Magical History Tour of Wine Country
Day Three
July 23, 2008
St. Helena - Napa - Rutherford
Click Here for RPM Notes for Day Three
| 8:00am | We depart from the BW Garden Inn for St. Helena in the Napa Valley headed to see RPM's relative and his mobile bottling production facility in action. | ||
| 9:00am - 10:15am | We're arriving early at the William Harrison Winery for something unusual. Bill Harrison is RPM's cousin and, in addition to a winery, has Estate Bottling, the first mobile bottling operation. Bill bottles for dozens of small wineries that do not have their own bottling equipment. On the day of our visit, Bill's will be bottling wine at his winery, giving us a unique opportunity to see a modern mobile wine bottling operation up close. Bill specializes in Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc, which he has been making at least since the 1992 vintage. |
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| 10:30am - 11:45am | After learning how still wine is bottled, we head over to Mumm-Napa to experience all things bubbly. Mumm Napa is excited to welcome the Wooters on July 23rd. Doug Springer, Grower Relations, will walk us through two demo vineyards and show us how M-N adapted as technology developed. Then, we will head into the winery and enjoy a flute of a winery exclusive sparkling as we walk through the method traditionelle process. Our tour will end in our Ansel Adams gallery with another flute of bubbly. |
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| Noon - 2pm | Lunch at Corison! Cathy says, "We'll taste the 2005 Corazón Gewurztraminer and the 2007 Cabernet Rosé and take a look around when you get here. We will pour a 1996-1998 Corison Cabernet vertical tasting followed by a simple, casual lunch" |
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| 2pm - 3:15pm | We are extremely fortunate at Frogs Leap to meet with partner and Director of Vineyards and Viticulturalist Frank Leeds, who will show us around and talk to the group about the history of grape farming in Napa Valley, with special emphasis on Frogs Leap's pioneering dry farming. RPM is personally excited that we're visiting with Frank. Not all California wine history is the distant pre-Prohibition past or the long post-Prohibition years dominated by bulk wine, sweet wine, and a few keepers of the flame for fine wine. Frogs Leap is historically significant as an early (1972) member of the wave of wineries founded after interest in California wine began to take take off in the late 1960s. Originally known primarily for Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon (and a consistently excellent Zinfandel), Frogs Leap has grown into a highly respected producer of fine wine. |
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| 3:30pm - 5:30pm | The Niebam-Coppola winery and Rubicon Estate is nothing short of spectacular. If you were making a movie (hmmm), you could not find a better setting than this estate and all it has to offer. I suggest touring the web site in advance to get an appreciation for what is in store for us. |
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| 6pm - 9pm | We will be sharing our final meal of the tour together at Tra Vigne - Italian for "among the vines" and made famous by its legendary chef Michael Chiarello. Though Chef Chiarello has moved on, we will be enjoying his legacy and celebrating a very special three days together. Woot! |
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| 10:00pm | We have come to the end of an incredible three days as we arrive back at the BV Garden Inn. |