Getting this started again with a kick: Ginger Kombucha Beer

Unity Vibration's Kombucha Beer - Ginger

This is kind of like the hippy version of a vodka Red Bull.  It has alcohol and caffeine (at lower levels than a vrb) and it also has nutritional aspects from the kombucha.

Unity Vibration makes two flavors of kombucha beer: ginger and raspberry.  I tried their ginger beer.  It tastes like a natural ginger ale with a slight twinge of funk/sourness, but hardly noticeable.  It had more sweetness than I was expecting, but not as much as a soda.  I was expecting it to be a sour beer.  Their beer doesn't taste like any kombucha I've ever had.  The ginger wasn't as spicy as a Bundaburg or Stewarts ginger beer (non-alcoholic, used for ginger flavor comparison only), but definitely more flavorful than a mainstream ginger ale.  It was more like a candied ginger than a spicy ginger.  If I hadn't read the label, I would have had no idea it was 8.0% alc./vol.  The beer tastes and has a mouth-feel more like a lambic or a cider than a typical beer.  This is probably because of the addition of ginger, residual sugar, and the open top fermentation in oak barrels.

Peju - Open Late

Photo by Sanae Burries

After Terra Valentine, Sanae and I headed back along Hwy 29 towards Napa and my car. We stopped at Peju a winery in the Rutherford AVA. We stopped at Peju for three reasons: we wanted to go to another winery, I had always meant to stop there but never had, and it is open until 6pm. The last one was key as I think we got there at about 4:30pm and most tasting rooms close between 4pm and 5pm.

The grounds are beautiful with well groomed hedges, statues, and fountains.  Peju is an art focused winery by which I mean the aesthetics are well thought out.  There is a lobby sort of area where we were asked what we wanted to do. Which seemed like a strange question at the time and still does. (Apparently there are many kinds of tastings and cooking classes which can be found on their website. The standard tasting fee is $15 per person which is waived with a purchase of $30 or more. There are more expensive options on the weekends with reserve wines.) The lobby has tons of books, mustard, t-shirts, chocolates, and other wine/Napa related souvenirs.

Terra Valentine - Castle in the Clouds

Stained Glass Window (photo by Sanae Burries)

Terra Valentine offers a truly exquisite tasting experience. The wine is phenomenal, the building is amazing, the view is spectacular, the people including the guests were delightful and lively, and the hostess, Lindsay, is chock full of information.

The tasting and tour costs $30 per person and is waived with the purchase of two bottles. Other tasting experiences can be found on their website. Reservations are required and I recommend making them a couple days ahead for week days or as soon as you book your trip for weekends.

Swill From a Great Producer

Usually Stags' Leap makes amazing wines, but their 2007 Petite Syrah [sic] from Napa Valley is far less than amazing.  It started off well with a dark inky purple color.  The nose exhibited dark chocolate, licorice, and slightly vegetative flavors most notably asparagus.  On the palate the first thing I noticed was the alcohol which isn't very high at 14.3%, but it shows far too much.  The wine is also slightly astringent with green flavors as well as bitter-sweet chocolate.  The high acidity and alcohol bite the tongue.  I was very disappointed by this overpriced wine ($35).

If you don't know Stags' Leap, don't take this as indicative of their winemaking skills.  They usually make outstanding Cabs and Merlots.  Liza at Brix Chicks had the 2008 Petite Sirah and loved it.  So hopefully the 2007 was just an off year.

Anaba

The tasting room is new, quite small, and there isn't a winery attached. We ate a couple sandwiches from Vineburg Deli on their patio which was very windy. The sandos were delicious. When I worked at Sebastiani back in 2008, I ate lunch at that deli two to three times a week. It is still a solid deli.

Anaba has 10 wines to taste and you pay $10 to taste 5 of your choice. The tasting fee is waived if you purchase a bottle. Here are my tasting notes for four of their wines. We also got their rosé, but I didn't try it because the tasting room attendant said it was sweet (the person I was with prefers sweet and off-dry whites). He later said it was dry to the customers that came in after us. I didn't taste it so I don't know, but I really don't like tasting room staff that change their descriptions for different customers.