Author Archives: Cathy Gartley

Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars

Stag's Leap Wine Cellars

Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars

5766 Silverado Trail, Napa, CA 94558

Website: https://www.cask23.com/

I would like to start by pointing out, like all the tour guide books do, there are two wineries located in the Stags Leap District with similar names. Do not confuse Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars with Stags’ Leap Winery (note the location of the apostrophe). These are two distinctly different wineries. The wineries battled over their name until 1985 when a judge ruled that both wineries were entitled to use Stags Leap in their title since it referred to the geographical area in which they are located.

It is understandable that both wineries would want to associate themselves with Stags Leap after the acclaim that the region received following the 1976 Paris Tasting. Chateau Montelena was not the only California wine to beat out the French at the blind tasting. They took first place for their 1973 Chardonnay, and Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars came in first place in the red wine category with their 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon. The winemaker of that Cabernet Sauvignon was Warren Winiarski.

There is an interesting history about Warren Winiarski and Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars that George M. Taber writes about in his book Judgment of Paris. The name Winiarski means “son of a winemaker” in Polish. Winiarski grew up in Chicago where his father made honey, dandelion, and fruit wines in his basement. After high school, he joined the Great Books program at the University of Chicago and later received a graduate degree in political science. While studying political science, Winiarski spent a year abroad in Naples, Italy. There he discovered how wine and food brought families together during mealtimes. This experience lingered with him while he was living out his life as a lecturer at the University of Chicago and supporting his wife and two young children. He wanted to provide a better lifestyle for his family and saw wine as his way of doing that. He began researching the winemaking process and tried making his own wine at his home in Chicago. Then Winiarski managed to get himself an apprenticeship at the Martin Ray winery south of San Francisco. After leaving the Martin Ray winery, he was determined to work at a winery in California and sent letters to other wineries until Lee Stewart at Souverain Cellars offered him work. He loaded his family and belongings in his station wagon and drove cross country to Napa Valley.

Coincidentally, once Warren Winiarski arrived in Napa Valley, he followed a similar path to Mike Grgich, the winemaker of the 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay that took 1st place at the 1976 Paris Tasting. Winiarski arrived at Souverain Cellars in 1964 during the grape crush. He started working right away and stayed there for two years to watch the entire annual wine cycle twice, taking in as much about the winemaking process as he possibly could. There was a ghost winery near the house where Winiarski was staying where he would conduct his own wine experiments until he purchased 15 acres of his own on Howell Mountain in 1965. He left Souverain Cellars in the fall of 1966 and soon after landed a job as winemaker at the new Robert Mondavi Winery while Robert’s son Michael was performing his military duty. In 1968, Winiarski left the Robert Mondavi Winery to go out on his own as a consultant winemaker. While acting as a consultant, Winiarski studied the soil types and microclimate weather conditions of the whole valley in order to find the perfect property for growing grapes. In 1969, he met a man named Nathan Fay and sampled a wine that Fay made from the Cabernet grapes on his property. Winiarski thought the wine was outstanding and had the fortune of purchasing the 50 acre property right next to Fay’s. He purchased the property in February 1970 and planted his new vineyard in the spring of that same year. This is the same vineyard that produced the 1973 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon that was entered in the 1976 Paris Tasting.

Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars prides itself on its history, and this is reflected throughout the winery and in the price of its wines. Visitors are welcome to stop into the winery for a tasting with no advance reservations. There is an option to taste the Napa Valley Collection Wines or pay a larger fee to sample the highly acclaimed FAY, S.L.V. and Cask 23 Estate Cabernet Sauvignons. These wines cost over $100 a bottle, making the tasting fee seem like a drop in the bucket.

Hands of Time wall at Stag's Leap Cellars

Hands of Time wall at Stag’s Leap Cellars

The winery also offers an Estate & Wine Cave Tour by reservation. My husband and I went on the tour and thought the caves were the highlight of the tour. The tour guide started off by talking about the history of the winery and vineyards. On our way to the caves, we walked by the Hands of Time wall. The wall represents all of the winemakers or viticulturists who “lent a hand” at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars between 1970 and 2003 when the Hands of Time: Winemaker’s reunion took place.

Foucault Pendulum inside Stag's Leap Cellars wine cave

Foucault Pendulum inside Stag’s Leap Cellars wine cave

The tour then continues with a walk through the caves that were completed in 2000. In the center of the caves is a huge Foucault pendulum suspended from the ceiling that marks each passing minute. That alone was worth seeing. The other part that I really enjoyed was the spectacular view at the exit of the caves. We walked out to a view of lush, green vineyards with a mountain in the background. Since I visited, the winery has added an outdoor tasting area looking out over the historic FAY vineyards and Stages Leap Palisades. We finished the tour with a sit down tasting in a private room located off of the main tasting room. There we tried the FAY, S.L.V. and Cask 23 wines.

I would put this winery on my list of places to visit in Napa Valley because of all of the history.  Warren Winiarski sold the winery to Ste. Michelle Wine Estates and Marchesi Antinori in 2007.  They have upheld the history, beauty of the property, and reputation of the wines.  A bottle of the Cabernet Sauvignon that put Napa Valley on the map is now kept in the Smithsonian.  Overall, I enjoyed the winery tour but there is a bit of pretentiousness at this winery.  I respect their history but didn’t find their wines to be so exceptional that I would pay such high prices for a bottle.  I’m sure there are others who disagree.

Stag's Leap Cellars vineyards and palisades

Stag’s Leap Cellars vineyards and palisades

White Rose Estate

White Rose Estate

White Rose Estate

6250 NE Hilltop Ln, Dayton, OR 97114

Website: http://www.whiteroseestate.com/

My number one recommendation when visiting any place for the first time is to ask the locals where to go. They won’t usually steer you wrong (at least in my experience), and that’s how I often find some of the gems I wouldn’t have known about otherwise. White Rose Estate is one of those very pleasant surprises that my friend Denise and I encountered based on a recommendation from a couple of locals. The winery is located atop a hill in the Dundee area just up the road from Domaine Drouhin, Domaine Serene, and Vista Hills Vineyard. The location of this winery provides absolutely breathtaking views of the surrounding area. I had never heard of the winery before I visited, but as soon as I stepped out of the car and saw the view I was drawn in.

The view of Willamette Valley in the distance from White Rose Estate

The view of Willamette Valley in the distance from White Rose Estate

The current owner of White Rose Estate, Greg Sanders, purchased the farm house and property in 2000. The vineyards had been planted in 1980 and became well-known for the quality of their fruit. Other wineries like St. Innocent, Panther Creek, and Torii Mor had purchased grapes from the site and labeled them “White Rose Vineyard” on their bottles.  A gravelly road leads up the hill to the winery. Between the parking lot and the tasting room is a wide open grassy area with lounge chairs looking out over the rolling rows of vineyards directly out in front. I could sit and relax for a long time taking in the views of the Willamette Valley down below. Despite the fact that it was an overcast day, my friend and I still took a few minutes to snap some photos and breathe in the fresh air.

Front of White Rose Estate

Front of White Rose Estate

The exterior of the winery is a gray wood paneled building, nothing flashy. The entrance to the winery is flanked by green trees and shrubs to give it more life. There were two big barn style doors leading into the tasting room and a welcome mat at the entry. The interior was dark with black walls, wood floors, and wood paneling on the ceiling. The lighting was rather dim.  The doors were kept open to let in some natural light.  There were a couple of wine barrels for decoration off to the left and a wine bar to right.  The wine bar could easily accommodate three small groups of people at a time. There was also a small station to left of the wine bar with water and cup, and to start off the tasting the server gave us some club soda to cleanse our palate. It was a nice touch.

The tasting bar at White Rose Estate

The tasting bar at White Rose Estate

The staff welcomed us immediately as we walked through the doors. There were only a couple of other people in the tasting room at the same time as us, so we were able to take our time sampling the wines. I quickly became a fan of their fruit forward style Pinot Noirs. My favorites were the 2011 Luciole Vineyard Pinot Noir, 2012 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, and 2012 Winemaker’s Cuvée. They were well balanced with nice fruit and spice and a silky finish. Our server was very knowledgeable and gave us a lot of information about where the grapes for each wine cam from.  My one small complaint about our tasting was that there were little fruit flies buzzing around during tasting because the doors were open. The server explained that as soon as they open the doors the flies come around. It was a little distracting. Nonetheless, my friend and I both ordered some wines for home. Overall we really enjoyed this winery.

Clos Pegase

Clos Pegase

Clos Pegase

1060 Dunaweal Ln, Calistoga, CA 94515

Website: http://clospegase.com/

Clos Pegase is an interesting stop for anyone who is into art. The winery is located in Calistoga just up the road from Sterling Vineyards. It is difficult to miss the pink sign and architecture of the winery as you approach.

Fountain outside of Clos Pegase

Fountain outside of Clos Pegase

The original owners, Jan Shrem and his wife Mitsuko, built the winery as a celebration of art and wine. They meshed modern and ancient architecture with winemaking. The name “Pegase” represents the winged-horse Pegasus from Greek mythology. Jan Shrem who made his fortune in the Japanese publishing industry may not seem like the most likely originator of a winery in Napa Valley. While Jan was in Japan running his publishing business, he met his future wife Mitsuko who introduced him to the joy of wine. Wine soon became a passion for Jan and he decided to devote his life to winemaking in California. With the help of famed winemaker André Tchelistcheff, the Shrems created a wine estate where they could also show off their art collection.

Thumb sculpture at Clos Pegase

Thumb sculpture at Clos Pegase

There is an interesting story behind the design of the winery.  When the Shrems set out to build a winery they wanted to create a world-class destination that would express wine as an art form.  In association with the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, they hosted an architectural design competition in 1984 to determine who would design the facility.  The winning designer was Michael Graves.  I have been to several wineries in Napa that have sections of the winery dedicated to art – The Hess Collection, Mumm Napa, and Turnbull.  In comparison, Clos Pegase was truly unique.  There was artwork strewn throughout the property, some of it seemed very random, and there was a mix of ancient and modern art.  One of the most popular art sculptures was a large bronze thumb that sat in the middle of the vineyards. Outside of the entrance to the winery were several modern sculptures.  Some non-art aficionados like myself might call them bizarre.

The tasting room here is open to the public, but I think it’s worth splurging a little and making a reservation for the guided cave tour offered a few times a day.  When I went on the tour it included a walk through the property where the guide explained the art and architecture on the property.  We then walked through the caves and finished up with a tasting.  There were more than a hundred pieces of art to see throughout the property, both inside the Visitor’s Center and outside. There were also artists in the Visitor’s Center creating their own paintings. Within the caves, there is a theatre where the cave tour ends with a seated tasting of current and library wines paired with cheese and charcuterie.

Jan Shrem, at the age of 83, sold the winery to Vintage Wine Estates who own other properties in Napa, such as Girard and Cosentino, as well as some other wineries in Sonoma.  When the sale occurred in August 2013 he donated much of the artwork to UC Davis.  Some of the artwork has stayed.  The artwork is what stands out vividly in my mind any time I hear or read about Clos Pegase and made the winery truly different from its neighbors.  I have not returned since the sale to see what remains.