From Merryvale Vineyards

Please join us in our hospitality center. Open 10am to 6:30pm everyday, our inviting cellar is graced with a European fountain and formal gardens. The historic winery is ideally located within easy walking distance (¼ mile south) of St. Helena and is adjacent to world-famous Tra Vigne restaurant in the heart of America's premiere wine region.

Experience a true working winery setting, surrounded by French oak barrels and casks. Enjoy Merryvale's award-winning classic, reserve and prestige wines, shop for unique food and wine-themed gifts, and view our breathtakingly romantic special events setting - Merryvale's Cask Room.

Tasting prices: "Classic" selection $5 per person; "Reserve" selection $7 per person, "Prestige" selection $10 per person.

Merryvale hosts our own "Wine Component Tasting Seminar" every Saturday and Sunday morning* at 10:30 a.m. Cost is $20 / person and includes a tour of the winery.

* The fourth weekend of every month is Merryvale's "Wine & Food Pairing" seminar. Cost is $20 per person and includes a tour of the winery. For reservations to either seminar, call 800 326 6069 ext 439 or sign up online.

'Barrel Tastings' are held the second Saturday & Sunday of every month from 1pm to 5pm. $7 / person. No reservation necessary.

Private tours, tastings and seminars are available by appointment: tastingroom@merryvale.com or 800 326 6069 ext 439.

Merryvale Vineyards
1000 Main Street
St. Helena, CA 94574
(707) 963-2225
http://www.merryvale.com

Submitted by:
Bill York
California Accident Lawyer Directory

From Mumm Napa

Champagne-born master winemaker Ludovic Dervin leads the way, using his international experience to craft balanced, distinctive wines in the acclaimed méthode traditionelle.

Continuing the long tradition of handcrafted wine, each cluster of grapes is carefully selected and transported in small baskets. The harvest is then gently pressed using only the first, most pure, pressing to go into our sparkling wines. To ensure character in the style of méthode champenoise, every bottle is fermented separately. And, equally important, our grapes are still sourced entirely from Napa Valley.

Before our masters begin the winemaking process, each vintage starts with what Mother Nature gives us. Mumm Napa sources grapes from the cool southern Carneros region, Yountville’s warmer climate and the hot mid-valley Oakville and Rutherford regions. Each of the areas lends different characters to the wine. Carneros offers flavors of lemon/lime, Yountville adds an apple/pear taste, while you can savor kiwi and other tropical flavors stemming from the mid-valley. Our long-term relationships with top growers ensure that excellent grapes are continually available.

One of our primary sources of high-quality fruit comes from our own Devaux Vineyard, situated in the Carneros growing region. The vineyard possesses some of the finest, most ancient soils, including the first limestone outcropping found in the area. Limestone is a major component of the soil in France’s Champagne district, creating depth and richness.

Traditionally, grapes used in sparkling wine, such as Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, are picked at a lower harvest. The grapes can then retain the crisp acidity allowing for power, finesse and balance.

Mumm Napa combines technological innovation with traditional care in the vineyard. To preserve quality, our grapes are handpicked and placed into small, molded plastic containers, affectionately known as "Famous Yellow Boxes." Their simple, clever construction keeps the berries from being crushed and in prime condition for the presses.

Mumm Napa
PO Drawer 500
8445 Silverado Trail
Rutherford, CA 94573
(707) 967-7700
http://mummnapa.com/home.cfm

Submitted by:
Trudi Wendt
Pasadena Restaurant Forum

Pinot noir is derived from the french words for "pine" and "black" alluding to the varietals' tightly clustered dark purple pine cone shaped bunches of fruit.

Pinot noir grapes are grown around the world, mostly in the cooler regions. It is widely considered to produce some of the finest wines in the world, but is a difficult variety to cultivate and transform into wine.

The United States has increasingly become a major pinot noir producer, with some of the best regarded coming from the Willamette Valley in Oregon; California's Sonoma County with its Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast appellations, as well as the Central Coast's Santa Lucia Highlands appellation and the Sta. Rita Hills American Viticultural Area in Santa Barbara County.

The tremendously broad range of bouquets, flavors, textures and impressions that Pinot noir can produce sometimes confuses tasters. [2] In the broadest terms, the wine tends to be of light to medium body with an aroma reminiscent of black cherry, raspberry or currant. The grape's color when young, often compared to that of garnet, is often much lighter than that of other red wines. However, an emerging style from California and New Zealand highlights a more powerful, fruit forward and darker wine that can approach syrah in depth.

The popular image persists that California Pinot Noir is a light, fruity wine of no consequence, but California vintners over the past twenty years have been improving site and clonal selections, viticultural methods, and vinification techniques to increase their record of success. The nominees for Best Supporting Appellation in California Pinot Noir are much the same as for Chardonnay: Santa Maria Valley (Santa Barbara County); Russian River Valley (Sonoma County); Carneros (in both Sonoma and Napa Counties); Anderson Valley (Mendocino County); as well as the Pinnacles (Monterey County) and, recently, Santa Lucia Highlands (Monterey County).

Great Pinot Noir creates a lasting impression on the palate and in the memory. Its aroma is often one of the most complex of all varietals and can be intense with a ripe-grape or black cherry aroma, frequently accented by a pronounced spiciness that suggests cinnamon, sassafras, or mint. Ripe tomato, mushroom, and barnyard are also common descriptors for identifying Pinot Noir. It is full-bodied and rich but not heavy, high in alcohol, yet neither acidic nor tannic, with substantial flavor despite its delicacy. The most appealing quality of Pinot Noir may be its soft, velvety texture. When right, it is like liquid silk, gently caressing the palate. Pinot does not have the longevity in the bottle of the darker red wines and tends to reach its peak at five to eight years past the vintage.

Submitted by:
Tim Langdorn
Pasadena Restaurant Reviews

From Ballentine Vineyards

Ballentine owns 100 acres of vines spread among the Crystal Springs Vineyard at the base of Howell Mountain, Pocai Ranch between the Napa River and the Silverado Trail and the Home Vineyard at the winery. After selling their grapes for many years to wineries; Cabernet Sauvignon to Caymus, Cabernet Franc to Rombauer, Zinfandel to Rosenblum, Ravenswood and Mondavi, Van and Betty decided to revive the Ballentine brand that Van and his dad worked at for many years at Deer Park. They started by having their grapes custom crushed for a small production in 1992. In 1995, they built a winery, behind their 100-year-old farmhouse. They revived the original bonded winery number 3595 issued to his father, John Ballentine, in 1933 after prohibition ended. Ballentine Vineyards produces red wines, perfectly suited to the Northern Napa Valley climate and vineyards. Our production is less than 10,000 cases of Zinfandel, Syrah, Merlot and with a future release of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah and Cabernet Franc.

Ballentine Vineyards focuses on red varietals; Zinfandel, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Syrah. Each vineyard supports our belief that it is vital to grow only those varieties that are best suited to particular aspects of the land; soil, exposure and climate. The grapes used for our wines are all 100% estate grown on 100 acres, from three distinct vineyards in the Napa Valley. Van Ballentine personally manages each vineyard.

Ballentine Vineyards
2820 St. Helena Highway North
St. Helena, CA 94574
(707) 963-7919
http://www.ballentinevineyards.com

Submitted by:
Tim Holt
Pasadena Restaurant Forum

Zinfandel is a variety of red grape planted in over 10 percent of California wine vineyards. It is typically made into a robust red wine. Zinfandel has such high sugar levels that it was originally grown for table grapes in the USA, and this sugar can be fermented into high levels of alcohol, sometimes 15% or more.

The taste of the red wine depends on the ripeness of the grapes from which it is made. Red berry fruits like raspberry predominate in wines from cooler areas such as the Napa Valley, whereas blackberry, anise and pepper notes are more common in wines made in warmer areas such as Sonoma County.

US producers make wine in styles that range from late harvest dessert wines, rosé (White Zinfandel) and Beaujolais-style light reds to big hearty reds and fortified wine in the style of port. Its quality and character largely depend on the climate, place of cultivation, the age of the vineyard, and the winemaking technology. Historically, California Zinfandels vines were planted in fields as a field blend interspersed with Durif (Petite Sirah), Carignan, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Mission and Muscat. While most vineyards are now fully segregated, California winemakers continue to use other grapes (particularly Petite Sirah) in their Zinfandel wines.

Decisions on when to harvest, how cool to ferment the wine, how long of a maceration period with skin contact and the level of oak aging can have a pronounced effect on the wine. At 23°Bx (the degree that most red wine is considered "ripe") strawberry flavors develop. With 24°Bx, the cherry flavors appear followed by the blackberry notes at 25°Bx.

Zinfandel as a red wine can be made light and fruity, much like French Beaujolais, or lively, complex and age worthy, like Cabernet or claret. It can also be made into big, ripe, high alcohol style wines that resemble Port. Zinfandel is also a component of most California "jug" wines, since it is the most widely planted red wine grape.

This vineyard proliferation can be attributed to zinfandel's hardy nature. Adaptable to a wide range of soils and climates, its vines tend to be vigorous and productive. Zinfandel also has a frequent tendency to set a second crop.

At its best, Zinfandel (red) has a very fruity, raspberry-like aroma and flavor and a "jammy" quality.

Zinfandel is one red varietal that is probably best enjoyed in its youth, within three to five years of the vintage. With more bottle age than this, the luscious fruit that distinguishes Zinfandel drops markedly and the wine can show a pronounced "hot" taste of higher alcohol levels and become more neutrally vinous.

Submitted by:
Gloria Stearns
Redlands City Guides And Directories