Intoxicating Napa Valley

The Napa Valley is the Mecca of wines in California. This is my fifth visit to the vineyards and for a wine enthusiast, it is the best tourist place in the world. All along the way, you see scores of vineyards on both sides of the road which offer great wine-tasting sessions, wine tours and delicious food.

This time I chose to visit Beringer. Founded in 1876, Beringer Vineyards is the oldest continuously operating winery in the Napa Valley and is thus listed under both the National Register of Historical Places and as a California Historical Landmark.

Cave tour guides take you through the old winery and historic tunnels. The complete history of wine making and makers are displayed there and at each stop we were given wines to taste, all inside the caves. The tour starts by explaining about the wine makers and its brief history and the unique style of making wines.

We were served the finest Chardonnay they had. Crystal clear, crisp and with an excellent finish, white wine will definitely ignite the mood for the remaining trip to come. Chardonnay is a wine where time-honoured values blend seamlessly with generations of winemaking craftsmanship to create one of America’s favourite wine brands. Since my visit was in December, all the oak barrels and the tanks were decorated beautifully with various types of X-Mas decors.

The second wine I go to taste was their classic 2014 Beringer Pinot Noir. This was the best, especially due to its crispness and my love for red wines. As we proceeded further into the cave, we were given the best cabernet Sauvignon they had — oak barrelled and aged to perfection— slightly tannic but with a smooth finish. Each swirl of the glass gave out different notes of aroma. I noticed a small hall with beautifully decorated walls and well-arranged tables and chairs. That was a hall for small wedding parties; it seems a lot of proposing happens inside those caves, a truly romantic place!

Towards the end of the tour, we reached a wine shop which sold all possible varieties of wines. Being a wine trainer from India, I was let into the next building—- the Historic Rhine House where reserved wine tastings and other parties happened.

The trip ended beautifully with some long lasting memories which made me feel that each visit to California introduces something new always.
Dr. Binu T Abraham is a BDS, D-Ortho (USA) and is also an expert in wines and a wine trainer