Open: 10am-4pm
Appt required? No
Last barlinwine.com visit: 2012 (May 15, 2012 Itinerary)
Directions:
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Tasting:
Piña Napa Valley is in a prime spot, right in the heart of the Silverado Trail. So why had I never noticed it or stopped in before? On my last trip to wine country, it was time to remedy the situation.
I arrived at the tasting room somewhere around 12:30 on a slow Tuesday in May. Entering in through the human-size door next to the large service bay door, I found myself in a small barrel room. A circular table with a slew of bottles was calling me, and I made my way in that direction.
There was something missing, though…people! A caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of my eye.
“Mmmmmph! Un sec!”
Apparently I’d stumbled in just as my host was finishing her lunch. She scarfed down a few more bites in the office, apologized profusely for keeping me waiting, and started pouring.
The standard tasting menu at Piña included three Cabs and one Late Harvest Chard. We started with the 2009 Napa Valley “CAHOOTS” Cabernet which I found to be good but unspectacular. Next up was the 2007 D’Adama Vineyard Cabernet. This turned out to be my favorite Piña wine, with lots of fruit, oak and vanilla. For my third wine, we went off-menu. A club member had been in earlier and they had their 2008 Wolff Vineyard Cabernet open. I preferred the D’Adamo to it, but the Wolff was close on its heels. My last Cab was the 2007 Howell Mountain Buckeye Vineyard Cabernet, a wine I was very excited to try given how much I love Howell Mountain fruit and how much I liked the D’Adamo and the Wolff. It turned out to be good, but it did not quite live up to my lofty expectations.
We finished the tasting with an obligatory splash of the 2009 Late Harvest Chardonnay and I carried away a bottle of the D’Adamo. I was definitely surprised with the quality of wine at Piña. Prices were a bit higher than I would have guessed prior to the tasting (other than the CAHOOTS which was $45, all of the Cabs were $75-$85), but the tasting experience had a rustic, laid back feel. Perhaps it was the animal skin lying over several bottles, but the atmosphere reminded me a bit of Dutch Henry. I left pleasantly surprised and hopeful that my next stop, Cliff Lede, would be as good as I remembered.
I arrived at the tasting room somewhere around 12:30 on a slow Tuesday in May. Entering in through the human-size door next to the large service bay door, I found myself in a small barrel room. A circular table with a slew of bottles was calling me, and I made my way in that direction.
There was something missing, though…people! A caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of my eye.
Apparently I’d stumbled in just as my host was finishing her lunch. She scarfed down a few more bites in the office, apologized profusely for keeping me waiting, and started pouring.
The standard tasting menu at Piña included three Cabs and one Late Harvest Chard. We started with the 2009 Napa Valley “CAHOOTS” Cabernet which I found to be good but unspectacular. Next up was the 2007 D’Adama Vineyard Cabernet. This turned out to be my favorite Piña wine, with lots of fruit, oak and vanilla. For my third wine, we went off-menu. A club member had been in earlier and they had their 2008 Wolff Vineyard Cabernet open. I preferred the D’Adamo to it, but the Wolff was close on its heels. My last Cab was the 2007 Howell Mountain Buckeye Vineyard Cabernet, a wine I was very excited to try given how much I love Howell Mountain fruit and how much I liked the D’Adamo and the Wolff. It turned out to be good, but it did not quite live up to my lofty expectations.
Recommended wine:The D'Adamo Vineyard Cabernet was my personal favorite, followed closely by the Wolff Vineyard Cabernet
Ratings (out of 5):
 WINE | 4.50 |  TASTING ROOM | 4.00 |
 ATMOSPHERE | 4.25 |  VALUE | 4.00 |
 OVERALL | 4.19 | ||
Jody and I went tasting this afternoon and decided to give Pina a try. We had driven by it several times on the Silverado Trail but had never stopped. The wine was good, all 2011 cab vintages. After the quality of the wine, the tasting experience went downhill. it was small, understaffed, no space for anyone to lean or sit and rest a glass. We enjoyed the Howell Mountain Cab (not as good as CADE or Ladera, but good), the Wolff cab and, best of the bunch, the firehouse cab. However, the ambience was so bad that we will not be going back for another tasting. The wines are worth ordering, but the tasting was a deathly chore.
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