After a recent trip to Sonoma and Napa Valley, we came back with some really nice wine. Kids in a candy store is what it felt like. You better have a budget when you head out that way, because the odds are, you’re going over. Yes, you will run into a lot of wine you don’t care for, but for the most part good wine is everywhere.
My wife made a tour appointment at Cakebread Wine Cellars on our last day in town. We were definitely pretty burned out, but still had enough energy to drink some good wine of course. We’ve had several of their pinot noir’s in the past, so we knew what to expect.
We had a nice lady handle our tour and she offered a lot of great information. The most important, was the quantity of fruit they got in 2013. This year, when ready, should produce a lot of bottles and taste fantastic. There were also some really nice people on the tour, which made it even more eventful. People were coming from all over the place. We tried 5 different wines that day. There wasn’t a pairing, but that was not necessary for this enviroment.
The best white wine was the sauvignon blanc. This tasted like awesome butter put on a great piece of bread. This was definitely added to our case that we brought home.
We also tried the Chardonnay. This was fair, but not our favorite of the weekend.
On the red side we tried two Pinot’s and one Zinfandel. These were all fantastic. The Zin was really bold, but light enough where it wasn’t so peppery. It just had a real nice finish. The Carneros Pinot was very smooth and perfect for the price.
Of course, the bread winner was the Anderson Valley Pinot Noir. This was a nice finish and made the trip to Cakebread well worth it. If we go out again, we would definitely come out there. The people were really nice and the wine is great. Very farm like, with a down to earth feel. No snobbery in this place, like some of the others.
We ended up bringing 8 pinot’s back with us. More of the Caneros, but the price was too good not to go that route. I know it’s been a while since our last post, but life got in the way. We are hopefully back and would like to provide more reviews for you. If you get a chance to go out to Napa, you definitely should check out Cakebread.
I can now setup my daily fantasy leagues with a nice glass of Pinot from Cakebread. I’ve been working on a site called windailyfantasy.com. Let me know what you think, if that is something that interests you. It’s fun and exciting and makes the wine taste better.