In an effort to visit all
600 wineries(300 and counting) and dine at all 3000 San Francisco
restaurants(700 and counting), my wife Linda and I recently visited Inglenook
winery.
Inglenook is the third
oldest winery in Napa. Only Krug and Beringer are older. Inglenook began in
1880 and has a rich history. The winery is currently owned by Francis Ford Coppola, a
Detroit born genius and director of the classic Godfather movie.
The winery is an elegant
display of wine and movie history and sits on 1700 acres of beauty across from
the famous Rutherford Grill.Our host Kenton was a wealth of wine information and explained Inglenook was a Gaelic word that loosely translates into "warm, cozy fireplace"
The fire burns strongly at this historic winery and we enjoyed a Heritage tasting of Inglenook Blancaneaux, Edizione Pennino Zinfandel, Inglenook Cask Cabernet and their famous Rubicon. Our favorite was the Zinfandel. The 2012 Edizione Pennino Zinfandel pays tribute to Coppola's maternal grandfather Francesco Pennino. From the website, "born in Italy Francesco emigrated to the United States and started a music publishing company known as Edizione Pennino. The estate Zinfandel bears the music company's logo in its original form and a picture of the Statue of Liberty. To add to the nostalgia, each vintage has one of Pennino's music titles printed on the cork."
Besides having an elegant label, this wine was impressive and very smooth on the palate. We enjoyed it so much that 2 bottles went back to Danville with us.
After our tasting, we went to the famous Rutherford Grill and enjoyed the iron skillet corn bread, knife and fork pork ribs and cole slaw. There are no reservations but there is usually room at the bar to enjoy their great food. The place always bustles with high energy and many happy foodies taking a break tasting at one of the many great Napa wineries.
We would highly recommend both places for a fun wine and food experience.
To make reservations at Inglenook call 707-958-1161 or go to www.inglenook.com
