Napa Valley Toffee Company: Napa Valley – The Search for Snobs

Once upon a time we would have visited five wineries in a day, but after two we felt like our palates couldn’t fairly judge any more until they’d rested for a long time. We headed back to our hotel for a while, then decided to poke around downtown Napa in search of Clementine’s, a rumored-to-be fantastic Italian takeout joint in the back of Val’s liquor store. (Spoilers: delicious AND cheap! Best meal of the weekend! Don’t miss the malfatti!)

During our Napa explorations we saw a sign for Napa Valley Toffee Company. I love toffee, so when we saw the lights were still on despite the late hour (7pm) we were sure as heck going in there. To our surprise, they didn’t just do toffee; they also poured boutique wines! This is one of the great things about Napa; there seem to be a million friendly little places offering wines from multiple wineries. Needless to say, we immediately sat down for a taste.

Oh, yeah, the toffee was great, too. (Beer aficionados, they also have suds on tap!)

The Wines

2009 Tallulah Sauvignon Blanc (Napa Valley AVA): This wine is made by the former winemaker for Luna. I was immediately surprised by the sweetness; it seemed to be edging toward riesling. There was a bitter grapefruit-peel hit at the back that balanced out the sweetness.

2009 Tallulah Farina Chardonnay (Sonoma Mountain AVA): This had a sweet aroma with a hint of vanilla oak. It was smooth, sweet and easy drinking, with a hint of a buttery texture and a touch of oak at the end.

2009 Vino d’Angelo Rescue Red (California AVA): This winery is owned by a firefighter, hence the name. The lively, peppy peppery scent was amazing. The flavor was smooth and fruity with a nice oaky hint at the end. It was enjoyable and easy drinking.

2006 Lion’s Run Winery Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley AVA): The vineyard is located in the Mt. George area of Napa Valley, south of the Stag’s Leap district. The velvety tobacco scent was a perfect lead-in to the flavor, which merged stonefruit and oak.

2004 Dusinbiere Muscat (Napa Valley AVA): I love me some dessert wine, and this was a fantastic example. The smell made me think of saffron coated in toffee (how appropriate!), which perfectly matched the saffron-syrup flavor.