Kenneth E. Harker
2007 Napa Valley

Jen and I spent a September day visiting the wineries in Napa Valley, California. This was our second trip to Napa Valley, and we tried to visit mostly smaller wineries with wines we've never tried before. We drove further north into the valley than we've been before and worked our way south. We had a very nice lunch at Pizzeria Tra Vigne in St. Helena. We're getting better about tasting wines (more tasting, less drinking), and were able to visit ten wineries during the day.

These photos are copyright © 2007 Kenneth E. Harker. All rights reserved.

	Our first stop was Bennett Lane Winery, north of the town of Calistoga.
	It was still overcast early in the morning. This is a vineyard next to the driveway for the tasting room facility. Bennett Lane Winery is technically located on Bennett Lane, but visitors access the property from the driveway off state highway 128.
	I think these were Cabernet Sauvignon grapes at Bennett Lane Winery. They must have been very close to harvest.
	We stopped briefly at Chateau Montelena Winery. As one of the two Californian wineries that stood victorious at the 1976 Judgement of Paris, this winery has an important place in United States wine history. The winery was at the top of a hill surrounded by woods, with nary a grape in sight. The wine was unexciting to me.
	Our next stop was St. Clement Vineyards north of the town of St. Helena.
	The winery tasting building is located on a hilltop overlooking state highway 29. The parking lot was located at the bottom of the hill.
	The view from the top of the hill was very nice. This is one of the narrowest parts of the valley.
	Jen took this photo on the front porch of St. Clement Vineyards.
	We saw these little lizards at several of the wineries we visited. I figure it's always a good sign to see wildlife around vineyards - it means nobody is using really harsh pesticides.
	Like many others, St. Clement Vineyards have roses at the end of every row. Their 2004 Oroppas was my favorite wine, but like many of those we tasted on this trip, you have to wonder about the quality to price ratio.
	Just before lunch, we decided to stop at Duckhorn Vineyards. This was my second visit to Duckhorn, but Jen's first. It was a spur of the moment addition to our itinerary, as we'd driven over to the Silverado Trail only to find the tasting room for one of the wineries on our list was closed.
	The view from the gardens around the tasting building, out over the vineyards. I have yet to have a 100% Merlot wine from Napa Valley that I like better than Duckhorn Vineyards Estate Grown Merlot.
	Jen, on the porch at Duckhorn Vineyards. Jen's favorite wine was the 2004 Estate Grown Merlot, mine was the 2004 Rector Creek Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon.
	I think these grapes at Duckhorn Vineyards were Merlot. I'm sure they were within days of harvest.
	Our first stop after lunch was Hall Wines in St. Helena. This turned out to be our favorite winery discovery of the trip. Their regular Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon bottling was very, very good.
	This very distinctive modern sculpture is located in front of the winery building.
	Another whimsical scultpture in front of the winery.
	Inside the tasting room at Hall Wines. The Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons at Hall were our favorite.
	Our next stop was Sequoia Grove. You can see some of the giant Sequoia trees around the winery buildings. Since this is in the center of the valley, it really makes you wonder what the valley looked like before the arrival of European settlers. There was a lot of construction going on at the winery, so we were directed by signs to a patio area under the trees.
	Our next stop was Turnbull Wine Cellars. The tasting room was through the open door.
	This old Turnbull Vineyards delivery truck was parked at the winery. The winery's name was changed to Turnbull Wine Cellars in 1993, so the lettering on the door at least is not original.
	Next, we visited PlumpJack Winery, which is well-known for being one of the first wineries in Napa Valley to use Stelvin wine closures. We're big fans of the screw cap as a better wine bottle closure.
	Some of the vats at PlumpJack Winery. We really enjoyed the wines at PlumpJack, especially the 2005 Syrah, which we will look for in our wine stores at home.
	Our second to last stop of the day was ZD Wines. This is one of our favorite Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon producers.
	The wrought iron gate with the winery's logo. Our favorite wine on this trip was the 2005 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. I'm not sure it was quite as fantastic as the 2002 we have one bottle left of at home, but it was very good nonetheless.
	The winery and tasting room are built on a hillside below the Silverado Trail. The walkway between the road and the building is nicely shaded in the afternoon.
	Our final, very brief stop of the day was at Clos du Val. The winery was very pretty, but the wines were all pretty boring.