Today, my wife looked at me and said “I wish we were still in Napa.” I have been so busy since we got back that I waited to let the whole experience sink in before I wrote about it. But now is the time.

We had never been to California, before. The whole idea of a trip out west had always seemed so far away; something on our to-do list, certainly, but always with a “someday…” attached. Then the radio station became involved in the Live In The Vineyard contest, and we were given the opportunity to actually go to Napa ourselves.

Right up until we left, I still thought it couldn’t really happen for us; but then things started to fall into place: my parents were available to come down and watch the kids, a room opened up at the resort where the event was being held, the company actually approved our travel, and then, suddenly, we were going! We left Buffalo on a cold Friday morning, arrived in San Francisco and promptly got lost trying to find the Golden Gate Bridge. But when we crossed over into California wine country, our trip of a lifetime began.

Napa is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. It was an explosion of color driving in; all the beautiful colors you’d expect to see in Fall, only double because the leaves on the grape vines were changing too. We had to keep pulling over to take pictures.

Our first day we toured the historic Trefethen Vineyard, where we had some amazing wine (2005 Trefethen Cabernet), and were treated to an intimate acoustic performance by David Gray. Since my Charlottesville days I had always liked his hit Babylon, but I had never heard him live before. We saw a lot of great performers during our trip, but David was my favorite. I stood there, to the left of the stage, completely blown away by his talent, lost in the music. He also appreciated the setting, mentioning the falling leaves, the dappled sunlight, and quoting Yeats. It was magic.

From there we enjoyed a brief tour of historic downtown Napa where we were treated to a wine and cooking demonstration by Greg Cole of the world famous Cole’s Chop House, a wine pairing from Spring Mountain Vineyard, and an opening night cocktail party featuring an amazing assortment of Napa’s best wineries.

But music was center stage both weekend evenings, with two great nights of performances featuring Green River Ordinance, Diane Birch, Uncle Kracker (left), American Idol Kris Allen, our friends from Parachute, and culminating with a fantastic concert by Collective Soul, who rocked the house and reminded us just how many hits they have had since the early 90s.

Wow.

What is truly unique about this event is the ability to get up close and personal with all these artists. Everyone is in a good mood (you can’t not be in a good mood in Napa!) There is so much great food and drink, and between sets you could very well be talking to the next artist on stage, as they mingle with the crowd. It’s very relaxed, and extremely well organized, thanks to Claire and Bobbii, who put the event together, and their LITV team.

But probably my favorite day overall was our final day in Napa. Heather and I were able to drive around a bit and explore. We got up and had breakfast at a great corner deli, drove up a winding mountain road to take in more scenery, explored the town a little more before lunch, and then headed to a private cave tour at Miner Family Vineyard.

A wine cave is the absolute perfect place to store wine as they age in oak barrels. It’s underground, so the temperature is naturally constant, without the need for excessive heating or cooling. It’s a great use of space, since you can plant vines above ground, and store the wine underground on the same plot of land. (And really, is there anything more pleasant than the smell of wine barrels? I think not.)

As we toured the cave, we sampled fresh wine from the barrel, compared different vintages, and enjoyed another intimate concert featuring John Ondrasik (above) of Five For Fighting, truly one of the nicest and most down-to-earth guys you will ever meet.

On our way back to the Silverado, we stopped at Cliff Lede Vineyards where we were lucky enough to try one of the most amazing bottles of wine ever. Ideally during a tasting, you start with something decent, and work your way up in quality. At this particular tasting, it started off great, and got successively greater until we reached the pinnacle of wine-making, the 2006 Moon Sympathy (left). This huge cabernet is one of the top 3 I have ever tasted in my life. It’s truly a stunning wine.

And finally, a group of us were guests at the house of Kat and Rob McDonald, proprietors of Girls In The Vineyard winery. There we met up again with their partner, winemaker Matt Stone, who hosted a wine blending competition. Sorry to say we did not win, but it was fun to pick out the different characteristics of the wines available, and blend them to our taste. Lisa Stalvey of NBC’s Cutting Block whipped up some delicious quesadillas for us all, and we headed back to the hotel, tired, but happy.

A lot has been said in the press about how America “doesn’t make anything anymore.” After spending just a few days in Napa – far too little time, I might add – I could not disagree more. The winemakers here are experts in their field, and make world class wines that meet or exceed anything the world has to offer. It was fascinating to talk to the different winemakers and see how different their approaches were; so many different techniques, hundreds of new ideas and unique applications of technology. It is a world class brain trust all concentrated in one relatively small area.

If you love wine, Napa will blow you away.

And I can’t wait to go back.

–Brian

If you ever get the chance to experience the Niagara Icewine Festival at Niagara-On-The-Lake, you really should do it. My wife and I had a fantastic weekend, touring the wineries, finding out more about the history of icewine – and most importantly, having some amazing food.

Saturday we enjoyed a gourmet luncheon, which featured chefs from Niagara-on-the-Lake, Anna Olson from the Food Network, and several world famous winemakers. For dinner I sat with Amy Bond from Jackson-Triggs, and we talked about the techniques and hard science that go into growing and tending the grapes, before they even come off the vine, not to mention the unique blending and barrel aging that gives each varietal its unique taste.

While we chatted, chefs came out and described each meal, and what motivated them to put together the ingredients. The setting was the wonderful Inniskillin, with architecture inspired (and possibly designed) by Frank Lloyd Wright, as well as Edgewaters overlooking the frozen wonder of Niagara Falls.

Have you ever tasted something so good, words escape you? That was, in a nutshell, how our entire weekend went.

And just to bring home the whole Icewine theme, downtown we drank from ice glasses, sat on ice chairs, and were served from several actual ice bars.

What an amazing experience, which always seems to be the descriptor we use following our Ontario trips.

Let me close with this funny example of how uniquely Ontario our weekend was. We checked into the Pillar and Post, a historic hotel a block or two from downtown. Our doorman showed us to our room, looking very distinguished and sophisticated. He explained our amenities in a deeply respectful tone, talked about the history of the hotel, and then asked us what we had planned for the night.

“We’re going to the formal gala upstairs.”

“Well, have a good time, eh?” He said.

Indeed we did. If you want to see more, here’s a slideshow.

–Brian

A year ago I did a wine review of a ‘99 Virginia Meritage, which to this day gets me comments. A German relative of mine in Bavaria actually sent me an email after she found the post on the net, which was a nice surprise. It turns out my mother’s side of the family owns some vineyards, which explains my appreciation for the fruit of the vine; it’s genetic!

So it got me to thinking, maybe a semi-regular wine review here would be appropriate. I’m not a snooty wine collector with expensive tastes, my wife and I generally look for good value wines between $10 and $15 a bottle, and maybe you do too. If that’s the case, I’ll share our experiences and perhaps make your choices a little easier the next time you hit your favorite wine shop. I’m calling this series Cheap, Fun Wines.

Menage a Trois, Folie a Deux Winery, California.

Earth, Zin, and Fire, Jessie’s Grove Winery, Lodi CA.

Heather and I went to the Niagara Ice Wine Festival this weekend with a great group of people, who are as interested and excited about wine as we are. We haven’t been in that kind of rare company since Virginia, where our appreciation for viticulture was born. It felt good, and I hope you enjoy the goofy pictures of our experience below.

After a wonderful weekend, we came home, and over dinner decided to open the last bottle of Virginia wine we had in our collection. It was a Jefferson Meritage from 1999 that had survived our move from Charlottesville to Fredericksburg – as well as the long trek from Virginia to New York nearly 2 years ago. We had taken good care of it, but you never know with changes in temperature and location how a wine will fare.

After letting it breathe for a while, I’m happy to say it was one of the finest bottles of red wine we had ever tasted. Smooth and mellow after nearly 10 years in the bottle, it was everything we hoped it would be. Now bear with me, as I attempt to explain what wine-lovers take for granted, and what Heather and I experienced again this weekend: