Failla Means Pinot & Friends
During our tour the other day up the Napa Valley in search of other wines besides Cab Sauv and Merlot another name that came to mind was the Failla Winery. This small family winery sits at a curve on the Silverado Trail across the way from the Rombauer winery, not too far north from Duckhorn and Casa Nuestra.
Every time I go to Failla they’ve made some kind of improvement, changed a drive, expanded the parking, enlarged the cave (oh yeah, they have caves, cool ones!), added some more olive trees or in some way made the place more functional and accommodating. The site started off charming and it still is. Even though that would be enough reason to visit we of course were coming there for the wine.
As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog the clients informed me that what they really liked was Pinot Noir, and everyone in the area knows that the best ones locally come out of Sonoma, not up Napa Valley. But, it’s where the grapes come from that matter and this area has lots of trucks, and almost all of Failla’s grapes come from coastal Sonoma and the Russian River Valley, and it shows.
Add to that the fact that Aaron Jordan, the owner and wine maker is very good at what he does and he sells some of the best Pinot’s in the entire North Bay wine country. Its white Burgundy cousin, Chardonnay is also wonderfully represented here as well. Now, I’m not an expert in wines, what I write about here is wine tourism, but I have a well educated palate (I do taste often and I’ve been enjoying fine wines all my life) and a great nose. And I’ve always been impressed by their wines.
More importantly for the wine reader, Failla gets great scores from the top magazines, and almost every client I’ve brought there has loved what they pour. The tasting is especially pleasant, sitting down in a craftsman style bungalow tucked into its own tree shadowed dell, with the crush pad and caves through the trees across the way. The tastings are by appointment and they do combine groups. The couple I was driving was sitting with three other people, who arrived a little late, which just meant more attention and wine for my folks. It clearly helped because they bought a couple of cases.
In case you’re wondering, I do know the whole story of the winery, of how Aaron and his wife got started there, who trained him, and where the name comes from, but I think you should go there yourself to hear the story and enjoy the wines and the experience. The tasting is quite reasonable, and appointments are not hard to get, although in the high season they get busy too. This time of year, early summer, they still have plenty of wine to pour, but by October and November the list will be getting thinner and thinner. For example, they only make a hundred and fifty cases of one of their wonderful Chardonnays. It doesn’t take that many enthusiastic visitors to empty that part of the cave.
Ralph & Lahni de Amicis are authors of the Amicis Winery Guides, and owners of Amicis Tours. They are authors of over twenty books on health, design, business and travel. Their iPhone Apps, The Napa Valley Wine Tour, and The Sonoma Winery Tour are a tour guides approach to these beautiful area, complete with 1000’s of photos and insights. Their articles and products can be found on the sites http://www.amicistours.com and http://www.spaceandtime.com
Pinot Noir, Failla, Coastal Sonoma
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