Be a wine tasting winner

Wine clubs and competitive wine tasting

Did you know wine tasting is actually a competitive sport? This year, a Chinese team achieved a perfect score, identifying twelve French wines by taste alone. The team said wine tasting was “fifty percent knowledge and fifty percent luck.” If you want to be an expert wine taster, try joining a wine club and going to wine tastings. Look at the wine against a white background. Swirl it very carefully. When you smell the wine, try to think of everything the smell reminds you of — not just fruit, but flowers, smoke, even crushed stone. When you taste it, notice the texture and mouthfeel. Once you’ve swallowed it, notice the aftertaste.

Wine tasting at a vineyard near St. Helena, CA

Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley, a 10-minute drive from downtown St. Helena, holds tastings in its barrel caves, where visitors can sample current releases and library wines. There you may find the 2010 Signature Vintage Cabernet Sauvignon, a deep purple wine with a slight red edge that comes from the best two barrels of the vintage, has an aroma that begins with a strong cassis, with streaks of blackberry and blueberry and highlights of blue flowers. The oak adds elements of smoke to the bouquet. The palate of the ’10 Signature is similar to the aroma, with the taste of black, blue and red fruits, anise, smoke and violets. This is a wine that deserves to be kept and allowed to age. Join their wine club and order some of their wines today.

Cabernet Sauvignon rugged, high-quality

A quality grape that grows in many places

Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world’s most successful varieties of grape. The grapes are small and thick-skinned, so the tannins and other flavors that come from grapeskin are found abundantly in this wine. They also help give the grape the ability to survive all sorts of environments, which has made the Cab globally successful — they’re as hardy as Mission grapes and produce much better wine. No matter what the climate or soil, Cab grapes can be relied on for a complex and balanced vintage.

Some very good Cabs near St. Helena, CA

Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley, a short drive from downtown St. Helena, produces world-class wines at affordable prices, including a famous Cabernet Sauvignon. The Conn Valley Cabernet has been known as one of the top Cabernets in the world since the first vintage in 1987. The style is more Bordeaux in style than the average Napa Cabernet. The Conn Valley Cabernet is one that chefs find it easy to pair with almost anything because of the beautiful bright and refreshing acidity on the finish. Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate praises the 2012 vintage for its “terrific purity, plenty of depth and ripeness, and a full-bodied mouthfeel.” They also offer Estate and Signature Cabs, which are of particularly high quality.

Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards has been owned and operated by the Anderson family since 1983. Wine club members save $25 buying the 2013 Signature Cabernet Sauvignon online. If you’re looking for a good wine to serve at a special occasion, order a bottle today

Napa wineries worth touring

Exploring Napa wineries

When planning a trip to Napa Valley, find a room at one of little bed-and-breakfasts. You can rent a car or take advantage of shuttle bus service. Then it’s time to plan the wine tastings and winery visits. There are vacation packages that will let you tour the Napa wineries. If there are specific wineries you want to visit, or if you want to see some other places, just draw up your own itinerary.

One of the best Napa wineries near St. Helena

Some of the best California wines come from Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley near St. Helena. One of the more famous wines produced by Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards is the intense dark purple and red 2011 Signature Cabernet Sauvignon. Drawn exclusively from the best five barrels of the 2011 vintage, this rare wine is the child of a wet, cool year that produced low yield but high quality. The wine has an aroma of dark berries, smoke, blue flowers and anise. The palate is dominated by the fruitiness of blackberry, with hints of licorice and the finest tannins from barrels of French oak. This is a wine that will improve for decades.

Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards has been owned and operated by the Anderson family since 1983. Anderson’s wines are sold online and in five locations in Napa Valley, and many other locations nationwide. By ordering six bottles per year, you can join their wine club, giving you discounts on many of their finest wines, tickets for two to their parties and a complimentary cave tasting. Buying 12 or 24 bottles will gain you more tickets and the chance to bring more guests. Join today.

Touring the wine caves of Napa Valley

Find a wine club that offers cave tours

If you’re thinking of joining a wine club, pick one that offers cave tours. Caves are great places to store and age barrels of wine. They maintain an even temperature all year, low but not freezing. They’re also humid, which reduces the loss of wine by evaporation that you’d normally get when storing a non-airtight barrel for years. The humidity of a wine cave should be at least 75 percent. And wine caves are often carved, decorated and lit to suit their owners’ imaginations and sometimes have their own water features that draw from underground rivers. They can even be good places to have dinner. With dinner, you can taste the latest wines and the library wines from previous years stored in the cave.

Cave tours near St. Helena

Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards, near St. Helena, holds tastings in its barrel caves, where current releases and library wines may be sampled and visitors can learn how they make and store the wine. One of the wines in its library is the ruby red 2009 Éloge. A fine blend from an excellent growing year, the ’09 Éloge has an aroma with a core of concentrated dark fruits, with crème de cassis, cigar box, spice and streaks of red currants. Its flavor is similar — deep and full-bodied with concentrated dark fruits, spice and mocha.

Cave tastings are $65, but one tasting fee can be waived by joining their wine club or making a $100 purchase. Join today.

Visit St. Helena and the surrounding part of Napa Valley

Wine clubs around St. Helena

St. Helena, “Napa Valley’s main street,” is one of the centers of the world wine industry. A number of wine clubs are centered here that are well worth trying. If you’re planning to visit St. Helena wineries, get out into the countryside and explore the multitude of microclimates for which this part of California is famous.

A winery near St. Helena

Some of the best California wines come from Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley. Just a 10-minute drive from downtown St. Helena, Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards produces world-class wines at affordable prices. The vineyard is a 40-acre estate just south of Howell Mountain. The grapes they grow are closer to mountain grapes than the grapes in the St. Helena AVA proper. At the vineyard, you have the chance to meet the owners and wine-makers and taste excellent wine stored in a cave.

Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards produces an Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2012 Estate Reserve might be their best ever. The growing season of this dark purple and red blend brought out the perfect balance of flavor and sugar in the grapes. The aroma has many notes, including mocha and red raspberries. The palate is deeply layered with dark red fruit, spices and licorice, and a smooth mouthfeel. There are hints of white pepper in the finish.

The winery has been owned and operated by the Anderson family since 1983. By ordering six bottles or more per year, you can join their wine club. This will get you a discount on many of their finest wines, including a $10 discount on the ’13 Estate Reserve. Join their wine club and try a bottle today.

Discover 2018’s best wine at a barrel tasting

Barrel tastings

Barrel tastings are an opportunity to try the most recent vintages and guess how good the wine will become. It may help to understand the process of wine fermentation and aging. The fermentation itself happens in two stages during the first two to three weeks. For three to five days, while the vessel is open to the air, the yeast multiplies. In the second stage, which takes one to two weeks, the vessel is closed and the yeast just turns sugar into alcohol. Once it’s inside the barrel, the aging begins. In the case of red wine, the wine turns a more brick-like color with age. The aroma becomes less fruity. It loses its acidity. The oak of the barrels leaches tannins into the wine.

Barrel tastings near St. Helena

Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley, a 10-minute drive from downtown St. Helena, holds tastings in its barrel caves, where current releases and library wines may be sampled. Tastings are $65, but one tasting fee can be waived by joining their wine club or making a $100 purchase. Try a recent Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. An older Estate Reserve Cab, 2007, is a dark ruby red wine with an aroma of dark fruit, Bing cherries, licorice and cigar box. Its flavor is balanced between fruit, oak and acid, with sweet tannins and hints of cedar and chocolate cake.

Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards is a 40-acre estate just south of Howell Mountain. Anderson’s wines are sold online and in five locations in Napa Valley, and many other locations nationwide.

Napa Valley wines go way back

Napa Valley wines and their history

About this time, vineyard workers are harvesting the grapes that Napa Valley wines are made from. The first wine grapes in Napa Valley were Mission grapes, brought to California by missionaries. They were tough and could adapt easily, but didn’t necessarily make the best wines. Better varieties of wine grape were brought to California in the nineteenth century, including the Cabernet Sauvignon grape which has Mission resilience and French quality.

Napa Valley wines from a winery near St. Helena

Some of the best California wines come from Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley. A 10-minute drive from downtown St. Helena, these vineyards produce world-class wines at affordable prices. The vineyard is south of Howell Mountain, and offers you the chance to meet the owners and wine-makers and taste excellent wine stored in a cave. Wine Merchants Gourmet includes them in one of its Middle Valley tours.

An example of what this winery has to offer is the Éloge, an exclusive blend. The 2008 Éloge comes from a year notable for its extremes — storms followed by a prolonged frost in spring, a cool spring and early summer followed by sweltering heat later. All this led to a vintage of low yield but high quality — a dark ruby red wine with extraordinary aroms of black cherries, cedar, leather, crushed rocks and smoked meats. It tastes of chocolate-dipped black cherries and plums with toffee and spices. By ordering six bottles or more per year, you can join their wine club, giving you discounts on many of their finest wines.

How the best vineyards in Napa grow and harvest grapes

Best vineyards in Napa

Soon, the harvests will be complete in the best vineyards in Napa. The best vineyards of Napa Valley match different varieties of grape to their terroir to create wines of unique and exquisite aroma and flavor. There are around 400 wineries in the valley. In the coolest parts of the valley, the best vineyards of Napa grow Pinot Noir and Merlot grapes. The hardy Cabernet Sauvignon grapes grow in all parts of the valley. The winemakers taste the grapes every now and then during the ripening process in order to make sure they’re harvested at just the right time.

One of the best vineyards in Napa is near St. Helena

Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley, a 10-minute drive from downtown St. Helena, is one of the best vineyards in the Napa Valley area. It holds tastings in its barrel caves, where current releases and library wines may be sampled and visitors can learn all about the process of making and storing the wine. Cave tastings are $65, but one tasting fee can be waived by joining their wine club or making a $100 purchase. Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards produces world-class wines at affordable prices, including the 2011 Èloge. 2011 was a wet and cool year, with a lower yield but particularly high quality. The Èloge shows this quality with its aroma and taste of dark fruit, licorice, spice, cigar box, coffee and hints of violet perfume. This will be a wine to cherish for thirty years or more. Join their wine club today.

The art of wine tasting

Notice the taste and feel

If you’re a member of a Napa Valley wine club, you may be invited to a wine tasting. If it’s outdoors, plan for the weather, especially this time of year. Dress well but comfortably. While you’re tasting the wine, notice the texture and how it feels in your mouth — these are a key part of the experience. After you’ve sipped it, take a long moment to notice the aftertaste, or finish. Drink water between glasses, to clear the palate.

Wine tasting at a vineyard near St. Helena

Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley, a 10-minute drive from downtown St. Helena, holds tastings in its barrel caves, where visitors can sample current releases and library wines and learn about the process of making and storing the wine. Cave tastings are $65, but one tasting fee can be waived by joining their wine club or making a $100 purchase. The vineyard is a 40-acre estate just south of Howell Mountain, and has been owned and operated by the Anderson family since 1983. Anderson’s wines are sold online and in five locations in Napa Valley, and many other locations nationwide.

One wine you might get to try at an Anderson’s Conn Valley wine tasting is the 2009 Right Bank, a ruby blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot with purple edges. 2009 was a great year for winemaking in Napa Valley. This is a full-bodied wine with a rich finish, tasting of ripe black fruit and rounded sweet tannins. Join the Anderson’s Conn Valley wine club today.

Wine clubs easy to get in and out of

Joining a Napa wine club

If you enjoy California wines, you should join a wine club. You join one by agreeing to buy a certain number of bottles every year, and the club delivers them to you. In the most exclusive wine clubs, you get a higher level of membership by agreeing to buy more wine. Be sure to read the terms before joining a club. A good wine club will look for unknown wines and bring them to your attention. Wine clubs are also judged on the number of different club levels, discounts and the variety of events held every year.

An exclusive wine club near St. Helena

Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley, a 10-minute drive from downtown St. Helena, has its own wine club. One wine you might get to try at their wine club is the dark ruby 2008 Right Bank. After a brief period of rough weather, Napa Valley experienced a dry, cold spring in 2008. A warm spell in September ripened a lot of varieties of grapes at once — we had to hurry to harvest them all in time. The Right Bank wine from this year has an aroma of mocha, blackberries and black pepper, a superb texture with a silky finish, and a flavor dominated by black fruit with crushed rocks. This wine is expected to improve for twelve to fifteen years.

By agreeing to buy six bottles a year in groups of three, you can get Level I membership with discounts on their wines, tickets to parties and invitations to a complimentary tasting. Once you’ve chosen a membership level, buying additional bottles won’t count toward your annual allocation. Join today.

Let the winemaking begin

Collecting the grapes

Grape harvest season in Napa Valley is just about here. Already, the winemakers have pulled the first few grapes off the vine and tasted them to see if they’re ripe. At some vineyards the grapes are harvested mechanically, but at others they’re harvested by hand. Harvesting by hand is obviously a lot more work, but in many cases it results in a much better wine. Mechanical harvesting means shaking the grapes until they fall off the vine, which can rupture some of them. However the grapes are harvested, they must be sorted by hand. Grapes that are green, moldy or shriveled have to be removed. Then they’re taken to the winery to be crushed, which takes less time if the winery is at the vineyards.

Wine clubs sometimes hold tours of vineyards and Napa wineries to teach their members about this process. This will help you appreciate of the arts of viticulture and winemaking. Since everyone in the winery is busy with the harvest, this is a better time to schedule a tour for later in the year. Tasting is a part of these tours. Tasting fees can be anywhere from $5 to $50 per person.

One of the best Napa wineries near St. Helena

Some of the best California wines come from Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley. Just a 10-minute drive from downtown St. Helena, these vineyards produce world-class wines at affordable prices. By ordering six bottles or more per year, you can join their wine club, giving you discounts on many of their finest wines.

Cabernet Sauvignon goes with everything, ages well

Cabernet Sauvignon a famous California wine

All through Napa Valley, the grapes are being harvested for the Cabernet Sauvignons of years to come. Cabernet Sauvignon usually matures nine to eighteen months in French, American or Hungarian oak. The Cab grape is famous for holding its quality through any weather, lasting a long time in the barrel and interacting with the oak to bring out the flavors of cassis, black cherry and blackberry, and often hints of tobacco, vanilla and violets. With a California Cab, the better the meal, the better the wine goes with it. Pair it with something that has a rich and hearty flavor of its own. Venison, lamb and rich beef go well with it. Try serving the wine at 57 to 60 degrees to get the full flavor. Some of the most famous Cabs come from many different rootstocks and vineyards to achieve just the right balance. Many wine clubs offer collections of Cabs.

Some very good Cabs near St. Helena, CA

Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley, a short drive from downtown St. Helena, produces world-class wines at affordable prices. The Conn Valley Cab has been rated one of the top Cabernets in the world since the inaugural vintage of 1987. The 2013 Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is rich and silky, with hints of white pepper. The finish is very powerful, with notes of lavender, cloves, orange peel and dark spices. Wine club members save $10 buying the ‘13 Estate Reserve Cab. If you’re looking for a good wine to serve at a special occasion, order a bottle today.

Going on a Napa Valley wine tour

Wine tours of Napa Valley

In Napa Valley, this is the grape harvest season — the time when wineries are at their busiest. If you want the chance to actually talk with the winemakers and not be in the way, schedule your visit now for a later point in the year. A number of travel companies have set up wine tours of the Napa Valley area, so you can visit a series of vineyards accompanied by other wine lovers. You can learn about winemaking from people who do it for a living. This will take a few days, so plan ahead to find a hotel room in the valley.

Touring a winery near St. Helena

Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley, a 10-minute drive from downtown St. Helena, is one of the best vineyards in the Napa Valley area. They produce fine wines like the 2012 Right Bank. 2012 was a perfect winemaking year in Napa Valley in both yield and quality, and the ’12 Right Bank reflects this. The strongest element of the aroma and palate is blackberry, but it is combined with notes of plum, red berries, leather, blue violets, anise and allspice. Like the 2011 vintage, its grape and oak tannins blend smoothly together to accompany the bright acidity and fruit, and it is expected to age well for up to 30 years. Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards can be visited as part of a tour, or you can join their wine club today and find out what they have to offer.

Understanding wine descriptions

Things you hear at a wine club’s wine tasting

A lot of the wine tastings language you hear if you’ve been invited to a tasting is simple. If you’re familiar with the smell and taste of various fruits, vegetables and spices, much of the description of the aroma and flavor of wine will make intuitive sense. As for the physical sensations, a hot wine is one with a little too much alcohol. A wine with high acidity is one that’s slightly tart, and can also be called “bright.” A rich wine is “fat,” “massive” or “opulent,” unless it has no acidity — then it’s just “flabby.”

But there are many stranger terms. What does it mean to say a wine is “angular” or “round?” This refers to the mouthfeel. The effect of a round wine is evenly distributed over the whole inside of the mouth, like a rounded surface. If it’s fruity with low acidity, it can be called “silky.” An angular wine gives the feeling of points and edges inside the mouth, and is less pleasurable.

Wine tastings at a vineyard just outside St. Helena

Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley, a 10-minute drive from downtown St. Helena, holds tastings in its barrel caves. One wine you might get a chance to try is the 2011 Right Bank. Harvest was late and yield was low, but the resulting wine is perfectly balanced. It has a nose and palate of roses, red currants, clove and allspice. Its grape and oak tannins blend smoothly together to accompany the bright acidity and fruit. This wine is expected to age well for up to 30 years. Join Anderson’s wine club today.

What winemakers do all year

Understanding the winemaker experience

The winemaker experience is not quite like any other. The winemaker learns the terroir of his or her vineyard — the microclimate of the fields, the amount of sunlight and moisture the vines at various points in the day and the most likely weather at different points in the season. This lets him or her choose the right variety of grape for the terroir. Then it’s time start nurturing the grapevines, protecting them from bugs and mildew while pruning them to make them produce more fruit. The winemaker considers the weather at every stage of growth and what effect it will have on the grapes. From time to time, he or she tastes a grape to see how ripe it is.

The busiest time of year, of course, is the harvest. In American wineries, the grapes are often hand-picked to ensure quality. Precisely how the grapes are crushed depends on whether the winemaker is trying to make red or white wine. There is also maintaining the wine barrels and bottling the wine.

The winemaker experience at a winery near St. Helena

Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley, a 10-minute drive from downtown St. Helena, is a great place to learn about the winemaker experience. It holds tastings in its barrel caves, where visitors can sample current releases and library wines and learn about the process of making and storing the wine. Anderson’s wines are sold online and in five locations in Napa Valley, and many other locations nationwide. Order some today.

The story of an Estate Cabernet

An Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

A wine produced and sold where the grapes are grown is called an estate wine. Here the winemaker has the most control over the process, and can display the full extent of his or her skill. Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards makes the Estate Cabernet Sauvignon from clonal varieties of Cab grapes grown only on the estate.

2007 and 2008 were both dry years, although there were differences in the weather. The Cabs of these years were dark ruby red wines with an aroma of sweet black fruit and a flavor balanced between fruit, tannins and acidity. In 2009, winemaking conditions in Napa Valley were perfect and gave us a Cab with a full-bodied mouthfeel and finish.

In 2010, a variety of conditions combined to give us a wine to be proud of — dark purple, with a flavor of dark berries, licorice, smoke and fine tannins. Since then, the Estate Reserve Cab has stayed as good. The 2012 vintage is perhaps the best ever, in great quantity with hints of white pepper and orange peel in the flavor.

A vineyard and winery near St. Helena

Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley, a 10-minute drive from downtown St. Helena, has its own wine club. By agreeing to buy six bottles a year in groups of three, you can get Level I membership with discounts on their wines, tickets to parties and invitations to a complimentary tasting.

The vineyard is a 40-acre estate just south of Howell Mountain, and has been owned and operated by the Anderson family since 1983. Join today.

The best wineries in Napa

The best wineries in Napa and their wine clubs

The best wineries Napa match the right variety of grape to the terroir of their vineyard, tend the vines lovingly and harvest the grapes at the best possible moment. A lot of them have wine caves that keep the wine barrels in a cool and humid environment. Many of the best wineries in Napa have wine clubs, which you can join and be invited to wine tastings.

One of the best wineries in Napa near St. Helena

Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley, a 10-minute drive from downtown St. Helena, is one of the best vineyards in the Napa Valley area. The Conn Valley Cabernet has been rated one of the top Cabernets in the world since the inaugural vintage of 1987. The fruit is more similar to mountain fruit than valley floor fruit, and the style is more Bordeaux in style than other Napa Cabs, with more dark fruit and a very refreshing finish that makes it perfect for food pairing. The Conn Valley Cabernet is a chef-style wine, because chefs find it easy to pair this wine with just about anything. Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate praises the 2012 vintage for its “terrific purity, plenty of depth and ripeness, and a full-bodied mouthfeel” and describes the 2010 Cab as “an elegant, finesse-styled effort to enjoy over the next decade.” They also offer Estate and Signature Cabs, which are of particularly high quality. Wine club members save $25 on the 2013 Signature Cabernet Sauvignon online. If you’re looking for a good wine to serve at a special occasion, order a bottle today.

Cabernet Sauvignon, perfect for barbecues

BBQ and Cab

With summer coming to an end, there’s still time for a last few barbecues. The perfect wine to serve at a barbecue is a Cabernet Sauvignon. A world-famous red wine with notes of blackcurrant and tannins that stand out, the Cabernet Sauvignon goes well with wild fowl, honey-roasted carrots and such fine dishes as aged cheeses. Best of all, it’s perfect for serving with grilled red meat — especially lamb or well-marbled beef. Try serving the wine at 14 to 16 degrees centigrade to get the full flavor.

Some wine clubs give you the chance to collect a whole series of Cabernet Sauvignons, from Napa Valley or around the world. Like all wine, it should be stored in a place with steady temperature and humidity, less than 60 degrees Fahrenheit and humid enough that the cork doesn’t dry out. If you’re serving it on a hot day, let it chill for a few minutes first.

Exquisite Cabernet Sauvignons from a vineyard just outside St. Helena

Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley, a 10-minute drive from downtown St. Helena, holds tastings in its barrel caves, where visitors can sample current releases and library wines and learn about the process of making and storing the wine. Cave tastings are $65, but one tasting fee can be waived by joining their wine club or making a $100 purchase. Anderson’s wines are sold online and in five locations in Napa Valley, and many other locations nationwide. Join their wine club today and schedule a tasting.

Cabernet Sauvignon, perfect for barbecues

BBQ and Cab

With summer coming to an end, there’s still time for a last few barbecues. The perfect wine to serve at a barbecue is a Cabernet Sauvignon. A world-famous red wine with notes of blackcurrant and tannins that stand out, the Cabernet Sauvignon goes well with wild fowl, honey-roasted carrots and such fine dishes as aged cheeses. Best of all, it’s perfect for serving with grilled red meat — especially lamb or well-marbled beef. Try serving the wine at 14 to 16 degrees centigrade to get the full flavor.

Some wine clubs give you the chance to collect a whole series of Cabernet Sauvignons, from Napa Valley or around the world. Like all wine, it should be stored in a place with steady temperature and humidity, less than 60 degrees Fahrenheit and humid enough that the cork doesn’t dry out. If you’re serving it on a hot day, let it chill for a few minutes first.

Exquisite Cabernet Sauvignons from a vineyard just outside St. Helena

Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley, a 10-minute drive from downtown St. Helena, holds tastings in its barrel caves, where visitors can sample current releases and library wines and learn about the process of making and storing the wine. Cave tastings are $65, but one tasting fee can be waived by joining their wine club or making a $100 purchase. Anderson’s wines are sold online and in five locations in Napa Valley, and many other locations nationwide. Join their wine club today and schedule a tasting.

Cabernet Sauvignon, perfect for barbecues

BBQ and Cab

With summer coming to an end, there’s still time for a last few barbecues. The perfect wine to serve at a barbecue is a Cabernet Sauvignon. A world-famous red wine with notes of blackcurrant and tannins that stand out, the Cabernet Sauvignon goes well with wild fowl, honey-roasted carrots and such fine dishes as aged cheeses. Best of all, it’s perfect for serving with grilled red meat — especially lamb or well-marbled beef. Try serving the wine at 14 to 16 degrees centigrade to get the full flavor.

Some wine clubs give you the chance to collect a whole series of Cabernet Sauvignons, from Napa Valley or around the world. Like all wine, it should be stored in a place with steady temperature and humidity, less than 60 degrees Fahrenheit and humid enough that the cork doesn’t dry out. If you’re serving it on a hot day, let it chill for a few minutes first.

Exquisite Cabernet Sauvignons from a vineyard just outside St. Helena

Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley, a 10-minute drive from downtown St. Helena, holds tastings in its barrel caves, where visitors can sample current releases and library wines and learn about the process of making and storing the wine. Cave tastings are $65, but one tasting fee can be waived by joining their wine club or making a $100 purchase. Anderson’s wines are sold online and in five locations in Napa Valley, and many other locations nationwide. Join their wine club today and schedule a tasting.

Cabernet Sauvignon, perfect for barbecues

BBQ and Cab

With summer coming to an end, there’s still time for a last few barbecues. The perfect wine to serve at a barbecue is a Cabernet Sauvignon. A world-famous red wine with notes of blackcurrant and tannins that stand out, the Cabernet Sauvignon goes well with wild fowl, honey-roasted carrots and such fine dishes as aged cheeses. Best of all, it’s perfect for serving with grilled red meat — especially lamb or well-marbled beef. Try serving the wine at 14 to 16 degrees centigrade to get the full flavor.

Some wine clubs give you the chance to collect a whole series of Cabernet Sauvignons, from Napa Valley or around the world. Like all wine, it should be stored in a place with steady temperature and humidity, less than 60 degrees Fahrenheit and humid enough that the cork doesn’t dry out. If you’re serving it on a hot day, let it chill for a few minutes first.

Exquisite Cabernet Sauvignons from a vineyard just outside St. Helena

Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley, a 10-minute drive from downtown St. Helena, holds tastings in its barrel caves, where visitors can sample current releases and library wines and learn about the process of making and storing the wine. Cave tastings are $65, but one tasting fee can be waived by joining their wine club or making a $100 purchase. Anderson’s wines are sold online and in five locations in Napa Valley, and many other locations nationwide. Join their wine club today and schedule a tasting.

Cabernet Sauvignon, perfect for barbecues

BBQ and Cab

With summer coming to an end, there’s still time for a last few barbecues. The perfect wine to serve at a barbecue is a Cabernet Sauvignon. A world-famous red wine with notes of blackcurrant and tannins that stand out, the Cabernet Sauvignon goes well with wild fowl, honey-roasted carrots and such fine dishes as aged cheeses. Best of all, it’s perfect for serving with grilled red meat — especially lamb or well-marbled beef. Try serving the wine at 14 to 16 degrees centigrade to get the full flavor.

Some wine clubs give you the chance to collect a whole series of Cabernet Sauvignons, from Napa Valley or around the world. Like all wine, it should be stored in a place with steady temperature and humidity, less than 60 degrees Fahrenheit and humid enough that the cork doesn’t dry out. If you’re serving it on a hot day, let it chill for a few minutes first.

Exquisite Cabernet Sauvignons from a vineyard just outside St. Helena

Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley, a 10-minute drive from downtown St. Helena, holds tastings in its barrel caves, where visitors can sample current releases and library wines and learn about the process of making and storing the wine. Cave tastings are $65, but one tasting fee can be waived by joining their wine club or making a $100 purchase. Anderson’s wines are sold online and in five locations in Napa Valley, and many other locations nationwide. Join their wine club today and schedule a tasting.

Cabernet Sauvignon, perfect for barbecues

BBQ and Cab

With summer coming to an end, there’s still time for a last few barbecues. The perfect wine to serve at a barbecue is a Cabernet Sauvignon. A world-famous red wine with notes of blackcurrant and tannins that stand out, the Cabernet Sauvignon goes well with wild fowl, honey-roasted carrots and such fine dishes as aged cheeses. Best of all, it’s perfect for serving with grilled red meat — especially lamb or well-marbled beef. Try serving the wine at 14 to 16 degrees centigrade to get the full flavor.

Some wine clubs give you the chance to collect a whole series of Cabernet Sauvignons, from Napa Valley or around the world. Like all wine, it should be stored in a place with steady temperature and humidity, less than 60 degrees Fahrenheit and humid enough that the cork doesn’t dry out. If you’re serving it on a hot day, let it chill for a few minutes first.

Exquisite Cabernet Sauvignons from a vineyard just outside St. Helena

Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley, a 10-minute drive from downtown St. Helena, holds tastings in its barrel caves, where visitors can sample current releases and library wines and learn about the process of making and storing the wine. Cave tastings are $65, but one tasting fee can be waived by joining their wine club or making a $100 purchase. Anderson’s wines are sold online and in five locations in Napa Valley, and many other locations nationwide. Join their wine club today and schedule a tasting.

What the best wines are like

Join a wine club to find the best wines

No two people agree on exactly which are the best wines, nor would anyone expect them to. Still, there are certain general rules. The best wines are complex, balanced and intense, with many different aromas and flavors noticeable without one overwhelming the others. Fruit flavors tend to predominate, but spices, flowers, chocolate, tobacco and even leather, earth and stone are detected. The flavor should linger in the finish as long as possible.

A leading judge of the world’s best wines is The Wine Advocate, a magazine founded by Robert M. Parker Jr. Parker developed a 100-point rating system for wine which is still in use today. But as with books and movies, it’s important to read the whole review to figure out if you’ll like the wine. Wine experts can give you more advice on finding the best wines. The best way to get to talk with them is to join a wine club.

Best wines from a vineyard near St. Helena

Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley, a 10-minute drive from downtown St. Helena, holds tastings in its barrel caves, where visitors can sample current releases and library wines and learn about the process of making and storing the wine. The Wine Advocate praises their 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon for its “terrific purity, plenty of depth and ripeness, and a full-bodied mouthfeel” and describes the 2010 Cab as “an elegant, finesse-styled effort to enjoy over the next decade.” Join the wine club and order a Cab today.

How the best vineyards in Napa Valley work

Best Napa vineyards

The best vineyards Napa choose the right variety of grape for the terroir. They prune the canopy to an even height, so the vines grow more grapes and less vinestock. They thin the crop when the grapes start to ripen to make sure that those grapes left stay on the vine are well nourished. They pull leaves away from the grapes to expose them to the air, reducing potassium and malic acid. They check the sugar level in the juices of grapes to determine ripeness, and harvest the grapes precisely when the grapes are fully ripe but not too sugary.

Some of these vineyards have wine clubs. The way these clubs work is simple — you order a certain number of wines every year in return for a discount on the regular price. There may also be invitations to wine tastings and barrel tastings. The advantage of a wine club connected to a Napa vineyard is that it will always have the wines on its list in stock.

One of the best vineyards Napa is near St. Helena

Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley, a 10-minute drive from downtown St. Helena, is one of the best vineyards Napa. Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards produces world-class wines at affordable prices. The vineyard is a 40-acre estate just south of Howell Mountain, and has been owned and operated by the Anderson family since 1983. Anderson’s wines are sold online and in five locations in Napa Valley, and many other locations nationwide. Join their wine club today.

Choosing the best California wines

Finding really good California wines

Which wines are the best California wines depends mostly on what you’re in the mood for. Varieties of wine that include some of the top California wines include:

• Cabernet Sauvignon, a classic red wine which usually has blackcurrant notes and strong tannins. It goes well with game or any sort of red meat — particularly strongly-flavored meat such as lamb — and grows in a variety of climates.

• Syrah, or Shiraz, a wine with an aroma that depends on the terroir of wherever it’s planted. The Syrahs that come from Napa Valley make a good pairing with spicy barbecued meat.

• Chardonnay, a white wine grape. Since 2005, California has almost 25 percent of Chardonnay plantings. These wines are distinguished by notes of tropical fruit, and go well with turkey, veal or any kind of seafood.

If you want find the best California wines, to talk to people who know more than you about California wines. You can find a lot of these people at once by joining a wine club and going to the parties it holds. It’s like joining a book-of-the-month club — you agree to buy a certain number of bottles a year and get a discount on them.

Some of the best California wines come from near St. Helena

Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards is a 40-acre estate just south of Howell Mountain, outside St. Helena, CA. Anderson’s wines are sold online and in five locations in Napa Valley, and many other locations nationwide. Join their wine club for discounts on their best wines.

Barrel tasting an oenophile’s delight

Barrel tasting

Every true wine enthusiast wants to be invited to a Napa Valley barrel tasting. It’s a lot like other wine tastings, except all the wines come straight from the barrel. Experts try the results of last year’s grape harvest now and guess how good the wine will be when it’s in the bottle. If you’re starting your own wine collection, you’ll definitely want to go to some barrel tastings and find out what you should be saving room for. You might also get the chance to buy a wine future at a discount. This is a lot like any other futures contract — you agree to buy a certain number of bottles of wine once the wine has been bottled. By agreeing to the purchase ahead of time, you save money on the wine.

Barrel tastings at a St. Helena vineyard

Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley, a 10-minute drive from downtown St.Helena, holds tastings in its barrel caves, where current releases and library wines may be sampled. Tastings are $65, but one tasting fee can be waived by joining their wine club or making a $100 purchase.

An example of a library wine that might be available at an Anderson’s Conn Valley wine tasting is the 2009 Èloge. This dark ruby red wine, born from a particularly mild year, has a deep, full, layered aroma of cedar, cigar box and crème de cassis, with hints of red currant, violets, spice and toast. Its flavor is deep, full and layered, tasting of concentrated dark fruit, spice and mocha. Club members save $25 on the ’12 Èloge. Join today.

Napa wineries produce wines of note

Napa wine clubs

To start a wine collection, you need a place to keep your wine at a constant temperature of 55 degrees with 75 percent humidity, but you don’t want this to cause mold elsewhere in your home. You can always put your wines in a wine storage facility. You might try having a theme for your collection, such as wines from Napa wineries — some of the best wines in the world. It may help to join a wine club in Napa, so as to get savings on the wines you buy. Keep the documentation on your wines, and have them appraised often.

One of the best Napa wineries near St. Helena

Some of the best California wines come from Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley, a 10-minute drive from downtown St. Helena. The vineyard is a 40-acre estate just south of Howell Mountain. Instead of a busy tasting room, the vineyard offers you the chance to meet the owners and wine-makers and taste excellent wine stored in a cave. Wine Merchants Gourmet includes them in one of its Middle Valley tours.

An example of what this winery has to offer is the Signature Cabernet Sauvignon, a wine that comes only from the best of the vintage. The 2011 Signature Cab is an intensely dark purple and red wine with an intense aroma of dark berries, smoke, anise and tar. It has a fruity palate of blackberries and blueberries with hints of violets, licorice and smoke. This is a rare vintage, produced in a cool year when yields were low. By ordering six bottles or more per year, you can join their wine club, giving you discounts on many of their finest wines.

Collect the Signature Cabernet Sauvignon

Wine collecting

If you want to start a wine collection on a budget, you need a space that stays in the 50-60 degree range. Sometimes people rent wine storage lockers for this. And then, of course, you’ll need the wines themselves. You mihgt want to specialize in a popular wine that stores well, like the Cabernet Sauvignons of California.

Great Cabernet Sauvignons near St. Helena, CA

Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley, a short drive from downtown St. Helena, produces world-class wines at affordable prices. These include several variations on the Cabernet Sauvignon.

The 2010 Signature Vintage Cabernet Sauvignon, a deep purple wine with a slight red edge that comes from the best two barrels of the vintage, has an aroma that begins with a strong cassis, with streaks of blackberry, plum, blueberry and red berries and highlights of crushed roses, blue flowers and anise. The oak adds elements of smoke and tar to the bouquet. The palate of the ’10 Signature is similar to the aroma, with the taste of a variety of fruits, licorice, anise, rosehips and violets. This is a wine that deserves to be kept and allowed to age, and is a showpiece for the skill of the Anderson’s Conn Valley winemaking team.

Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards has been owned and operated by the Anderson family since 1983. Anderson’s wines are sold online and in five locations in Napa Valley, and many other locations nationwide. Wine club members save $25 buying the 2013 Signature Cabernet Sauvignon online. If you’re looking for a good wine to serve at a special occasion, order a bottle today.

The underground wine scene

Caves nicer than they sound

The best thing about a cave tours in the summer is that it’s always cool in the cave, to the point where you need a jacket. Also you can learn about the wine industry from the people who work in it, and try old library wines. There may be good food with this wine, often in a surprisingly beautiful setting — these caves are often carved, decorated and lit to create great subterranean works of art, complete with running fountains from underground rivers.

Cave tours of a vineyard near St. Helena

Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley, a 10-minute drive from downtown St. Helena, holds tastings in its barrel caves, where current releases and library wines may be sampled and visitors can learn all about the process of making and storing the wine. Cave tastings are $65, but one tasting fee can be waived by joining their wine club or making a $100 purchase. Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards produces world-class wines at affordable prices. The vineyard is a 40-acre estate just south of Howell Mountain, and has been owned and operated by the Anderson family since 1983. Anderson’s wines are sold online and in five locations in Napa Valley, and many other locations nationwide.

One wine you might sample during an Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards cave tour is the Right Bank. Their 2011 Right Bank came from a cooler than average year, leading to a powerful aroma and flavor of blue violets, red currants, menthol and anise, with seamlessly blended oak and grape tannins and bright acidity. This wine is expected to be good for thirty years. Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards doesn’t issue a Right Bank every year. Try their latest Right Bank today.