Heading up to Napa Valley for a couple days of serious vineyard hopping sounded like a very refined way to roll in the new year. Presented with an itinerary, crafted by a friend who organized this all girl road trip wine-o-ganza, I couldn’t help but notice the irony…as I’d never been to most of the wineries listed, having been raised in San Francisco where Napa was considered my backyard. That said, I happen to be partial to French whites – and usually favor a foodie-trek while in town – but being an equal opportunity drinker, I was eager to partake in this outing.
As our group of six embarked on the first private tasting of the day- on a sunday morning at 10am, I’m serious- at Fleury Estate Winery, we were met by Brian Fleury whose boutique winery produces 3,000 cases a year. Prior to establishing himself as a vintner, he was a successful businessman who brought his family to Napa ten years ago, and has now expanded Fleury to fifty acres across three vineyards.
With proprietary blends named ‘F in Red’ and ‘Rocket Juice’, it was fair to assume Brian would be as colorful as his wines- and he didn’t disappoint..but that’s a whole other story- a YouTube worthy moment, by the way. As Brian presented each new and descriptive tasting, the rustic beauty and ambiance provided us with an intimate experience, and a barrel sampling of their future release was a fun send-off as we continued on our wine quest.
After several more stops that afternoon, some on our list and other random off-roading -thankfully we had a driver – I was compelled to study my itinerary closely, counting how many more tastings were in store for yet another full day of vineyard-trotting ahead. We all somehow made it to New Year’s Eve, however, in a sort of wine-zombie-haze. Nevertheless, ready to bring on 2013 in style, we kept it flowing… but this time we switched to bubbly. www.fleurywinery.com
