Michelangelo S.
Yelp
A Really Nice Above Average Winery On The Silverado Trail
SITREP
After a day of winetasting and lunching in the Calistoga and Yountville areas, this was our last stop before heading back to Sacramento. I say this because perhaps by comparison with Vincent Arroyo Winery and Chateau Boswell - which are outstanding wineries and full-on 5-Star establishments rated by my experience - I can't see Sinskey on the same level as them.
If my day had been only taken in, Robert Sinskey and Mumm's, then perhaps I would have given these two establishments 5-Stars. But any winery is going to suffer by comparison to Chateau Boswell especially, so there is my full disclosure.
There was (for us anyways), no touring, no docent explanation of the wine-making process, no self-guided walk, no real examination of the winery itself. It was purely a structured tasting-experience with some nice chill time to sit and look at the scenery.
THE SETUP
Since I was with my friend Jennifer H. who is a member of Robert Sinskey's wine club, we were able to do a "full flight" of winetasting with them waiving the $25 per person charge - another consideration for the amateur wine-taster: it really DOES matter who you go wine-tasting with.
THE WINES
I tend to focus on white wines, but interestingly enough, in my personal visit to this place, the whites took a back seat:
* I found their Pinot Blanc to be a bit too much on the tart and very dry side. Perhaps good qualities for most wine drinkers, but a bit too dry for me in this instance.
* Unfortunately, I had really wanted to try was the Muscat Blanc, the more sweet white wine, but I was told that was not an option available on our particular flight of wines, so maybe next time. [Though to be honest when a winery tells me "no" to anything, I tend not to return nor give the establishment a recommendation to a friend.]
What was interesting is that I was actually very taken with their reds which I normally do NOT like (reds period, not just their reds).
* Their Cabernet Savignon "SLD 2008" was rich and full-bodied and did not overpower my pallet with the tannins (which is my personal problem with red wine) - quite the opposite it was well-balanced or actually "imbalanced" in favor of a less tanniny flavor. I loved it. Jennifer purchased several bottles of this wine which retails for $242 a bottle (there is a discount for Sinskey wine club members).
* But my absolute favorite was their proprietary red "Marcien 2007 - this was very accessible for my tastebuds and a nice blend, with the hints of blackberry and dark chocolate instantly making it one I want to have again. Jennifer purchases several bottles of this wine as well which retails for $212 a bottle (there is a discount for Sinskey wine club members).
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Full on props for the wine ambassadors at Sinskey. They were exceptional, attentive and provided quality customer service. Since Jennifer was a member of their wine club, there were some exclusive privileges for our group. We got to sit on the side patio with our own private docents serving us wine, sip after sip after sip. We asked for more, they gave it to us. "Membership has it's privileges."
PHYSICAL PLANT
The Sinskey winery main building is a beautiful structure, very elegant in design, and very lavish with the stone work that marks this unique place. It has a plethora of different patios, some with absolutely beautiful views over the interior of the Napa Valley.
The interior wine bar is well-laid out and the set-up permits wine tastings for several groups simultaneously. It just means you need to have sufficient staff to man the tastings, and the slow service (because of a lack of manpower) helped make the decision to in fact move to the patio once Jennifer discovered she had this privilege, and so the tastings went more smoothly after our move.
THE BITES
Sinskey brought out a delicious food bite platter for each flight tasting for each individual. There were:
* Olives
* Roasted Nuts
* A largish sliver of muenster cheese on a toasted cracker
* A delicious cheesy poof (I really don't how else to describe this pastry treat other than a smaller more airy version of those great cheese rolls one gets at Red Lobster - sorry to be so pedestrian in my description *hangs head in shame*)
* And a delicious mini-quiche! Oh my god this was so good.
All dam delicious! Take a look!
http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/robert-sinskey-vineyards-napa?select=3bWzoJjr-z9GYpsOTVepGA#XRneBO7MRpCslGB4op39TQ
THE LOWDOWN
Though my WHITE wine experience here was mediocre at best, I took great delight in the delicious RED wine experience - which was exceptional - and an exquisite view on the Silverado Trail.