Our day in Napa Part 1 - Artesa

As I mentioned yesterday morning, I spent the day yesterday wine tasting in Napa. We wound up visiting three wineries, two of which were brand new to me.

The first winery was Artesa, which is located in the Carneros District. This makes it an ideal first stop for any Napa tour. Artesa's Visitors Center is absolutely amazing - - not only does it offer breathtaking views of the Napa Valley and San Francisco Bay, but it also features some of the best artwork of any winery I have seen thanks to Gordon Huether, their own Artist in Residence.

We arrived in time for the 11AM tour - the cost was $10 per person, but included the standard wine tasting. Reserve tasting is also available for $15 (here is a hint - if your guide likes you, he may just upgrade you - ours did!).

The winemaker at Artesa takes great care from hand picking the grapes only at night, to allowing the whole berries to ferment before crushing to even playing playing tapes of monks singing and chanting in the barrel room. Unfortunately, at least for our group, all of these careful steps didn't seem to matter as except for the chardonnay. we were a little underwhelmed with the wines. Nevertheless, as you can see from the picture, the winery itself is worth a visit, and as everyone's palate is different, you may find their wines to your liking.