Tag Archives: Napa Valley

Monster Halloween Wine: ZD Abacus Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley XVIII

Posted on October 30, 2017 by waywardwine

This Halloween, if you really want to blow minds and scare money out of your wallet or purse, consider a wine unlike any other. It is made by ZD winery, which has grown for three generations under the deLeuze family. They make great Napa Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, but their organic Caberent Sauvignon vineyard in Rutherford is top notch. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Abacus, candy, Count, Dracula, drink, Halloween, immortality, Napa Valley, solera, undead, wine, Winery, ZD, zombie, zombies | Leave a comment

Family Matters: Winery Tour of Trefethen Family Vineyards Oak Knoll Napa Valley California

Posted on August 14, 2017 by waywardwine

Go to Napa or read the back of a wine label: most wineries will insist that a family owns them. This selling tactic attempts to ground all the Disney-land glamour onto something parochial and familiar. But family ownership is not unique, roughly 80% of wineries in Napa are. Nor does family ownership ensure smallness or quality. Gallo is a family. So are mafias. Heck, corporations are people these days.

Thus, I visit Trefethen with trepidation. They too point to the Trefethen family’s ownership as a defining feature. But is it? Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bats, beef, cabernet, chardonnay, drink, family, Food, grapes, heritage, Napa Valley, owls, travel, trefethen, wine | 4 Comments

Cave Winery Tour at Jarvis Estate Napa Valley

Posted on July 25, 2017 by waywardwine

Our Napa Valley tour continues. After an extravagant whole day at Opus One (read here), we continue to dip our toes into this gilded pool with a stop at Jarvis Estate.

William Jarvis went from the Navy, to college and much travel, to found his own telecommunications company (you may have heard of HP) in Silicone Valley. Loaded, living part-time at his Chateau in France led him to wine. As one does, he bought an 1,320 acre retreat in SE Napa Valley, near Coombsville, and planted 37 acres of vines over ten years. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, California, chardonnay, drinks, Jarvis, Napa Valley, tourism, travel, wine | 3 Comments

A Second Round of Opus One

Posted on July 18, 2017 by waywardwine

My job has flung me back to Opus One. A year and a half ago my wife and I paired our eighth anniversary with a visit. After three hours, we left impressed but confused. Can a single wine, no matter how good, merit a whole facility and army of employees?

Well, time for the prodigal son to return. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Bordeaux, Cabernet Sauvignon, California, drinks, Food, Mouton-Rothschild, Napa Valley, Oakville, Opus One, travel, wine, Winery | 3 Comments

Revel in the World’s Biggest Wine Bottle Punt

Posted on April 6, 2017 by waywardwine

Now, I am not implying that Krupp Brothers Winery suffers from an inferiority complex, size issue, or that they are over-compensating for anything in particular. But *cough *cough Look at that punt. You could fit a foot in that punt. That … Continue reading →