California Wine Tour

Picks from Napa Valley

Scott Greenberg , special to wtop.com

Yes, Virginia, there really are some wine values in Napa Valley, California. But just like the early gold rush, you have to mine for those nuggets.

I have just returned from a whirl wine (or is that wind?) tour out west where I spent three days judging just over 400 wines in the San Francisco International Wine Competition and then rewarding myself with three glorious - and hot - days kicking around the wine-fantasy world of Napa Valley.

After tasting all of those wines at competition - winners to be announced at a future show - kicking back and sampling a hand-picked selection of Napa's best was a welcomed relief.

Wines I tasted ranged in price from $15 a bottle all the way up to $500!!! a bottle. Needless to say, I enjoyed the later on someone else's charity. But for us mere mortals who still have car payments, here are a few wines in the "reasonable" price range that you might have to hunt around for, but it will be worth the effort.

The 2009 Neal Family Sauvignon Blanc is made from 100 percent organically grown grapes. The first thing you notice is the floral bouquet of acacia flowers and ripe mango fruit. The smooth, juicy mouthfeel exudes bright tropical fruit, including guava, mango and papaya, and finishes crisp and fresh with a pop of grapefruit on the finish. Just $18 for this remarkable wine.

Owners Randy and Lisa Lynch call their 2006 Bennett Lane Winery, Maximus a "Red Feasting Wine" and it's easy to see why. The blend of the Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, and Malbec results in a wine that opens with aromas blackberry, violets and chocolate covered cherries. On the palate the wine displays flavors of dark berries, mocha and more ripe cherry fruit. With elegant, velvety tannins that enhance the mouthfeel, the wine has a long fruit driven finish and pairs well with practically everything. $35

I am not a fan of over-oaked, over-extracted chardonnay wines - particularly ones made from fruit grown in the hot climate of the Napa Valley floor, but the beautifully balanced 2008 Signarello Chardonnay is stunning. It is a lesson in new-age California Chardonnay where the fruit is grown, managed, harvested from old-age vines and made on site. This kind of control helps produce a wine with a nose of creamy pears, orange blossoms and roasted nuts that lead to lovely flavors of green apples, tropical fruits and a hint of baked pear and butterscotch on the delightful finish.

Oz and James - | Santa Barbara Wine Tours

Oz and James in the California Wine Country

This video series, where two Brits tour the California Wine Country , is both amusing and instructive because, while Oz Clarke is a famous wine expert, his sidekick, James May, is not. He’s worn many hats (he’s best known for being co-presenter of a British motoring show), but none remotely wine related. So Oz tries to instruct him on the intricacies of wine tasting during what is billed as Oz and James’ Big Wine Adventure , but meets with indifferent success. Both of the guys enjoy a drink and get on well together even though they are as like as chalk and cheese, so it’s a fun show to watch.

They are on a mission to find out where the best wine is really made: France or the California Wine Country, in Oz and James’ Wine Adventure – The New World. I think that it can be said that the best Cabernet Sauvignon in the world is made in the , that is to say, Napa (the heart of the California Wine Country) Cabernet Sauvignon’s best even the admittedly fabulous wines produced in Bordeaux. Anyways, Oz and James’ wine tasting tour of the California Wine never fails to be entertaining, as they often stray from the subject of wine, and just have a good time.

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