Pine Ridge (4.00)

http://www.pineridgevineyards.com/

Open: 10:30am-4:30pm

Appt required? No

Last barlinwine.com visit: 2012 (May 15, 2012 Itinerary)

Directions:

View Napa in a larger map or Get Directions

Tasting:

After a stellar visit at Shafer, I headed down Silverado Trail for a walk-in visit to Pine Ridge. The Pine Ridge tasting room faces east and has a generous outdoor seating area along with a medium-sized tasting room. On a Tuesday afternoon, I was the only person there, and I approached the L-shaped tasting bar. Pine Ridge offers two different tasting options: a Standard Tasting featuring some of their blends and Napa Cabernet for $20, or an Appellation Tasting for $40 featuring Cabernet from Oakville, Howell Mountain, and Stags Leap plus a taste of their $140-per-bottle Fortis. On most days I would have gone straight for the Appellation Tasting, but having not tried Pine Ridge wines before and with my palate not quite at its peak after the heavy pours at Shafer, I decided to stick with the Standard Tasting for this initial visit.

The first listed wine on the tasting sheet was the 2010 Dijon Clones Chardonnay, which I asked we skip in the secret hope that my host would swap in another Cab later on. Instead, he offered to swap in their Rosé. Not wanting to say "no" too many times, I agreed, and the Rosé was actually quite nice. We then moved on to the 2008 Charmstone, an entry-level Bordeaux blend that was so-so.

At this point in the tasting we stepped it up. The 2008 Cave 7 blend came next, a Cabernet made up primarily of fruit from Rutherford and Stags Leap, along with the 2009 Napa Valley Cabernet, my favorite wine up to this point. The tasting finished with the 2009 Onyx Bordeaux blend -- good but not amazing -- and a special bonus taste of the 2008 Stags Leap Cabernet that I enjoyed quite a bit.

Throughout the tasting, I had a friendly conversation with my host, whose bumpy red nose suggested a lifelong dedication to the consumption of alcohol. Sure enough, he had tons of stories about not just wine but also craft beer and scotch. It made for an interesting visit during the 30-or-so minutes I was there. In an effort to be responsible (and because nothing blew me away that I couldn’t get at home), I left without taking wine with me. But there's a decent chance I’ll be back in the future to try some of the other offerings and enjoy the outdoor seating area. Overall this was a decent entry-point stop for someone interested in Stags Leap district wines and a straightforward tasting experience.

Recommended wine:Nothing amazing, but the Cabernets I had (Napa and Stags Leap) were my favorite wines of the visit.

Ratings (out of 5):

WINE	4.00	TASTING ROOM	4.25
ATMOSPHERE	4.25	VALUE	3.50
OVERALL		4.00