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Part 1: Wining.Fruit of the Vine

hen I see them I eel like Ivearrived in my own personalGarden o Eden. Their heights

are almost as inexplicable as their presenceover the unassuming elds they loom. Theyare weird. They are sentinels. They arehe giant, mysterious trees that mark theouthern entrance into the great Valley o

Napa, Caliornia. To me, they symbolisemy own growing appreciation o the rich

ntrospections, gastronomic raptures, sensualcharms and just plain delight that Napa has tooer. They, as my Napa knowledge, grow witheach visit. I hope to never catch up.

The oundation o Napa wines iscomprised, to no surprise, o grapes.

Chardonnay, in the white column, is byolume the worlds avourite wine. Many o herersions are airly neutral in smell, taste andoul. Not really much to delve into, or refect

upon. A vodka among white wines, unlessdone right. I you choose generic Chard over

W

Keith Hoffman, in his two-part Napa Valley series, road-maps through sinewy vines

and imbibes during delectable times on a recent tour through Napas wonderland.

They dont call it the Golden State for nothing.

all else, it may just be that you love oak. Perhapsyou might want to plant an oak tree and milkits sap over your morning crumpets. But thosemade with care have almost no resemblanceto the ubiquitous, oaked-up masses. As youcan tell, Im not generally a an. However, Napa,France and other global locales do make somestunning works. In Napa, try Far Niente, whomake a sublime version. Other Napa whitesinclude Sauvignon-Blanc, Semillon and Viognier,

and i its white youre ater, you must try RobertSinskeys Abraxas, and Conundrum WinesConundrum (with a heritage rom CaymusWinery). But here, well ocus on the reds.

Cabernet is the thick-skinned red heavyweightand undisputed champion o the world. Cab is themain ingredient in both Napa reds and the blendsthat make Bordeaux a global household nameand produces a wine o multi-layered and variedruit, spice and earth favours. Try Far Niente,Malk Family Vineyards, Spottswoode, Mondavi,Franciscan, Stags Leap, and Van der Hayden.

Pinot Noir is the master o elegance. Shecan be an aromatic vixen, complex, inviting,thin-skinned, oten feeting, but alwaysthought-provoking. Incredible to drink, yes, butmake sure to spend more time breathing herin than you would or any other Napa varietal.Watch her perumes change over time. Likea great cigar, Pinot can trigger deep, neededintrospection. Or she can be boring as hell.Choose wisely. Try the Vandal Vineyard Pinot

rom Robert Sinskey. So good it actually hurts .Many o the vineyards listed in the Cab sectionalso produce good Pinots.

Merlot is the red equaliser used as a singlevarietal or a blending buddy that brings asmoothness, roundness, jamminess and a back-stage pass to both Napa and Bordeaux blends.When medically prescribed as a pure varietal,it may sometimes lack the complex, layered,favours o great Cabs and Pinots. However,Merlots can also be among the most enjoyableand drinkable wines in existence. Examples

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om France like Chateau Petrus prove that

erlot can be king. In Napa try Duckhorn, Van

er Hayden, Provenance, and Beaulieu.

Even bigger than Cab in skin thickness and

mack actor is Syrah. Gorgeous purple to

ownright black wines can be made rom this

rape, so it can sometimes compete with Cabor complexity and intrigue. As a result, it needs

g, avourul oods as a pairing as it decimates

u. Try Sequoia Grove and Laird.

Where the Magic happens

rom the entrance, the grounds, to the classy

rst human contact, Far Niente states loud and

ear that youve arrived somewhere special.

he confdence isnt smug; it actually rings

genuine entitlement. They make some o

e worlds fnest Cabernets, Chardonnaysnd a sweet wine called Dolce. All three will

agnetise your senses.

Far Niente has an astounding 40,000

quare eet o cavestangible evidence

at cave-aging is the way to go. Their cave

ollections o vintage wines are stored here,

which is a great service or people wanting

to buy older bottles. Plus, you can rest assured

the wine was stored properly and didnt suer

a summer sweating in someones lorry.

FN Chardonnays involve no malolactic

ermentation, and the very highest standards

or grape selection are stuck to. And the end

result? The 2006 Estate Chard has the weightto seemingly coat your entire mouth or minutes;

so round, ull and unreal when compared to most

Chards. The 2004 cave collection Chard was

even deeper. These are must-try Chardonnays.

Regarding FN Cabernets, the process

includes spending a week on skins to extract

more avours, and aging occurs only in French

oak barrels, with about 80 percent o them

being new. The chestnut wraps you will see on

the aging barrels on tour historically were used

as a sentinel or wood-boring beetles, but noware just a pleasant decorative touch.

With the 2001 vintage, they began using

only ruit rom their Oakville plots, and they add

in small, varying amounts o Petit Verdot. The

2005 is magnifcenta complex, meaningul

drink with about 91 percent Cab, 4 percent

Petit Verdot, and 5 percent Cab Franc. At my

tasting, the 1998 cave collection was brought

out to wow and to teach. It also served as anexample o FNs previous blending styles,

with Cab accounting or just 76 percent o the

blend. Most wineries would never showcase

a wine rom a tough year or the valley, like

1998. Incredible wines can be made in o

years, no question, and Niente achieved

A superb Far Niente varietal is a must-taste.

Inner light. A magnifcent-lookingcellar stocked ull o Far Niente treats.

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that in spades. ThatFN brings out a 1998, andwallops you with it, well, thatust reminds you, yet again, thatyou are bearing witness to trulyuperb winemaking.

Dolce, FNs sweet wine, isessentially Americas ChteaudYquem. Dolce grapes aregrown on a Western-acing (i.e.ocean) slope where early morning ogaces the ruit (right) with the moisturehat the ungus botrytis loves. Thehriveled ruit is all tediously hand-

harvested in November o each year.The resultant wine is aged in French oak

or up to two and a hal years in a specialDolce cave, which is even cooler than FNsegular cave system.

I usually attempt to not wax on with hazyinobabble but this beast makes me break

down. First, her golden hues appear alive and

otherworldly. The wine dippedlow in my mouth, and thenascended up, with elegant

orce, to unload a basket ullo dripping, crushed peaches. A

ripe pause, and then my tonguebegan a ride on a slip-n-slide

lubricated with a warm pearreduction explosion. Finally, shelingers, all the while unleashing

gossamer avours that dart to andro like benevolent ghosts.

Another big proponent o caveaging is Pine Ridge. I did a barrel-

to-bottle tasting across a wide range,and it was excellent. This is a truly great

vineyard, and some o their aged wines canrival the frst growths o Bordeaux. Also, a veryattractive cave and tour.

The 2007 in-barrel Rutherord Cab wasonly on wood or six months, and it was almostbeey with a massively tannic ater-bite that,

thankully, rapidly subsided. This will be oneto watch as it mellows. The 2005 was muchsoter, but still similar to the 2007. The 2007Oakville Cab in barrel was creamy, and didnthave the tannic monster o the Ruther ord inbarrel. The 2004 Oakville was excellent, butthe 2007 Stags Leap Cab, in barrel, alreadytasted like a premier Bordeaux, except or a

jamminess that surely will subside with thepersuasions o time. The 2005 Stags Leapwas simply astounding. The 2004 Howell was89 percent Cab with a 4-percent contributionrom the Tannat grape.

Robert Sinskey Vineyard had a Pinot thatrocked my socks o. Its as hip as it is good. Iteels like a mini vacation when you are at RSV.

We had an especially amous time with Toby,whose card reads Im a pretty big deal aroundhere. He, like so many in this valley, loves his

job, that it obvious.RSV does a lot o voodooy, organic stu.

Their results, however, make it hard to pokeany un. Further, on the science side, theycompletely appreciate that their dirt is wherethe action is. They are proud dirt armers andstudied afcionados o the soil. Their spectaculawines reect, and beneft, rom this marriage ocalculated witchcrat and mud. The 2004 VandaVineyard Pinot is a bomb among frecrackersand their Cabs are also excellent. And their

white blend, Abraxas, is a treat and can bepurchased in tall magnum ormat.

Malk Family Vineyards is not yet opento the public, but is accessible once a yearduring the Vineyard to Vintner weekend inthe Stags Leap District o Napa, whichhappens every April.

Just two small acres in ront o the MFVhome site orm the backbone o one o theworlds greatest Cabs. Their vines are justmetres away rom a legendary block o Cask23 rom the Stags Leap Cellars. You mightnot be able to get a visit, but you can drinkthe nectar, available via their website only

(malkamilyvineyards.com).Remember this name, ame is soon

coming or them.

tasting room tips

First, look at a winery map o Napa. Figure

out a trajectory that passes by, in order, the

wineries youd like to visit. This is especially

important when the valley is crowded. Id

suggest no more than our wineries in one

day. Second, call ahead and make a tastingand/or tour reservation. I you dont, many

places that say appointment only can

actually accommodate you on the spot.

Third, buy a cooler, ice and plenty o water

beore hitting the Valley. You will buy some

wine; its unavoidable, even i you dont

intend to, and it will die in your car in the

heat. The water is so you dont end up with

a headache at 5pm and ruin the great night

o dining ahead.

Many like to go to tasting rooms early to

beat the crowds. Fine i that suits you and

your taste buds, but be sure to ask or a resh

pour as some tasting rooms have been known

to pawn o yesterdays long-opened and

oxidised bottles to unsuspecting people.

Be polite. The people pouring or you,

well, wine is their lie. Learn rom them.

Ask what your pourer likes. Ask or help

at any time and about any wine topic.

As you taste, keep notes on what kind

o grapes you preer, ruit levels, regions,

blends, vintage years, the type o

winemaking, barreling preerences, etc.

Various winemakers will no doubt have

selections that are akin to your personal

recipe. Ask or samples that might meet

those characteristics, but also make sure to

constantly test your assumptions. Try styles,

blends, and varietals youve never had beore.

As you and your wine knowledge grow,

certain tastes may all in and out o favour.

Also see i they have wines that are only

available at the winery.

The wines, sadly, may never taste as good

at home as they do when you had them at

the winery. Thats okay. A winery is usually

a gorgeous, lively place where the romance

o making wine, coupled with proper serving

temperatures, dashes o relevant tasting ino,

etc. synergise to make any vintage seem that

much better.

Dont taste to get drunk. There are great

places to get hammered and have un in Napa

Valley. Do not plan this as an option or an

aternoon o tasting.

Matchmaker: For every hole, there is a bung.

Hoffman and varietal grazer Zach Roberts.