After a hugely informative, if fairly exhausting, visit to the Salon des Vins de Loire we headed south to Bordeaux for a spot of castle-creeping with the Baron and Baroness d’Anglade at Chateau d’Abzac. As any fule knows it is relatively easy to source good, classed growth Bordeaux but you get what you pay for. What is considerably more difficult is to find well-made inexpensive Claret for gratifying every-day drinking. Some well-informed and well-wishing expatriates had put us in touch with the d’Anglades and early negotiations have been fruitful – this is not a frequent occurrence  as 9 out of 10 third party recommendations disappoint. Merlot is the dominant grape here which thrives on gravelly soils, similar to nearby Pomerol. We were very impressed with the wines which are fresh, forward-drinking and sensibly priced. We hope to ship an inaugural order in the near future so watch this space for an update.

Domaine Collin

Heading South and East, via a chilly overnight stop in Agen, our arrival in Limoux co-incided with our first glimpse of sunshine, illuminating the snow capped peaks above Philippe Collin’s twenty hectare estate.  Since moving down to this Cathar region from Champagne in 1980, Philippe has honed his art of producing great value Méthode Traditionelle fizz from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes.  It is gratifying to meet winemakers who get on with doing what they do best, without pretension or distraction.

The cross country drive from Carcassonne to Minerve flanks the Canal du Midi and takes in some gorgeous scenery, which must be even more impressive viewed from a barge.  Minerve itself is officially Un des plus beaux villages de France. We won’t argue with that, but even in the sunshine the Tramontane wind was biting.  Claude Derroja of Domaine Le Cazal gave us a warm welcome and tour of his vines, including the breath-taking Pas de Zarat gorge which would be a tourist trap in any more accessible location.  A comprehensive tasting of Claude’s Syrah, Grenache and Carignan blends confirmed that the 2009 and 2010 vintages are superlative.  We are beginning to get the message here.  Having secured generous allocations of both, we took to the road for Béziers where whoever wrote the entry for the Hotel Imperator in our guide deserves suing!  The only thing for it is a restorative bowl of Cassoulet and a bottle of Faugères at the Cep d’Or.

Cabernet Sauvignon grapes at ZD Winery

On a recent holiday to the United States, I had the opportunity to visit the Napa Valley where wine has been produced, in what many consider as America’s premium wine country, for over 150 years.  Tthe first commercial winery in Napa was established in 1861.  An early boom and growth in vineyards was curtailed with Prohibition in the 1920s and early 1930s and the vast majority of wineries were abandoned. Thankfully, this flawed legislation was short-lived and, since the 1940s, Napa has re-established itself and now produces some world class wines. The number of wineries now stands at 300+ and wine trade has become big business.

As with all things American, our cousins have taken the wine experience to the highest level of commerciality and customer friendliness. Make no mistake, Napa is no idyllic, backwater, wine valley – it is a full-on tourist melting pot.

The two main routes through the valley are highway 29 and the Silverado trail. Although there are plenty of wineries away from these parallel North/South roads, one does not really have to leave them to have a day (or two) of serious vineyard visiting.  The modes of transport are numerous and the roads are busy with cars, jeeps, coaches, shuttle buses, limos, Harleys and mountain bikes. If none of these fit the bill then there is the legendary Wine Train that puffs its way from down town Napa up to St Helena before turning round and chugging back to complete a 3 hour, 36 mile round trip.

Most wineries are open from 10.30am – 4.30pm daily, give or take a half hour. They all have well laid out tasting rooms with a team of friendly, knowledgeable “front of house” staff that are on hand to pour and advise. Sadly, very few (if any) offer this service for free now, as the visitor numbers have exploded and the tastings were turning into free for all booze-ups. That said, for $10 – $20, you can taste enough wine to get a real feel for each winery and to help you make those important purchasing decisions!

Cabernet Sauvignon is the King of Napa red grapes as is Chardonnay for the whites. Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc are common and there some very good Pinot Noirs now being made. There are many more varietals being planted and this willingness to experiment and be innovative is a key characteristic of the Napa Valley producer. During my trip I tasted some excellent varietals including Viognier, Riesling, Gamay, Zinfandel, Syrah and Muscat. 

The gates to ZD Winery

Part of the joy of visiting a wine region is the discovery of personal favourites amongst the producers. Two wineries that I enjoyed were V. Sattui Winery in St Helena which is in the heart of Napa and ZD wines on the Silverado Trail.  As well as an excellent range of wines to taste, the Italian, family run Sattui estate offers a superb deli (that now earns the winery as much their wine sales) and a picturesque picnic area in the gardens, allowing a much needed break to relax and refuel before continuing on the wine trail.

The ZD Winery makes a limited number of wines but the quality is second to none. Their Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon are excellent and well regarded, but my favourite is their Carneros Pinot Noir. ZD was the first winery recognise Carneros as a region on their first bottling in 1969 and this wine is beautifully made and is quite Burgundian in style.

Napa is definitely worth a visit for its, wine, food and activities and you will always feel most welcome. Best advice is to try and visit at off peak times of the year and avoid weekends where possible as it does get very crowded, particularly at the more famous wineries.