Stop #2 - Tedeschi Winery, Calistoga

Friday, September 25, 2015
Calistoga, California, United States
Mare here: Next we drove to the top of the valley through a town called Calistoga. This small town was founded by a Morman who became an alcoholic (little too much wine?). Also the famous Dr Wilkinson mud baths are here in the original building from the 60s. Dick Vermeil is from here and still has family here that grows grapes and has a winery. Calistoga is an old western town and is only two blocks long. The town was in the news recently as evacuees from the forest fires in Middleton, California arrived to stay on the fair grounds in camper trailers and tents. Many were older retires who had no insurance and not much in savings.

Tedeschi winery is at small (one acre) vineyard that is owned by a father and his two sons . The wine maker in the family is actually the younger 24 yr old son. The first winery started by the family was in Hawaii and is still producing wine. This winery in California was started in 1991 and produces 2000 cases of wine per year. Stephanie was our winery guide and she added humor as she taught us new things about growing grapes. Grapes are grown all summer, then hand picked in September to November. The grapevine roots grow 12-14 feet down into the ground. Grapes are best when they are the size of blueberries. This particular small winery can be hand picked in about 7 hours. They asked if we'd like to help "crush" the grapes and of course we all jumped at the opportunity to maybe act out the time Lucy and Ethel got to stomp grapes with their bare feet. But before we could get our shoes unbuckled, they showed us how the grapes are crushed with a very large flat mallet (see picture). Crushing the grapes is gently squeezing the grapes to break the skins and start the process of liberating the contents of the grapes. The grapes are "crushed" twice a day for two weeks. These particular vats hold about a half ton of grapes.

After we'd tasted about five wines - 2014 Chardonnay, 2014 Rosé (Charbonno & Old Vine Gamay), a 2010 Mario's Blend (85% Cab & 15% Merlot), 2012 Merlot, 2012 Cabernet, and a sweet 2014 Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc - we went outside to picnic tables under the walnut trees and Army had prepared delicious salami, ham and turkey sandwiches and a quinoa salad for lunch. The view of the vineyard and getting to know our tour mates better made for a very enjoyable, relaxing and beautiful lunch.

We also met Trigger, a pretty black lab, who is the "wine dog" for this winery. Such a sweet puppy who loved everyone. Desserts were "Aussie Bites" homemade by Army (see pic). These "bites" were made for soldiers in WWII and were a cross between a granola bar and a muffin. Perfect ending to our meal, not too sweet.
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Comments

tuckerhoneymoon
2015-09-29

The thing that I don't like about visiting such small wineries is that if you like their wine, it's nearly impossible to get it locally. The personal attention is a big plus, though.

2025-02-08

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