On this day we head out of the San Francisco bay area, driving north to Calistoga, deep in the Napa Valley region for wine tasting at Chateau Montelena and Envy Wines. Just two of which as you probably know, there are many, many more wineries in the region.

With yours truly in the driver’s seat, the 75 mile drive from San Francisco to Calistoga would take us over 2 hours. To put into perspective just how far that is for you “island dwellers” out there (myself included), Oahu measures 44 miles straight across from from Kaena Point to Makapu’u, the farthest tip-to-top points of the island. All I can say is California is so huge, it’s incredible, and this seemingly epic drive for visiting islanders covers but barely a speckle of this vast land.

What I DO have now under my belt of experience thanks to the this trip, is that I got to not walk, not bike, but be at the wheel and DRIVE cross the Golden Gate Bridge!

Don’t worry, our friend Diner J snapped these two road photos for me while I drove.

You don’t pay a toll going out of San Francisco on the Golden Gate Bridge, but you pay when you return back in, which is a $6 bridge toll fee.

After a long stint on California State Route 29 and deep through twisting roads on the edge of steep ravines (go over and you’re DONE!) in Calistoga, here we are at Chateau Montelena at the foot of Mount Saint Helena…

This place looks and feels like somewhere taken straight out of a fairy tale, where little talking wine gnomes come out the woodwork once you arrive and escort you to the “barrels of liquid ruby gold that await”. lol

Shucks, if I knew there was going to be a lake, I would have brought my swim shorts! Yeah right, at 44°F air temperature at this high elevation mountain valley area in early November, I don’t think even a wetsuit would keep your nogginz from freezin’!

An inclined walk path brings us to the Chateau Montelena (Montelena being a contracted form of Mount Saint Helena)…

See the little wine gnomes peeking out the window? Har-dee-har-har-har. lol

What exactly is a Chateau? According to Wikipedia “A château is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor or a country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally—and still most frequently—in French-speaking regions.”

According to their website, Chateau Montelena was established by Alfred L. Tubbs in 1882, and by 1896, it was the 7th largest winery in Napa Valley. Tubbs acquired his wealth in the rope business during the Gold Rush era and acquired the 254 acre property at the foot of Mount Saint Helena (not the same as the EXPLOSIVE Mount St. Helens, which is in Washington State). The winery has since gone through several successive owners, and is now under the leadership of Jim and Bo Barrett.

An antique wine grape press…

Speaking of grapes…

We didn’t get a tour of the wine making facility here, but anyhow, here’s Chateau Montelena’s “Tank Farm” located in a warehouse next to the Chateau…

At the top of the walk path, this leads to the foyer of the Wine tasting rooms inside the Chateau…

And here we are in the wine tasting room…

Bottle chart…

The gift “shop”…

When we arrived, the front room was presently filled with two large groups who were in the middle of a tasting session, so we headed to the much larger backroom where there were more tasting stations, with one that had just opened up for our group of six…

Here’s Chateau Montelena’s wine tasting menu…

Note, if you’re in the food & beverage and/or hospitality industry, show ID and they will wave the $20 wine tasting fee (yes, FREE!). Which they did for our entire group, as everyone in our group most definitely are in, save for yours truly… that is unless you consider my food blogging hobby here a valid pass to waive the fee. Perhaps so, because they did. Nice.

Here’s a map of their vineyard…

Let’s start the tasting…

As she pours each varietal for our group, the very knowledgeable demonstrator elaborated on what’s already explained about each wine’s tasting profile on the menu sheet, as well as answering other miscellaneous questions we had about the winery, its vineyards and the overall wine-making process they follow.

Working from white to red, we round out today’s tasting session at Chateau Montelena with their 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon…

Crackers are provides as a palate cleanser between each varietal.

Ahh yes, in most cases, no matter what dish I’m pairing wine with, 9 out of 10, I’ll go with a Cab, which for some reason, personally always works best for my palate…

A typical wine tasting pour is 2 oz. per glass from each varietal, giving each taster just enough to swirl the wine to create a “nose” by liberating the aroma of the wine’s “bouquet”, or layers of smells.

How was the top-of-the-line 2007 Cab? It certainly had a powerful nose, while as advertised, I could detect a background of black cherry and currant, along with a crisp finish, although I didn’t get much as far as being spicy. Overall I’d say it was more earthy than fruity, whereas I actually prefer my Cab somewhere in the middle ground there, not leaning to one or the other.

Three others in our group said their favorite was the 2007 Zinfandel. Of the five, I’d say my favorite was actually the Napa Valley 2008 Cab’, as that one struck the best balance I was looking for from start to finish.

The first photo in this post was of a communal table they have set up in the back room of the Chateau where we were tasting, which I thought made for a great composition with a glass of their Cab’…

I must admit, that’s a pretty cool shot. This brings to mind Leonardo Da Vinci’s famous “The Last Supper” painting. Why, as a matter of fact, with the magic of Photoshop filters, we can turn this photo into a watercolor painting in a lickity split!…

Looks frame-worthy to me!

Here’s another shot in the same room of an oak wine barrel and their Golden Shovel…

This time let’s try the Posters Edge artistic Photoshop filter…

Not bad. I prefer the more obscure watercolor version though, which I tried with this shot, but the text got lost.

Anyhow, here’s a closer look at their “Perpetual Golden Shovel Award”…

Well that was very interesting. It would have been even more educational and enlightening if they had tours of the wine making facility and its processes, but none were offered at the time of our visit. Still, the staff in the wine tasting rooms were very accommodating, knowledgeable and friendly, and best of all nobody in there were “wine snobs” and very willing to share their knowledge with wine tasting “nubes” such as some of in our group, as well as those in other groups.

And as mentioned earlier, the grounds surrounding the Chateau are almost otherworldly, especially if you’re coming from a “big city” such as San Fran’, and make it all the more worth the journey out here as a sort of escape if you will. Big mahalo to Chateau Montelena for a wonderful wine tasting experience!

Here’s a promotional video for Chateau Montelena…

Our next wine tasting stop brings us to Envy Wines, just down the street from Chateau Montelena on Tubbs Lane in Calistoga.

One of Envy Wine’s grape vineyards nearby the facility in its infancy stage….

Envy Wine’s “tank farm”…

I should have taken a glass of wine and held it next to the spigot in that shot, as if I was pouring my glass straight from the tank. lol

Here we are in Envy Wine’s tasting room…

Envy Wines has just one tasting room about the size  of an average home’s livingroom, with a cozy at-home feel to the place.

It helped that they had these here complimentary Chicken Tarragon Finger Sandwiches and Chocolate Chip Cookies to help satiate our growing appetite as the day went on…

Envy Wine’s Gift Case…

Free Souvenirs!…

Since they tasting sessions were booked for the day (we arrived late in the afternoon), we ended up buying a couple bottles to sample ourselves in the tasting room, which you’re more than welcome to do, with one being Envy Wine’s Cabernet Souvignon 2009, and the other their Petite Sirah 2008 Port style dessert wine…

Both the Cab and the Petite Sirah here were EXCELLENT, which in fact, if I had to choose, I actually liked the two I tasted at Envy better than anything at Chateau Montelena.

When one of the demonstrators was finished with her last group for the day, she gladly turned to us to answer any questions we had about their wine. Then, lucky us, she filled a wine decanter with FRESH PRESSED Cabernet for us to sample!…

“Freshed pressed” meaning this wine had already been fermented, however it hasn’t been filtered and aged in Oak barrels at this stage. Not being filtered, you can clearly see (no pun intended) its almost milky consistency and tone…

Almost looks like wine syrup, however it would turn out tasting far from that. Here goes..

So how was this “fresh pressed” unfiltered, unaged Cabernet Souvignon? Well, it hasn’t been aged so obviously it lacked the distinct depth and character of wines that are. It was somewhat “yeasty” with quite an edge to it if you will. I was expecting it to essentially taste like grape juice, but it didn’t really come off as fruity. It was “interesting” at best, but you certainly wouldn’t want to drink a whole glass of it, let alone buy a bottle of it.

This website describes the effects and benefits of aging wine in Oak Barrels, which this “fresh pressed” Cab’ has yet to do.

Anyhow, big mahalo to Envy wines for sharing that with us, further expanding our knowledge of the wine making process and tasting experience.

We had such a great time at those two wineries. Super friendly folks, and wow, Calistoga in Napa County is such a GORGEOUS place just to drive through. I most definitely want to go back and check out more wineries out there.

Well it’s time for dinner before we make that long trek back to the bay area, so what’s to eat while we’re still here in Calistoga? Why, the Calistoga Inn Retaurant & Brewery of course!…

As you can see, it started pouring rain as the sun began to set.

As you can imagine, being in a relatively remote town such as Calistoga, this place looked to be filled mostly with locals from the immediate area.

That in mind, I joked that it would be funny if this place turned into a nightclub at night where all these here “boonieville” folks get up ‘n get their boogie on. Well, funny I say that, because low and behold, when I asked our server what the podium in the corner of the restaurant was for, she replied, “Oh we have a house DJ that comes at 9pm.” I swear, we all wen’ BUS’ LAUGH (cracked up) when she said that! I was right! The Calistoga town “boonie” folks DO get their groove on here! LOL!!!!!

Anywhow, here’s Calistoga Inn’s restaurant menu…

Landing on our table, we start with the house bread, with San Fran’ nearby, being Sourdough of course…

Calistoga Inn’s soup of the day: White Bean with Smoked Ham. $8

White Bean with Smoked Ham Soup

Tillamook Cheeseburger: Humboldt Grass-fed Beef with Garlic Cheese Fries (hold the Garlic Cheese). $13.75

Peas & Pasta: Orecchiette Pasta, English Peas, Garlic, Onions, Parmesan Reggiano and McEvoy Ranch XVOO. $12.25

Steamed Clams & Mussels: Steamed in Calistoga Wheat Ale with Spanish Chorizo and Crusty Grilled Bread. $15.25

Fall Risotto: Arborio Rice, Butternut Squash, Field Mushrooms & Caramelized Onions. $13.75

Fall Risotto (good stuff shot)

How was it. EXCELLENT!

That White Bean & Smoked Ham Soup definitely HIT THE SPOT after walking in from the cold air and rain outside. If they canned that, I’d buy a case of it. 5 SPAM Musubi for Calistoga Inn’s Soup of the Day.

I ordered the Fall Risotto, which had fantastic consistency, with a great balance of creaminess and stiffness to the perfectly al dente risotto. While the broth it was simmered in was brimming with flavor from the mushrooms, butternut squash and camarelized onions, and most importantly, it was salted perfectly. 5 SPAM Musubi for Calistoga Inn’s Fall Risotto.

I also got to sample a bite of the Peas and Pasta, A Steamed Clam and a bite of the Tillamook Cheeseburger, and give all of it a huge thumbs-up of approval. Hats off to the Chef at Calistoga Inn for these GREAT TASTING dishes!

To wrap up this post, let me tell you, the drive to Calistoga from the San Francisco bay rea was a relatively long one by Hawaii “standards”.

Now let me tell you about the drive BACK. OH-MY-GOD. All I can say is good thing I still have 20/20 vision uncorrected, because any less than that and I really don’t see how anyone could drive safely in the nightfall and stormy weather conditions we were in.

Number one: I’m new to this place and absolutely no NOTHING about the California highway route 29, whether it be turns, bends, surprise exits, or what have you while driving its 60mph speed limit along the 60+ miles of distance we would be on it.

Number two: we’re driving back at NIGHT.

Number three: it begins DRIVING RAIN harder than any rain I recall driving through in recent memory (thanks partially to where I live). We’re talking not rain, but DUMP. We’re talking rain SO HARD, the windshield wiper at it’s fastest setting could barely keep up knocking away the amount of rain hitting the windshield, reducing my vision through it to about 80% and sometimes worse than that. And this in a brand new Ford SUV rent-a-car. Good thing the SUV itself had good traction and steering characteristics, as that at least inspired some confidence in even going through with the drive. If it got any worse, or say it snowed, I would have suggested we turn back, rent a motel in the area and drive home the next morning, hopefully in better weather.

Thank God we made it back to the hotel without a scratch or ding, albeit me and my girlfriend who was sitting in the front passenger seat were admittedly a little shook up by that nail biting driving rain drive. Our friends in the back seat slept through it all, which is good. Lucky them. lol

P.S. I’ve been doing a lot of research lately about wine and wine tasting, as I find it fascinating. One of our friends who was with us took a sommelier test about a year ago, and didn’t pass, noting how DIFFICULT it is. He’s going to continue taking classes to become one, as that’s one of his lifelong goals.

In fact, becoming a MASTER SOMMELIER is so difficult, as of 2011, there are only 186 Master Sommeliers around the world (only 186 in the WORLD!), where Chuck Furuya represents Hawaii.

Check out this list of Wine Tasting Descriptors. What I get out of that, is not only are those terms descriptors of wine, but they can also be applicable for food!  I think anyone who writes food reviews — oh like, say bloggers and Yelpers — could expand their critiquing vocabulary with many of those terms, being more verbally expressive and effectively opinionated in how they want to share their tasting experience of FOOD.

With that, what I’ll do here now is take those wine tasting descriptors from that list and rewrite it for food critics.

Food Tasting Descriptors:

• Accessible : A food or dish that’s easy to eat without an overwhelming sense of complexity or being too unusual or foreign.
• Acidic : Tart; sour.
• Aftertaste : A term for the taste left on the palate after food has been swallowed. “Finish” is a synonym.
• Aggressive : A food or dish with harsh and pronounced flavors. The opposite of a food or dish described as “smooth” or “soft”
• Alcoholic : A food or dish that has an out of balanced presence of too much alcohol.
• Aroma : The smell of a food or dish.
• Aromatic : A food or dish with a pronounced and/or distinct smell.
• Austere : A food or dish that is dominated by harsh acidity and is lacking the sweetening component and/or spices needed to balance its flavor profile
• Balanced : A food or dish that incorporates all its main components in a manner where no one single component stands out.
• Barnyard : A generally more negative term than “farmyard” used to describe certain repulsive flavors in a food or dish.
• Big : A food or dish with intense flavor.
• Biscuity : A food or dish with a sense of being yeasty or of bread dough aroma and flavors.
• Bite : A firm and distinctive perception of acidity. This can be a positive or negative attribute depending on whether the overall perception of the food or dish is balanced.
• Bitter : An unpleasant perception of bitterness.
• Body : The sense of feeling a food provides in the mouth.
• Bouquet: The layers of smells and aromas perceived by a food or dish.
• Bright : When describing the visual appearance of a food or dish, particularly contrasting colors, as well as clarity of presentation, without being muddled or disorganized.
• Buttery : A food or dish that has a rich, creamy mouthfeel with flavors reminiscent of butter..
• Charming : A subjective term used to describe a food or dish with a range of pleasing properties but nothing that stands out in an obvious fashion.
• Cheesy : A food or dish associated with the aroma of aged, nutty cheeses such as gouda.
• Chewy : A food or dish that’s tough; difficult to chew. (also Chewbacca’s nickname lol)
• Chocolaty : A food or dish that has the flavors and mouthfeel associated with chocolate–typically dark.
• Citrous : A food or dish with the aromas and flavor from the citrus family of fruits.
• Classic : A subjective term used to denote a food or dish of exceptional quality that display the typicity of its origin, displays layers of complexity and is very well balanced.
• Clean : A food or dish that is not demonstrating any obvious faults or unwanted aromas and flavors.
• Clear : A food or dish that’s definitive, and that isn’t muddled with too many flavors, textures or aromas competing.
• Closed : A food or dish that is not very aromatic.
• Cloying : A food or dish with a sticky or sickly sweet character that is not balanced with acidity.
• Coarse : A term for a food or dish with a rough texture or mouthfeel.
• Coconutty : Aromatic and/or flavor perception of coconut.
• Compact : A food or dish that’s built or plated tightly into a small unit or space.
• Complete : Similar to the description of a “balanced dish” but more encompassing a dish that all the main components of flavors and textures, with a notably pleasing mouthfeel and memorable taste.
• Complex : A food or dish that gives a perception of being multi-layered in terms of flavors and aromas. 
• Concentrated : Intense flavors. 
• Concoction : Usually a derogatory term used to refer to a food or dish that seems to have many different components that are “thrown together” rather than integrating into one cohesive profile.
• Connected : A sense of a food or dish’s ability to relay its place of origin.
• Creamy : A term used to describe the perception of a warm, creamy mouthfeel.
• Crisp : A pleasing sense of freshness.
• Definition : A food or dish that not only is well balanced but also gives a clear expression of its place of origin.
• Delicate : A term used similar to charm but more often relates to the more subtle notes of a food or dish.
• Depth : A term used to denote a food or dish with several layers of flavor. An aspect of complexity.
• Dirty : A muddled and/or overly-complex food or dish, resulting in off flavors and aromas.
• Dried up : A food or dish that has lost its freshness and appeal from sitting too long since the time it was cooked.
• Dry : A food or dish that is lacking the perception of being moist. 
• Earthy : A food or dish with aromas and flavor reminiscent of earth, such as a forest floor or mushrooms.
• Easy : A term that can be synonymous with “approachable” but more commonly refers to a food or dish that is simple and straightforward without much complexity but still enjoyable to eat.
• Edgy : A food or dish with a noticeable level of acidity that heightens the flavors on the palate. Maybe synonymous with “nervy”
• Elegant : A term to describe a food or dish that possess finesse with subtle flavors that are in balance.
• Expansive : A food or dish that is considered “big” but still accessible.
• Expressive : A food or dish with clearly projected aromas and flavors.
• Extracted : A food or dish with concentrated flavors.
• Fallen over : A food or dish that’s sat around past its peak (or optimal) eating period and is rapidly declining in quality is said to have “fallen over”.
• Farmyard : A generally more positive term than “barnyard” used to describe the earthy and vegetal undertones a food or dish.
• Fat : A food or dish that is full in body.
• Feminine : Describes a food or dish that emphasizes delicate flavors, silky textures and subtle aromas rather than strength, weight and intensity.
• Finesse : A very subjective term used to describe a food or dish of high quality that is well balanced.
• Finish : The sense and perception of a food or dish after consuming.
• Firm : Food that has a solid texture that resists pressure.
• Flabby : Lacking sense of acidity.
• Flat : A food or dish lacking in character or taste (bland).
• Fleshy : A food or dish with a noticeable perception of being fibrous and/or meaty.
• Foxy : A tasting term for the musty odor and flavor of a food or dish.
• Fresh : A positive perception of freshness. Also, a new culinary concept.
• Full : A term usually used in context of a food or dish with heavy weight or body.
• Grapey : A food or dish with the aromas and flavors reminiscent of grape flavoring—such as those associated with grape jelly.
• Grassy : A term used to describe an herbaceous or vegetal element of a food or dish.
• Green : Usually negative, this can apply to a food or dish
• Gutsy : A food or dish with unusually extraordinary character.
• Hard : Overly acidic.
• Harsh : Similar to “coarse” but usually used in a more derogatory fashion to denote a food or dish that has an unpleasant mouthfeel or texture.
• Heavy : A food or dish that with too much sense of body (particularly fats).
• Herbaceous : The herbal, vegetal aromas and flavors denoted of a food or dish.
• Hollow : A ood or dish lacking the sense of fruit.
• Hot : An overly spicy food or dish.
• Inky : A term that may refer to a food or dish’ dark coloring and opacity.
• Jammy : A food or dish that is rich in fruit flavor, while being extremely thick and gritty in texture.
• Lean : The sense of a food or dish that lacks a perception of fat.
• Leathery  : A food or dish that’s spicy, albeit with a thick and soft taste.
• Legs : The tracks of a sauce that cling to the sides of a plated dish, denoting the quality of texture and viscosity of the sauce.
• Lemony : A term referring to the tangy acidity of a food or dish with fruit flavors reminiscent of lemons.
• Liquorice : A term used to describe the concentrated flavors produced by botrytized grapes.
• Liveliness : A term used to describe a food or dish with vivid flavor, texture and color contrast.
• Luscious : Similar to “voluptuous” but more commonly associated with a pleasantly sweet food or dish that has a rich, concentrated mouthfeel.
• Mature : A food or dish that’s been developed to its peak point of quality in all aspects.
• Mean : A food or dish that’s unbalanced and unpleasant to eat.
• Meaty : A food or dish with a rich, full body, that gives the impression of being able to “chew” it.
• Mellow : A food or dish with a soft texture and subtle, yet pleasant flavor profile.
• Midpalate : A tasting term for the feel and taste of a food or dish when held in the mouth.
• Minerality : A sense of mineral-ness in a food or dish flavor profile, such as slate, shist, silex, etc.
• Musky : Can be used in both a positive and negative connotation relating to the earthy musk aroma in a food or dish.
• Nervy : A food or dish with a noticeable amount of acidity, but is still balanced with the rest of the food or dish’ components.
• Nose : A tasting term for the aroma, smell or bouquet of a food or dish.
• Opulent : A rich tasting food or dish with a pleasing texture mouthfeel that is well balanced.
• Palate : A tasting term for the feel and taste of a food or dish in the mouth.
• Peak : The point where a food or dish is at its most ideal consuming conditions.
• Peppery : A food or dish with the aromas and flavors reminiscent of black peppercorn or the aroma of crushed white pepper.
• Perfume : A generally positive term used to describe the aroma or bouquet of a food or dish.
• Polished : A food or dish that is very smooth to eat, with no roughness in texture and mouthfeel. It is also well balanced.
• Powerful : A food or dish with a high level of flavor.
• Racy : A food or dish that immediately comes across as being “decadent”.
• Reticent : A food or dish that is not exhibiting much aroma.
• Rich : A sense of sweetness in the wine that is not excessively sweet.
• Robust : A food or dish with distinctive, pronounced flavors, yet not harsh.
• Round : A food or dish that has a good sense of body that is not overly heavy (fatty).
• Sassy : A food or dish with bold, brash and audacious flavors.
• Sharp : A term normally used to describe pungency, though it can refer to the degree of bitterness or acidity as well.
• Short : A food or dish with well developed aromas and mouthfeel but has a finish (lingering flavors on the palate) that is little to non-existent.
• Smokey : A food or dish exhibiting the aromas and flavors of the various types of smoke, roasting fire smoke or a toasty smoke.
• Smooth : A food or dish with a pleasing texture.
• Soft : A food or dish that is not overly seasoned or spiced.
• Sour : A  food or dish with unbalanced, puckery acidity.
• Spicy : A food or dish with aromas and flavors reminiscent of various spices such as black, ceyenne or chili pepper.
• Stalky : A woody, green herbaceous note in a food or dish.
• Structure : A term used to describe the solid components of, in relation to the overall balance and body of the food or dish.
• Supple : A food or dish that is readily compliant to the taster’s palate.
• Sweet : A food or dish with a noticeable sense of sugar levels.
• Tart : A food or dish with high levels of acidity.
• Texture : A tasting term for the mouthfeel of a food or dish on the palate.
• Thin : A food or dish that is lacking body.
• Tight : A food or dish with a significantly firm texture or viscosity.
• Toasty : A sense of a charred or smoky taste.
• Transparency : The ability of a food or dish to clearly portray all unique aspects of its flavors.
• Typicity : A culinary tasting term used to describe how much a food or dish expresses the typical characteristics of its origin.
• Undertone : The more subtle nuances, aromas and flavors of a food or dish.
• Upfront : A food or dish with very perceivable characteristics and quality that do not require much thought or effort to discover.
• Vegetal : A food or dish with aromas and flavor reminiscent of vegetation.
• Vivid : A food or dish with very expressive flavors.
• Voluptuous : A food or dish with a full body and rich texture.
• Warm : A food or dish with a noticeable yet balanced overall flavor profile.
• Watery : A food or dish that is excessively “thin” in body.
• Yeasty : Often uses synonymously with “biscuity” and can describe a food or dish with flavors reminiscent of bread dough or biscuits.
• Young :  A food or dish that is not matured and needs more recipe development.
• Zesty : A food or dish that is noticeably spicy or acidic.
• Zippy : A food or dish that is noticeably spicy or acidic, yet is balanced enough so as to not taste overly spicy or acidic.

And that’s it. My take on wine tasting descriptors converted for a food critic that I’ve renamed “food tasting descriptors”, rewritten in my own words, give and take. Of course, you’ll find some descriptions that need rewording, which you’re more than welcome to take part in via comments, as we’ll consider this the “1st proof”. But hey, it’s a start!

Also see Tasting Terminology.