Author Archives: Cathy Gartley

Domaine Chandon

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Domaine Chandon

Domaine Chandon

1 California Dr, Yountville, CA 94599

Website: http://www.chandon.com/

Domaine Chandon was founded in Napa Valley in 1973. It is owned by the famous French champagne house Moët & Chandon. The winery has been using the méthode champenoise to make sparkling wine with California grapes since it opened its doors. Chandon also offers three types of still wines – Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier – which are traditional grapes for making champagne in France.

Fountain and pond at entrance to Domaine Chandon

Fountain and pond at entrance to Domaine Chandon

Walkway to Domaine Chandon

Walkway to Domaine Chandon

The architecture drew me in from the parking lot. To get to the winery, visitors walk across a small bridge with a pond and fountain on one side, and a stone mushroom field on the other. Once across the bridge, there is a large trellis that leads to the front doors of the building.

Inside the doors is a wine shop. Along the way to the Tasting Room, there is a huge wall of wine bottles right across from the stairs leading up to the tasting area.

This tasting room is more like a lounge rather than just a tasting bar found at most other wineries. Guests have the option to step right up to the bar for a tasting, sit at a cocktail table, or go out on the terrace to sample wines by the glass, flight, or bottle. There is a nice view of the property and art exhibits. They also offer an appetizer and sandwich menu to go along with the wine tasting.  There are a few tour options for those who want a more about how the sparkling wine is made.  Check their website for details.

This tends to be a popular stop for tourists and can get rather busy in the tasting room. The first time I visited was in February and the tasting room was not overly busy. I thought this was a nice stop at the end of day because the sparkling wine was refreshing and cleansed my palate from a full day of wine tasting. Our server was able to give us one-on-one attention. On my second visit in May, the tasting room was full and it was like pushing through a crowd at a night club to get to the bar. Everyone was crowded in together and the servers had little time to explain each wine, never mind answer questions. Despite the crowds, I really enjoyed both the sparkling and still wines and would return to the winery during the off season when it is likely to be less busy.

Clos du Bois

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Clos du Bois

Clos du Bois

19410 Geyserville Ave, Geyserville, CA 95441

Website: http://www.closdubois.com/

Clos du Bois is nestled in northern Sonoma in the Alexander Valley appellation. I had a preconceived notion of what this winery would be like and it turned out to be much less than what I expected, but in a good way. I was imagining something much more prominent and of a grander scale. This is because I had heard about and seen the Clos du Bois name quite a bit back home and thought it might be comparable to a winery like Robert Mondavi or Beringer in Napa Valley. Instead, Clos du Bois is in a quiet section of Alexander Valley with a modest tasting room and outdoor picnic area under a gazebo. The building that houses the tasting room looks like a large modernized wood barn. Vineyards surround the road leading into the winery and parking area. In retrospect, I think the architecture is very befitting of the rustic nature of Alexander Valley.

The inside of the tasting room is brightly lit due to all of the windows that bring natural light into the room. The high ceiling makes the room feel very wide open. As I first entered the tasting room, there were small tables with wine gifts to the left and right and a large U-shaped tasting bar that took up two-thirds of the room. I have visited the winery a couple of times, and I learned on my second trip that the tasting room can get very busy. Fortunately, the extra-large tasting bar can accommodate a lot of guests. On both occasions that I visited, the server was friendly and willing to answer any questions that I had. They also offered to pour 1 or 2 additional wines that weren’t on the tasting menu when I inquired about them. To be truthful, I wasn’t a huge fan of Clos du Bois when I had tried their classic wines at home. I thought those wines were good, but nothing exceptional. Yet, I was still interested in checking out the winery and I’m glad that I did because they have some really lovely wines that are sold exclusively at the winery. My personal favorites were the deliciously fruity 2007 Cabernet Franc that tasted of cherries and dark chocolate and the 2007 Old Vine Zinfandel made from 75 year old vines and tasted of blackberries, cloves, and vanilla.

Between 2007 and 2019 the winery was one of several in Napa and Sonoma owned by Constellation Brands. In April 2019 the winery was sold to Gallo as part of a $1.7 billion deal that included 30 wineries in total.  There are a few tour and tasting options available, including a stroll through the vineyards or a tour of their restored wetlands.  They also have a “movie under the stars” event each month in the summer.  Check their website for additional information.  I definitely have a new appreciation for Clos du Bois wines after visiting the winery.

Far Niente

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The entrance to Far Niente

The entrance to Far Niente

1350 Acacia Dr, Oakville, CA 94562

Website: http://farniente.com/

Far Niente is an Italian phrase that means “without a care”. This phrase is carved into stone on the front of this historic winery. The winery was founded in 1885 by John Benson during the Gold Rush era. The building was designed by Hamden McIntyre, the same architect who created the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone (formerly Christian Brothers Winery), Trefethen, and Inglenook wineries.   This is a gravity flow winery, which means that there is very little man-handling of the grapes. The gravity or leveling of the winery allows the grapes to move naturally from one area to another. This winery was abandoned during Prohibition and later purchased by Gil Nickel in 1979. He was also the owner of Nickel and Nickel down the road before he passed away. His wife and kids now run the winery. Gil restored the property after he purchased it, and it is now on the National Register of Historical Places. Gil was also able to acquire the original 1886 Sweet Muscat, believed to be oldest California wine in existence that was found in a wine cellar in Marin County.

Far Niente produces two varietals of wine, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. The winery also owns Dolce, its sister winery, which produces a late harvest wine often referred to as “liquid gold”. The only way to sample any of these wines without purchasing them is to reserve a tour. Advance reservations are needed.

A view of the Mayacamas Mountains behind Far Niente

A view of the Mayacamas Mountains behind Far Niente

I found the real beauty of this winery to be the property, more than the wines themselves. The property includes 13 acres of gardens. Driving into the winery, we drove down a long drive lined by trees. Then we drove past green fields of vines with a gorgeous view of the Mayacamas Mountains. It was stunning!

The fountains and pond at Far Niente

The fountains and pond at Far Niente

As we drove up to the building, we parked beside a pond with bubbling fountains. Next we walked along a pathway between the parking lot and winery surrounded by flowers and pretty bushes. The entrance is actually on the upper level of the winery. As we walked through the doors, there was a sign greeting guests with our names on it.  They had our names because only guests with prior reservation are permitted into the winery.  It was a nice little touch. Inside the waiting area there was a vintage-looking couch in front of a fire place and a wooden spiral staircase leading to a floor above. We waited there for a few minutes for our small tour group of 8 to gather.

Barrels of Dolce wine inside Far Niente's wine cave

Barrels of Dolce wine inside Far Niente’s wine cave

The tour started out just outside the winery where our tour guide talked about the history of the property. Then we ventured into the wine caves. This winery has over 40,000 ft. of wine caves. Work on the first 60 ft. of caves started in 1980. Almost 10 years later, a 3-phased expansion began that was completed in 2001. The modern caves are impressive. In the center of the cave is a wine library where we stopped to take pictures. The winery keeps bottles of past vintages on hand and releases a limited amount of their aged wines each year.  Within the wine cave there is also a section for their Dolce wines. There is a gate labeled Dolce that separates the barrels for the late harvest wine from all of Far Niente’s other wines.

Gil Nickel's car collection

Gil Nickel’s car collection

One of the other highlights of the tour was getting to walk through the Carriage House where Gil Nickel’s rare car collection resides. The collection includes cars from America, Britain, and Italy. Gil collected everything from classic sports cars, elegant high-end models like Alfa Romeos, motorcycles and new advancements in technology. Our tour guide informed us that the cars are not just there to look pretty. The family actually takes them out for a drive now and then to ensure they are in good working condition.

We finished up our tour back inside with a sit down tasting. We sampled two Chardonnays, two Cabernet Sauvignons including an older vintage from 2006, and the Dolce. The wines were paired with a cheese plate. Our guide was really pushing the wine club, not surprisingly since the wines are upwards from $65 for the Chardonnay and over $100 for Cabernet Sauvignon. I feel like I didn’t appreciate the wine as much as I should have considering how pricey and hard to get they are, but I did enjoy the tour. It was a nice way to end our trip in Napa Valley.