Holidays In Napa

For the second year in a row we rented a house with some friends for the last week of December and New Years. We’re up here for meetings, but we’ve also scheduled plenty of time to do what we do best - trying some new wineries and visiting some of our favorite places.

Some of the wineries we’ll be visiting:

Behrens & Hitchcock Co-Op Tasting Room
Spottswoode
Bremer Family
Corison
Frog’s Leap
Von Strasser
Viader
Anomaly
Silver Oak

We’ll be posting about our experiences in the coming weeks.

Happy New Year!

-Taylor & Andrew

RECESSION FRIENDLY WINES FOR THE HOLIDAYS ($15 OR UNDER)

Every year we visit Taylor’s family in Boston for Thanksgiving and she cooks the entire meal for 30+ people. It’s an insane day and we buy everything at the local grocery store in one big trip – including the wine. Since it’s a group of 30, it’s hard to splurge on the good stuff, so here are our “best bets” on easily accessible wines under $15:

2006 Lincourt Sauvignon Blanc ($15)

This crisp and fruity wine will pair perfectly with your turkey, salad, and any salty foods you might serve. And don’t be afraid to drink this during cool weather. The lingering aftertaste will have you longing for summer.

2005 Grans-Fassian Riesling ($12)

A quality Riesling for the price. Not only does it pair naturally with poultry and fish, but it’s a great example of how wine and food truly enhance one another.

2008 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau ($14)

Beaujolais Nouveau is made specifically for the holidays. It’s purposely released on the third Thursday of November and it’s only good until just after the New Year. It’s soft, fruity, and goes with just about everything you would serve during the holidays.

2007 Francis Coppola Diamond Label Pinot Noir ($14)

For the price, this is a wonderful pinot noir. The wine is soft with red berry flavors and a smooth aftertaste. If you’re stuck on red, this wine will pair well with turkey, goose, duck and fish.

2006 Steele Zinfandel Pacini Vineyards Old Vines. ($14)

We love it for the price, the taste, and because it’s a wine you don’t have to think about. It’s a soft, fruit forward wine that adapts to any dish with medium to strong flavors.

2006 Montes Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon ($15)

A Chilean wine that’s bold and has well-structured tannins. This means it’s going to taste smooth and silky with a roast, steak, or any other red meat you might serve.

Little Barrel Launch Party

Little Barrel officially launched with a celebration in New York City. Taylor’s parents (who live in Manhattan) were very generous to throw us a party in a loft in Chelsea. It was the first time we displayed our products in front of a massive group of strangers – including several journalists – and the enthusiasm was worth all the hard work over the last year to get this business off the ground.

As you know, the idea for Little Barrel came from our wedding (we made our first items for our guests) and many people from our wedding were there. It was fun to finally show them how our gifts have expanded into an actual business.

We couldn’t imagine celebrating our launch without serving great wine. So, we teamed up with one of our favorite wineries, Behrens & Hitchcock, and poured their 2003 Merlot and their 2003 Syrah Homage to Ed Oliviera. People were pretty pleased (and relieved) to finally be drinking great wine at a cocktail party.

Check out some of the great press we got from the party, including PAGE SIX!!

Page Six
The NY Observer
Women's Wear Daily
Variety's Stylephile

Erna Schein Winery (aka Behrens & Hitchcock) – Napa, California

Around the the Little Barrel office, Erna Schein is our new phrase for all the reasons why we love visiting Napa.

The tastings are held inside their basement barrel room, which is located high atop Spring Mountain. Although Erna Schein is pretty well known to most wine lovers, it still feels like a mom-n-pop hidden gem. They keep their tasting groups small so make sure you call in advance for an appointment.

Last time we visited, we sampled nine wines. Our favorite was their ’05 Behrens Family Reserve (I bought a bottle for Taylor on our 1 year anniversary, to drink on our 10 year). The wines are so good you’ll be comparing everything else you taste in Napa to their wide selection of bold, inky and highly praised reds.

JUST Inn at Justin Vineyards – Paso Robles, California

Staying at the JUST Inn is the pinnacle of living the vineyard lifestyle. This bed and breakfast, which is as luxurious as a Four Seasons, is housed in the middle of Justin’s winery deep inside Paso Robles’ wine country. We love that a winery tour and a bottle comes with every room. Oh, and we still can’t get over how the rows of vines come right up to the pool. You’re completely surrounded. We imagine this is the closest it gets to knowing what it’s like to own a vineyard – even if it’s just for the weekend.

And yes, this is the home of the cult favorite Isosceles.

Lincourt Wine Club – Santa Ynez Valley, California

Little Barrel has been a member at Lincourt ever since we started visiting the area several years ago. Their old farmhouse tasting room and really friendly staff make it the perfect midday stop. Their wine is so good we always bring a picnic and leave with a case.

Aside from the great discounts, as club members, you get additional free tastings (up to 6 people) at both Foley Estates winery and Firestone Vineyard – which makes us very popular when we take our friends on tasting trips.

The Farm at The Carneros Inn – Napa, California

Our favorite place to camp out for the night in Napa is definitely The Farm at The Carneros Inn.

We like to arrive early so we can enjoy a glass of wine in their outdoor living room. We either sit around a fire pit in the chilly evenings or challenge our friends to a mean game of Bocce ball on the lawn. (I usually lose the first game, but after one glass I start winning!)

Once we drag ourselves into the dining room – we love to share appetizers such as the flatbread pizza with caramelized onions and the butternut squash soup when in season!

Viader Vineyard – Napa, California

Viader makes some of the best Bordeaux style blends in Napa. Period. If you know a little about wine, you’ve heard of it. If you’re new to wine, you’ll get to know it very quickly.

They’re located on the steep slopes of Howell Mountain and their tasting deck has a view of Napa Valley that only the wine gods get to enjoy. Most wineries you’ll visit in this region are either on the valley floor or at the base of the foothills. This means that most of your vineyard views are sweeping, but flat. It’s not until you visit places tucked up in the mountains, like Viader, where you start feeling like you got your money’s worth.

We visit Viader every time we’re in Napa (recently joined the wine club) and we take our time once we’re there.