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Introduction
Below you will find tasting notes that we have collected on various wine tasting trips that go back about 25 years or more.
One of the objectives of our tasting trips is to have fun (of course) and to find wines that are both enjoyable and reasonably priced. Reasonably priced is a key concept. We have stopped visiting many wineries because their prices have just gone out of site.
With our notes, we will attempt to:
- To share more personal observations about the wineries we visited …
- To share our impressions, experiences and, most particularly, a little bit about the people we encountered on our journeys.
Who Likes What
We will be adding bios for each Winemaker so that you may learn more
about our individual likes and dislikes when it comes to wine. That way, you might identify one of us as having tastes similar to your own (or not!)
and have that person become your vicarious tasting representative. For example, Marc isn’t a big fan of Petit Sarah’s whereas Sam is. Sam tends to grade on overall impression where Jim and Marc might use
adjectives/phrases like “hint of cherry picked on the south side of the tree,” or “taste like old movie theatre licorice” …yeah, right!
Tasting Grades/Philosophy
We grade wines on the an A through F scale. Most often, tasting notes and grading will be
done by one the Chateau Garage winemakers listed above. Occasionally we will feature guest tasters and identify them as such. However, we will not attempt to put grades for every wine
we taste on the site…there are just too many wines to transcribe. Rather, we will include a general write-up of our experiences highlighted by mentions of specific wines. This way, you
should get a fairly good idea of the quality of wines the winery is producing, any trends and whether the winery was a nice place to visit. For example, we have been visiting Clos PeGase
winery for years (Sam has notes going back to 1991; Marc back much farther than that) and have watched their wines progress from a mix of “B” and “A’s,” to just about “A’s” across the
board. In addition, Clos Pegase is an absolutely beautiful winery to visit.
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Special Event
September 25, 2004
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Part tailgate, part 60th birthday party for one of Chateau Garage’s founders, Sam Grinels, this event centered around a four flight tasting of wines
of the Syrah family. This included Syrah (also known as Shiraz by the Aussies) and Petite Sirah (which isn t really Syrah but a distant cousin properly named Duriff but still tastes similar). Click here for results of the tasting.
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Clos Pegase
February 8, 2002
1060 Dunaweal Lane, Calistoga, CA 94515
707/ 942-4981
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Part winery, part art museum, Clos Pegase is one of the most striking facilities in the Country. And, they have very consistent wines and a
fun tasting room staff to boot. If you find yourself on the upper end of the Silverado Trail, this is a “must-see” stop.
We have tasting notes that go back to when the winery opened (1987). Highlights from this last trip include:
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Chateau Garage winemakers visit with Cher Hays-VP of retail operations & tours.(l to r, Tony, Sam, Cher & Marc)
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Madrona Vineyards
January 14, 2001
High Hill Road,
Camino, CA
530-644-5948,
800-230-7662
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A very pleasant, family owned winery located in the Placerville area of California. Small, cozy tasting room and very friendly
atmosphere. Compared to Napa, most wines were very reasonably priced at $12 to $20. .
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Sarah poured for us during our visit. |
A view of Madrona’s vineyards |
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Wine
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Price
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Allan
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Marc
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Rich
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Sam
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Comments
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1998 Chardonnay
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$12
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B+
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1997 Reserve Chardonnay
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$18
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B+
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1999 Marsanne
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$15
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A-
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1999 Zinfandel
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$14
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A
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1998 Zinfandel
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$20
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B+
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1997 Cabernet Franc
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$14
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A-
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1999 Syrah
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$16
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A
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1999 Quintet Blend
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$20
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A-
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Summers Winery
February 3, 2002
1171 Tubbs Lane
Calistoga, CA
(707) 942-5508
www.sumwines.com
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Somewhat off the beaten path in Calistoga, Summers Winery had a couple of finds (read: outstanding value). A tiny tasting room, but worth the stop.
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Ginny was the pouring on the day of our visit. |
Addendum. Click here for an e-mail from Ginny about recent “goings-ons” at the winery.
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Wine
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Price
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Tony
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Marc
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Sam
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Comments
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1999 Viognier
(Lodi & Monterey)
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$10
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B
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B
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B-
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Floral nose; not much fruit; grassy & flowery
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2000 Viognier
(Lodi & Monterey)
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$10
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A
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A-
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B
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Vanilla & floral nose; taste of oak
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1999 Charbono
Estate
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$24
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A-
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A
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A-
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Impressed enough to buy it right there; tannin up front; blackberry
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1997 Zinfandel
(Napa)
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$10
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B-
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C
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B
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Light overall.
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2000 Zinfandel
(Estate)
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$24
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B+
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B+
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A-
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Cherry; lots of tannin; raspberry
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1998 Reserve Merlot
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$20
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B+
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A-
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B
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Forward fruit; cherries; wood; coffee
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1999 Merlot
(Knights Valley)
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$22
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A-
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A-
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A
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Chocolate & cherries; shows well; well made
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1999 Bordeaux Blend
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$32
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B+
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A-
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A-
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Interesting chocolate & black pepper
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