Napa and Sonoma Wine Tasting: Falcor (4.38)

http://www.falcorwines.com/

Open: 10am-5pm

Appt required? Not required, but preferred by the winery

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

Directions:

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Tasting:

We manged to find our way to Falcor’s tasting room on the advice of a friend, and without the recommendation never would have stumbled upon it. Falcor conducts tastings out of their production facility south of downtown Napa. I’ve been accustomed to going to craft breweries in industrial parks, but this was the first time I’d done so for a winery.

We walked in to an empty room with a TV showing a replay of a Barcelona-Real Madrid match from the previous weekend. This also happened to be the day that the first leg of the Champions League semifinal between Barcelona and Chelsea had been played, a game in which Chelsea stole a 1-0 victory from a much better team. After poking around a bit and calling out a few “hellos?”, we found our host for the day, Chay Woerz, while he was still wearing his Messi jersey and bemoaning the match outcome in the privacy of his office. He apologized, scowled at me when I told him I was a Chelsea supporter, buttoned up his shirt to hide his jersey, and came out to start us on our tasting.

Chay tasted us through a tasting of several of their wines, including their Sauvignon Blanc, Henry Ranch Chardonnay, Dry Creek Zinfandel, and Napa Valley Cabernet. We also tried their “Le Bijou” (or “The Jewel”) Bordeaux blend. I thought the wines were quite good and reasonably priced between $35 and $45, with the Zin, Cabernet, and Le Bijou standing out for me.

While we explored the Falcor portfolio, Chay regaled us with tales from his past (in addition to managing the tasting room he is the in-house chef and has an extensive culinary background) as well as information about the origin of the winery. Interestingly, I assumed the name Falcor had nothing to do with the big furry white flying dog from The Neverending Story (“he’s actually a Luck Dragon”, Beth Marlow would correct me), but it turns out that sure enough that is the origin of the name.

The founder’s daughter had named her bird after her favorite movie character, Falcor, and poor Falcor the bird died shortly before her father bought the winery. She begged him to name the winery Falcor in the bird’s honor, and so he figured he’d at least explore the option, all the while assuming the name would be protected by Disney. According to Chay, for some reason Falcor apparently is the ONLY character in the Disney family not trademarked. Without delay, the winery snatched the name and the rest, as they say, is history (or, perhaps, luck – cue the puppeteer to make the giant dog wink!). On a side note, watch this if you never want to be able to look at Falcor the same way: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoXvBOv9wYU

We closed out the tasting with a quick tour of the facility, including a trip back to their production area and barrel room. Chay was kind enough to snap a picture of me and Steph and also give us a mini tour of his kitchen where he prepares delectable snacks for a five course food and wine pairing that Falcor hosts by appointment.

Despite the severly off-the-beaten-path location, the tasting room (or “salon”, as they are fond of calling it) is certainly worth a stop on your way in or out of town. Not having a pricey address allows Falcor to make solid wine at a reasonable price, and I look forward to visiting again at some point in the future as they continue to grow and evolve as a winery.