

We decided we’d taste first, take pictures and admire the view second. At the bar, there were two tasting options offered: a $5 tasting of Zinfandel and Syrah or a $10 tasting of cabernet. Steph and I almost always share tastings, and this was no different (despite our coupon for two free tastings). On the advice of Truett-Hurst, we went with a single Cab tasting.

Perhaps I should have been tipped off by their "flaming pile of poop" logo, but for some reason I went in with high expectations. Our host was a mute twenty-something wannabe hipster who didn't know the first thing about wine. He set out four glasses – a good start – and mumbled something about each wine. I referred to the tasting sheet to learn that we were trying the Monte Rosso Vineyard Cab, the Rancho Del Oso Vineyard Cab (which was already halfway to being purchased in honor of my dog nephew Oso), the Cimarossa Vineyard Cab, and the Wall Vineyard Cab. Monte Rosso and Cimarossa? Those are some weighty names in the wine world, and I was fairly excited. As I tried each wine, I was somewhat satisfied, but unfortunately nothing stood up to my expectations. On top of it, I thought most were probably overpriced for the quality. I conferred with The Boss, and we decided we’d pass on purchasing a bottle. I presented my coupon for two free tastings.

“Oh, that’s only good for the $5 tasting,” said the mongoloid.

“Really?” I asked. “You didn’t say anything about that, and the coupon is good for two $5 tastings. We only had one $10 tasting. Shouldn't two $5 tastings equal one $10?”

“No, it doesn't work that way. And normally you’d whip the coupon out at the beginning, and I would have told you then.”

Oh, so this is my fault? Hmmm.

“Fine,” I said. “Just the tasting.”

The Mute took my $10 and I looked more closely at the coupon, assuming I’d missed the fine print. I hadn’t, and at this point it became a matter of principle.

“Enjoy your $10, because that’s the last time I’m coming here,” I told Sloth. His older and wiser co-worker overheard the exchange and came by to find out what was going on. I explained the situation, and she told me the coupon would be valid. I told her I had already paid, and she told me she could void it, but I just walked out. Their $10 can buy as much negative publicity as I can turn their way.

So, don’t go to Sbragia. Ever. The wine sucks, their staff standards are so low that they’d hire a mute moron without a shred of reasonable judgment, their wines are overpriced, the view (that I never saw) sucks, and the energy in the tasting room makes you feel like you’re in a room full of catatonic mental patients. Other than that, it was great…FOR ME TO POOP ON!

Recommended wine: Recommended wine? That's funny.

Ratings (out of 5):


WINE
3.25
TASTING ROOM
3.00

ATMOSPHERE
0.00
VALUE
0.00

OVERALL
1.56

Preston (3.88)



Open: 11:00am-4:30pm

Appt required? No

Last barlinwine.com visit: 2011

Directions:

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Tasting:
Oink! Welcome to the farm! The Preston winery and tasting room sits on the northern end of Dry Creek Valley. Visitors follow a long gravel drive through the vineyards before arriving at a parking lot. To one side sits a large building with an adjacent picnic ground which houses the tasting room and winemaking facility. Across the parking lot from the facility are animal pens with extra-friendly pigs who will oink their way up to the fence to greet you as you exit your car. What a bizarre start to a visit!

In we went to start our tasting at the medium-sized bar. In addition to some pretty good wine, Preston also makes their own olive oil and serves it in the tasting room with fresh-baked bread. We tried four wines on our visit: a Mourvedre, Zinfandel, Syrah, and blend of Syrah and Petite Sirah, inventively called..."Syrah-Sirah". Nothing blew my socks off, but the Zinfandel was good enough to warrant a trip home to the Barlin household. Overall, this is a good spot for a pig lover and maybe a picnic (I hear the house-cured bacon is fantastic and fresh)…but otherwise nothing remarkable. Probably best to pass.




Recommended wine: Nothing stood out as a recommendation, but the Zinfandel was our favorite of what we tried.

Ratings (out of 5):


WINE
3.50
TASTING ROOM
4.25

ATMOSPHERE
4.00
VALUE
3.75

OVERALL
3.88

Taylor's Refresher (4.38)






Open: 10:30am - 10:00pm (til 9pm in the winter)

Reservation required? No

Last barlinwine.com visit: 2012 (April 18, 2012 Itinerary)

Directions:

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The Meal:
Taylor's Refresher, a fixture along Highway 29 in St. Helena since 1949 is a roadside burger stop that is a MUST for lunch in Napa. They have in the last few years been purchased and have changed their name to Gott's but Greg and I continue to call the place Taylor's and will continue to do so. The Taylor's on 29 is an old drive-in and the parking lot still has 50s style overhanging awnings. You order at a window and pick up your food when your name is called. They have recently expanded the all outdoor seating area and there are plenty of counters and picnic tables in sunny and shady spots.

My dreamy Ahi Tuna Burger
Taylor's is known for it's burgers which are amazing. We love the burger with blue cheese; the sharp Point Reyes blue cheese is nicely balanced by the melt-in-your-mouth burger. There are multiple fries options including sweet potato fries and garlic fries. The milkshakes are thick and delicious and come in a variety of flavors including espresso bean and mint chip. There is something for everyone on this roadside menu including hot dogs, salads, fish facos and a nice beer and wine list. However, the reason I insist on stopping every trip to wine country and will continue to do so is the Ahi Tuna Burger. This fantastic creation includes a large seared raw tuna steak served on a egg roll with asian coleslaw and ginger wasabi mayo. I still have dreams about it!


The burgers are reasonably priced at $7-11; the seafood options are a bit pricier at $10-15. By the time you finish ordering drinks and sides, suddenly you'll find yourself shelling out somewhere in the neighborhood of $20/person for a burger lunch. I think it is worth every penny. There are other Gott's in the Ferry Building in San Francisco and in downtown Napa for those so inclined. Expect to stand in line for a solid 15-20 minutes if you come during the lunch hour (and longer on weekends), but the staff is courteous once you reach the counter and your food will be ready typically within 10 minutes of placing your order. We still prefer the original and will be sure to be back on our next trip. Until then, I will dream of my friend, the ATB.

I'm in heaven!  Yum!

Recommended food:The Ahi Tuna Burger! I am salivating just thinking about it!


Ratings (out of 5):


FOOD
5.00
SERVICE
4.00

ATMOSPHERE
4.25
VALUE
4.25

OVERALL
4.38

Conn Creek (4.81)





Open: Tasting room 11:00am-4:00pm (til 5:00 on Saturday). Two blending sessions in the AVA room every day but Wednesday, at 10:30am and 2:30pm

Appt required? Yes for the AVA Room; no for general tasting

Last barlinwine.com visit: 2014

Directions:

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Tasting:
On the glowing advice of Susan Erlich, Stephanie and I made our way to Conn Creek for the AVA (American Viticultural Area) blending experience. I will admit that I was somewhat skeptical at first – the price tag was hefty ($95/person), and the event seemed a bit more touristy or contrived than I would typically seek out in wine country. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

I think I can say that the blending experience in the AVA Room might be the best wine country activity I’ve ever done. Whether you’re new to wine or an experienced oenophile, getting to play winemaker for a few hours is incredibly fun. For the uninitiated, an AVA is a designated wine growing region. Napa Valley itself is an AVA, and it is broken up in to 15 official smaller AVAs – I won’t list them all here, but if you’re curious, they’re on Wikipedia (where else?). Upon entering the room, you’re greeted by the site of 19 barrels of wine waiting for your palate to peruse their contents: 15 Cabernets, plus the four Bordeaux blending varietals (Cab Franc, Merlot, Malbec, and Petite Verdot). Each Cabernet barrel contained wine from one of the 15 Napa AVAs (with the exception of Wild Horse Valley; instead, Rutherford was represented twice – a pretty good trade, don’t you think?) and the cabs sit in groups of three based on flavor profile: fruity, soft, complex, rich, and bold.

We started our adventure with a hefty pour of Conn Creek Anthology. They would never admit it, but I think this was Conn Creek’s passive means of intimidation. “So, you think you can blend a solid wine, do you? Try this and see if you can top it!” Well, I happen to have had my share of Cabs and Bordeaux blends in my life, and so I was up for the challenge! Our host, Bill, shared a few words about the wine making process and showed us to our seats. In front of us was a large tasting glass, a 100ml graduated cylinder, and a 1000ml beaker. Each barrel was equipped with a specially designed tap that, with a simple twist, allowed for easy access to the wine. Bill reinforced that we were in no hurry, we were free to try and to dump as much wine as we’d like, and above all else we should enjoy ourselves. It was time to get to work.

Now, some people might look at 15 Cabernet barrels and think, “Hmm, I know I don’t want fruity Cab, so I’ll just skip those.” Not this guy! I was there to make the best wine possible, and that meant trying all of my options. I decided I’d try the wines in the 3-barrel blocks and rank them within those groups. From those favorites, I then created a mini tournament bracket to determine my top 3-4 Cabs. Between the initial Cab evaluations and the bracket, I took a quick spin through the four blending varietals to see what stood out.

After a solid 45 minutes or so (and conservatively 30 tastes of wine, plus my heavy pour of Anthology to kick things off), it was time to bust out the graduated cylinder. I calculated my percentages and filled my cylinder with precision. From graduated cylinder to tasting glass to my mouth, the result of my creation was…pretty damn good! But it needed a bit more structure, and so with mild regret (but not before a few confirming sips), I dumped my glass, reworked my calcs, and tried again. This time, I had it.

The Master at work
While I worked my way through my glass to make sure I was confident with my percentages, I made the final calculations for my take-home bottle. Back to the barrels I went, 1000ml beaker in hand. Twist, drip, twist; twist, drip, twist and before I knew it my beaker was full of my perfect concoction. I headed back to my table, where Bill awaited with a bottle and funnel. Into the bottle went my wine, over to the hand bottling crank we went, and voila! My creation was preserved for all eternity (or at least for 6-9 months). The final touch was the label, where a quick sketch of my little buddy Rorschach found its way from my pen to the label and the Rorschach Cellars “Dinner” Blend (one of his favorite words and daily events) was christened.




The One and Only RorschachRorschach Cellars "Dinner" Blend


Bottling "Doodle's Mountain Blend"
The rest of our group finished up and we went back to the regular tasting room, bottles in hand. In case we hadn’t had enough wine already, Bill treated us to a tasting of a number of Conn Creek wines, including some single vineyard cabs made from the same vineyards we had just used in our blend, before finally sending us on our way with recommendations and tasting coupons.

I can’t recommend this experience highly enough. Just writing about it makes me want to return and play wine
maker for a day again, and I’m looking forward to the Barlin-Erlich-Miraski blending taste-off of 2012. While $95 is expensive, you carry home a bottle of self-made wine from really solid fruit, have at least 3 full glasses of wine plus unlimited tastes, get a full bar tasting at Conn Creek, and get to experience something totally unique. My only regret is that I walked out and forgot my blending book (perhaps due to the aforementioned 30+ tastes?), so the magical formula for the Rorschach Dinner Blend is only a wispy memory, but that just means more reason to go back!  This will be an annual stop for us, especially with groups of friends.

Recommended wine: The Rorschach Dinner Blend! The wine is up to you in the AVA room, so you can't go wrong!

Ratings (out of 5):


WINE
4.25
TASTING ROOM
5.00

ATMOSPHERE
5.00
VALUE
5.00

OVERALL
4.81

Bottega (4.50)




Open: Lunch 11:30am - 2:30pm; Dinner 5pm-10:00pm

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


Last barlinwine.com visit: 2011

Directions:

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The Meal:
After many evenings of "california cuisine" we were really excited for a change of pace with our visit Michael Chiarello's Italian restaurant, Bottega. This award winning restaurant serves up Italian food with a "refined twist," utilizing local produce and many house made ingredients like house made ricotta and burata.

Bottega is located in the Vintage Estates Marketplace in a great Yountville spot next to an open public lawn and surrounded by galleries and shops. They have a breezy outdoor "terrazzo" with cushy couches where they serve drinks. Inside, the restaurant is a bit more formal with warm reds and browns, leather and murano glass. My favorite part was their water cups. They serve water in hammered copper tumblers that look great on the table and keep water nice and cold. I was really tempted to buy them (they sell these super cute tumblers for $100 for 4 at Michael Chiarello's Napa Style store across the way which features various housewares, oils, spices and wines) but did go home empty handed.

We went to Bottega after our heaviest day of tasting and couldn't stomach the idea of more wine so we selected a large format beer from the list and decided to share a bunch of plates. With some recommendations from our server we ordered a delicious sampling of dishes including our favorites, the rigatoni with rabbit sugo, caramelized mushrooms, and housemade ricotta and the smoked and braised beef short rib. Everything we had was very rich. I would have preferred a few lighter dishes but I think that was more a factor of what we ordered (in classic Barlin family fashion) as I don't think the whole menu was that heavy.


Rigatoni with Rabbit Sugo Smoked and Braised Short Rib


Our server was very helpful and not put off that we didn't order wine and shared a few dishes between three of us. We really enjoyed Bottega and would love to return for a meal. I would also love to come back for drinks outside to enjoy the setting after a day of tasting.

Recommended food: All of our choices were quite good; the rigatoni was particularly tasty.


Ratings (out of 5):


FOOD
4.50
SERVICE
4.50

ATMOSPHERE
4.75
VALUE
4.25

OVERALL
4.50