posted 05-03-2011 11:05 AM            

Another great report. Have never been to Luna, will have to look it up. I called for Kandice at Biale but was told she is on medical leave. Did you hear anything about her? We did not find much at Keenan either. I think I brought home a couple bottles of their Zin because I hated to leave empty handed. We were a little underwhelmed at Schweigher. I think I purchased a couple bottles of their Library Cab.

posted 05-02-2011 08:07 AM            

First stop was Luna, on the Silverado Trail. Everything was tasting delicious. We were the only ones in the tasting room and had a great time with the young man who was our host - he was very knowledgeable and had been working in the wine industry for several years. We are in their custom case club and it was time for the spring shipment, so it was very nice to be there and taste and then decide what to put into the case. We chose the 04 Reserve Cab, the 07 Blend, the 07 Reserve Sangiovese, and one 07 Moone-Tsai (cab) to save for a special occasion. Here is how Luna describes the Reserve Sangiovese: Our 2007 Reserve Sangiovese is a rich garnet red. The aromas of black raspberries, red currants, and lavender scent the nose. On the palate, there is a juicy burst of cherry, accented by tea leaves and cocoa. The tannins are firm and velvety, seamlessly holding the wine together. The lush finish lingers with more sweet cherry, pomegranate, and dense, dark chocolate. It must have been the dense, dark chocolate that sold me...

Next stop was Biale. Again, we were the only ones around and our host was a delightful young man from the Dallas area of Texas. We felt right at home And again, everything was tasting wonderful. Biale is consistently delicious - some wineries we visit may or may not hit the spot from one visit to the next, but Biale always satisfies. We sent home a case of the Royal Punishers Petite Sirah, the Like Father Like Son Red, and the Black Chicken.

After a leisurely tasting at Biale, we headed up-valley to Calistoga to pick up a picnic lunch at Palisades Cafe. We took our picnic over to Chateau Montelena and lunched on one of the little islands on Jade Lake - just lovely! We then had a private tasting - and the wines were better than ever. I don’t know what was going on this trip, but every place we went was better than we remembered! We had just gotten our club shipment, so we didn’t buy any additional wine.

It was time to zip over to Spring Mountain, so off we went. Keenan was our first appointment, and they were a bit busier than the others we’d visited, but still nice and relaxed. The last time we were at Keenan I was underwhelmed - I think it was late in the day and my palate was pooped, plus we had just eaten a picnic lunch of an odd assortment of tasty tidbits, and that can certainly effect one’s palate. Anyway, this time I enjoyed the wines more. We bought 2 cabs, a chardonnay and a syrah.

Our last stop of the day, before heading down the other side of the mountain, was at Schweiger. Their new tasting room was open - they had been building it the last time we visited. We had received a club shipment fairly recently, but my husband thought we should go ahead and send home a case of mostly the 2002 Cab with a couple of 2002 Merlot. He carefully carried with us the Port VIII We had a lot of fun in the tasting room. Our host was fun and we were the last appointment of the day - which meant a very relaxed and leisurely tasting. Chatted briefly with Diana and her dad, Fred (owner), who is one of the hardest working guys on Spring Mountain. He was getting on the tractor, heading over to put out a small fire. Last September we met him briefly after he came down from the roof where he had been repairing something. This is a family winery where everyone in the family works! We finally tore ourselves away from the fun and the fabulous views and headed down the mountain to Sonoma County.