Stop #4 - Rutherford Ranch Winery, Rutherford

Friday, September 25, 2015
Rutherford, California, United States
Mare here: The last winery was Rutherford Ranch Winery and was much larger than the first three we had visited. When we walked in, we saw that the winery had a table prepared for us and we were much delighted to see a small plate of chocolates at each setting. Chris, our sommelier, started us off with a 2014 Rutherford Ranch Sauvignon Blanc, then he walked us through some wonderful wine and chocolate pairings: 2013 Scott Family Estate Sauvignon Blanc and lemon bark white chocolate; 2013 Scott Family Estate Pinot Noir and toffee milk chocolate; 2013 Rutherford Ranch Merlot and dried cherry bark dark chocolate; and a 2012 Rutherford Ranch Reserve Cabernet and pretzel bark dark chocolate. Several of us also tried the 2013 Rutherford Ranch Cabernet. Perfect ending to a very nice day!

Chris also showed us how to determine a well balanced wine by holding our wine glass tilted on the side and the wine forms an egg shape . The lighter the color around the edge means it's a younger wine. Older wines can have an orange or even brown color around the edge.

After our very relaxing tasting, our group climbed on rocks outside the winery for a group picture to remember our new friends and the fun we had!

For the ride home, Army picked up Modelo beer which he said is a nice ending to a wine tasting day. Worked for us! We got back to our hotel about 5pm. Army even drove the bus around to the back of the hotel to the stairwell nearest our 2nd floor room (the one without the elevator) and carried our 12-pack box of wine to our room for us, even navigating through a flowerbed between tall bushes! He's the best!

Oh, Army said the most expense wine in Napa is Screaming Eagle at $5000 per bottle. (tj note: I tried to confirm that. It appears that the recent vintages sell in the range of a mere $1200 - $2500+ per bottle. If it reaches auction, it can go for much more. This is considered a cult wine and there's about 5000 people on their wait list.)
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