A Tale of Two Wineries

or, “From the Penthouse to the Outhouse”

So, remember how a few months back I made a trip to Napa and was doing some real, live on time reporting to the blog?  Remember that?  Well, I got back and got walloped by being very busy all Spring.  I was going through some tasting notes and said to myself, “Self, why the hell haven’t you completed these blogs?”  I had no good answer for myself and, as such, here are the last two blog entries from my sojourn to Napa.  Enjoy.

On my last day there I had a really unique – and amazing – day that saw a huge dichotomy of winery types and styles in Napa, a mix of the old and the new and a fantastic illustration of how uniquely opposite Napa can be.

The Penthouse

Right after lunch – more on that in a bit – we visited Cade, the latest and greatest winery from the folks that brought you Plumpjack.  Cade is a monument to the fact that if money is no object you can build an amazing showplace of a winery.  We took the winding road up from Howell Mountain to the serpentine Cade driveway which ended in a gravel driveway.  There wasn’t much promise of anything up there until we rounded a final corner and saw a small, boxy building to our left and a really beatuiful, understated winery to the right.   That small, boxy building, however, turned out to be a STUNNINGLY gorgeous tasting gallery/living room with a floor to ceiling window overlooking the Napa Valley perched atop Howell Mountain.  Outfitted with sleek, modern fixtures and furnishings, this room looked like it belonged in Manhattan more than on Howell Mountain.  We certainly weren’t expecting a tony penthouse suite on top of Howell Mountain and commented as much as we were treated to a taste of their Sauvignon Blanc as we awaited our tour.

The Sign at Cade

The tasting room/Manhattan Penthouse at Cade

Our VERY brief (and pretty impersonal) tour began sitting in a courtyard overlooking a zero-edge reflection pool with the same view of Napa Valley, an awe inspiring view to say the very least.  We did a quick tour of the winery, which was an massive, cavernous cave excavation into the side of Howell Mountain and included all the modern trappings of a state of the art winery.  Although this was a fully functional, operating winery I felt more like I was in an art gallery or museum and really didn’t want to touch anything for fear of breaking something valuable.

The Courtyard at Cade

The Zero Edge Pool overlooking the Napa Valley. Pretty bad ass.

After our quick jaunt through the winery we were led back to the tasting deck and were treated to more Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain (from grapes purchased from small artisan growers in the Howell Mountain Appellation) and the Napa Cuvee Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (a Bordeaux style Cabernet Sauvignon).

The Sauvignon Blanc, as mentioned, was delightful.  Dry, crisp, melony and refreshing – everything a good Napa Sauvignon Blanc should be, and at $26 a bottle (!!!) it damn well better be.  I mumbled to my buddy under my breath that it reminded me of the line from Pulp Fiction “That’s a pretty ****ing good milkshake. I don’t know if it’s worth five dollars but it’s pretty ****ing good.”  There quite simply is absolutely no reason whatsoever – with maybe a handful of exceptions – that a California Sauvignon Blanc should break the $20 barrier.  Maybe that’s just me – and its not my investment I have to recoup – but that bright, delightful fruit starts to dim when I consider that for the same price I can get a wine of character, definition and sense of place from Pouilly Fume or Sancerre.  Moving on. . .

We tried the two Cabernets and, well, they were ok.  They weren’t great, they weren’t awe inspiring, they were just two good Cabernets.  Personally I thought they lacked the depth and explosion of their cousins on the Oakville Cross Road, in particulary considering their price tag.  Giving the wines the benefit of the doubt (I think they had just been bottled a few weeks prior – I hope) I have no doubt they will develop into long, lush deep elegant wines befitting the splendor of their home, but the day I tasted them they were not.  They were one dimensional and tannic, and I can spend a lot less than $60 if I want a one dimensional wine, particularly in this economy.  Again, considering their origin I’m sure they’ll develop into some blockbusters, but only time will tell.

The Outhouse

A little deflated about a visit to such an impressive facitility with par wines, we still had the envie for something good so we came down off Howell Mountain and made an impromptu visit to one of my very favorite wineries in the Napa Valley: Casa Nuestra.  I first discovered Casa Nuestra about 10 years ago, before Matt Kramer blew the secret, when a friend of mine introduced me to her friend, a girl from Memphis (who’s name escapes me) who had taken a job as Assistant Winemaker at this little hippy, commune winery called Casa Nuestra.  Not expecting too much, Melanie (my friend) and I went to dinner at the nameless winemaker’s house for a cookout complete with Casa Nuestra wines.  I was BLOWN AWAY at the honesty, purity and integrity of the wines.  We were drinking (now this is in 2000 mind you) Cabernet Franc from 1990, Chenin Blanc from 1982, old Petite Sirahs and a number of other wines – all of which were just amazing.  The very next day I visited Casa Nuestra, toured the property, tasted the wines and have been a fan ever since.

So, coming down from CADE we pulled up to this place.  Needless to say, my friends braced for the worst.

Pulling up to Casa Nuestra was indeed a bit of a shock to the eyes, considering the temple we had just visited.

Our fears were abated, however, when we realized the Casa was under the protection of The King.

the walls inside are adorned with original music posters from 1960’s Fillmore concerts, winery hoe-downs and Elvis posters.  After getting over the culture shock of the room (and having been “greeted” by the house dog) my friends and I tried the Casa Nuestra Rose, the Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petite Sirah.  Being a card carrying member of the Casa Nuestra Wine Club I had to give my secret handshake for the tasting, but then the fun ensued.  The wines were as true and honest today as they were when I first tasted them 10 years ago, and in particular their Cabernet Franc is a lively and balanced and polished as any you’ll find in Napa.  The whole line-up of wines had soul and screamed the fact they were made care by someone who gave a damn, however, these wines don’t bear vanity price tags, nor do they bear price tags of the recouping of an investment, particularly considering that you can stand in their estate vineyard and, with relatively little effort, throw a rock into vineyard sites that produce bottles of wine costing hundreds of dollars.

We were invited to go through the barrel room and taste through more wines but we had to decline, having one more stop to make that day.  But, I did manage to buy a case of wine before I left (with The Boss reminding me I owned a wine shop) and now that they’ve had a chance to settle down I’ll no doubt be firing up the grill and inviting some friends over to pour them a glass of honesty.

Popularity: 6% [?]