Napa Revisited

A few months ago, I spent some time in California’s Napa Valley, an hour and a half north of San Francisco, where a great deal of wine is made. Some is extraordinarily good, and compares most favorably with the great wines of France, though not yet with the sublime ones. Napa Valley is one of the great wine regions of the world, thanks to varying climates and microclimates, soils, drainage, etc. It is also quite beautiful, surrounded by wooded mountains, rich in tree-shaded lanes, vineyards and more vineyards, and two charming little towns, St. Helena and Calistoga. There are some 43 wineries in Napa, many of which conduct tours and tastings. I can’t recommend too highly a tour of Napa and its wineries to anyone in the neighborhood; it is one of the most pleasant and civilized experiences to be had in the United States.

Freemark Abbey is one of the wineries which make the best wines in Napa, and by that I mean very superior wines. It was founded in the early Sixties by a group of dedicated and knowledgeable enthusiasts who, sharing a taste in wine, pooled their resources and planted extensive acres with premium grapes. The winery was an old one, but the seven present owners invested in all the new facilities necessary to produce fine wines. It is found at the back of a picturesque old stone building; the front houses a gourmet shop and a candle shop—the mind boggles at the variety of candles and recoils in horror at some of them. There is also a restaurant somehow attached to the building, one of the few in Napa Valley. It could be much better, alas. Fortunately, the shops and restaurant have nothing to do with the Freemark Abbey winery. The place was never a monastery; it was named by a group of former owners who combined letters and syllables of their own names. Among the present partners, Charles (Chuck) Carpy stands out as primus inter pares, a giant of a man of incredible kindness, who must be the most beloved winemaker in Napa Valley.

NH

About the Author

Nika Hazelton

A few months ago, I spent some time in California’s Napa Valley, an hour and a half north of San Francisco, where a great deal of wine is made. Some is extraordinarily good, and compares most favorably with the great wines of France, though not yet with the sublime ones. Napa Valley is one of the great wine regions of the world, thanks to varying climates and microclimates, soils, drainage, etc. It is also quite beautiful, surrounded by wooded mountains, rich in tree-shaded lanes, vineyards and more vineyards, and two charming little towns, St. Helena and Calistoga. There are some 43 wineries in Napa, many of which conduct tours and tastings. I can’t recommend too highly a tour of Napa and its wineries to anyone in the neighborhood; it is one of the most pleasant and civilized experiences to be had in the United States.

Freemark Abbey is one of the wineries which make the best wines in Napa, and by that I mean very superior wines. It was founded in the early Sixties by a group of dedicated and knowledgeable enthusiasts who, sharing a taste in wine, pooled their resources and planted extensive acres with premium grapes. The winery was an old one, but the seven present owners invested in all the new facilities necessary to produce fine wines. It is found at the back of a picturesque old stone building; the front houses a gourmet shop and a candle shop—the mind boggles at the variety of candles and recoils in horror at some of them. There is also a restaurant somehow attached to the building, one of the few in Napa Valley. It could be much better, alas. Fortunately, the shops and restaurant have nothing to do with the Freemark Abbey winery. The place was never a monastery; it was named by a group of former owners who combined letters and syllables of their own names. Among the present partners, Charles (Chuck) Carpy stands out as primus inter pares, a giant of a man of incredible kindness, who must be the most beloved winemaker in Napa Valley.