How to Navigate Napa

If you are fortunate enough to visit Napa Valley, I would suggest you follow my short list of do’s and don’ts while touring around to get the best possible experience. I have lived in SF for the past 8 years and made the road trip to Napa more than two dozen times. Each time is gets better as I know exactly how to navigate the valley, where to stop and how to buy. As Napa is huge, home to over 400 different wineries, this is only a sampler of what you can expect…

The first and most important variable about Napa is your plan of attack. The better you can map out your schedule of tastings throughout the day, the more wineries you can fit in. I suggest finding the most popular, big house that is the furthest away and then work your way back towards the city (or home). However, before you start drinking, a solid foundation is necessary to enable a full day of wine tasting. Brunch should be your first destination.

If traveling from SF, there is one main road that takes you into the Valley. Along the 121, the road begins to curve a little more as it gives way to the hill side. Be sure to drive slowly, as you must stop at this easy to miss smoke house on the right hand side that is hidden behind trees. The giant bull sitting 10’ off the ground on the roof is what catches my eye every time. Angelo’s Smokehouse has been here for decades and produces the best beef jerky I have had since the mid-west. They have their 8 different varieties available to sample along with chips, salsas and olives. I suggest buying at least a pound of this jerky to curb your appetite between tastings.

Auberge du Soleil

Next stop is brunch. Now remember, we want to start with the furthest winery first, so let’s plan brunch somewhere north. The perfect spot I found that has amazing food and a patio with a great view is Auberge du Soleil. Here is the brunch menu.

After brunch, bring on the tastings! And what better way to start the day’s tastings other than with sparkling wine. Domaine Chandon is by far the closest thing to champagne California can produce, this is a must visit. Take advantage of their 3 or 4 flight special, however do not purchase their bottles. I have in the past and asked for a discount given the tasting I just paid for and they would not budge. Also, their bottles are commonly found in most grocery and liquor stores at a reasonable price.

As we continue our descent south, I suggest stopping at a smaller, less familiar winery such as Monticello. These less frequented vineyards generally give a more personal experience while tasting their varietals. They are also more prone to waving your tasting fee if you purchase a couple bottles. Each tasting takes about 20-30 minutes and costs 15-$35 per person.  

Since most vineyards close their tasting rooms around 5, it is essential to learn which ones stay open past that and hit those last. Since Mondavi closes at 5, it is next on our list. This is my favorite vineyard to visit. With multiple tasting bars at your fingertips, it is pretty easy to walk right up without a line. The enormous gift shop is a serious tourist trap…beware. The tastings they offer can range from the current year and can date back up to 10 years. It is always a pleasure to taste at Mondavi.

Believe it or not, after a day full of drinking you work up quite the appetite, and by now all of the beef jerky is typically gone. Since most of the vineyards close at the same time, everyone hops in their car (usually drunk) and leaves Napa simultaneously creating quite the traffic jam. I suggest cutting your wine buzz by putting in reservations at Mustard’s grill and enjoy a family style meal. The place is a little over priced (you’re in Napa what do you expect) but is well worth your while compared to sitting in traffic.

Now this is only the tip of the iceberg for what Napa Valley has to offer. Private tours, train rides and hot air balloons are all also featured, but those will have to wait until next time. Happy drinking!

Palmaz

I’d like to shed some light on Dr. Julio Palmaz and what he has done to better this world as both an inventor and vintner. Throughout Dr. Palmaz’s life he has touched many people’s hearts, literally. Before entering the vinification business, Julio was born an inventor and studied to become a cardiologist. His attraction to homemade gadgets and medical science ultimately landed him a spot in the Inventors Hall of Fame for his revolutionary design of the balloon-expandable stent. Intellectual Property International Magazine recognized it as one of the "Ten Patents that Change the World". He sold his patent to Johnson&Johnson and soon after took up an old college hobby, wine making.

To do this right, Julio went straight to the source. He discovered a forgotten stone winery tucked away on the northeastern edge of Napa. As the hilly landscape only gave way to withered vines, an old house and a vacant winery, Palmaz saw potential for renovations and innovation. He first broke ground by introducing 8 new varietals to the land and entirely renovating the old buildings, fully customized to his liking. As he changed the lay of the land above ground, his innovations begin to change what lay beneath. He successfully constructed a massive facility that stretched from the house to the winery, all underground and unlike any other winery.

On his estate, scattered across 55 acres that range from 400-1,400ft in altitude, Palmaz is able to produces wines that range from a sweet, Muscat Canelli to a full-bodied, Gaston Cabernet, all that pack an eye opening ‘Wow!’ when tasted. What truly distinguishes his wine from others, is found in the massive infrastructure that lays below the vines. Equivalent to an 18 story building, laying across the hillside, this next video shows exactly how his unique operation is setup.

Why is such a setup like this necessary? First, let's keep in mind the two most important variables while tasting wine. 1) Is the depth of flavor profiles and 2) is the length of 'linger-time' - essential to savor every subtle note. For minimal pucker and extra long linger, Julio looked under the hillside. He found that using gravity was the only way to carefully mix and transfer the premature wine from tank to barrel. The reason being, that after several months of fermentation, delicate polymer and monomer bonds create new, longer strands as the tannins from inside the grape react with the skins and seeds of the grape. These delicate 'flavor' chains must not be disturbed.  So, unlike other vineyards which can use mechanical pumps that agitate and destroy these strands, Palmaz simply uses gravity. Throughout the 18 stories of underground, climate controlled caves, the wine can forms even longer strands while it matures in first year, french oak barrels for 2 years. The end result is truly remarkable, it is unlike any other wine I have ever tasted.

But don’t take my word for it, put it to the test.  Go stand in their fermentation dome, it clocks in as the world's largest reinforced underground structure. Reserve a private tour and tasting to see, smell and sample this unique process for yourself ($60/person). I guarantee you’ll be left with a whole new perspective and appreciation for Palmaz's rendition of wine making. Personally, never has the idea of purchasing a bottle of wine for more than $100 crossed my mind, especially paying $50 for a Chardonnay, yet at the end I left with two in hand, their Chardonnay and Cab. Thanks for the proper bottles, Palmaz!

Mondaze

Monday morning...

10:10 a.m. – My room does a quick spin as I am jolted awake from my wine comma. It’s literally like a shock wave hitting the apartment every time someone rings our buzzer.  As I roll over to my bedside clock, it blurs back to me saying, “its UPS…it’s always UPS this early...get up”.  With a half-rushed stumble to the door, I mumble into the intercom, “Top floor, please!” Despite my urgency to buzz him in, he simply entered the lobby and then left. There were no stammering footsteps this morning, the staircase remained silent, there will be no request to, "sign here"… You've got to love Mondays.

10:12 a.m. – Back in bed…fast asleep.

11:15 a.m. - Last night’s wine daze has finally ran its course.

11:20 a.m. – Package is retrieved.  Send pictures of new pillows to wife at work for approval. She loves them…good job…nap time on the couch with new pillows.  

12:30 p.m.  – I wake to the ringing off our landline…it’s GlobalEnglish…aka…wifey on lunch break. “Guess what?” she says, “we’re booked for Rio!!!” I act as if I wasn’t asleep and get very excited by yelling, “Yeah! Carnival, here we come!!” This was our honeymoon destination and has been in the works for a while, but now it was official and called for a celebration.

4:50 p.m. - Wifey returns home from work.  I greet her with a chilled bottle of champagne accompanied with a big smile and say, “Carnivall!!” For this occasion, Jean Aubrey and Fils was the proper bottle.

24/7 – Always keep a nice bottle of champagne stashed in a cupboard. You never know when your average Mondaze can turn into a celebration!  

The Proper Christening

Yellow wine, I’d like to introduce you to Eve. 

Now if you have never heard of yellow wine before, you’re not alone. This was actually my first encounter of the Jura wine, yet this bottle we drank was almost as old as I am.  And for the decanter…Eve…this was definitely not your average carafe.  It is said to wait 2 hours after decanting wine before drinking it to allow for proper aeration. With this decanter you could drink the wine immediately after decanting, it aerates up to 200 times faster than others!  I was fortunate enough to have enjoyed the spoils of a 1985 Chateau-Chalon along with the thrills of pouring it from a 20” tall crystal snake. However, this enjoyment did not come easily.

The first video is of my father in-law decanting this 27 year old, 1985 Chateau-Chalon yellow wine. You will notice how he does not quickly invert the entire bottle and pour it like most other wine; he does this to prevent the sediment that has formed over the years from entering the decanter.  As he pours it, you can see the deep amber color and the thick viscosity of the wine as it slowly flows down the neck and into the coils of Eve. Once the wine has found its new, temporary home, the fun began. The second video is of us trying to figure out how to actually pour this delicate nectar without spilling it or breaking Jack’s new ‘toy’. It was fun, a little frustrating, yet extremely rewarding in the end once we all experienced the aerating engineering behind this state of the art decanter.

What an experience! Yellow wine was nothing what I expected. Notes of green apple and licorice at first, almost bitter, but after my pallet acclimated, subtle notes of pear and fig emerged. For those of you who have not had the chance to experience something very different while tasting wine, source a bottle of this Jura wine and taste what a minimum of 6 years and 3 month aging process confined to a small oak barrel will do to a white wine.  Enjoy!

If you would like to see how to properly pour from this decanter, via Maximilian Riedel, see the video below.

Scissors and Sabers

Oversized, perfectly shined scissors...check. Extra thick, glossy red ribbon stretched taunt...check. Commence cutting of the ribbon. I proudly welcome you to the grand opening of Damyan's Cellar!

As you enter, you are greeted by the site of Magnum, Methuselah and Nebuchadnezzar bottles of champagne that are surrounded by cases of cult wine and monk brewed beer.  Throughout your tour of my cellar, via this blog and DamyansCellar.com, you will cross a wide variety of my worldly treasures that probably aren’t stocked at your local grocery or liquor store. Along the way, I will offer my personal experience and the expert knowledge I acquired from the locals about their homegrown specialties. Hopefully I can share with you a taste of what I believe to be the proper bottle for each and every occasion.

As the ribbon cutting ceremony has become a familiar tradition to mark the premier of a new business, I experienced a similar, yet much less common ceremony on the Christmas Eve of 2009. It was my first time in Belgium, visiting what is now my family in-law with my girlfriend at the time. After an exhausting, heavily French influenced-3 hour dinner, we stepped outside into the brisk night. Here I stood in front of the entire family, with my now father in-law next to me. Instead of oversized scissors, he handed me a 16” saber…and rather than a ribbon to cut, he handed me a magnum size bottle of champagne, to cut.  Sounds intimidating huh? To add a little more suspense, the little instruction of how to do this was provided to me in broken English from my now father in-law; who I had met for the first time the night before. After a couple seconds of mental preparation, I slowly drew the saber back and with one swift motion across the neck, I decapitated the head clean off, shooting it 30 feet into the star lit night. Just like in the cartoons when a characters head is severed off and blood fountains like a volcano, a burst of bubbles shot from the bottle’s neck. I was officially the newest addition to the Marin family.

Christmas day, 2009, I was gifted two presents.  One of which was a case of the champagne, Lepreux-Penet, that I sabered the day before. And the second, which is now framed, was a custom made Diploma of Sabrage designed by my father in-law; complete with the cap I sabered. As I rarely celebrate Christmas, being raised Jewish and all, I can confidently say that this was by far the coolest Christmas I have ever been a part of.

Looking back on this introduction, or induction, it was one that created a new solid bridge from the US to Belgium to France. So I would like to leave you here, at the beginning of my new bridge, built exclusively of proper bottles for you and the future of champagne, wine and beer enthusiast to enjoy! Welcome!

A guy uses an iPad to saber a bottle of champagne...cool!