Napa Valley Day 2: Farella, Elizabeth Spencer, The Wine Thief, and Gabrielle Collection

Note: We had appointments for all tastings mentioned in this post unless otherwise specified.

We woke early Saturday morning. Living in the Eastern Time Zone means our internal clock wakes us pretty early when we visit California. We had a leisurely breakfast at our hotel and prepared for the day.

Tasting 1: Farella

A short drive east of downtown Napa to the Coombsville AVA and we arrived at Farella. Farella was founded in 1977 by Frank Farella; their first harvest was in 1985. Tom Farella is Frank's son; Tom has a degree in Viticulture and Enology from UC Davis and is still the winemaker today. Tom is also responsible for leading the charge to make Coombsville an official AVA, which was approved in 2011. Today, Farella makes about 2000 cases of wine from their estate grown grapes, and sells about 80% of their grapes to premium Napa Valley wineries including Far Niente and Realm Cellars.

We arrived early for our appointment so we enjoyed the time taking in the gorgeous scenery. It was so quiet; no traffic and no sounds other than birds chirping! Our host, Stacey, quickly greeted us with a glass of 2018 Sauvignon Blanc. While enjoying this refreshing wine, we took a quick tour around part of the property. We were able to sample some almost ready to pick Malbec! In addition to grapes and vines, we saw avocado trees, olive trees, and cacti.  We also had the opportunity to tour the barrel cellar and saw lots of great wine aging, as well as some "experiments" starting fermentation!

We moved in to the tasting room and were treated to five delicious red wines:

• 2014 Coombsville Syrah
• 2015 Coombsville Merlot
• 2015 Coombsville Cabernet Sauvignon
• 2015 Coombsville Alta
• 2010 Coombsville Cabernet Sauvignon

What a spectacular line up of wines, and a great way to start the day! To pick a favorite would be hard, but I think we enjoyed the 2010 Coombsville Cabernet Sauvignon the most. Drinking so well for its age, with a few more years before you really have to drink it. That said, all of the wines at Farella are excellent and you should absolutely get your hands on some if you are able to!

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Tasting 2: Elizabeth Spencer

A 30 minute drive north on Silverado Trail and west on Rutherford Road brought us to Elizabeth Spencer.  The parking lot was almost empty, and we wondered if they were closed. We were soon greeted outside with a glass of 2018 Rosé of Pinot Noir from Sonoma Coast, and led to a cute cottage for our private blind tasting.

The wines were poured and ready to enjoy. We found it a little odd that our tasting host did not stay with us; for some reason we expected someone to stay with us to talk about the wines and what we thought we were smelling or tasting.

We worked our way through one white wine and four red wines, discussing our thoughts and making our guesses. We are wine drinkers -- not wine tasters!

When we were done tasting all five wines, our tasting host returned with the wine bottles to reveal the wines. Yikes. The four of us were all able to correctly guess two of the five wines -- Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Varietal only. Forget about the other three - the vineyard, varietal, or the year!

The wines we tasted were:

• 2016 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay
• 2016 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir
• 2016 Atlas Peak Merlot
• 2016 Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon
• 2012 Napa Valley The Reverend (red blend)

Overall this was an interesting experience, but if we wanted to participate in a blind tasting again, we'd choose something with more interaction from winery or tasting room staff.

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Our tasting at Elizabeth Spencer was quicker than we expected, so we dropped the rental car off at our hotel and took an Uber to Oxbow Public Market for a quick lunch. Between the four of us we tried chips, guacamole, and what I think was a fully loaded tostada at C Casa, as well as a Cuban sandwich, a beef dip, and a beef carnitas wrap from Five Dot Ranch. Everything was so good! The meat in the butcher case at Five Dot Ranch looked amazing -- so many cuts to choose from! It's definitely a place to shop if you are looking for premium meat to bring home to throw on the grill or into the smoker.

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Tasting 3: The Wine Thief

It was an easy walk from Oxbow Public Market to The Wine Thief. The Wine Thief is a wine collective tasting lounge. Owned by vintners, you'll find wines from small vintners located around Napa Valley. Every wine poured here has a story, and the wine educators know their stuff. Not only is the wine great here but the tasting room is gorgeous! We booked a private tasting with owner Andy Renda. We were set up in a beautiful private room, with Riedel glasses and a gorgeous platter of charcuterie and cheese from The Fatted Calf.

Why did we eat before coming here?

We tasted through the following eight -- yes, you read that correctly - eight -- wines at The Wine Thief:

• 2018 AJ Pearce Kick Ranch Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc
• 2017 Kale Wines McGah Vineyard Rosé
• 2016 AJ Pearce TORO Vineyards Syrah
• 2016 Brace and Bit Petite Syrah
• 2016 Buoncristiani Family Winery Malbec
• 2015 Correlation Wine Co. Cabernet Sauvignon
• 2015 AJ Pearce Massoumi Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
• 2018 Purlieu GIII Rutherford Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

What an excellent way to spend a couple of hours. We tasted so many great wines, and it's nice to be able to taste wines from different owners and winemakers in the same place!

If you are thinking about stopping by The Wine Thief: GO! Talk to your tasting host about what you like to drink BUT keep an open mind, and drink what they select for you! I can speak from experience at several tastings that they know what they are doing. You might be surprised by what you taste...and love!

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‍Tasting 4: Gabrielle Collection taste+

We were running a little late to this tasting, but luckily they were still able to host us.

Four tastings in one day is on my "Do Not Do That" list, but when I hear "charcuterie", "cheese", "chocolate", and/or "popcorn" apparently rules fly out the window!

Gabrielle Leonhard O’Connell is vintner and Director of Winemaking of O’Connell Family Wines. They produce wines under the following labels: Gabrielle Collection, Gabrielle Limited, Pietro Family Cellars, and O'Connell Family Vineyard. Their estate is 100% organic. In addition to grapes, the estate has an herb and vegetable garden, lavender field, olive grove, and orchard. The O'Connell Family produces culinary products with what they grow on the estate, and features these products as well as food and wine pairings at their tasting boutique Gabrielle Collection taste+ in downtown Napa.

We reserved a 5 + 5 tasting, which included five wines paired with five food bites. Gabrielle Collection taste+ also offers a Breakfast Wine Pairing, Chocolate + Wine Pairing, Popcorn + Wine Pairing, and 6 + 6 Tasting.

Our tasting included the following food bites:

• Olive oil poached carrots on a cracker
• Fresh popcorn with lemon salt and sea salt
• Cheese and charcuterie board
• Olive oil flight with Infused Estate Herb Salts -- this was interesting as they brought seven or eight different salts with olive oil and bread. We were able to taste all the salts and combine them to see our favorites. I love salt! The lemon salt and rosemary salt were excellent!
• Goat cheese and cranberry relish on a crostini -- this was not my favorite as I don't really like goat cheese but it was inhaled by the other three in the group!
• In-house made organic chocolates

The wines we tasted included the following:

• 2018 Gabrielle Collection Napa Valley Rosé d'Été (Rosé of Cabernet Sauvignon)
• 2014 Pietro Family Cellars Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc
• 2016 Pietro Family Cellars Oak Knoll District Chardonnay
• 2014 Gabrielle Collection Oak Knoll District Cabernet Sauvignon
• 2014 Gabrielle Collection Napa Valley Juxtaposition Cabernet Sauvignon
• 2014 Gabrielle Collection Napa Valley Cask 321 Cabernet Sauvignon

What an interesting experience! The tasting boutique is small, so make a reservation if you intend to go there. The noise was a clear sign that everyone was having a great time. We saw people being turned away, and it was late afternoon.

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We planned to have dinner at Gran Electrica that evening. However, since we had been eating non-stop since arriving early afternoon at The Oxbow Market, we cancelled our reservation.

Smart people would have returned to their hotels to drink lots of water and relax. Maybe read a book or watch TV.

We, however, walked to Cadet Wine and Beer Bar. Why?  I don't know. I didn't need another drink. No one did.

However, Cadet is awesome. They have a great beer and wine list. They do not serve spirits/hard alcohol. If you're not sure what you feel like drinking, the servers will gladly help you make a selection. I enjoyed a Zinfandel from Robert Biale Vineyards -- a place that has been on my "To Visit" list for three consecutive years and we still haven't made it there!

All said and done, we were back at our hotel by 7:30 PM. 7:30PM ON A SATURDAY NIGHT. What is happening?

Thanks for reading! Cheers!