Our 2024 Visit to Napa and Lodi with Eve Bushman
Very excited about our now-annual November visit to Napa wineries – our Thanksgiving Chef Ann moved to No CA so we follow her there now for dinner and enjoy wine tasting on the same trip! I had already shared a teaser of who we were to visit in EveWine101.com, read it here if you missed it. We visited no more than two wineries a day, to fully immerse ourselves, and after the Thanksgiving holiday hit the Lodi area. I will share what we discovered at each below.
Before I get started, there was the big takeaway we all learned on this trip that we hadn’t thought to ask before. When we tasted some young but remarkable reds, we started asking the question: Was this decanted (or opened) and for how long? We learned that some wines we tasted at one or two p.m. had been open since 10 or 11 am, speeding the age process. As I’m used to doing six-seven hours decant for an Italian Barolo or Brunello, that are 20 year old, the decanting early idea was not foreign to me. So now, instead of holding all my Napa cabs for 10 years or more before drinking, if there is one I want now I will decant (or just remove the cork), taste every hour, and double decant (pour it back in the bottle and place the cork back in) if it achieves the taste I want too early for dinner.
We also talked about this with one of the sommeliers that served us, who agreed that wine doesn’t taste the same at home as it does in the winery – due to this practice. So, he readily tells guests about their decanting.
Trefethen Family Vineyards
Haven’t visited Trefethen in over ten years, so was over-the-top thrilled when Sommelier Hunter Hammett greeted us and said we were to taste in the family home – a new experience for our group. We would enjoy the “VILLA RESERVE TASTING” with six wines (add-ons did come too!) along with a delightful cheese and charcuterie board with many items from their own produce garden. (They also offer a “TASTE THE ESTATE” slightly more elevated experience which also “features estate grown ingredients” paired with specific wines.)
From Hunter we learned all about the wines we would taste, including the age of some of the first plantings – dating back to 1850 – and that 400 acres are planted on the main ranch. There are two large reservoirs on the property that date back to 1970, and they’ve also planted flowers, redwoods and three gorgeous cork trees as a nod to the wonders of Portugal cork growing. The home was built in 1910 and from 1968 until 2014 (earthquake year) the Trefethen family resided there.
This is my favorite quote from Hunter:
“Employees are full time and have health care…(we have) sustainable farming (as well as) sustainable employment. We see some of the pride in the work because of it.”
The fresh produce that’s grown on the property is also made available at times to the employees.
We bought a case of wines that included these favorites: 2023 Dry Riesling, 2022 Chardonnay, 2021 Cabernet Franc, 2021 Dragon’s Tooth (49% Malbec, 37% Petit Verdot, 14% Cabernet Sauvignon – which received 97 points from Decanter magazine), 2019 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, and we also enjoyed a very special taste of the 2019 limited edition Halo.
Robert Biale
As I mentioned in my previous article, I had been enjoying many Biale wines over lunch with our Contributing Editor Michael Perlis, as he brought them! Here was my chance to visit. We met with Andrew, who poured several Zinfandels including 2022 Black Chicken Napa Valley, 2022 Old Kraft Vineyard St. Helena, 2022 Monte Rosso Vineyards Moon Mountain Sonoma (a favorite), 2022 First Grade Reserve Napa Valley (another favorite), and the only Petite Sirah – the 2022 Royal Punishers Napa Valley.
From Andrew we learned that they own 20 acres and harvest from 20 more vineyards. The first field blend was harvested in 1937 and that the Black Chicken Zinfandel, a favorite, was named during the Great Depression – because if you wanted it you asked for a black chicken to get it as they weren’t licensed yet!
Domaine Carneros
From my social media: What winery tops your list when you want to visit a French Chateau and drink amazing bubbles – but stay in California? Domaine Carneros has the most incredible experience waiting for you in Napa Valley! We enjoyed everything at “The Art of Sparkling Wine Pairing Mediterranean Bites with Bubbles at Domaine Carneros” just yesterday! Before we were seated, we were greeted with a lovely Blanc de Noir (white wine from black grapes) and looked around at the amazing property and tasting areas. Then we were led into a lovely enclosed patio where Corey guided us through a pairing of Halibut Crudo with 2019 Ultra Brut, Stracciatella Salad with 2019 Estate Brut Cuvée, Aubergine roasted eggplant with 2020 Brut Rosé, Harissa Chicken with 2020 Verméil Demi-Sec and finally a Panna Cotta Tart also paired with their 2020 Verméil Demi-Sec. (full descriptions of these dishes can be found on the @DomaineCarneros website.)
From Corey we learned Domaine Carneros is one of maybe six sparkling wine producers in Napa Valley, and they feel sparkling shouldn’t just be the drink of New Year’s Eve. Their food pairings celebrate cuisine from all over the world and change every six months. (Corey loves their sparkling wines with sushi, fried chicken, and Thai food the most.) They were built in 1987 as a replica of the Tattinger summer house in France – but the Napa Valley building is five times larger, and they have 400 acres of vineyards in six properties all within three miles of the winery.
We enjoyed the pairings very much and ordered a few bottles of the 2019 Ultra Brut and 2019 Estate Brut to have at home.
Regusci Winery
We visited Regusci a few years back, without an appointment and without a lot of time. So glad we planned this re-visit properly. We enjoyed every wine we tried, and purchased plenty, including the 2021 vintages of the Estate Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Estate Merlot and a non-smoky 2020 vintage of their Patriarch Cab/Merlot blend.
From Rita, who gave us a fun tour of the family-owned property mostly shared only with club members, we learned that they are a “farm to glass and farm to table” winery as yes, they used to be a full farm and dairy that continues with making olive oil and growing fruit including sweetly scented Meyer lemons and kumquats. Beams in the winery are made from ancient redwood,they use both American and French oak for aging and the vines are over 100 yeas old. The Regusci family are the second owners, since 1932, five generations so far.
They are one of maybe only 21 wineries in the coveted Stags Leap District. They no longer distribute their wines. Sales are limited to the winery and club members. They produce six to seven thousand cases annually.
Chimney Rock Winery
Right before our visit Wine Spectator released their list of their top 100 wines for the year, thrilled to find that Chimney Rock Winery, a new-to-visit for us, was awarded the number FIVE spot with their 2021 Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon! Ordered two bottles and plan to “drink now up to 2037.”
Julian gave a knowledgeable introduction to the many wines made by Chimney Rock during our visit, including a taste of that special 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon. They didn’t make a wine from the 2020 fire year, they “dumped all” of the grapes, didn’t even sell to others. Bordeaux blends are their specialty and 100% single-vineyard Cabernets. They own many vineyards in Stags Leap, and we enjoyed wines from Ganymede, Tomahawk, Alpine, North Hill, Arrowhead, and Cardiac Hill Clone 7.
We ended up ordering a case all made by winemaker Elizabeth Vianna (who is not driven by scores according to Julian) including 2021 Elevage Bordeaux blend, 2021 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, 2019 Kesu Bordeaux blend, 2019 Youngvines Tomahawk Cabernet Sauvignon, 2019 Alpine, and 2021 Clone 7.
Cakebread Cellars
This is one winery that has been in our rotation for a few years now. I’d met brothers Bruce and Dennis Cakebread more than once but that was years ago, but having met them created a little warm spot in my heart for this family-owned winery.
The winery is centrally located and is famous for their white wines – we bought a few Chardonnays and Sauvignon Blancs as well as some Cabernet Sauvignon on this visit. This time Lisa, our host, gave us a nice tour of the property while sharing stories from the first and second generation Trefethen family members. We visited their vegetable garden – a nod to founder Dolores Cakebread who started the original vegetable garden nearby, learned that they are a sustainable winery, saw one of their reservoirs and talked about the culinary commercial kitchen – another thing Dolores Cakebread created – in the “winery house” that holds both classes and preps the food for wine and food pairings.
Of their 1,800 owned acres 800 are planted and the other 1,000 is offset as open space. They replace trees, as well as planting new trees on every Earth Day.
Eve Bushman visits Acquiesce Winery – Lodi
Visiting Acquiesce Winery has become another annual treat as we are club members. We often get to sit down with owner Sue Tipton – as we did this time – who now shares the heavier winemaking duties with winemaker Christina Lopez.
Recent news I found on their website included this “clean sweep” at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition – a very respected competition – where all 13 wines that they entered won medals. Both the 2022 Jolie and 2022 Grenache Rose received Double Gold, and these three won golds: 2022 Bourboulenc, 2022 Roussanne and 2021 Sparkling Grenache Rose. They also won seven silver medals and one bronze.
On this visit we enjoyed several of the wines listed above along with some fun food pairings. Sue explained some of their sustainable vineyard practices – Lodi has about 150 rules regarding sustainability and Acquiesce exceeds them. New: We learned that they made up new charcuterie boards for visitors to pick up with their wines for Thanksgiving and will continue the practice throughout the December holidays. I don’t know of any other winery doing this, so it’s something to take advantage of. They are also adding two new blends and will have four for 2025. Finally, Sue said that white wine is on the rise – and I know Acquiesce is poised and ready for that.
Eve Bushman visits Bokisch Vineyards – Lodi
Before visiting this Lodi winery for the first time, all I knew is that friends liked the winery and they made Spanish – as well as other – wine varieties. Rich DeCola, their Director of Sales and Hospitality, reached out to me to see what my interests were. I said whatever they are most proud of I’d be honored to taste.
Once at the winery, and getting ready to meet with our host A.J., we had a few minutes to take in the outside tasting area: red umbrellas and comfy red patio seating, firepits, music and a vineyard view – all very conducive to an afternoon over wine. A.J. started us off with a couple of sparkling wines – an Albariño and a Rosado – while telling us a little about the winery. They own 85 acres, all volcanic rock. The three Albariño wines they make contribute to the “bread and butter” for the winery.
As is the practice for Spanish reds, those wines spent up to 20 months in barrel and a year in bottle before release. We enjoyed at 2021 Garnacha, 2020 Terra Alta Graciano and a 2021 Liberty Oaks Tempranillo. We also had a recently released 2018 Gran Riserva Tempranillo that spent four years in barrel – in both new and neutral French oak. It had been open the day before and tasted perfect.
From the website I learned that the winery was founded by Markus and Liz Bokisch in 1999 and practiced sustainable and organic farming. More about their story can be read here. They will be celebrating their 25th year in 2025.
Note on Lodi: If you miss leisurely tastings, with or without an appointment, and accessible pricing, give Lodi a look!
Find on Instagram
@TrefethenFamily @BialeVineyards @RegusciWinery @ChimneyRockWinery @CakebreadCellars @DomaineCarneros @AcquiesceWinery @BokischVineyards
Eve Bushman has a Level Two Intermediate Certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET), a “certification in the first globally-recognized course” as an American Wine Specialist ® from the North American Sommelier Association (NASA), Level 1 Sake Award from WSET, was the subject of a 60-minute Wine Immersion video (over 16k views), authored “Wine Etiquette for Everyone” and has served as a judge for the Proof Awards, Cellarmasters, LA Wine Competition, Long Beach Grand Cru and the Global Wine Awards. You can email [email protected] to ask a question about wine or spirits.
