(Napa East)
Number of wineries: 5
Average rating: 4.49
Wine Route Rating: Advanced (300)
Highlight of the day: We had been to the original Del Dotto, but this was our first trip to the ridiculous new Del Dotto Estate (4.88)
Notes: A day heavy with appointments and some fairly high-end stops makes this a 300-Level route. After a slightly disappointing stop at Failla, the rest of the day was quite enjoyable, capped by an amazing visit to the Del Dotto Estate tasting room and caves.
| Location | Start Time | Stop Time | Reservation? | Notes | |
 | Oakville Grocery (4.06) | 10:15 | 10:40 |  | The old standby for sandwiches in Napa. We got to compare sandwiches from here to Dry Creek General Store on back-to-back days…DCGS won handily. |
 | Failla (3.94) | 11:00 | 11:45 |  | Cute tasting on couches in a small hillside home. Diminished by a bad smoky aftertaste on one of the Pinots and an overemphasis on tasting fees |
 | Dutch Henry (4.25) | 12:00 | 12:30 | | A quick ad hoc stop when Failla ended a bit early to see if DH was still a solid tasting experience. Good enough to get Meredith to join their wine club! |
 | Bremer (4.94) | 12:45 | 2:00 | | Tasting with Richard on the day we officially decided to adopt him as our wine country "grandpa". In classic Richard fashion, he sent us on our way with 7/8 of a bottle of Howell Mountain Claret |
| | CADE (4.44) | 2:15 | 3:00 | | We arrived late to our 2:00 appointment (Richard can be chatty) but Jenny was all about rushing us through so it was okay. Beautiful setting I want to go back and enjoy over a longer period of time. |
| | Del Doto New Estate (4.88) | 3:30 | 5:30 | | Our first trip to the ridicuously opulent Del Dotto Estate in St. Helena for a fantastic tasting with Branden Miguelgorry. |
Route:
View Larger Map or View Directions in a separate window
Map:
View July 6, 2011 (Napa East) in a larger map
No comments:
Post a Comment