Angel's share

The Great 72 Hour Wine Escape - ESCAPE TO NAPA

DAY 3

Visiting the Mountain Wineries

Pride Mountain Vineyards

A bracing twenty-minute drive from the quaint town of St. Helena on the valley floor pays off with a stunning vista of the Napa Valley, with verdant mountain vineyards rising to the sky in all directions.

Pride Mountain Vineyards is a 170-acre estate, sporting a wooden-beamed, m winery that blends into its mountainous surroundings and California heritage. The casual tasting room sports two boards held up by old oak barrels. But don’t let that fool you. The wines are stunning and succulent, and rank among the very finest and hard-to-get wines from California.

During our special morning tour winery staff will show us the property's features. Beside the winery, the crush pad is bisected by a brick inlay—it’s the Napa/Sonoma County line. Walking into the caves, the temperature suddenlydrops to the high 50s, humidity rises, and you drink in those heady aromas of wine and oak. Over 2,100 feet of subterranean storage windsunder the hillside, opening out into a glass-enclosed overlook onto the vineyards and the northern Napa Valley below. Truly stunning scenery.

Then it’s a short walk to the hauntingly beautiful “Ghost Winery,” (a term given to the very few remaining early wineries in the Napa valley from about the Civil War to the turn of the century). Many of these early wineries fell into disrepair and were abandoned due to pest infestations, bank repossessions, the Depression and Prohibition. Most were abandoned and never reopened. Here just the rough hewn stone walls are all that remain of the original premesis, situated right in the middle of an outstanding flourishing vineyard. We take a short walk around the building and enjoy a glass of outstanding Pride wine while taking in the history of this unique mountain location.

Barnett Winery and Vineyards

Just a short drop from Pride, but still well over 2,000 feet in elevation we arrive at Barnett Vineyards, one of Angel’s Share’s all time favorite wineries.

A family-owned operation, Barnett Vineyards is known for producing limited quantities of three separate Spring Mountain designate Cabernet Sauvignons. The winery is nestled high above the morning fog-filled Napa Valley, providing the estate vineyards up to three more hours of sunlight per day. This extra sunlight combined with cool evening temperatures, promotes slow even ripening of the grapes for deeper color and richer concentration of flavors.

The winery produces exceptional chardonnay, pinot noir, merlot and cabernet.

Greeted with wonderful Reidel cystal glasses by Tyson, Barnett’s wine expert and chef du cuisine, we’re treated to a short hike up to the mountaintop vista overlooking the pristine and aptly named “Rattlesnake Hill Vineyard.”

Rattlesnake Hill is a separate designation on this 14-acre estate. A unique rocky knoll located at 2,050' elevation, it boasts a truly moutain vineyard 35-degree aspect. The combination of the distinct microclimate, extreme soil conditions and "mountain farming" results in small, concentrated berries and intense Cabernet that is indicative of the Spring Mountain appellation. At harvest, only the best fruit is selected usually about one ton per acre. Rattlesnake Hill is usually the first vineyard to harvest on Spring Mountain.

Typical of elegant California “cult” cabernets, Rattlesnake Hill cab is produced each year in very small lots (under 200 cases). Those who collect fine wines cherish their Barnett vintages, and bragging rights usually follow.

Schweiger Vineyards

Another short drive down the mountain brings us to the gates of another family winery with rich volcanic soils and unique microclimates particularly well suited for growing Cabernet Sauvignon.

Mostly forested mountainside, clearing for vineyard purposes did not begin until the late 1970's and was started as a result of slow times for Schweiger Construction Co. Fred was able to maintain his construction crew of four men keeping them busy preparing the Spring Mountain property for grape vines. During the clearing process, old redwood hand split grape stakes spaced at 1x1 meter intervals were discovered, reconfirming the notion that the property had once been a prime viticulture area dating back to the late 1870's.

The first vines were planted in 1981 and the first harvest was in 1984. For 10 years their fruit to many fine Napa Valley wineries, including ZD, Newton and Stags Leap. In 1994, Schweiger Vineyards became a bonded winery and the family began bottling wine under their own label, though they continued to sell grapes to contracted wineries.

Today, Schweiger Vineyards includes 25 acres of cabernet, five acres of merlot, four acres of chardonnay and, a small block of petite sirah (yielding 200 750 m. bottles per year). Annual harvest yields vary from 1.5 to 3.5 tons per acre.

We’ll not only taste these outstanding wines in the barrelroom, we’ll meet members of this wine-family and talk about mountain farming and wine making as a family tradition on Spring Mountain.

Lunch

Approaching the historic little town of St. Helena from Spring Mountain you notice the Napa Valley narrows considerably here. Turning back onto Highway 29 takes you down the Main Street, still lit by the original electric street lamps installed at the turn of the century. St. Helena is a town of boutique shops, inns, restaurants and cafes. Here we’ll enjoy a typical Napa lunch at one of spots the winemakers themselves like to visit for lunch.

Lunch at Martini House or Miramonte (Cindy Pawlcyn’s restaurant). The attractive restaurant offers eclectic food with a Latin American or Caribbean flair. The bar is ideal for wine and tapas, and patio seating is fun in the good weather. Lunch and dinner daily.

St. Helena Olive Oil Company or Dean & DeLucca

Homer called it "liquid gold." In ancient Greece, athletes ritually rubbed it all over their body. Olive oil has been more than mere food it has been medicinal, magical, an endless source of fascination and wonder and the fountain of great wealth and power. The olive tree, symbol of glory and peace, crowned the victorious in friendly games and bloody wars, and the oil of its fruit has anointed the noblest of heads throughout history.

We’ll take time out to visit a wonderful shop, The St. Helena Olive Oil Company which is seting a new standard for fresh-from-the-harvest great tastes and aromas in the home kitchen. Developed by Napa Valley, California gourmet food entrepreneur, Peggy O’Kelley hs developed a full range of terrific infused oils, as well as importing delectables such as truffle infused honey, fruit du mer sea salts, and exquisite French and Italian mustards and savories.

Dinner at Culinary Institute at Greystone or Domaine Chandon