Winery Visit - Stone Tower Estate Winery

The welcome sign outside of the tasting area.

A view of the vineyard at Stone Tower.

Some of the land being prepared for planting.

On Friday, March 14th I went with my Grandparents to visit Stone Tower Winery in Leesburg, Virginia. It was very clear from the moment we began our steep descent up the rugged Hogback Mountain Road on our way to the winery that Stone Tower is a very young winery, still in its formative phase. The winery and vineyard is located on 200 acres of farm-land in rural Leesburg and it is very literally off of the beaten path. As we parked our car next to the tasting barn, we noticed that there was only a small section of the land around the winery that currently had vines planted, though it appeared that they were preparing more land for planting as well. I was immediately struck by the stark differences of this winery to my visit to the Napa Valley winery Honig. Stone Tower appeared to be surrounded by non-vineyard farms on all sides, and the weather was still very cold at this point, whereas just several days earlier in Napa Valley vines were planted in every direction for as far as the eye could see, with warm temperate weather.










We made our way from our car into the

The tasting room at Stone Tower Winery.

Inside of the tasting room.

 tasting room, which was very cozy. Our tasting hostess greeted us and spoke a little bit about Stone Tower, and their current and future plans. At the time of my visit to Stone Tower, all of the wines that they were had produced were made using grapes from other vineyards, some of which came from Virginia, and others elsewhere. Some of their vines had suffered from the intense cold this Winter season, but for the most part they had survived.






Our hostess told us that Stone Tower winery planned to plant grapes from the following varietals: Chardonnay, Viogner, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Merlot. She mentioned that they made use of French oak barrels, concrete eggs and steel tanks for their fermentation. All of this sounded fantastic, and I could certainly see this winery becoming a very nice Virginia winery in the near future, though for the moment it was very much a work in progress.

The tasting menu for Stone Tower's
Reserve Tasting

After discussing the present and future plans that Stone Tower
Estate Winery had in store, our hostess brought us over to the tasting area. There were two tastings offered at this point, the "Current Vintage Tasting" which offered four wines, or the "Reserve Tasting" which offered six. Naturally, we decided to opt for the Reserve Tasting. On the menu was one Blanc de Blancs champagne, two Chardonnays, one Viogner, and two Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot/Petit Verdot blends.

• 2009 Wild Boar Blanc de Blancs
  This sparkling Chardonnay was made in the traditional methode champenoise (made the way they make it in the French region Champagne). Our hostess told us that this wine had sugar added to it after secondary fermentation. I found this to be a nice, easy to drink champagne, and despite not personally being terribly crazy about champagne I found it to be an easy drink. On the nose, this wine presented green apple and melon aromas. On the palate, this wine was noticeably tart, sweet, with noticeable fruit flavors and a delightful crisp finish. 

  

  The bottles of wine that we tasted.

  
  The acidity balance of this wine was on point, and my only major gripes would be a lack of complexity and the level of sweetness. I ended up deciding to purchase a bottle of this wine to use for a friend's birthday a few days later.
• 2012 Lacey Chardonnay
  This Chardonnay was very similar to many California Chardonnays that I have tasted, with only one noticeable exceptions. This wine was barrel fermented in neutral French oak for 6 months, so it had less noticeable oak-y flavors. On the nose, this wine provided green apple aromas. On the palate, this wine was not very tannic, somewhat tart, semisweet, and only slightly creamy. I did like the more mild flavors that the French oak brought to this wine, but overall I was not terribly impressed by this wine.
• 2012 Lauren Chardonnay
  This Chardonnay, like the Lacey, was aged in both new and neutral French oak, and had a slightly more noticeable oak nose/taste than the previous wine that I tasted. On the nose, this wine was buttery, fruity, and noticeably oak-y. On the palate, this wine provided a nice melon flavor, but I was not crazy about the oakiness of this one. This was much more similar to the few standard California Chardonnays that I have tasted, and while easy to drink, was not my cup of tea.
• 2012 Viognier
  This wine, made of the Virginia state grape Viognier, was more my speed when it comes to white wines. This wine was aged in 50% neutral French oak, and 50% concrete egg. On the nose, I detected some floral, and lemon aromas. On the palate, this wine tasted very peach-y, lemon-y, and perhaps a tad bit too spicy. Overall this wine was fairly well balanced, but provided some interesting complexity which I enjoyed. 
• 2011 Sanglier Noble
  This "Bordeaux blend" red was comprised of 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 47% Merlot, and 2% Petit Verdot. On the palate, this wine provided blackberry and cherry aromas. On the palate, this wine was very tannic, with a light body similar to a Pinot Noir wine, which was a plus for me. This wine was much more to my liking than the previous four, and one that I would not hesitate to drink again, although I wouldn't say it has much on the Napa Valley Cabernets that I tasted during that visit.
• 2009 Sanglier Noble
  Another Bordeaux blend red wine, which is comprised of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 8% Petit Verdot, and 6% Cabernet Franc. On the nose, this wine had very strong blackberry and black cherry aromas, with a hint of herbiness. On the palate, this wine was very tannic, very well balanced, and had a nice smooth finish. I would say that this wine was the most enjoyable drink of the bunch, but at $40/bottle, I'm not entirely sure it's the best value.

An unbound French oak barrel.

After our tasting, we thanked our hostess and walked around a little bit outdoors. We encountered an unbounded French oak barrel on the other side of the tasting building which I thought was interesting to see. We were unable to take a tour of their production facilities unfortunately, due to time constraints.

The soon-to-be new tasting area.

On our way back to our car, we also saw a building that was still being constructed, and what she informed us would be the new tasting area once it was completed. It appears as if this winery is coming along nicely, and I look forward to hearing more about them in the near future!

Tasting - Rosemount Estate Moscato 2012

• Name: Rosemount Estate Moscato 2012
• Variety: Moscato
• Region: South Australia
• Country: Australia
• Year: 2012
• Price: $12, sale $3.95
• My Review: Another week, another moscato. On the nose, this wine provided some citrus and apple aromas, with a hint of lemon. On the palate, this wine had a very apple-y flavor, with some lemon on the backend. This wine was sweet, crisp, and well balanced. As far as previously tasted moscatos go, this one would probably be on the higher end for me, as I enjoyed the flavors it provided. Also, as with most moscato wines, it was just downright tasty.

Tasting - Garnacha de Fuego Old Vine Grenache 2011

• Name: Garnacha de Fuego Old Vine Grenache 2011
• Variety: Old Vine Grenache
• Region: Aragon
• Country: Spain
• Year: 2011
• Price: $8.95
• My Review: Wow! This grenache really knocked it out of the park for me, despite me not being a huge fan of grenache (yet). On the nose, this gave me some raspberry and dark red fruit aromas, which were pleasing. On the palate, this wine was hugely tannic and light bodied. This wine provided me with a raspberry taste which meshed nice with the other qualities of this wine. This wine had a very spicy finish, which I liked! I am a huge fan of this wine, and at the price I definitely will be picking up a few bottles.

Tasting - Librandi Ciro Rosso Classico

• Name: Librandi Ciro Rosso Classico
• Variety: Gaglioppo
• Region: Ciro
• Country: Italy
• Year: ?
• Price: $14, sale: $7.95
• My Review: Going into this tasting, I was altogether unfamiliar with the gaglioppo grape variety, but I found this to be pretty nice for the price. On the nose, I gathered some red fruit and berry aromas. On the palate, this wine was dry, moderately tannic, mildly full bodied and good! I sensed an overwhelming cranberry flavor to this wine, which was a first for me, but really good! For the price, this seems to be a solid red wine.

Tasting - Angove Viognier 2009

• Name: Angove Viognier 2009
• Variety: Viognier
• Region: South Australia
• Country: Australia
• Year: 2009
• Price: $15, sale: $5.95
• My Review: This Australian viognier was very atypical in some regards, but altogether unremarkable in my opinion. On the nose, this wine provided citrus and tropical fruit aromas which were nice. On the palate though, this wine was dry, very light, not at all noticeably acidic (which killed it for me), and fruity. Drinking this wine reminded me somewhat of drinking flavored water, like Vitamin Water, which I dislike. The fruity flavors that I sensed, like citrus and peach were nice, but I could not get past the other flaws of this wine.

Tasting - Tealands Estate Sauvignon Blanc Seaview Vineyard 2008

• Name: Yealands Estate Sauvignon Blanc Seaview Vineyard 2008
• Variety: Sauvignon Blanc
• Region: Awatare Valley, Marlborough
• Country: New Zealand
• Year: 2008
• Price: $21 Sale: $7.95
• My Review: I am a big fan of the sauvignon blanc variety (see my Honig winery visit), but surprisingly this is the first New Zealand Sauvignon blanc that I have tasted. This wine had some intense flavors on both the nose and the palate which I really enjoyed. On the nose, this wine provided a fruity citrus aroma, with some spices and mineral components that I noticed only slightly. On the palate, this wine provided a very orange/citrus taste. This wine had fantastic balance, as it was both acidic and fairly dry, which I enjoy in a white wine. This was a really nice wine!

Tasting - Heinz Eifel Shine Riesling 2012

• Name: Heinz Eifel Shine Riesling 2012
• Variety: Riesling
• Region: Mosel
• Country: Germany
• Year: 2012
• Price: $9.95
• My Review: This German Riesling was a pretty nice wine. On the nose, this wine provided some floral, apple and other fruit aromas. On the palate this wine was light, semi-sweet, very tart, and well balanced. I thought that this was one of the better German Rieslings that I have tasted thus far (I've only tasted a handful), as it was not too sweet, but provided the good complexity that I hoped it would. This is a white wine that I would like to try with some food. Overall, an enjoyable wine!

Tasting - Atlas Cumbres Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

• Name: Atlas Cumbres Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
• Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
• Region: Mendoza
• Country: Argentina
• Year: 2010
• Price: $15, sale $6.95
• My Review: This was my favorite wine from this week's tasting, and has furthered piqued my interest in Argentinian red wines. On the nose, this wine had some floral and berry aromas that I detected. On the palate, this moderately bodied wine had moderate tannins, a small zesty spice on the backend, and blackberry and pepper flavors. This was an impressive (at least to my palate) Argentina Cabernet, and I would definitely revisit it.

Tasting - Georges DuBoeuf Beaujolais Nouveau 2013

• Name: Georges DuBoeuf Beaujolais Nouveau 2013
• Variety: Beaujolais Nouveau
• Region: Beaujolais
• Country: France
• Year: 2013
• Price: $14.00, $3.95 sale
• My Review: I enjoyed tasting this wine, though I felt that it perhaps could have used a bit more aging. On the nose, this wine provided some raspberry and red fruit aromas. On the palate, this light dry red wine had a mildly tannic body, with some floral and raspberry flavors. This wine provided an enjoyable taste, and for the sale price that this wine is listed at would definitely warrant a purchase.

Tasting - Bricco dei Tati Rose

• Name: Bricco dei Tati Rose
• Variety: Barbera 
• Region: Piedmont
• Country: Italy
• Year: ?
• Price: $7.95
• My Review: This rose wine was interesting, but not wildly impressive. On the nose, this wine provided some floral and red berry aromas. On the palate, this wine had a very strawberry taste. This wine was well balanced and semi-dry. This wine possessed far more white wine characteristics than red wine characteristics, but I did find it to be a solid wine. However, this type of wine doesn't really match my tastes, so I would probably pass on it in the future.

Tasting - Frascati Volpetti

• Name: Frascati Volpetti
• Variety: Malvasia, Trebbiano, Greco blend
• Region: Lazio
• Country: Italy
• Year: ?
• Price: $7.95
• My Review: This was a very interesting wine, and one that was quite unlike any others that I have tasted. On the nose, this wine had very floral and fruity aromas, with some distinctly sweet flavors. On the palate, this wine was very dry, citrus-y, and very tart. This wine tasted very sour, and reminded me of drinking watered-down lemon juice, which I enjoyed but was taken aback by. Overall, this wine really intrigued me, and I would not mind tasting some more wines with the strange mouth-feel that this one provided.

Tasting - Toso Moscato

• Name: Toso Moscato
• Variety: Moscato
• Region: ?
• Country: Italy
• Year: ?
• Price: $9.95
• My Review: Another week of tastings, another fairly typical moscato. On the nose, this wine provided floral and citrus aromas. On the palate, this sparkling moscato was sweet, fruity, and almost candy-like. This would make a tasty dessert wine, and tasted better than some of the moscato wines that I have previously tasted, but I am not crazy about sweet wines in general, so this wine did not excite me all that much.

Tasting - El Sierro Tempranillo/Cabernet 2011

• Name: El Sierro Tempranillo/Cabernet 2011
• Variety: Tempranillo Cabernet Sauvignon blend
• Region: Almeria
• Country: Spain
• Year: 2011
• Price: $7.95
• My Review: On the nose, this wine provided some floral, blackberry and spice aromas, as well as other dark fruit aromas. On the palate, this wine was very tannic, tart, spicy and dry. This wine tasted very much like other Cabernet Sauvignons that I have tasted in the past, but I was not crazy about this particular wine. This Spanish tempranillo/cab blend just seemed to lack complexity to me. Overall, this wine wasn't bad by any means, but it just didn't wow me like I had hoped it might.

Tasting - Omo Ze Bel Merlot

• Name: Omo Ze Bel Merlot
• Variety: Merlot
• Region: Sicily
• Country: Italy
• Year: ?
• Price: $6.95
• My Review: This Sicilian Merlot was a pleasure to taste! On the nose, this wine provided some floral and cherry aromas. On the palate, this wine was very dry, well balanced and moderately tannic. This was my favorite wine from this tasting, and it is the first Sicilian wine that I have tasted. Overall, this moderately bodied wine provided much of what I look for in a wine, and was my favorite from this tasting.

Tasting - Atlas Cumbres Torrontes 2010

• Name: Atlas Cumbres Torrontes 2010
• Variety: Torrontes
• Region: Mendoza
• Country: Argentina
• Year: 2010
• Price: $5.95
• My Review: This Argentinian white wine was a surprisingly enjoyable wine. On the nose, this wine provided some very floral aromas as well as some tropical fruit aromas. On the palate this wine was dry, tart and acidic with good balance. I enjoyed this torrontes quite a bit, and for the very low price I could see myself revisiting this wine to try with some food!

Tasting - Avery Quinn Chardonnay 2011

• Name: Avery Quinn Chardonnay 2011
• Variety: Chardonnay
• Region: Napa Valley
• Country: California
• Year: 2011
• Price: $6.95
• My Review:
  I found this wine to be a fairly standard Chardonnay. On the nose, this wine provided apple and other fruity aromas, as well as some vanilla aroma. On the palate, this wine was citrus-y, creamy and clearly oaked. This wine was also tart and semisweet, providing a nice balance. Overall, this was a decent chardonnay, but I was not very impressed with this wine because I am not terribly fond of California Chardonnays. I would probably pass on this wine in the future.

Tasting - Bellafina Pink Moscato

• Name: Bellafina Pink Moscato
• Variety: Moscato
• Region: Veneto
• Country: Italy
• Year: ?
• Price: $9.95
• My Review: This was the first rose wine that I have tasted, and it proved to be a typical sparkling moscato, nothing particularly special. On the nose, this wine in typical moscato fashion provided very fruity aromas. On the palate, again this wine tasted very much of what I would expect when tasting almost any moscato, fruity, sweet, low alcohol, and almost reminiscent of candy. I could not really detect and noticeable differences that the rose color of this wine provided, to be honest. I'm not a huge fan of sweet dessert wines (with some exceptions, like the Honig Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc that blew me away), so this wine was one that I would probably pass on in the future.

Tasting - Weinert Carascal 2008

• Name: Weinert Carascal 2008
• Variety: 40% Malbec, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot
• Region: Mendoza
• Country: Argentina
• Year: 2008
• Price: $13.95
• My Review: This was an interesting blended red, which proved to be fairly solid. On the nose, I detected some floral and blackberry aromas that stood out. On the palate, this was a moderately tannic, mouth-drying wine. Blackberry flavors came through, but I felt that this wine was not terrific. This wine seemed slightly flawed, and a tad bit bland. This was an interesting wine nonetheless, and perhaps with some more aging it would be a more enjoyable wine. 

Tasting - Santa Julia Malbec 2012

• Name: Santa Julia Malbec 2012 (Sustainable)
• Variety: Malbec
• Region: Mendoza
• Country: Argentina
• Year: 2012
• Price: $8.95
• My Review: This was a nice introduction to the Malbec variety for me, and this was my favorite red wine from this tasting event. On the nose, this wine provided dark red fruit and blackberry aromas. On the palate, this wine had a moderately tannic body, with a slightly tart finish. The flavor that came through the most for me from this wine was blackberry, which I enjoyed. This was a very solid red wine for a very reasonable price, hailing from a winery that employs sustainable growing practices on top of that! Overall, this wine seems to be a great value red.

Tasting - Gougenheim Torrontes 2012

• Name: Gougenheim Torrontes 2012
• Variety: Torrontes
• Region: Mendoza
• Country: Argentina
• Year: 2012
• Price: $9.95
• My Review: I enjoyed tasting this white wine quite a bit, and stood out to me among the other whites at this tasting. On the nose, this wine gave off some tropical fruit vibes, as well as fruity citrus aromas like orange and lemon and distinct floral components. On the palate, this wine was crisp and well balanced. I tasted a very lemon-y flavor in this wine, which I liked quite a bit, as well as some other fruity flavors on the finish. Overall, I was really impressed by this Argentinian white wine, and this may be one that warrants a revisit.

Tasting - Santa Julia Pinot Grigio 2013

• Name: Santa Julia Pinot Grigio 2013
• Variety: Pinot Grigio
• Region: Mendoza
• Country: Argentina 
• Year: 2013
• Price: $8.95
• My Review: This marks my first tasting of the Pinot Grigio grape variety, and basing my thoughts on this wine alone, I can say that I wasn't blown away. This was by all means a solid white wine, but it lacked any driving factors that made it really stand out to me. On the nose, this wine gave some very orange, fruity aromas. On the palate, this wine was well balanced and citrus-y, which reminded me of many other white wines that I have tasted. Overall, for the price, it seems like a solid wine for a good value.

Tasting - Jam Jar Sweet Wine

• Name: Jam Jar Sweet Wine
• Variety: Muscat
• Region: ?
• Country: South Africa
• Year: ?
• Price: $8.95
• My Review:
  This was an enjoyable wine, that was a good deal different from previous moscato that I have tasted. On the nose, this wine provided some distinctly floral and fruity aromas. On the palate this wine tasted fairly citrus-y. This wine was only semisweet, which I felt help it stand out a bit more when compared to other moscato wines. This wine had a great acidity balance which enhanced the mouthfeel. This wine would make a solid dessert wine choice at a reasonable price.

Tasting - Entrada Malbec

• Name: Entrada Malbec
• Variety: Malbec
• Region: ?
• Country: Chile
• Year: ?
• Price: $5.95
• My Review:
  This Chilean malbec did not leave a particularly lasting impression. On the nose I detected some a floral aroma, with hints of blackberry. On the palate this wine had a distinctly blackberry flavor component, but other than that I could not really detect much. This wine had a mild tannic structure and mild acidity. There just wasn't a whole lot going on with this wine, and I felt that it was a bit bland. Overall, this wine did not impress me too terribly much. 

Tasting - Vina Borga Borsao

• Name: Vino Borga Borsao
• Variety: Grenache
• Region: Camp de Borja
• Country: Spain
• Year: 2012
• Price: $6.95
• My Review:
  This was my favorite wine from this tasting session, and has provided me with an interest in the Grenache varietal. On the nose this wine emitted plenty of red fruit aromas. On the palate, this wine had hints of raspberry and strawberry that were enjoyable. This wine had a moderate tannic structure, with some mild spice on the backend. This was a solid red wine with some nice flavors!

Tasting - Peter Lehmann Chardonnay

• Name: Peter Lehmann Chardonnay
• Variety: Chardonnay
• Region: ?
• Country: Australia
• Year: ?
• Price: $20.00 sale: $9.95
• My Review:
  This Australian chardonnay was quite different from the few other chardonnays that I have previously tasted. On the nose, this wine was very typically chardonnay, with fruity aromas that I detected.  On the palate was where this wine differed a bit. I was not able to detect any of the oak-y flavors common of many California chardonnays. This was a fruity wine, with a tart green apple taste, and a nice crisp finish. Overall nothing spectacular, but I did like that this chardonnay was un-oaked!

Tasting - Protocolo Vino de la Tierra de Castilla

• Name: Protocolo Vino de la Tierra de Castilla
• Variety: Airen Macabeo blend
• Region: ?
• Country: Spain
• Year: ?
• Price: $6.95
• My Review: 
  This was an interesting wine of a variety that I had not tasted before. On the nose, I was able to detect a very distinct citrus aroma, with some other fruit aromas noticeable. On the palate, this wine was very dry, but well balanced. I could definitely taste a good amount of lemon flavor in this wine, with the tart aftertaste that lemon provides. Overall, this was a solid, citrus-y white wine.

Tasting - R Wines Eco.Love Riesling

• Name: R Wines Eco.Love Riesling
• Variety: Riesling
• Region: South Island
• Country: New Zealand
• Year: 2009
• Price: $18.00 sale: $7.95
• My Review: 
  This was a pretty good riesling in my opinion, and I can definitely say that I enjoyed it more than the Carl Weinberg bottle that I purchased a few weeks back! This was definitely not made in the German style though, as this wine was only mildly semisweet. On the nose, this wine provided some fruity, citrus and floral scents. On the palate, this wine was well balanced, with mild acidity and semisweet characteristics. This wine tasted very citrus-y, which again contrasted to the German riesling that I tried. Overall this was a surprisingly good New Zealand riesling, one that I may need to revisit.

Tasting - Toschi Cabernet Sauvignon

• Name: Toschi Cabernet Sauvignon
• Variety: Toschi
• Region: California
• Country: USA
• Year: 2011
• Price: $8.95
• My Review: 
  This wine didn't jump out at me as being outstanding, but seemed to be a solid wine for a cheap price. On the nose, this wine had dark fruit aromas such as blackberry and black cherry. On the palate, this wine was moderately tannic (slightly less than I would expect from a cabernet), well balanced, and had some blackberry flavor. The finish was somewhat spicy on this wine, which was a nice aspect for this particular wine I thought. A solid wine overall, but one that I will probably not go out of my way to revisit.

Tasting - Canyon Road Pinot Noir

• Name: Canyon Road Pinot Noir
• Variety: Pinot Noir
• Region: California
• Country: USA
• Year: 2012
• Price: $6.95
• My Review:
  This California pinot noir was certainly not great, but for the very low price I think I could see myself purchasing this wine to drink with food. On the nose, I received some cherry and blackberry aromas. On the palate, this wine had provided a cherry flavor, with mild tannins and a moderately full body. This pinot noir had a nice, smooth finish as well, which I enjoyed. All in all, I think this wine was a good introduction to pinot noir for me, and one that I could see myself using as a table wine for casual occasions. 

Tasting - Wine Men of Gotham Chardonnay Semillion

• Name: Wine Men of Gotham Chardonnay Semillon
• Variety: Chardonnay Semillon blend
• Region: ?
• Country: Australia
• Year: 2008
• Price: $7.95
• My Review: 
  This wine was surprisingly pleasant for the price point, and despite me not being a huge fan of chardonnay in general. On the nose, this was a very fruity wine, with some melon scents that I could detect. This wine was very well balanced, with a great level of acidity to sweet ratio. On the palate the wine was very fruity, with a nice finish. I couldn't detect any overwhelming oak flavors, which is one thing I'm not crazy about on most new world chardonnays, which I believe helped this wine in my view. Overall, a pretty good wine at a very reasonable price!

Tasting - Indwe Sauvignon Blanc

• Name: Indwe Sauvignon Blanc
• Variety: Sauvignon Blanc
• Region: ?
• Country: South Africa
• Year: 2012
• Price: $7.95
• My Review: 
  This was the first wine offered at the Vintage Cellar tasting for the week, and it was probably my least favorite of the bunch. On the nose, this wine had citrus, floral and tropical fruit aromas. This wine tasted VERY spicy. I believe that this wine was flawed, because I was taken aback by the intense spice that overwhelmed the other flavors that this wine offered. Behind the spice though, I could sense moderate acidity and some citrus flavors. 

Winery visit - Honig

The entrance sign for Honig

On Monday, March 10, 2014, my brother, my father and I visited the Honig winery located in Napa Valley to participate in a wine tasting. After a long day of driving from Lake Tahoe to Napa, we finally arrived at our intended destination, the Honig winery, right off of Rutherford road in the heart of the Rutherford AVA (which is contained within the Napa AVA).

The outdoor tasting area

After parking, we made our way over to the beautiful outdoor tasting area, to find a table with my brother's name on it, as Honig requires reservations for wine tastings. Our host soon came out to greet us and introduce himself, after which he described Honig to us in depth.

Honig focuses it's efforts on two varietals: sauvignon blanc and cabernet sauvignon. Honig produces only a handful of different wines, as they prefer to focus their efforts rather than produce a confoundingly large library of wines. Sustainability is seriously emphasized at Honig. In their vineyards, Honig employs several

Our reserved table for tasting

practices to cut down on the use of harmful chemicals and waste, which include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Utilizing owl boxes for rodent control, avoiding the use of poison.
• Employing drip irrigation, to reduce excessive water usage.
• Eliminating the use of herbicides by mechanically tilling.

Honig also utilizes solar energy to completely power their winery, which cuts down on carbon dioxide emissions. Additionally, and what I found to be one of the more interesting sustainability practices that Honig employs, is the use of trained golden retrievers to detect harmful pests that risk destroying crops.

After the brief introduction to the values and practices of Honig, our host brought us a menu, and our first wine to begin our tasting:

The Honig tasting menu

Rutherford Sauvignon
Blanc

• 2012 Honig Rutherford Sauvignon Blanc: 
  This sauvignon blanc, semillon and muscat blend wine was aged for 6 months in French oak, followed by 6 months in American oak. I detected a very fruity and floral flavor on this wine, with some vanilla, lemon and peach aromas that stood out. On the palate, this wine provided a very fruity, citrus-y taste. Some buttery flavor was detectable as well, lending itself to the year of oaking that this wine underwent, though it was not overwhelming. The finish of this wine was very crisp and dry, which I liked quite a bit. Overall, this was a very well balanced wined that I enjoyed.

• 2007 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon:

  

  Napa Valley Cabernet
  Sauvignon

  
  The host stated that this wine was made in the traditional Bordeaux style, and has been aged for 7 years. On the nose, this wine gave off a very cherry, dark fruit smell, with hints of chocolate. This wine tasted pretty tannic, mildly spicy, with a cherry flavor and a slightly oaky finish. This was a fantastic cabernet sauvignon, probably at the time that I tasted it, it was the best Cabernet that I have had. This was a hugely complex wine.

• 2008 Bartolucci Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon: 

  

  Bartolucci Vineyard
  Cabernet Sauvignon

  This wine was similar to the previous wine on the nose, with very heavy dark fruit aromas and hints of chocolate. This wine provided an immensely tannic taste, and it was very dry. The wine was well balanced, and it was very smooth with only a very mild spice on the backend. This wine has a very heavy body, and was overall a huge wine. Perhaps my palate is not refined quite enough to appreciate this wine as much as the 2007 Napa Cabernet from this tasting, but I thought this wine was just very good, but not quite great.

• 2012 Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc:
  This was definitely my favorite wine of this tasting! The host told us that this wine was made in a Sauternes-style, which he said is termed “Late Harvest”, stating that they had waited until late in the year (September-November) to harvest the grapes. He described the use of noble rot to craft this wine, and that it had a low alcohol rate at 11.5% and a very sweet, honeyed flavor. On the nose, this wine smelled of honey, cinnamon apples, and other assorted fruit. The taste of this wine completely blew me away! On my first sip, this wine immediately became the best white wine that I have ever had the pleasure of tasting, and it would make an amazing dessert wine. The wine was very sweet, with a good mildly zesty acidity that was denoted a good balance. If I had to describe the taste of this wine with one word it would be honey. I could not shake the thought of drinking freshly harvested honey while drinking this incredible wine. I suppose it's appropriate that Honig translates to honey in German. Unfortunately, I was too caught up in appreciating this wine to remember to take a picture of this golden-yellow wine.

Following the completion of our tasting, my dad decided to order a few of the tasted wines inside of the winery. The building housing the winery was situated right near the tasting area, and housed an indoor tasting area for times when the weather was not as beautiful as it was during our visit.

Inside of the Honig winery

Stay thirsty, my friends

While looking around inside, I located a pile of postcards that Honig produced of their employees acting silly. I thought these were great, and added to the charm of this somewhat eccentric winery.

After looking around inside of the customer-facing area of the winery, I proceeded to make my way to the vineyards surrounding the building.

At the time of visiting, all of the vines that I could see did not have any crop on them, and it seems that either the growing season has not yet begun for the year. Nonetheless, the seemingly endless rows of vines in all directions was a fantastic sight to behold, as almost all of Napa Valley was just indescribably beautiful. 

One of the Honig vineyards

Me standing beside some gnarly looking vines

Visiting Honig was a fantastic introduction to visiting wineries for me, and I can't wait to visit even more. I assume that by visiting such a highly regarded and beautiful winery for my first visitation I will be somewhat spoiled, and I hope that does not sour any future experiences. Should I have the chance at some point in the future, I hope to be able to revisit Honig, as well as explore the many terrific wineries and vineyards located in Napa Valley, and elsewhere in California.