One of the great pleasures of exploring the wine culture of Napa Valley is the cave tour. Caves, with their even year-round low but not freezing temperatures, have been recognized for centuries as excellent places in which to store and age wine in the barrel. Humidity, which would normally be the last thing you’d want in any kind of long-term storage environment, is ideal for the storing of wine. Because the barrel is not perfectly airtight (if it were, you’d have to fight a vacuum every time you opened the tap) a little wine is always being lost to evaporation. Cool, humid air minimizes this loss. The humidity in a wine cave should be at least 75 percent, and more than that if white wines are being stored.
The first wine caves were ordinary caves and former limestone quarries in Europe. In the 19th century, with the rise of winemaking in California, the same technology (and the same mostly Chinese work force) that was used to mine for silver in Nevada was used to blast and carve out artificial caves in the rock of the Napa Valley.
Much more than just holes in the ground
During cave tours, you can learn about the wine industry from the people who work in it every day and taste both the latest wines and library wines from previous years. Added to the gustatory pleasure of the wine is the visual delight of the cave itself. The wine caves of Napa are not merely utilitarian warehouses for barrels. Many of them have been carved, decorated and artistically lit by their owners and are watered by underground rivers. Think of the subterranean kingdoms in Tolkien’s novels, and then imagine them with a lot more class. Some of them are set up to cater dinners. No matter what the weather is doing outside, it will be cool inside the cave, so bring a coat when going on a cave tour.
Cave tours of a vineyard near St. Helena
Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley, a 10-minute drive from downtown St. Helena, holds tastings in its barrel caves, where current releases and library wines may be sampled and visitors can learn all about the process of making and storing the wine. Cave tastings are $65, but one tasting fee can be waived by joining their wine club or making a $100 purchase. Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards produces world-class wines at affordable prices. The vineyard is a 40-acre estate just south of Howell Mountain, and has been owned and operated by the Anderson family since 1983. Anderson’s wines are sold online and in five locations in Napa Valley, and many other locations nationwide.
St. Helena, the biggest little small town in the wine world
Although the small town of St. Helena, CA, has fewer than 6,000 people, it is one of the acknowledged centers of the global wine business. With more than 80 wineries, it is known as the home of some of the world’s finest wines.
St. Helena was incorporated as a town in 1876, by which time it already had a number of small businesses, a schoolhouse and a hotel. Ten years later it had a population of about 1,800. Even before it was officially a town, it was a center of the growing California wine industry, with vineyards being planted by new arrivals in the 1860s.
In 1981, the Napa Valley was named California’s first American Viticulture Area. Since then, it has come to encompass 16 nested AVAs. The St. Helena AVA itself is noted for warmth, with less fog and wind than other parts of the valley. Its soil ranges from gravel-clay soils on its southern and western borders to rich volcanic soils in the north and east. It produces deep, ripe Cabernet Sauvignons, Cabernet Francs and Merlots with jammy flavors and blackcurrant aromas.
Planning a visit
If you’re planning to visit St. Helena, look for their best St. Helena wineries on Yelp. Look for places with at least 20 reviews and at least four stars. Don’t confine yourself to the town itself — get out into the Napa Valley countryside, exploring the intricate topography that allows the valley to produce such a great diversity of wines, marveling at all that can be found within a mere five to ten mile radius of St. Helena. Find a hotel, and be prepared to spend several days there.
A winery near St. Helena
Some of the best California wines come from Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley. Just a 10-minute drive from downtown St. Helena, Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards produces world-class wines at affordable prices. The vineyard is a 40-acre estate just south of Howell Mountain. The microclimate of Conn Valley is cooler than many other parts of the valley, although warmer than Howell Mountain itself, so the grapes they grow are closer to mountain grapes than the grapes in the St. Helena AVA proper. At the vineyard, you have the chance to meet the owners and wine-makers and taste excellent wine stored in a cave.
Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards has been owned and operated by the Anderson family since 1983. Anderson’s wines are sold online and in five locations in Napa Valley, and many other locations nationwide. By ordering six bottles or more per year, you can join their wine club. This will get you a discount on many of their finest wines. Try a bottle today.
Spring is a good time for a barrel tasting. The weather is pleasant, and last year’s grapes have long since gone into the barrel. With just a taste of the 2015 Pinot Noir or Cabernet Sauvignon in its earliest state, a connoisseur can make a good guess as to what sort of quality the wine will begin to show in years to come.
A barrel tasting is a lot like other wine tastings, but all the wines come straight from the barrel. Often, at barrel tastings, wine futures are sold at a discount. A wine future is much like any other futures contract — you agree to buy a certain amount of wine, once it has been bottled. By committing yourself to the purchase ahead of time, you save money on the eventual purchase price.
Barrel tastings don’t necessarily involve food to go with the wine, which means (especially if there isn’t a spittoon handy) you’ll want to bring a designated driver along, especially if you’re going to several barrel tastings. You also won’t want to taste too many wines. If in doubt, pick something you’ve never had before — the point of a barrel tasting is to make new discoveries. As at any wine tasting, don’t wear any strong-smelling perfume or cologne, and remember that this isn’t a bar.
Aging wine
Although 90 percent of wine (according to some estimates) is intended to be drunk within a year of production, many of the most respected wines need at least a few years in the barrel. Oak barrels have been used to store wine since the time of the Roman Empire, replacing the old clay amphorae used by the ancient Greeks. Vanillin and other trace compounds naturally present in oak gradually leach into the wine over the years, mellowing its flavor and adding layers of complexity. Some wines benefit from this more than others, particularly red wines with plenty of acidity and tannins but still some fruitiness, and white wines that are not too strong and also have high acidity.
Barrel tastings vineyard near St. Helena
Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley, a 10-minute drive from downtown St. Helena, holds tastings in its barrel caves, where current releases and library wines may be sampled and visitors can learn all about the process of making and storing the wine. Tastings are $65, but one tasting fee can be waived by joining their wine club or making a $100 purchase. The annual Spring Fling is in May.
Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards produces world-class wines at affordable prices. The vineyard is a 40-acre estate just south of Howell Mountain, and has been owned and operated by the Anderson family since 1983. Anderson’s wines are sold online and in five locations in Napa Valley, and many other locations nationwide.
Then, in May, check out our Find Todd, page on this website, and see where celebrity winemaker, Todd Anderson, will be each day. Here is an example of one of his Winemaker Dinners- May 21st, Sullivans in Charlotte NC.
It seems that there’s hardly a state in the nation that doesn’t boast of having its own vineyards and wineries these days. While it’s true that the grape will grow in all sorts of places, some places still produce better wine grapes than others, and it’s hard to beat Napa Valley wines in terms of quality. The Napa Valley’s intricate topography offers a wide range of potential growing areas to choose between, from fields of rich volcanic soil to rugged mountainsides, each imparting a different set of qualities to the terroir of the grapes.
Valley Floor vs Mountain Grapes
Discerning tasters can detect these differences. The grapes grown on the valley floor are brighter and more ripe, with a heavier feel on the palate. Mountain grapes are darker, with more acidity and tannins. This is because marine layer fog from San Francisco Bay often covers the Napa Valley at night and during the morning in late summer and early fall. This means that nights on the mountains are warmer than in the valleys. The grapes continue to ripen in the dark, without photosynthesis, resulting in less sugar and more tannins within the fruit. In addition, the soil on the mountain slopes tends to be less fertile. The stress this places on the vines also favors quality over quantity.
You may be wondering what effect the infamous multi-year drought in California has had on the wine industry in Napa Valley. Fortunately, Napa Valley wineries don’t need that much rain, and many switch to dry farming as soon as the buds break in the vineyards. Once the fruit starts to grow, in fact, too much rain can result in the growth of mold. The only time the wineries really need water is after harvest and during the winter.
Superb Napa Valley wines from a St. Helena winery
Some of the best California wines come from Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley. Just a 10-minute drive from downtown St. Helena, Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards produces world-class wines at affordable prices. The vineyard is a 40-acre estate just south of Howell Mountain. The microclimate of Conn Valley is cooler than many other parts of the valley, although warmer than Howell Mountain itself, so the grapes they grow are closer to mountain grapes. At the vineyard, you have the chance to meet the owners and wine-makers and taste excellent wine stored in a cave.
Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards has been owned and operated by the Anderson family since 1983. Anderson’s wines are sold online and in five locations in Napa Valley, and many other locations nationwide. By ordering six bottles or more per year, you can join their wine club. This will get you a discount on many of their finest wines.
