Download Wine For Mac Yosemite
Toni Jarels
Yosemite Wine Tails is a dog-friendly wine bar located on Highway 41, the main road to Yosemite National Park. We offer $5.00 wine tastings, as well as wine by the glass and by the bottle. Visit our gift section for dog and wine lovers, including treats for your furry one!
From Yosemite we drove into the wine country north east of San Francisco. Arriving at mid-day we ate at Don Giovanni's just north of Nappa, which we'd read about as doing great food. It was very busy and we just managed to get one of the bar tables. Very popular with the "in" crowd - it's obvious we're left behind the wilderness and are close to the city! The food was indeed excellent, we both had Margherita pizzas with a glass of the house Cabernet.
The area has a perfect temperate climate for growing grapes, many of the valleys experiencing cooling effects from the sea. The region was first planted in the 18th century, but most of the early plantings were destroyed by phylloxera in the 1890s, and prohibition also took its toll. Vineyards were grubbed up to be replaced by fruit and nut trees. When Prohibition was repealed in 1933 it was a long slow road to producing good wines in decent quantities. Things took off when, in 1976 in a blind-tasting in Paris, a Californian Cabernet Sauvignon beat a number of high quality French Bordeaux.
In the afternoon our first winery was Mumm - I being the lucky one not driving so got to try the flight of three sparkling wines ($16.55 for the flight). Andrew tasted each one too, though. They were a blanc de blancs, brut and pink blanc de blancs. Blanc de blancs a clear favourite but all lost their bubbles and fizz very quickly so we decided not to buy. Free red grape cabernet juice for the driver is a nice touch. We'd heard they had an Ansel Adams exhibition here but it was temporarily in China which was a bit disappointing.
Healdsburg is a nice spot and well-placed for visiting the wine regions, though Napa and Sonoma are in parallel valleys and routes between the two are limited. We visited the small farmers' market on the Saturday morning before heading off to Cornerstone Gardens in Sonoma. These are a series of garden "installations", like a mini-Chelsea, ranging from soft cottage garden style to hard plastic with no plants! Many are very odd, some are just fun, and one or two are beautiful.
Buena Vista is the oldest winery in the region and they have tasting on the ground floor of the original winery with historical exhibits upstairs. I was the designated driver for this one so only sipped at the wines Andrew was tasting ($10 fee), but again nothing very exciting. You don't get to see much of the winery either.
Ferrari Carano, north of Healdsburg, is easily the best winery we visited in the region, both for the wine and its grounds. We tried four different wines each here ($15 tasting fee for four selections): two chardonnays, a merlot, a zinfandel, a fumé blanc, a Siena and two cabernet sauvignons. All were good and the merlot was excellent.
Leaving Healdsburg heading for the northern California coast, we dropped in at the Roederer Estate for a final tasting. This is located in the northern end of the Anderson Valley and has been producing wines here since 1988. They grow only Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes to make classic Roederer wines. We were the first customers of the day for the two friendly servers in the elegant tasting room. We tasted Brut, Brut Prestige, Extra Dry, Rosé, Chardonnay and Pinot. We both thought the Extra Dry was the best and bought a bottle - curiously on her tasting notes for this wine our server noticed that it said "for England". A perfect way to finish our California wine tasting.
- The Madera Wine Trail is 51 miles of delicious wine tasting
- Not far from Yosemite National Park and a real break from sightseeing
- November is the best season to visit
- Enjoy the Fait Accompli wine of Westbrook Wine Farm
- Take part in the annual grape stomp at Mariposa Wine Company
From Yosemite, you can reach the Madera California wineries by taking Wawona Road out of the park, heading south on California Highway 41. The first winery is in Oakhurst, and here you can pick up a brochure on the trail and pay for your wine pass.
Madera Wine Trail California stretches along Highway 41 and turns north on California Highway 99. The time it takes to travel this route varies depending on the number of wineries you visit along the way. The trail is approximately 51 miles long from beginning to end.
Visiting these wineries allows the visitor to enjoy varied wine tasting experiences, as well as buying chosen favorites, trying special food delicacies and on special occasions, relaxing to live music or being entertained by incredible works of local art.
If Wine Tasting fees are required at the wineries they are on us. Most wineries charge a wine tasting fee between $5 and $10 but when wine touring with us it is included in our price. Normally you would pay those to each winery you visit before you taste what they are pouring, anywhere from $5 to $10 (or, sometimes free). Don't worry about any extra costs for tasting with us!
As a Tour Operator, we have insider knowledge and established relationships with the wineries to maximize your wine tasting experience. Why not enjoy a VIP experience? It's so much more enjoyable to learn a little and be entertained as you enjoy tasting wine.
Let us personalize the tour for your group as much as possible. Learn about what makes each winery special, and what they are known for by reputation. Our Driver Guides are experienced in learning which other wineries you might enjoy based on your feedback.
Unlike some tour companies, we do not take commissions from wineries for bringing you to certain ones. Our emphasis is on making the best possible experience for you and your group. Enjoy the confidence knowing we are looking after your interests.
Whether you're traveling on your own or as part of a group, expect to have a memorable and remarkable time! Be prepared to buy the wines you like on the tour, enjoy the ride, and have a good time with your friends and family.
A one-day trip that encompasses several wineries in Napa Valley or Sonoma California is quite expensive, while a two-week excursion through Bordeaux, France, will be in the thousands. Even within one Tour Company you'll find variable prices. Some companies provide van transportation and shuttle groups of 15 or more from vineyard to vineyard. They may also work with intimate groups where transportation is a limo, horse-drawn carriage or hot air balloon. Just like elsewhere, here in the Central Valley, we can personalize your experience to make it as exotic as you'd like. You can choose a group tour or private tour.
The 1944 Inglenook Cabernet Sauvignon Classic Claret is absolute perfection, with a gorgeous deep color, only faintly amber at the rim and a great intense perfume of cedar, some spice, cassis and berry. Lush, even opulent on the palate, perfectly balanced. Great, complex cedar-tinged flavor. Sweet and rounded, with a long lasting finish. And amazingly, the wine held in the glass for over an hour, with no sign of decline.
For the Bracebridge Dinner, corkage was $35 per bottle and the wine service, as always, was impeccable. The wines are presented to the sommelier the afternoon of the dinner and presented uncorked at the table at the time of the dinner.
Prior to visiting Oakhurst, I had no idea there were so many wineries in Madera, California. As a frequent Anderson Valley, Healdsburg and Sonoma County wine taster, I reveled in the unique varietals and innovative winemakers on the Madera Wine Trail and Yosemite Sierra Wine Road.
We relished tasting and pairing Tannat, Tempranillo and Vin Rouge, a delicious blend of Petit Verdot, Tempranillo and Petite Syrah and a late harvest Viognier, with a cheese and charcuterie plate. The carbonated grapes on the cheese plate are a delightful surprise. The late harvest Viognier dessert wine is on point as well.
As an indicator of how much we like his wines, we bought a case on our first visit and four cases on our second visit! Westbrook wines have been deservedly recognized with awards from Wine Enthusiast and Sunset International Wine competition.
FUN FACT: Did you know that wax protects a cork, preventing the cork from oxidizing? Since corks are only good for 15 years, wines need to be re-corked every 15 years.
TOP TIP: To remove the wax covering on the Fait Accompli or any other wine, run the bottle under hot water for one minute. The wax will come off like butter when you work a blade around the bottle. This helpful tip from Ray will save us lots of future frustration!
Our two other favorites are: the Museum, which includes nine different clones of Cabernet Sauvignon, and Malmsey Dearest, a dessert wine made from Malvasia Bianca. This delightful sweet wine has a roasted carmelized pecan character. Since our friends have loved this one so much, we bought a case from Ray during our second visit.
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From our humble beginnings, the hallmark of our company has been an unwavering commitment to quality. By taking the utmost care through each and every step of the grape growing and winemaking process, we are able to consistently deliver world-class wines, spirits, and other alcoholic beverages for every occasion. Today we are recognized as one of the leading global producers of these products, both in the art of grape growing and wine and spirits making and also in the distribution and marketing of these products in more than 100 countries around the globe.
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