Ultimate California Wine Blog

Emilio’s Terrace is a very small vineyard located in Oakville between Harlan and Staglin. Pretty nice neighborhood, huh? I had the opportunity to taste the wine at the latest Copia had another one of its lovely in-house tastings which frequently gives me access to wineries with no public facilities or tasting rooms. That is the case with Emilio’s Terrace, which is owned by Phil Schlein. The wine is made by Joe Cafaro and only 400 to 700 cases are ever made each year. The certified organic vineyard are 650 feet up above Robert Mondavi’s To-Kolan vineyard. While they grow both Cabernet and Merlot, A large portion of their Merlot is reserved and blended with some purchased grapes for a second label, by-the-glass restaurant wine. The good stuff is kept for the Emilio’s Terrace.

2002 Emilio’s Terrace Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve – 96% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Merlot. Dark purple in color, this intensely complex wine shows black fruit aromas of currant and black cherry. Hints of vanilla waft near the back of the nose. The mouth entry is rich and defined, showing layers of supple spice, brambleberry, and hefty tannins. Absolutely spendid. $50.00

Emilio’s Terrace ~ P.O. Box 88 ~ Oakville ~ CA ~ 94562 ~ 707-257-6761
No tastings available.

Frank Husic has had some astonishingly good luck and some astonishingly bad luck. The good luck is that he has nine acres of prime Stags Leap appellation vineyards which produces 500 cases of one of the more highly sought-after California Cabernets currently on the market.

The bad news is that Frank owns 120 acres in the same area and he isn’t allowed to plant them to grape. It seems that those nine acres were planted before an anti-mountain growing ordinance went into affect, preventing the rest of the acreage from being developed.  Frank is pretty philosophical about it all. “It isn’t going to hold us back from planting elsewhere — in fact, we’ll be releasing our first Chardonnay next year.” It is easy to be taken in by his enthusiasm. Having winemaker Celia Welch Masyczek crafting his wine doesn’t hurt either. Masyczek came into view when she created the now much sought-after 1998 Staglin.

The bottle is immediately recognizable as different. It is easily the tallest and heaviest bottle on the market. Substantial in size, Frank revels in pointing out the archway design with the names of his family crowning the artistic representation of his hillside vineyard. The two palm trees under the logo name actually exist on the property – a rather odd occurrence in the Napa Valley and one I am glad he represented.

Husic made insider news at the 2004 Premiere Napa Valley auction (an
event where barrel samples are tasted and purchased as futures by
high-roller retailers) when five cases of an un-released, unknown wine
was sold for $13,000. Bottom line? This is a winery to keep an eye on — could it be the next Screaming Eagle?

2002 Husic Cabernet Sauvignon – A mere hint of the earthy terroir of Stags Leap that I often find overwhelming. Some dusty earthy with a core of dark cassis and currant in the nose. Black raspberry and cinnamon hit the tongue first, but a cinnamon that is intensely soft and elegant, blossoming to show layers upon layers of dark brambleberry, blackberry, and dark plum. The finish shows velvety vanilla. Sold out – usually only available and finer restaurants.

Husic ~ Vineyard; 189 Ridge Drive ~ Napa Valley ~ CA ~ 94558; Office; 80 McLaren Avenue ~ San Francisco ~ CA ~ 94121 ~ 707-812-4909

I have long admired the Napa Cellars‘ logo. The clean pen-and-ink drawing of an up-turned hand, scrolled elegantly upward. It is the type of script that makes me believe it actually says something, but I’m not brilliant enough to see it. What is the orb floating above the hand? A grape? The world? Is the hand waiting to grasp what is plunging downwards towards the grasp or has the hand just flung the sphere into the air? Questions like this plague me, I’m afraid and I doubt I will ever have a definitive answer. But I like it, regardless.

Napa Cellars is one of the first wineries that greets visitors entering the Napa Valley via Highway 29. The building is a Bucky-Fuller geodesic dome (albeit a slightly squashed, low-slung dome). It is one of the rare down-valley wineries boasting a public picnic facility — something of a rarity I have come to learn.

Despite the impression that the building is mildly squat, the interior tasting room is surprisingly open with its vaulted ceilings and sky lights. During my visit, some first time wine tasters were visiting from out-of-state and the pouring staff were extremely helpful in the instruction of Wine-Tasting 101. This is actually rather refreshing as I have witnessed far too many occasions where those just starting out were treated with more condescension instead of congeniality. Easy to drink and affordable, Napa Cellars is a great place to begin when first visiting the Napa Valley.

2004 Vin Gris – An odd rosé blend of Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. Pale, pink color with fresh berry aromas that is only a tad sweet on entry. Surprisingly integrated and not too tangy. Fresh finish. $14.95

2002 Napa Valley Zinfandel – From south St. Helena, this produces a rich, soft nose of dark spice including nutmeg and clove that just barely hides a hint of black pepper. Chocolate entry sweetens in the mid-palate to a long, dry finish of cocoa. $19.75

2002 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon – Toasty nose with a touch of green bell pepper. Dry entry produces cedar and dark berry. The finish was a tad thin. $25.75

2001 Napa Valley Syrah – From a north Napa vineyard, only 500 cases were produced. Sweet licorice and blackberry liqueur show richness and complexity. Chewy mouth entry expands with dark fruit and vanilla. $32.50

2001 Late Harvest Zinfandel – Full bodied and rich, a medium amount of herbs keeps it from being overly sweet. Integrated fruit and cocoa. $29.75

Napa Cellars ~ 7481 St. Helena Highway ~ Oakville ~ CA ~ 94562 ~ 707-944-2565