Livingston Moffett Wines is located in the heart of the Howell Mountain Appellation. This family-run winery uses a hands on approach to farming, winemaking, and sales to produce finely crafted wines. Trent Moffett is a second-generation vintner and carefully selects grapes from vineyards around the Napa Valley as well as from his family’s vineyard to make top-notch wine.
Sable Ridge Vineyards released its first wine in 1996 but is clearly on the fast track and becoming something of a cult favorite among its fans. Sable Ridge wines have twice been named Salute to the Arts Peoples' Choice Winery in the annual Sonoma celebration.
The wines we have made at Monte Volpe (which means Fox Mountain) since Monte Volpe first releases in 1991 are rich in color, fragrance, flavor and offer a great deal of finesse. Their structures are reminiscent of their Italian ancestry, but they display a vibrancy that is the hallmark of wines that are produced from fully ripened grapes.
In 1990 Joe started planting a vineyard on a 40-acre parcel in Calaveras county. He planted only Portuguese varietals. In 2000 Joe started building what would become Catano Winery on the lower level and the family home up top. February 2001 Joe met Anna, asked her to be his wife in July and they entered wedded Bliss in December. In October 2002 Joe and (8 month pregnant) Anna had their first harvest in their newly bonded winery. All grapes are hand picked, pressed, bottled, and labeled by a very supportive group of family and friends. After a hard days work, they enjoy food and wine together!Catano Winery created the brand name Quintetta because we primarily use 5 traditional Portuguese Port varietals: Tinta Cao, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Amarela, Tinta Roriz, and Tinta Barroca.
What a nice tasting room! I thought their wines were nice and balanced. The $5 tasting fee was certainly worth it. I am a big proponent of urban wineries and am thrilled that JC Cellars has set up shop in Oakland. If you visit in be sure to try Dasche's wines also!
We were able to do some barrel tasting and i can't wait for the 2012's to be released because they're already outstanding. Kirk, the owner, gave us an education on how they introduce new blends to existing vines through bud grafting and he told us about his neighbors and the wines they're producing. I felt like I was part of their family, just enjoying a glass or two of wine for the day.
This place is outstanding. The wine tasting area, the lobby, bathrooms, restaurant, gift shop, employees. Helps when you have a member with you. Food is tasteful & the wines are always perfect for pairing with whatever you decide to eat at the restaurant. It was very warm the afternoon we went, our first stop was wine tasting, second was the restaurant. Absolutely fantastic winery!!! And it's more than just a winery. There's a pool, bocce courts, shopping, and restaurants. Truly it's like a resort that happens to have wine. Lots of memorabilia too including the Oscars that FF Coppola won for The Godfather. Gorgeous place and excellent wines too! Highly recommended!
Located approximately 15 miles from the Pacific Ocean, the vineyard estate is blessed with cooling coastal breezes that produce exceptional grapes. Located in the smallest American Viticulture Area (AVA) in the state, Orfila wines have put San Diego on the international wine map. Orfila Vineyards & Winery is an award-winning boutique winery nestled in the pristine San Pasqual Valley agricultural preserve, approximately 30 minutes north of San Diego, just 5 minutes off the I-15, on the way to the Wild Animal Park.
This is way off the beaten path, but it is worth a stop if you're exploring the East valley or coming in from the 41. We stopped here on a whim after blowing through our wine budget at another winery down the road. I live to regret that. It's easy to miss and the road up to the tasting room makes you initially feel like you're in the wrong place, but the views are great at the top from the dinky building. It's remote, so you'll most likely be alone with your party, anyway. That's good because max capacity feels like it would be around six. The lady working the tasting counter is super cool. This is a no frills place, but that's what I love about the wine culture of Paso. They don't have a big selection of pours here, but what they offer is great. Half of the wines were cuvees, which I enjoy because there is something intimate about them, like enjoying the food of a chef you are a fan of. You submit to their palate. That being said, the Twisted wines are very good, especially the older of the two that were out for sampling. Hands down the best, though, is the cab.
Larkmead puts out some of the finest Cabs and Sauv Blancs in the valley. The vineyard itself is beautiful, located right on the valley floor. Sonny treated us great, explaining the winemaking process and the unique history behind Larkmead. Not to be missed if you are in Napa.
The Larkmead Vineyards tasting room is open from 10am to 3pm, by appointment.
