Retired Firefighter Turned Winemaker

Earlier this year I was fortunate enough to attend an epic tasting through 6 decades of Charles Krug Vintage Selection Cabernet Sauvignon in Napa. We started with a 1964 vintage. Did I say epic?

I caught a ride from the airport with Ray Hanson, owner of Destiny Wine Tours. As we chatted it up on the drive from SFO to Napa I learned about his past life as a firefighter and how he now makes wine from the cabernet sauvignon growing on his property.

He was so kind as to give me a bottle to try which I feature in my Memorial Day wine column for the Fort Myers News-Press, "Gina Drinks." Since I have a limited word count, I wanted to share an excerpt from our conversation during our ride.

Not only does Ray talk about his wine, but what it was like as a retired fireman, to go through last year's devastating fires. Take a listen:
 

An Afternoon of Drinking with Rob Mondavi Jr

Drinking bubbles with Rob Mondavi Jr in Naples

I recently was privileged to spend an afternoon drinking wine with Rob Mondavi Jr., winemaker at for the family's Michael Mondavi Family Estates in Napa Valley, California.

We tasted through his current releases at The Continental on the famous 3rd Street South in Naples, Fl, over an amazing array of food.

During the course of the tasting Rob sat with us telling stories of the vineyard, the fires, the wines in our glasses and even through the tragic tales, there were lots of laughs. It was also the most beautiful afternoon in Southwest Florida and since we had also shared our mutual love for bubbles, there was no escaping a bottle.

Walking across the street to Sea Salt, where Rob had a wine dinner scheduled later that night, we ordered a bottle of Schramsberg before calling it a day.

Read about Rob's current releases with Michael Mondavi Family Estate and which wines survived the fire here.
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Wine Wednesday: B Cellars

Happy Wine Wednesday! What's in your glass today? I had four little yummies in mine from B Cellars in Napa. I couldn't pick just one, so here is a quick overview of all four.

I was even more excited to taste these after learning Kirk Venge is the consulting winemaker. I'm a big fan of his wines at Venge Vineyards.

The Blend 23 is a mix of chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and viognier that smells floral but tastes a bit rich with honeysuckle and citrus. ($40)

The Blend 24 is a cab based blend made Tuscan style with sangiovese. Its a bit earthy with tobacco, cocoa and hint of blueberry. This would be consider B Cellars signature blend. ($55)

Blend 25 is also cabernet based but it is only blended with syrah to produce more robust flavors of jam and pepper. This one, smooth as it already is, definitely has good legs for aging. ($65)

The Synergy Cabernet takes grapes from three vineyards to produce this delightful wine with layers of flavor. The nose once again is a bit floral but the flavors are of cherry, spice and leather. ($65)

All of these wines are small production with intense flavors that will age well. B Cellars winery is about to move to a new location at Oakville Crossroads where there will be a daily Grand Pairing of food and wine for lunch. My reservation is in!