Napa Valley Mystery Tour

The Beatles may have invented the Magical Mystery Tour, but the planners of the Second Annual Wine Bloggers' Conference perfected it.

The second day of the conference opened at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone with keynote speeches by Barry Schuler, former CEO of America Online, and Jim Gordon, editor of Wines and Vines. Next, the 275 or so attendees boarded unmarked buses and were transported to a series of undisclosed wineries.

First stop on the mystery tour was lunch by the pond (the weather was gorgeous) and a tour of the vines with vineyard manager Kirk Grace at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars—the home of estate grown Cabernet Sauvignons that rose to fame when the 1973 vintage captured top ratings in the famed “Judgement of Paris”—beating several prestigious Bordeaux estates—to the chagrin of wine snobs everywhere.

Collectible and age-worthy cabs are still the stars of the show at this property, but my favorite of the lineup was the Karia Chardonnay 2007—lean, elegant, and ever so lightly kissed with oak.

Next it was onward to Palmaz Vineyards for a panel discussion titled “Following in The Family Footstomps,” which brought together family members from Palmaz Vineyards, Viader Vineyards, and Madonna Estates to talk about the dynamics of multi-generational winemaking as we sipped flights of wine from all three families.

The setting was the terrace of this state-of-the-art, gravity-flow winery at the foot of Mt. George. Consisting of four levels built into the side of the mountain, it was designed to integrate into the surrounding environment. As the discussion progressed, I couldn’t help but think that there is something marvelously appropriate about the inventor of the Palmaz Coronary Stent (Dr. Julio Palmaz) fulfilling a life-long dream by making rich, red wines at this incredible Napa Valley property.

The bloggers regrouped at the Quintessa winery for a grand tasting of Napa Valley wines accompanied by the mother of all cheese boards. Then it was on to our last stop in Napa, an upscale dinner at Étoile restaurant on the estate of Domaine Chandon, with wines from Domaine Chandon, Louis M. Martini, O’Brien Estate, and Parry Cellars. Naturally, the wines were chosen to pair with each of our courses. All of the winemakers were there to present and discuss the wines before we were shuttled back to our hotel for an after-hours party hosted by Vini Portugal.

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