Sunday was Napa wine tasting day

The Silverado Trail Wineries Association had a weekend event where some of the lesser known wineries of Eastern Napa got together to promote themselves. We checked a few of them out, along with a few others (*), that were not part of the event.

1. Judd's Hill - A new vineyard, no longer on the hill.
   
2. Van Der Heyden Vineyards - Wine tasting or wine lecturing? We arrived and were seated while an employee held court and talked about the wine (but didn't feel it was important to pour). We made a move to leave, but the winemaker intercepted us and offered to help. Good that we stayed, as we found that they make an incredible late harvest cabernet (first time to see that!). They harvest the grapes in late November/early December. The 1997 was the best wine to ever set root(?) in my mouth. Purchased the 1997 and the 2002.
   
3. Hagafen Cellars - This one got crowded fast, so we didn't stick around too long.
   
4. Signorello Winery - Discovered that Mike looks like Ray Signorello, Jr.
   
5. * Chimney Rock Winery - We are members here. The red tasting was great...some high-end wines!
   
6. Robinson Family Vineyards - They have a nice, comfortable grassy area to relax.
   
7. * Robert Sinskey Vineyards - One of Mike's favorites. Nice kitchen next to the tasting area. Surprised that more wineries don't provide some good tasting food to complement the wine.
   
8. * Cliff Lede - We are members here. Relaxed and picked up an order of Howell Mountain Poetry.
   
9. * St. Supery - Not on the Silverado Trail...but it was getting late and we wanted to hit one more winery.

We'll be back in a couple of weeks...Chimney Rock has a wine mixing event.