Yesterday, the Handsome Husband and I took a tour of the Beringer Winery in Napa, California. And although I don’t drink wine, I thought the winery itself was lovely.
The Rhine house {in the above picture} was built in 1884 at a cost of $28,000. $6,000 of that was just for the stained glass windows. I don’t know about you, but I love old homes. And this house with all it’s wood paneling and stonework was no exception.
As with most old wineries, the most interesting part of the property {besides the garden of course} are the aging tunnels and cellars themselves. This is the entrance to where the old oak barrels are stored.
These particular oak barrels held more than 500 gallons of wine back when they were in use.
The aging caves were dug into the hillside from the late 1870’s and were finished in the early 1880’s. The hillside rock acts as a natural insulator and keeps the temperature in the tunnels at an ideal 58-60 degrees Fahrenheit year-round with a humidity of 75-80%, perfect conditions for storing wine. – Beringer Wines
This is Tim. He was our wine guide. It’s his job to give tours and wine parings 3 times a day. If I had to guess I’d say Tim drinks at least a bottle of wine a day while talking to folks from all around the world. We were the last tour of the day. Tim was rather relaxed.
After a 45 minute tour of the wine caves, old machinery and vineyards, we then headed to a tasting room to learn about wine parings and how to taste wine like a professional. I must say, for the Handsome Husband, and everyone else on this tour, this was the highlight of the Taste of Beringer Wine Tour.
And as for me, I just sat there. Sipping water and learning about how to match up particular wines with sweet and salty foods while munching on a very long bread stick and piece of gruyere cheese. 😉
So Mavis wants to know…
Are you a wine drinker? If so, do you put a lot of thought into what foods you eat before you pour a glass? Do you think it’s weird to go on a wine tour when you’re not really into wine?
Headed to Napa soon? You might want to take the Explorer’s Guide Napa & Sonoma: A Great Destination guide book along with you. Amazon currently has it priced at $
Sarah says
Wine tours are beautiful and interesting! Even if you aren’t a wine drinking (but especially if you are 🙂 hehe).
What does your husband like to drink? I bet you all learned a lot. It’s amazing how much more the taste of different wines sticks out to you after someone explains how the wine was made and what tastes and textures you’re experiencing.
I used to drink wine more often, but I have Crohn’s Disease and wine (especially my favorites – reds) irritate my symptoms sometimes. I’ve had to kind of convert to white wines, but still enjoy a nice rich red now and then. My husband likes sweet white wines. He hasn’t really developed a “pallet” for drier, darker wines. He’s more of a beer connoisseur. But we will drink some white wine with salads or fish. When we have beef, sometimes we’ll drink some cab or pinot noir. I like Merlot (or most reds really) with chocolate :). Ok any wine is good with chocolate.
The photos from your trip are beautiful! Thanks so much for sharing!
Jenn says
I love wine way too much 🙂 I live in Northern CA but in San Jose. I love to go to the winery’s in Morgan Hill and Gilroy since it’s so close but these winery’s in Napa are amazing!
Now who’s taking care of your garden while you’re away? 🙂
evan says
I live in San Jose as well and I happen to work at Clos LaChance Winery in San Martin (between Gilroy and Morgan Hill)!
I love the wineries in the area, but I may be a little biased.
Since you follow Frugal Mavis, you might be interested in knowing that this week is out Friends & Family Week. Use ‘F&F2012’ online at clos.com or come into the tasting room (ask for a coupon) and get 30% off your purchase.
Kathy says
I love wine! Drinking alcohol is not exactly something that Mennonites condone, so I still have to fight this little nagging feeling of guilt whenever I do drink. It doesn’t help that my oldest son has become the alcohol police at our house! “Mom, is that wine?” “Dad, is that your 2nd beer?’ LOL But I do love to tour wineries, do tastings, sip a glass on my back deck, and prefer whites.
And no, it’s not odd really to do wine tours if you don’t drink wine. 🙂 The locations of most wineries are beautiful and sometimes historic.
Laura says
I enjoy many types and enjoy a wine tasting when opportunity arises.
we recently visited the Biltmore, and learned the owner aquired rights to vineyards in California to have his own vineyard! We loved it!
I don’t prefer reds in the summer, but my husband drinks red all the time. Never white or pinot. I don’t have the budget for fancy but have a picky palate so I try to find nice one’s that aren’t so costly. Trader Joes are nice for budget friendly bubbly. $2.99 for a nice pinot or merlot. 🙂
Mary Ann says
I used to drink all types of wine. We used to drive up to the Central Coast area (Paso Robles/Templeton) and spend a weekend in the old farmhouse that Dunning Vineyards converted. We spent the whole weekend going to the many wineries in the area. It’s really beautiful there.
I’ve since lost my taste for wine — reds began being too strong for me, so I drank whites. Then oaked Chardonnay’s became too strong and I drank Sauvignon Blanc’s or Fume’s. Then all I could handle was Champagne. Veuve Clicquot was my favorite, but even that is now too strong for me. No clue why I lost the taste, but I haven’t had anything in months. I kinda miss just hanging out on the patio having a nice glass of champs.