In an
effort to dine at all 3000 San Francisco restaurants(800 and counting) and
visit all 600 Napa wineries(350 and counting), my wife Linda and I recently
visited future Hall of Famer Charles
Woodson's Winery.
Charles
won the Heisman Trophy and National Championship at the University of Michigan,
our home state, and the Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers.He finished his
career playing for the Oakland Raiders and will soon be an ESPN announcer. We
had the pleasure of playing golf with him at our club, Blackhawk in Danville,
and he invited us to taste his wines
Woodson Wines leases a 12-acre
vineyard in southern Calistoga (just west of Sterling Winery which is planted
to Sauvignon blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon. These are the only two wines they
produce – a typical production is usually several thousand cases each year.
They started making wine in 2001 (a barrel of Merlot which they donated to
charity) but did not release their first commercial wine until 2006. Their
winery (4,000 square feet in an old sausage factory has been refurbished for
winery operations) is located slightly further west of the tasting room in the
same business park (first crush 2015).
Our host for the tasting was Rick Ruiz ,co owner and Director of Operations. Rick was born and
raised in St. Helena and worked in the wine industry for a number of years on
the wine making side of the operations (10 years at Robert Mondavi). His
introduction to Charles was totally random, helped by a bottle of Robert
Mondavi wine. Timing is everything. During one night drinking at the old
Saketini Asian Diner & Lounge in the city of Napa Rick met Charles. As Rick
remembers, Charles was drinking a 1998 bottle of Robert Mondavi Merlot. Instantly
recognizing the wine he helped make at Robert Mondavi he introduced himself to
Charles and they soon bonded over wine which led to the Woodson Winery venture.
We began
our tasting with the 2014 Sauvignon Blanc that was crisp, clean, very refreshing
and aged and fermented in mostly
stainless steel. As Rick says this wine was crushed, fermented, aged and
bottled – with a more hands off approach to wine making. It is floral on the
bouquet with citrus blossom and dessert spices
We then moved into the Charles
Woodson famous Cabernets and enjoyed a side by side tasting of the
2009, 2010 and 2011. The 2010 received a 93 rating by Wine Spectator.
We enjoyed each vintage but especially enjoyed the 2009 which had Blackberry and a black licorice liqueur frame layered
aromatic. It was
so enjoyable that we took 2 bottles signed by Charles back to Danville with us.
This red wine can also be purchased at
the Blackhawk Grille and Draegers in Danville.
After
this Hall of Fame tasting, we went to nearby downtown Napa and enjoyed lunch at
Celadon. The restaurant is near the
Napa river and is open every day for lunch and dinner. The ambiance is
charming and reminded us of our visit to Bordeaux, France. The restaurant is located next to the General
Store in Downtown Napa and is down a quaint avenue that is lined with flowers
and trees.
We sat
outside by a warm fireplace and started out our meal with a special Woodford Manhattan
served with Woodford reserve bourbon, punt o mes and port soaked cherries. It
went well with their famous flash fried calamari, made with spicy chipotle
chile, orange honey glaze and pickled ginger.
We voted that this Calamari was the best we have ever eaten hands down!
For the
entree, we shared the beer battered fish and chips, crispy Meyer lemon and red
cabbage and carrot slaw that was light and very refreshing.
Our meal
was completed with a soothing cup of hot green tea and a perfectly prepared creme
brûlée.
For more
information and to make a tasting reservation go to :
