I remember trying a St. Supery Cabernet Sauvignon in a restaurant on a business trip to Chicago and thought it was a great value.  When I got home, I had no luck finding any of the wines.  So when we were making our plans, this was a winery that was on my to-do list.

Since it was harvest time, we did a self-guided tour, so we could take extra time watching the bee-hive activity.  The owner was from a wine family with production in the south of France and in Algeria, came to Napa Valley and liked what he saw.  After our stroll, we entered the tasting room.

We tasted nine different wines from my notes.  A house red, a Zinfandel Rose, a Cabernet Sauvignon, a Merlot, a Moscato, a Chardonnay and a Sauvignon Blanc.  They also had two Meritage wines, a red and a white.  It was a lively tasting with a lot of discussion back and forth on the virtue of the different wines.  I was also surprised at a couple of the choices my Bride insisted on, as they were out of her normal likes.

The two Meritage wines were outstanding and I knew that we would be leaving with some of these, especially looking forward to having them during a dinner party.  The Cabernet Sauvignon was as good as I remembered it, and then I was informed that there was also a ‘91 Limited Edition Cabernet Sauvignon that was not being offered during the tasting.  Well information like that, I was a fish caught hook, line and sinker.  I knew we had to get some of that as well.  My opinion was that it was a no-brainer, even without tasting the wine that it would be great, especially cellared.

We bought some of the Sauvignon Blanc and some Chardonnay as well.  What surprised me was that my Bride wanted to buy some of the Zinfandel Rose and the Moscato.  The rose was spicy and had a tinge of sweetness and the Moscato was a luscious dessert wine.  These are not wines that my Bride normally gravitates to, but that is the wonder of wine.

There is always a new taste to discover and to savor.  One can be cavalier in selecting wines and be a winner, and even better when you find that you like it more in a quieter setting than a tasting room.