California Dreaming, Part 4 another Good, Bad, and Ugly

Trefethen Vineyards, the Good

Founders Eugene and Catherine Trefethen were ahead of their time starting their vineyard in 1968 looking forward to a philosophy of “sustainability” and growing their own grapes on their estate. Today the third generation of the family continues with the same attention to detail. I have driven by the vineyard multiple times and never visited until this trip and was pleased that I did. Frankly, their wines surprised me. I was also highly impressed with the tasting they did for us which ended up being a sit-down gourmet lunch with their best wines and well worth the cost. I ended up buying a couple of cases with no initial intent to do so which speaks to a good point. Ratings and opinions are great and can be a guide. But in the end, you should buy the wines you like and you don’t need a reason to like a bottle of wine. If you like it buy it. The variation in the number of taste buds on the human tongue goes from 500 to 10,000. Anyone can understand somebody with 500 taste buds will taste the same wine tasted by somebody with 10,000 taste buds differently. You may hate the wine and I may love it. It is OK. A cliché but truthful is don’t judge a book by its cover. The only way you can determine if a wine is good for you is to taste it. I recommend you go to Trefethen and taste their wines and do a lunch tasting.

2020 Trefethen Dry Reisling a favorite puchased a case $26/Bt

I have been having a recent love affair with Reisling. As much as I love Chardonnay I also understand the ABC(anything but Chardonnay) crowd. At some point, you need to expand your horizons and drink something different. The reality is with spicy food, Thai being one example, you cannot beat a good Reisling. And Reisling can come in many styles from sweet and a dessert wine to a dry white as an aperitif. I admit a classic German Reisling with that strong “petrol” smell and flavor doesn’t turn me on. But I have recently had some really good dry Rieslings this wine being one. It did have a very light petrol smell letting you know it was a Reisling but it was not overwhelming. The wine was tart on the taste and had lots of pear flavor. It was very balanced and a simple but well-made wine. It had a tart but pleasant mouthfeel. The winemaker describes the tastes of Mandarin Orange peel, apple, and lemon and agrees with the tart description. I like it a lot and purchased a case and that is the first case of Reisling I have purchased in decades.

2019 Trefethen Katies Acre Chardonnay $50

There was a hint of light oak and vanilla flavor on the nose as well as lots of fruit flavors including pear and apple as well as in the taste. On the taste, the oak was more moderate but not unpleasant. It went well with the food match of Red Kuri Squash puree with goat cheese complimented with a tart apple, and pumpkin seed granola.

2019 Trefethen Cabernet Franc $50

A very unique soft leather nose smell followed by a very smooth fruity taste. Oak was moderate and I didn’t particularly like it. I felt this wine clashed with the food pairing of roasted delicata squash and chicories with crispy pancetta, burrata, and toasted pecan. I am going to make an editorial comment here and by no means is this meant to be a criticism. There are different food preparation philosophy’s out there the current rage de jour is the “slow food movement” and “farm to table”. There is nothing inherently wrong with any philosophy as they all seek to improve the betterment of food and wine. I have had a philosophy for years of “no more than 5 components of any dish”. I appreciate complex flavors, but in the end, the reality is the more flavors you have the more chances they will conflict and it makes it much harder to pair a wine. I think that is what was going on in this pairing. God love her the chef was trying to be creative but in the end, the dish was too complicated and had too many flavors.

2018 Trefethen Dragon’s Tooth Cabernet $65

One of their red blends. Interestingly the nose smelled of parmesan cheese, something unique. The winemaker feels this wine is full-bodied and I felt differently thinking the wine was somewhat lightweight. It was well balanced and had plenty of fruit. It was paired with duck confit and potato croquette with garden herbs and to me, not the best food pairing.

2017 Trefethen Reserve Cabernet $115

The nose was light but complex. Mouthfeel was good and tannin and acid were well balanced. Decanter magazine has rated this wine as their best for their estate. I see nothing to disagree with that. The food pairing was good with sous vide beef short rib with Spooner rice congee and wild arugula. I think I wanted seconds on the food.

2019 Trefethen Chardonnay $38 bonus taste

On the nose, a fair amount of fruit and smells of apple and vanilla and a fair amount of oak.  These flavors persisted in the taste and again somewhat overoaked.  I did not feel it was as balanced as some of the others.

2020 Trefethen Sauvingnon Blanc $30 bonus taste

A light nose.  On the taste very crisp and a lot of tart pucker up fruit.  I tasted granny smith apple flavor and again quite a tart taste profile.  A nice Sauvignon Blanc with more of an apple flavor than say the usual grapefruit.

2020 Trefethen Quandry $25/Bt bonus taste favorite purchased a case

A huge surprise. A terrific value quality-price ratio wine. You cannot beat the quality for the price. Everyone loved the wine. A nice light nose with tart flavors of apple and pear. On the taste, a good acid background makes it very food-friendly. It is a white blend made with 3 of my favorite white grapes, Riesling, Viognier, and Chardonnay. Lots of fruit flavors and some honey and lemon zest. A nice rounded mouthfeel and a clean and bright long finish. Will be an ideal summer picnic, patio, or poolside sipping wine and will pair wonderfully with seafood and poultry. 13.5% alcohol, Think summer fried chicken!

Frank Family, The Bad

Nobody makes bad wine anymore. Winemakers and owners don’t spend millions of dollars and years of time figuring out how they can make bad wine. They spend their time and money trying to make the next 100 point blockbuster. Sometimes they succeed. A lot of times they don’t. And in the end, it really boils down to style and being able to control what they in fact can control. Frank family has a long history of winemaking and lots of people love their wines. I have never been a big fan in the past so I agreed to do a tasting there with an open mind understanding things change over time and maybe they would be the greatest wines I tasted this trip. Sadly I have to report that did not happen. I again emphasize it more an issue of style rather than quality.

Lady Edison Reserve Brut $110

Started out with their sparkling wine. Is all Chardonnay. To me, it was not that dry as I tasted some sweetness and residual sugar. To me, it had a higher concentration of carbonation which for me is a plus. On the taste, I tasted a fair amount of pear and the finish was nice. It sort of grew on you as you tasted it. But for me, the price was too high for what you were getting.

2018 Lewis Chardonnay

Not to be confused with Lewis Family wines a totally different animal.  I did not like this wine. The nose was not particularly pleasant. It was a typical California overoaked Chardonnay that overwhelmed the wine and in addition, again it had some sweetness to it indicating a higher residual sugar load. There really was no complexity here. My opinion is these grapes were harvested way too early and had not matured enough to make a bottle of better wine.

2018 RHF Cabernet

Had a cheery nose and taste but was not balanced well. I know some like the style in that it was “jammy” but to me that made it smell and taste more like cough syrup than a good wine. Just not for me.

2017 Winston Cabernet

A lot of tannin here. It will definitely age for a long time. Smelled and tasted like a typical California Cab. The vineyard is at the southern portion of Calistoga to the east of Highway 29 and lays in the valley. So it does not have complexity as say vineyards further north and upon the mountains would have.

2017 Patriarch Cabernet

A lot of unbalanced alcohol and tannin here and not yet approachable. Needs a lot of time to develop.

Peju Vineyards The Ugly  

Rutherford wines are fairly distinctive and have what is called the “Rutherford” dust. Most Master Sommeliers would be able to spot a Rutherford Cabernet without any effort. Our friends recommended Peju as they had been before and liked the wines. So again with an open mind, we checked them out. They are right in the middle of the Rutherford area next door to St. Supery just off Highway 29.  Oops, not what we expected and not in a good way. To begin with a corporate presentation with enthusiastic young salespeople telling you over and over again 100 times in 10 minutes these are great, great wines trying to implant into your brain with brainwashing these are great wines. Pretty much a pump and dump strategy. Other than their sweet dessert wine which was quite good nothing stood out as something we would want to buy.

2017 Sparkling Blanc de Noirs

Very sorry but not impressed at all. The nose smelled like dishwasher soap and we did discuss maybe they did not rinse out the glasses well enough after washing them and if that was the case then they don’t pay attention to detail and if they don’t do it in the tasting room most likely they don’t pay attention in the vineyard or production facility either.

NV Province Blanc de Noir

This is a Chardonnay Pinot Noir Sparkler. It color was somewhat strange. I called it a “dark” rose color. It was pretty disjointed with no balance at all. Technically seemed to be poorly made. Again my thought is maybe harvested before the grapes were actually mature.

2018 Piccolo

Another wine with what seemed to be a “funky” color or off-color. Good fruit on this one with a cherry nose and taste. Some tannins but again not well balanced and not impressive

2020 Sauvignon Blanc

Made one simple statement, not impressed.

2017 Rutherford Stained Glass Series

Finally a better wine. It is one of their top wines. Had a good tannic structure and solid fruit with better balanced. A fairly high alcohol concentration made the wine taste a little stringent. Better but still not anything I would buy.

2019 Calmere Chardonnay

An overoaked wine with fair fruit. But nothing I would buy.

2014 Merlot Meritage

Another good wine they should maybe push a little more. Had a nice cherry nose and I also tasted licorice well. Overall I would say a good wine

Sweet Orange Muscat was the best wine for me and I purchased one bottle to drink down the road.

California Dreaming, Part 3 Strala, Ellman, and Neiman Vineyards

Strala Vineyards(www.stralavineyards.com)

Founded by Jason and Laura Ray they concentrate on small production wines with vineyards managed by Jason. They have a good portfolio of good wines at reasonable prices and overall we were very happy with our tasting and recommend them to you.  In honor of upcoming Veterans Day, the Vineyard gave me an additional Veterans discount and I thank the vineyard for recognizing Veterans.

2018 Strala Brut Rose Napa Valley A favorite and I purchased 6 bottles for $60/Bt

I just don’t drink alcohol in the morning. Decades ago while attending a week-long bachelor party for a friend we would get up every morning and start drinking beer at 8 AM. I can assure you it never ended well and I learned my lesson. So suffice it to say when I was presented with a glass of sparkling Rose at 8 AM I was not really thrilled to start tasting that early. But I am glad I did. I was shocked at the quality of this Sparkler especially given the early hour. It was an outstanding sparkling Rose better than most that I have tasted in the past. It had a wonderful toasty fruity nose followed by a balanced flavor profile and a nice finish. There was nothing off in this wine and it was well made. It was one that made my favorites list

2019 Strala Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley Purchased 6 bottles $35

Clark and I don’t buy nor drink many Sauvignon Blancs as we find them somewhat overdone with acid and harsh and just not our style. But we were very impressed with this one. There was a tart fruit smell on the nose but not overbearing and pleasant. What sold us was the acid was very well balanced with everything else and was not overwhelming as others we have had. There was a nice subdued tart lemon flavor as opposed to grapefruit that you usually see with Sauvignon blanc. This wine had a very good finish that was also pleasant. One of the few Sauvignon Blancs I have purchased.

2019 Strala ChardonnayNapa Valley $50

It’s not a bad wine but it didn’t make it onto my favorites list. There was a fair amount of oak on the nose that carried over to the flavor and was minimally bitter and “overoaked” but it was there. It is aged 40% French Oak but the American Oak seems to predominate. It just is not my style and I prefer other Chardonnays.

2017 Strala Pinot Noir Napa Valley $65

Comes from vineyards in Carneros. Very typical California Pinot with a predominant cherry fruit on the nose. Lots of cheery fruit taste also. I did not find it particularly complex or compelling as it clearly is a good example of a basic Napa Pinot and has no French Pinot characteristics.

2017 Proprietary Red Wine Napa Valley $55

The makeup is 40% Zinfandel, 30% Merlot, 30% Cabernet, and 10% Petite Sirah, a unique blend. It turned out to be a pleasant complex wine. It had a lot of licorice flavor along with bacon fat that I really do not recall being in the flavor profile of many red wines. In my opinion, this would be a perfect wine with a BLT. I recommend it as a well-made wine with an interesting flavor profile.

2018 Strala Napa Valley Cabernet 100% Cabernet $85

Regrettably, I could not recommend this wine. I just didn’t like it. It is supposed to come from an area near Pritchard Hill which in my experience has nothing but outstanding Cabs, just no this one. It had a cough syrup smell and taste to it as well as no balance. You cannot win them all.

2018 Strala Reserve Cabernet $150

From the Sleeping Lady Vineyard located in the Upper Range of Pritchard Hill. It is an up-and-coming vineyard we heard a fair amount about. It was in fact much better than the regular Cab with a more complex nose and flavor profile and much better balanced. I did not buy any but it is a good wine.

2018 Montagna Pritchard Hill Cabernet Purchased 2 bottles $250

It is a tight young wine but impressive in its balance and finesse. I smelled lemon in the nose, quite unusual for a Cabernet. I really have not had any Pritchard Hill wines that I have not been very impressed with. I purchased a couple of bottles even at the high price as I felt the wine was worth it.

Ellman Family vineyards(elllmanfamilyvineyards.com)

A small family operation with exceptional wines and a commitment to great wines.  They are a third-generation wine family believing in tradition and taking pride in cultivating a quality wine operation that has been in the family for almost three-quarters of a century.  They started years ago as vintners in Napa Valley and their team includes winemaker Andy Erickson and manager Mike Wolf. 

2018 Brothers Blend Cabernet Purchased 6 Bottles $95 93RP

Started out with a light spicy nose flavor. Very nice velvet mouthfeel. Lots of dark chocolate taste. Felt it would go well with a cheese course. Is 95% Cabernet and 4% Merlot? Have already drunk one bottle for dinner and went very well with a hamburger and fries.

2020 Caryn Renae Sauvingnon Blanc $65

My first thought was pizza, pizza, pizza. It seemed to smell initially like a nice pizza for some reason? There was a good pear flavor profile and a fair amount of residual sugar giving it some sweet taste. I felt it leaned toward being like a sweet Reisling character. It was a good wine but not the kind of Sauvignon blanc I would favor.

2014 Jemma(1.5L) Cabernet $350

Served from magnum to show how well these wines age. It did in fact show good aging. The nose was complex and smelled of a fine leather. The tannins were soft and velvety and the wine was well balanced. I felt it would continue to age and improve for at least 20 years.

2018 Jemma Cabernet $150

Onto its younger cousin, the 2018 again presented with a complex nose and flavor profile this time with cigar box primarily. Again a nice velvet mouthfeel and a good finish. Lots of young tannins but still smooth and well balanced. An excellent acid backbone makes it very food-friendly. As 2014 has demonstrated it will age and evolve in bottles for decades.

2018 The Estate Cabernet $195 94RP

A very young tight Cabernet. The nose was soft not much there but on the flavor, the tannin was very strong and had a licorice taste. It will have great aging potential. It had a nice finish. Made with 60% new French oak and 40% aged French oak-aged for 3 years. An interesting oak profile.

2018 Elaine Cabernet $250

To compare to the Estate Cabernet this one is 100% new French oak. You really couldn’t appreciate the oak much on this one as the alcohol imprint was high. It had 14.8% alcohol and you could smell it on the nose. The taste was a tight cigar flavor and my main comment was the wine was very very young. This family clearly is making age-worth wines so I would not be surprised if this one last 50-75 years without and problem.

Neiman Cellars Drew Neiman Winemaker

It was one of the highlights of our trip to meet Drew Neiman. Somehow related to Leroy Neiman maybe, his main claim to fame is he was the assistant winemaker under John Konnsgarud for 12 years and for all intents and purposes was making the wines that Clark and I have loved for over a decade and had an extremely hard time buying any. What a joy to meet him and when we first tasted his 2016 chardonnay our first thought was wow, It’s the high-quality wine and style we love. Turns out his mentor John Konnsgaurd originally worked at Newton and “invented” Newton unoaked chardonnay. Drew also worked in the past at Wente Vineyards. He is a very gracious host and he also has a strong opinion on pairing his wines particularly with cheese so in addition to our wine tasting we had a cheese tasting also. He recommends Culture Cheese Magazine(https://culturecheesemag.com) as a great reference. If you are in NYC Drew recommends a visit to Murray’s Cheese( https://www.murrayscheese.com). You can contact Drew at drew@neimancellars.com.

2016 Neiman Chardonnay My favorite wine of the trip purchased 2 cases for $85/Bt

In a word spectacular and spiritual. Soft hints of on the nose and taste, perfect balance and acidity, a minimal hint of oak if at all. Lots of pear and lemon fruit. The alcohol is high but not noticeable and it dissipates. More than once winemakers told me if the grapes are good and the wine is balanced you will not notice the wine being too high in alcohol nor overoaked. Classic old-world style to me with plenty of terroir and mineral backbone. Just a class act wine. So good me and Robert purchased 6 cases together and begged to be included on his yearly allocation list. Drew paired it with Tom D’crayion cow cheese from Savoie. I also understood him to say the grapes for this wine come from the Hudson Vineyard where more than one winemaker makes Chardonnay, Kistler for one.

2016 Neiman Red Wine $150

This wine has 55% cabernet from Pritchard Hill and 45% Cabernet Franc. Grapes come from the Cauldwell Vineyard. The wine was young and tight but well balanced. If you like Cabernet Franc this would a wine for you.

2018 The Fallen Red Wine $175

Starts off with a spicy aromatic nose. 70% of the grapes come from Sleeping Lady Vineyard and 39% is Cabernet Franc from again the Cauldwell vineyard. It was a very balanced pleasant wine with great structure and balance. It was one wine that during the tasting I ended up drinking all of it it was so good.

2016 Neiman Syrah $65

Lots of fruit on the nose with hints of caramel as well in the taste. A tight young concentrated wine. All the grapes come from the Cauldwell vineyard. The wine paired beautifully with a goat gouda cheese. Will age well and tannins and acidity were perfectly balanced. A very good Syrah.

California Dreamin, The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, Part 2 Del Dotto Barrel Tastings led by Dave Del Dotto

As I get going in writing about all of these tastings it has become quickly clear that it will take more than 2 parts to write all of this down.  So I dedicate Part 2 to Dave Del Dotto alone.  Dave the master himself took us into the barrel room and showcased his greatest wines.  There is no question Dave is obsessed and passionate about making the greatest wines possible and combining them with an elegant and wonderful lifestyle matched with the best food.  It is a delight to hear Dave's stories about his wines told in his opulently designed and decorated caves.  It just does not get any better. 

2019 Piazza Reserve Cabernet

There is lots of fruit on the nose that I described as Welch's fruit juice. The wine was young and the tannins were moderate. I also noted the tannins were soft. Overall the wine was balanced and had a nice moderate finish. To me an excellent well made wine.

2019 St Helena U Stave Cabernet Block 2

This is the sister of the same grapes in another barrel and what separates the two is this one has 100% American Oak and its sister has 100% French Oak, In this wine, the nose was a little less pronounced and what I would call “tight” but there was plenty of fruit expression. To me, the tannins were not well developed and were bitter. I didn’t think this was one of Dave’s better-balanced wines. I am biased in that I don’t particularly like American Oak so I did consider that but overall I have had much better wines from Dave.

2019 St. Helena Treuilterrior Cabernet

The sister to one above is made with French Oak. A much better wine in my estimation. Nice fairly complex nose with lots of spice and fruit. The tannins were again young and again bitter but less than the American oak one. Overall it was better than the American Oak one but again I have seen better but I suspect this one will age out the tannins better.

2020 Vineyard 887 Cabernet

It is unknown if this wine will be released but it tells a story and serves as a good example of judging wines. This wine came from an area affected by the recent fires in wine country. Every winemaker is deathly afraid that the fire and smoke ruined their grapes and they won’t be able to make wine. Some winemakers actually destroyed the grapes on that assumption. Dave decided to do a little experiment and went ahead and made wine from the “fire grapes” to see what might happen and he might yet release this wine. Tasting out of the barrel is was a great wine. Balanced, fruity, and no hint of smoke or fire damage. There are multiple factors that will determine if a fire damages a particular vineyard so congratulations to Dave for waiting and we will see what happens. One problem is even if he makes and releases the wine it will have no resale value and future buyers will only remember it was from a “fire” year and therefore tainted somehow.

2019 Oakville Taransard French Oak Cabernet

This cab was made in 100% French oak from a specific barrel maker from France. It had a nice complex spicy nose and the body, tannins, acid were smooth with a velvet mouthfeel and nice overall balance. I could detect bunches of spice and more specifically cedar.

2019 Oakville U-Stave American Oak Cabernet

OK, here we go again with the sister analogy. This wine is from the same grapes as the Taransard Oak Cab but again made with 100% American Oak. For whatever reason, this American Oak Cab from Dave was much better with better balance and complexity of flavor. Lots of fruit-forward in the nose and taste and young but again very smooth and pleasing. In this wine, I detected a nice bit of cinnamon present.

2019 “The Beast” Cabernet purchased single cluster magnum 1.5L $900 A favorite

Dave Del Dotto’s most famous wines. I have lost track of how many have achieved 100 point status but plenty. 2019 should prove to be no exception. It is a blend of all of Dave's best wines. It is extremely well balanced with lots of fruit and smooth tannin. A nice complex canopy of tastes including cinnamon and cigar. A great wine.

2019 Howell Moutain Cabernet purchased 3 bottles $250 per bottle

A nice sweet fruity nose again made with 100% French Oak. Though young the tannins are soft and well balanced with acid. A nice smooth mouthfeel and a smooth nice long finish. I have always preferred Mountain Cabs to the valley ones and I do feel Dave makes some of the best Mountain Cabs and I recommend them.

2019 Villa Del Lago Cabernet near Pritchard Mountain or Hill near Colgin Vineyards Purchased 3 bottles $350 per bottle A favorite

It may be due to my bias regarding liking Mountain cabs generally and Pritchard Hill cabs specifically but this wine was the greatest one I personally have tasted at Del Dotto. It is a stunner. A truly wonderful velvet mouth feel with balanced fruit, acid, and taste. Almost a spiritual wine and perfectly made from a technical aspect.

2019 Rose Sparkling Wine Piazza Del Dotto purchased 27 bottles for $52 per bottle

 

I have lost track of how many bottles of this sparkler I have purchased and I continue to buy and drink it in high numbers. It is a well-balanced sparkler with lots of fruit and toast on the nose and a great flavor profile with pear, apple, and fruit. The finish is long. It rates as a favorite.

2019 Chardonnay Fort Ross-Seaview Sonoma Coast purchased 3 bottles for $85 per bottle

 

The Fort Ross-Seaview area is actually pretty much on the Pacific Coast adjacent to the Sonoma area.  There have been quite a few new Chardonnay's from the area and so far I have liked them all.  I particularly like Dave's Chardonnay's including this one as they are well balanced with a good fruit profile in the nose and taste of apple and pear.  This one had some Granny Smith Apple flavor to me.  The oak is well balanced and the finish is prolonged.  I recommend it.

Overall a great barrel tasting at Del Dotto led by the master himself in his opulent and magnificent caves. I highly recommend it be on your bucket list when visiting Napa. Other than his American Oak wines which in of themselves are good his wines continue to be outstanding and worth the time, effort, and price to obtain and drink them. I certainly purchased my fair share there. Dave told us an interesting story where a lover of his wines and buyer stayed at the vineyard almost an entire day attempting to purchase every bottle of wine in Dave’s inventory. Dave couldn’t get rid of the guy who would not take no for an answer. He sold him a large selection of wines but as Dave told him he had to have enough wine around to sell to his other buyers and it really would not be fair to sell one person all of his wine.

California Dreaming, The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly Part 1

We have now returned from an epic almost 3 week trip to both southern and northern California with visits to Newport Beach, San Francisco, and Napa Valley. So many miles and so little time. After dozens of restaurants, over 14 wineries and retail outlets, and tasting over 90 wines we are exhausted. But somebody has to do it. My report will be in multiple parts and extensive. Part one is here discussing the bad and ugly parts of the trip. Part 2 will include wine, vineyard, retail outlet, and restaurant reviews. Please enjoy.

California Covid Restrictions The bad

Covid restrictions in California for most of us would be considered draconian. There is a person at every restaurant door checking immunization records and you basically are required to wear a mask everywhere unless you are outdoors away from everyone. Anywhere else there would be an uproar over these restrictions. But in California, everyone seems to peacefully go along with them. But the bottom line do these restrictions actually do any good? I hear all the controversy but I really have not heard much about how well they work if at all.  The information is out there, you just have to look for it. Worldmeter to me has the best nonpartisan data and here it is. California has had the highest number of Covid cases but they also have the largest population. In order to compare apples to apples you need to compare similar numbers and most statisticians look at total numbers per 1 million of the population. California has had 12.34% of its population infected with Covid. 26.98% of the total population has received at least one Covid test and 1.8% of the population/per million have died from Covid. Texas has had more cases 14.77% of the population, 15.97% tested, and 2.5% died. Florida has had 17.30% of the population infected, 19.87% tested, and 2.8% died. My conclusion can only be California’s restrictions are helping. Florida, despite a few more tests as compared to Texas still has the highest number of cases and deaths. Yes, it is only a 1% larger number which is 10,000 people per million population. If you are one of those 10,000 out of one million it is 100% for you. There is the cost/benefit calculation of course and many would argue you have to take the 10,000 deaths to prevent the collapse of the economy and to many, that is a valid argument. Airlines make that argument daily. The fact is airplanes could be built so that a large majority of passengers would survive almost any airplane crash. But the cost of that would make ticket prices so high no one could afford to fly. So the airlines accept they cannot save everyone. I don’t like wearing a mask all the time. But the reality is that it doesn’t harm me as a physician I have worn one for a large part of my career and it’s something simple that in California at least has saved approximately 10,000 lives per 1 million citizens.

Covid or no Covid everywhere we went was very crowded. In fact, in Napa, it was the most crowded I have ever seen in over 30 years. Everywhere we went there was significant waiting and if you did not have very advanced reservations you simply did not get in. This applied to hotels, restaurants, and winery tastings. Along with crowds was traffic. At the restaurants due to covid, there were additional restrictions and limitations. Yank Sing is one of my favorite Chinese restaurants in the world primarily because of their Dim Sum that features Peking Duck. Not anymore. You sat at a table ordered off a severely limited menu that only provided about a dozen choices and no more Peking Duck. It was very disappointing. We used Uber/Lyft a lot and in San Francisco had little to no trouble. But the prices were close to double what we are used to paying. But it is still a bargain as it is no fun to fight traffic, especially in San Francisco, and then park somewhere where the cost can be something like $10 for every 20 minutes. You can find cheaper parking but many times it was blocks away from where you were going. Uber/Lyft was available in Napa but much less. At least one evening to go to dinner there were no drivers anywhere. Thankfully we had an SUV so we were OK so my recommendation is to rent a vehicle to get to the airport and back but use Uber/Lyft in town. We also used, and highly recommend a guide/driver/vineyard consultant to drive you around Napa and introduce you to the vineyards. You will obtain access to vineyards no one else can get into and have a much better tasting-experience. We used Eric Tracy of "Vine View"(707-337-3056, eric@vineviewtours.com, and vineviewtours.com), and were very happy with his services. He took us everywhere, introduced us to great people, and provided invaluable insight into the area. One of our group even used him for airport transfer at 5 AM to SFO. In France, guides/agents are mandatory in my experience. The usual cost is approximately $1000 a day but that includes a car, driver, and 6 people who split the cost and make it much more affordable(does not include tasting fees). For the most part in Napa, there is no more driving up and tasting some wine and leaving. Every vineyard we looked into even the old established ones required appointments and a tasting fee to taste wine. Dependent on the vineyard the tasting fee ranges from $25 per person to $120. In our case, the average was $100 per person. Some, but not all, refund the tasting fee if you buy wine with anywhere from 3 bottles to one case purchased per person to waive the tasting fee. Be sure and inquire in advance. We ended up purchasing around 20 cases so, in the end, it was not an issue for us. Of interest, one winemaker told us they had looked into what “free” tastings were costing them, and in the year prior to Covid they had used over 2400 cases in their tastings which was lost revenue, and with Covid and the money they lost through lost sales at the vineyard they could no longer afford to give away 2400 cases of wine each year.

California Homelessness the ugly

The entire 2 weeks we were in California we saw almost no homeless people on the street. But we were in the better parts of town until the last day. On the last day, we ventured out and yes we saw a fair number of “tent cities” lined up along the sidewalks in parts of the city. It was concentrated in certain areas. I witnessed one lady relieving herself on the street. My first thought was how she had lost all sense of dignity and wondered how that could happen. I do not know her whole entire life story so I have no way to judge how she got there. What I do know is that a good proportion of the homeless is veterans many of which have severe PTSD. From some work with the American Legion, I know that veteran organizations can help these people and find placement for them, but they do need their cooperation. Too many times homeless people reject help as they don’t want to be told when to go to sleep or when or where they can smoke cigarettes and they argue it is their right to do what they want in the name of freedom. Something in there needs to be compromised. I do believe we need to understand that it is as much a factor of California’s high population, mild weather year-round, and lack of affordable housing that helps perpetuate homelessness as opposed to Government oversight or programs that most would agree might make the situation worse instead of better.