I was provided with the opportunity to travel to Napa on this press trip at no cost to me. I did not accept monetary compensation for writing about the trip or about my experiences while in Napa. All opinions expressed are my own.
A funny thing happens when people find out that I've been to Napa. The conversation moves excitedly along as I'm peppered with questions and then comes to a complete stop once I gently point out that my expertise is centered on
Downtown Napa.
"So, you didn't drink
any wine while you were in Napa?"
"Of course, I did. Why would you think otherwise?"
"Because it's hard to picture vineyards in Downtown Napa."
Touché.
Well, I'm here to assure you that the physical presence of vineyards isn't necessary to get your drink on downtown. The city of Napa sits at the southern end of the namesake valley and offers visitors
more than 75 restaurants and
more than 25 tasting rooms to choose from. They're all
within walking distance of each other, so you can park the car in one spot for the entire evening and make your way from one establishment to the next without worrying about transportation.
On our first evening in Napa, our group headed to
1313 Main, a luxurious, state-of-the-art wine lounge on Main Street (naturally) for
Winemaker Wednesday. Each Wednesday, a different local winemaker
is invited to share their wines with guests and to talk about their wine-making process.
We were treated to a
flight of Tres Sabores wines and a chance to spend some time with winery owner and winemaker
Julie Johnson. Her love of wine and wine-making was apparent and her enthusiasm infectious as she walked us through our tasting of three different wines:
- 2012 "Ingrid & Julia" Rose (named after two of their favorite garden roses -- Ingrid Bergman and Julia Child)
- 2010 Zinfandel (made with organically grown Zinfandel grapes)
- 2010 "Por Que No?" (a rich and spicy blend made with Zinfandel (50%), Petite Sirah (35%), Cabernet Sauvignon (14%), and Petit Verdot (1%) grapes)
I love that you can order bottles right on the spot should you find a wine (or multiple wines!) that you enjoy. If I lived in the Napa area, I could definitely see myself becoming a regular at
1313 Main for the Winemaker Wednesday events. What better way to learn more about the local wines?
1313 Main
1313 Main Street
Napa, CA 94559
(707) 258-1313 |
Map
Tres Sabores Winery
1620 South Whitehall Lane
St. Helena, CA 94574
Appointment-Only Property |
Map
For more of my
Taste of Napa series, see:
If you liked this post, consider subscribing to Taste As You Go’s RSS feed or subscribing via email so you don’t miss a thing!
