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When most people think wine country, the first thing that comes to mind is Napa Valley. Located North of San Francisco, Napa is home to some of California’s best wineries. With miles of vineyards everywhere you look, it’s hard to escape wine country without indulging in a few bottles of wine. Rolling hills, spas, boutique hotels, farmer’s markets, and eclectic antique stores surround Napa. But it wouldn’t be a rightful visit without tasting some local wineries first! Schramberg Estate (1400 Schramsberg Road, Calistoga, CA 94515) Visiting this next winery is like experiencing a piece of Napa history. Nestled away in the hills of Diamond Mountain, the Schramsberg estate is known to be the first hillside winery of the Napa Valley. Founded in 1862, this winery in home to 218 acres and is a registered historical landmark. The wide spread acres are made up of the Victorian house, the winery, a barn and even include caves. Schramsberg’s history goes beyond its old grounds and family ties. After the Blanc de Blancs was used for President Nixon’s 1972 “Toast to Peace”, the Schramsberg sparkling wines have been used at official State functions by every U.S. Presidential administration since.  Open daily from 10am-4:30pm. Reservations recommended for tours through the caves.
Charles Krug winery is not only the oldest winery in Napa (established in 1861) but it has been owned by the Mondavi family since 1943. Since then, four generations of Mondavi’s have run the winery. In fact, presently there are three generations still working the day-to-day, including Peter Mondavi Sr. who is turning 99 years old on November 8. To this day, Peter Sr goes to work every day (including Saturdays), walking up two flights of stairs to his office.  He works a full day, with a long lunch break, and even learned how to use Facebook recently! With his motto of “a glass of Cabernet a day”, perhaps we should all heed his advice! And what’s better than a glass of Charles Krug wine. Peter Mondavi Jr.
Napa, Australia and New Zealand. What do they have in common?  All three are beautiful destination spots; all three are in the "new world"; all three are wine producing regions; and recently three producers from the three regions came together for a wine lunch. Ludovic Dervin, Chief Winemaker from Mumm Napa, Bernard Hickin, Chief Winemaker from Jacob's Creek and Jim Robertson, Global Brand Ambassador from Brancott Estate shared their thoughts about making wine in their respective regions.
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