Wine Tasting Notes: Schramsberg Vineyards, Calistoga

"A Night on the Town," dedicated to Schramsberg's legendary riddler of more than 36 years, Ramon Viera, who retired last December.

As a Napa Valley local, I’ve visited Schramsberg maybe half a dozen times over the last few years, but today I’ve finally decided that this winery offers the mother of all wine tours, hands down. The deep history, the unique property, and the world-class sparkling wines are practically unrivaled here in the Napa Valley, and for these three reasons, Schramsberg truly belongs in a class by itself. I’ll just leave it at that. Below, I’ve posted scans of my Schramsberg tasting sheet, with my scrawled notes included. It’s kind of a lazy approach, I know, but I have to drive up to Mendocino for wine tasting tomorrow morning, and it’s late. I will quickly acknowledge that the 2006 Schramsberg Brut Rosé ($41) crushes all of the local competition. And as expected, the 2003 Schramsberg J. Schram ($100) is a stunner. I may flesh out some additional details later, but will probably just move on. It’s all pretty much there, anyway. Read it, and weep (bonus points for those who can decipher VC”GD”).

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