“Walking through To Kalon, admiring its contours and vines, smelling the richness of its soil, I knew this was a very special place. It exuded an indefinable quality I could not describe, a feeling that was almost mystical.”
— Robert Mondavi
Happy Mondee Homieez :)
I think it's safe to say that Mercury is no longer in retrograde and that the universe is a bit more cheery now that the holidays are coming up. May the forces be with you.
I have finally caught up on my life and want to share with you a tidbit from my journey in Boston and Napa. Work was super stressful and I barely got any sleep but, I did enjoy a nice suite at the Boston Harbor Hotel and a full day of wine tasting in the Napa. Below is my recap.
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The Boston Harbor Hotel is one of my favorite hotels in Boston. Located on the historic Rowes Wharf Harbor, they are a member of Preferred Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, and a part of Boston’s only Forbes Five-Star waterfront hotel. The view of the Marina is breathtaking and the chef always makes a mean lobster roll on croissant. |
| My late night work station. No Sleep in Boston. |
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| I just love these slippers. If you know me, I don't really like walking around barefoot. |
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| One of my other favorite perks about the BHH is that they give you portable nail files so I can keep my hands nice and professional looking for the entire trip. It is a wonderful touch for female business travellers! |
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| Pano view of my amazing suite. Too big for just Lil' ol' me. |
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| I woke up to this beautiful view outside my window. Not bad Boston, not bad at all ;) |
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| Down the stairs from the Rotunda foyer you get this amazing dome overlooking the Marina. There's also a beautiful terrace where you can admire the Boston Harbor. |
I honestly didn't get to do anything other than work the entire time I was in Boston haha. So we move on to Cali. When I got to the Le Meridien SF, this delightful spread was waiting for me in my room. They usually put me up in the same suite every time I come through and they are very nice to me :)
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| #VIP all day baby |
California is always my favorite part about my cross country work trips because we never skip out on Napa.
Silver Oak is perfect for you if you love yourself some Cabs. The Vintners of Silver Oak are experts when it comes to food friendly Cabernet Sauvignons. They extensively age their cabs in American Oak and they become fantastically drinkable upon release. Some vinos need to breath, Alexander Valleys do not.
I think Silver Oak is special also because most of the other wineries I visited in Napa aged their vinos in French Oak barrels. French Oak has more spices and is considerably less dense. I am not a connoisseur so I will give you the info from real experts.
“The key difference, as I’ve understood, French oak is considerably less dense. The porosity and void space in between cells is greater than American oak and thus the wine has greater extractive surface area. The French oak specie also contains about 10 times the concentration of ellagotannin compared to American specie, thus providing a wine greater tannin structure. American oak, by contrast, contains tylose within the cellular matrix. This fills in the void space and decreases the extractive surface. As a result, American oak has a higher density, slower extraction, and a clove/nutmeg type spiciness. It’s also sweeter wood, containing about 5 times more complex 5-carbon carbohydrates and therefore a sweetness can also develop within wine aged in American oak cooperage.
The variety of experiences you describe in tasting American oak has much to do with the coopering selection of fine grain versus coarse grain staves in assembling their barrels. Another factor is the oak terroir, air-drying time and location, as well as coopering skills in bending staves and toasting. All these factors can greatly affect the integration of American oak flavors into wine. Poorly sourced wood, short drying time, and incorrect fire pot temperatures can make an American oak barrel taste planky, crude, and strong in dill and coconut shavings. The reason our American oak barrels perform so well, is that we take the time to work hand-in-hand with the coopers to specify forest, seasoning time, selection of fine grain, and toast level. We also carefully balance percentages of new oak and older cooperage, and match to the wine’s concentration.”
Thank you to Eric Baugher for sharing this information!
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| We started our boozy tasting with the lovely Chantel at 10am ha. |
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| I just wanna stick a straw in one of these barrels. |
Here's to lookin at you kid.
2009 Alexander Valley was my favorite. I just really liked the way it tasted and how smoothly it went down my throat. I brought a bottle back home with me. I think I'll pop that bottle during Thanksgiving dinner ;) gobble gobble
via Silver Oak
2009 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
WINEMAKER'S NOTES
Our 2009 Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is a complex wine with berry and floral aromatics and a lovely structure. It has a dark, ruby color and a vibrant nose of black cherry, wisteria and sweet baking spices. On the palate, the wine is elegant and expressive and echoes the berry, floral and spice notes from the nose. It has a classic structure of fine grained tannins and a long, layered finish. Given proper cellaring, this wine should give drinking pleasure through 2032
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| Those breadsticks were so fab. |
After the tasting at Silver Oak, I was famished and a bit buzzed so we went to Brix, one of my favorite restaurants in Napa. These pork chops were to die for. Mmmmm.
Remember my Blog Post on California Dreaming?
After our lovely lunch, we went on to more tastings. Even though I was already a bit tipsy...
Chimney Rock is owned by the Terlato family and is truly unique for their wines, environmental awareness, and their South African Architecture.
via Chimney Rock
The estate was established in 1980 by Hack and Stella Wilson, who brought their love of wine and South African winery architecture to the Napa Valley
Of the 100 oldest businesses in the world, 10 of them are wineries. Family ownership and caring for the land allows for this type of longevity. As such, sustainability requires a long-term perspective, one that we fully embrace. We view ownership and participation in terms of generations. As stewards of the land, management of our estate with minimal impact is of paramount importance. At Chimney Rock, it is this responsibility that guides our viticulture and winemaking processes.
Our practices include:
Our practices include:
- 100% solar powered.
- Recycled water for vineyard irrigation used for over a decade.
- Integrated pest management – a combined biological, cultural, and natural
chemical approach to pest management that minimizes environmental and health risks. - The use of cover crops planted between vineyard rows to help improve soil health.
“The objective for the Terlato family is to leave our surrounding environment in better condition than how we found it.”
- John Terlato
- John Terlato
This is da BOMB. Have you ever had such a rare mix? Cab Franc. It was unlisted on the tasting and I was lucky enough to get introduced to it by a colleague.
I brought a bottle home with me and didn't wait a day to open it, like a true American consumer.
We then moved on to Groth Vineyards for a change in scenery. This winery makes you feel like you are chilling under the sun in Tuscany...
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| Beautiful Rose garden |
Not gonna lie, by this time I was a bit fed up with cabs haha.
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| Omg. When will I have one of these in mi casa? |
The heavens lit up the earth when I was at Goth. It was quite divine.
I thought this was a torture device at first. The alcohol was definitely affecting my reasoning.
I just roamed around the vineyard at Groth and just marveled at everything until it was time to go to another tasting. That's right, another tasting :)
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Welcome to Robert Mondavi.
By this time, I was lit up for sure but you have to champion through the buzz when you're at Robert Mondavi!
Things got a bit hazy at Mondavi haha.
I couldn't possibly recap everything they told me so I brought you some info via Robert Mondavi
Robert Mondavi established his namesake winery in 1966 with a vision to create Napa Valley wines that would stand in the company of the world’s finest. He chose To Kalon Vineyard in the heart of the Napa Valley as the home for Robert Mondavi Winery. This first-growth vineyard, located in Oakville, California, is renowned for producing some of the finest Cabernet Sauvignon wines in the world, as well as for its Sauvignon Blanc grapes, from which Mr. Mondavi crafted his signature wine, Fumé Blanc.
Along with To Kalon Vineyard, Robert Mondavi Winery sources grapes from some of Napa Valley’s finest vineyards, including Stag’s Leap (Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc) and Carneros (Pinot Noir and Chardonnay).
Mr. Mondavi believed that wines should reflect their origins, that they are the product of the soil, the climate, and the careful stewardship of those precious resources. He also believed in combining the newest techniques and technology with time-honored winemaking traditions.
Our winemaking and vineyard teams are proud to carry on our founder’s mandate to always strive higher, to pursue Robert Mondavi’s goal of excellence with the same passion and innovative spirit, moving forward with programs that break barriers and open new frontiers.
Leading this initiative is Genevieve Janssens, Director of Winemaking. Genevieve, whose relationship with the winery began in 1978, was selected Winemaker of the Year by Wine Enthusiast in 2010.
They are located at 7801 St. Helena Highway in the town of Oakville at the edge of the To Kalon Vineyard.
Hope you guys enjoyed my hazy yet magical journey through a little bit of Boston and a whole lot of Napa.
Good luck with your week and if you feel blue, come ova and you can hang out with Leo AND Adam since we are babysitting this week.
XOXO
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