Author Archives: Cathy Gartley

Peju Province Winery

Leave a reply
Peju Province Winery

Peju Province Winery

8466 St Helena Hwy, Rutherford, CA 94573

Website: http://www.peju.com/

My first thought upon arriving at this winery was that the owners must be of French heritage. The winery is housed in a 50 foot, pink stucco tower resembling a French Provincial tower. It is surrounded by a pool and fountains. The parking lot was lined with Sycamore trees and a view of the vineyard. Beautiful gardens and landscaping with Greek mythological statues encompass the area leading to the tasting room. It would be a lovely place to relax and read a book.

The owners of this winery are Tony and Herta Peju. Although they were both born in Europe, neither one is French. Tony’s birthplace was on the Caspian Sea and Herta was born in Austria. The two of them were living in Los Angeles before purchasing the 30 acres of land in Rutherford that is the Peju Province Winery today.

This was one of the most fun wine tasting experiences that I have had in Napa. The interior of the winery is 1600 square feet with a mezzanine. On the lower level, there are various wine accessories for purchase and there is a large stained glass window created in 1906 depicting the three Greek graces in a beautiful garden. A hostess greeted us upon entering the tasting room and led a small group of us up the stairs to one of two tasting counters. Rather than conducting separate tastings for individuals, the Peju tasting room “ambassador” pours all the same wines for the entire group gathered around the counter, sharing the story of each wine and history of Peju. When the tasting is complete, the group is ushered out and a new group is brought up to the counter.

This was a unique experience and our “ambassador” was entertaining. I enjoyed the educational aspect of the tasting, and we were encouraged to ask questions as we were sampling. I found the wines to be enjoyable.  The Provence Rosé and Carnival white wine are very easy drinking wines that are refreshing on a hot, summer day.

Peju Province vineyard in Rutherford, CA

Peju Province vineyard in Rutherford, CA

Iron Horse Ranch & Vineyards

Leave a reply
Iron Horse Winery

Iron Horse Winery

9786 Ross Station Rd, Sebastopol, CA 95472

Website: http://www.ironhorsevineyards.com/

Iron Horse is a little off the beaten path, located in the middle of Sonoma in the Green Valley appellation. This area is not too far from the coast where it’s cool and foggy, and has the perfect growing conditions for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. This is a family owned estate winery established by Audrey and Barry Sterling in 1976. They both grew up in California and Barry was an attorney in LA. Barry and Audrey lived in France for almost a decade, which fueled their desire to live on a vineyard. When they couldn’t find land in France, they returned to California and discovered the Iron Horse property. Today there are three generations who live on the property ranging from 19 to 84 years old. Iron Horse was named after a railroad stop that passed through it in 1890. The logo on the wine label is a horse on a weathervane that came from a 19th century weathervane discovered on the property during construction. Rodney Strong, one of the Sonoma pioneers, planted the first 55 acres of Chardonnay in 1970. The first vintage of estate Chardonnay was produced in 1978. The first Pinot Noir vintage was in 1979 and also marked the official opening of the winery. 1980 was the first vintage of sparkling wine.

Iron Horse's outdoor tasting bar

Iron Horse’s outdoor tasting bar

This winery is worth seeking out. The drive to the winery is along a one lane road with tall palm trees lining each side of the road. The winery itself looks like a farm house, but the best part is the gorgeous views of rolling hills. I visited in the fall and the vines were covered in golden leaves making the landscape look like a painting. There is a very rustic, outdoor tasting area. The tables are made from large planks of wood held up by wine barrels. The tasting menu is written on a chalkboard and there are no dump buckets. When we wanted to get rid of our wine we were instructed to walk over to the side of the hill and dump it. Our server was very nice and taught us that “the smaller the bubbles, the better the sparkling wine”.

Iron Horse’s wines have received loads of accolades in wine magazines. They are well-known for their sparkling wine.   Their wines are often served at the White House and have been tried by dignitaries around the world. One of their popular sparkling wines for parties is the Wedding Cuvée. They also produce a limited Oceans Reserve Blanc de Blancs where $4 of every bottle sold goes to National Geographic’s Oceans initiative. All of the sparkling wines are worth a try in my opinion and I’m not usually drawn to sparkling wine. I really enjoyed all of the Chardonnays as well. My personal favorites were the Rued Clone Chardonnay that was light and lemony and the buttery Heritage Clone Chardonnay. I took a couple bottles home with me. This is definitely a winery I’d return to and recommend to friends.

A beautiful view from Iron Horse Ranch

A beautiful view from Iron Horse Ranch

Darioush

Leave a reply
Darioush Winery

Darioush Winery

4240 Silverado Trail, Napa, CA 94558

Website: https://www.darioush.com/

This winery is named after its owner Darioush Khaledi. Darioush grew up in Shiraz, Iran where his father made wine as a hobby. He became a collector of fine wines as an adult and immigrated to the United States in the 1970’s.

Darioush's elegant tasting room

Darioush’s elegant tasting room

The winery visitor’s center opened to the public in August 2004. It is located off the southern end of the Silverado Trail in the Oak Knoll district. The architecture was designed after Persepolis, the ancient capital of Persia. Materials and furnishings for the winery were brought in from exotic locations. A beautiful fountain and 16 stone columns stretch the length of the walkway to the entrance of the tasting room. Once inside the tasting room, I felt like I was in an art museum or a fancy Las Vegas hotel. My impression was that this was a place for wealthy people and I felt under-dressed in my casual clothes.

I found the tasting fee to be a little high for a sampling of 5 current release wines. The Darioush Estate includes Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Shiraz, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier. The wines are high quality but a bit pricey. This was a very pretty winery to see but I felt it was geared toward more affluent visitors.