FTJ, Entry 99: We Can't Stop Wining

There was no napping in Napa, my friends. We spent four very busy and terrific days here, the land where one winery is more beautiful than the next. And with more than 200 to choose from, we didn't even scratch the surface!

The first day, we chose to stop at Peju winery mainly because, well, I had to "go." And it was very lovely. And they were supposed to have a yodeler (they didn't). Beau enjoyed the wine tasting, but the wines, not so much.

We also went to Castello di Amorosa, a replica of a medieval castle painstakingly built the way they built these monsters back in the 1500s in Tuscany. It had a moat, a dungeon -- the whole works. The wine tasting was in the cellar, within arched walled chambers. We had a lot of fun with the bartender Domenico.

Beau's Guinness T-shirt gets "Hey- I like that shirt!" comments everywhere he wears it.

The tasting room.

 

Other views of the Castello, including Domenico, bottom right.

The drive around Napa and Sonoma counties was beautiful, but in a way surprising, in that we expected to see lines of grape plantings tumbling down gently rolling hills, as we did when we were in Temecula. We didn't. Instead, most Napa/Sonoma vineyard designs are on relatively flat land. And consequently, a bit less picturesque, at least until you get up to the northern end of the valley, where the two mountain ranges that form the valley squeeze closer together.  But as you can see, the vistas are stunning in their own way.

And Then We Crossed the Rubicon...

So far, we had not had any wines we were particularly impressed with. But then we visited the fabulous Rubicon Estate, a Francis Ford Coppola production. This showplace was formerly the Inglenook winery (remember their jug wines way back when?). We learned, however, that at one time, Inglenook -- created by Gustav Neibaum in the 1880s -- was one of the finest wineries in the world. A long history of economic challenges and a disastrous takeover by Hueblein (from Connecticut) led to the eventual purchase (1975), reclamation, and restoration by Coppola.

Being the artist that he is, he brought the winery back to its former glory, and added his own special touches, such as a main staircase made from wood he had cut down to create an airstrip for his Belize hotels. He shipped the wood to Napa, then hired 20 carpenters who crafted the tongue and groove (not a single nail or screw in it) staircase for an entire year. The result? Stunning.

 

A close up of the stained glass at the top of the staircase.

 

The road to Rubicon.

A grape arbor outside the winery.

Gorgeous fountain and pool at the front of the winery.

I peeked behind a velvet drape to take this photo of the winemaking room upstairs.

Both the exterior and the interior of Rubicon are perfection. And the gift shop is beyond belief, designed in a way that makes you want to buy out the store. The merchandising is exquisite. Each item is a unique piece, very expensive, and totally in character with the winery itself.

And what did we find upstairs? An intriguing museum of magic lanterns (a series of pictures placed inside a lantern which is used to produce moving images), but whaddyaknow, a Tucker! I love Tucker automobiles (circa 1948), ever since seeing the movie Tucker: The Man and His Dream, and doing some research on Preston Tucker. This is my second Tucker on this trip! Later I found out that Coppola directed the movie, so having one of the cars on display makes sense.

Views of Rubicon Estate, which we learned is soon to be called Inglenook again. Coppola recently obtained the rights to the original name for the winery. Top right, where we tasted -- and bought -- some terrific wines.

The gate on the road leading to Coppola's home, behind the winery. His house is the original mansion built by Gustav Niebaum.

You can barely glimpse a house behind the bushes. Coppola and his wife Eleanor
live here, raised their children here.

I could go on and on about Rubicon. To make a long story just a bit longer, we did the tour and tasting and were blown away by the wines. In fact, we ended up spending too much money on two bottles of the 100% Cabernet, called Cask. (The special 2007 Rubicon cabernet was stupendous -- one of the best we had ever tasted -- but cost $145 a bottle!!)

Coppola purchased three of these kiosks in France, thinking they could be used as ticket booths, but then later realized that plan would not work. Now they are merely decorative.

The retail shop.

One section of the Rubicon vineyards; our tour guide, Stan, on the left.

I will give the Napa wineries story a rest for now.

Just one more photo, of our campground host, Dave. We stayed at the Napa Expo RV Park, right in town, and had a great time talking with Dave about the area. He is a really nice fellow, and good friends with restaurateur Guy Fieri -- the host of the Food Channel's Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.show and a Santa Rosa, CA, resident.

Our terrific campground host and next-door neighbor during our stay, Dave, a former Marine.

Next time, a few more wineries, including Coppola's "destination winery" in Geyserville, (not Geezerville!) and our trip on the Napa Wine Train.

Tanks, Panky