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The dining room at Bale Grist Mill State Historic Park
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I spent Saturday evening at the Third Annual Harvest Dinner at the Bale Grist Mill, hosted in conjunction with Slow Food Napa Valley and the Silverado Brewing Company. The event was held to raise money for the mill, which was originally constructed in 1846, and is the only operating mill of its kind west of the Rocky Mountains. The majority of the feast was provided by Number Fourteen, a delicious American mulefoot hog raised locally by chef Michael Fradelizio of the Silverado BrewCo.
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In many ways, I consider Calistoga to be a destination unto itself, a town somehow removed from the rest of the Napa Valley, not only geographically, but in its attitude as well. With the exception of Castello di Amorosa, the gauche opulence that pervades many parts of the Napa Valley seems to be mostly absent in Calistoga, which remains both rural and rugged. Most of my previous entries regarding Calistoga wineries have echoed this sentiment, along with my reminder this (pending) appellation can offer some really terrific wine values.
Certainly, one of the greatest wine [... read more ...]
I took a little road trip up to Calistoga this afternoon: a barbecued tri-tip sandwich from Buster’s was my original objective. Along the way, I decided that I should probably stop by to taste the new wines at Vincent Arroyo, since they had just released their newest vintages on Labor Day (an annual tradition at the winery).
I had last tasted at Vincent Arroyo at the end of May. Although I couldn’t recall my specific impressions, I do remember tasting three 2006 barrel samples of their single-vineyard Petite Sirahs, and I remember being duly impressed [... read more ...]
These days, most of the folks who are familiar with Charbono tend to be the old timers. These are the people who remember when Inglenook was one of the Napa Valley’s most reputable wine producers, long before corporate ownership ran the brand completely into the ground (as corporations tend to do). Inglenook, for a good number of years, actually used to bottle quite a bit of Charbono. Throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, the varietal was one of the winery’s more popular offerings, with a devoted customer base.
During its heyday, Inglenook was responsible for [... read more ...]
For most folks, visiting the Napa Valley simply means cruising the main drag, Highway 29, between Yountville and St. Helena. It’s what tourists have been doing here for the last 30 years. But, given the high concentration of wineries along this particular stretch, you can’t really blame people for taking the road most traveled: for the uninitiated, staying within the boundaries of this eight-mile segment has the dual benefit of being (a) easy to navigate with (b) most of the wineries offering decent enough wines. For tourists in the know, this stretch also provides an address for [... read more ...]
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