When Carol and I first came to the Napa Valley in 1975 it wasn’t for the wine.
In fact what we thought went with red wine was 7up. We called them “wine coolers.”
Which red wine wasn’t important, it was Cribaria or as likely Gallo Hearty Burgundy. The agent which made the drink palatable was the 7up. Lot’s of 7up.
Our generation had been raised on Coca Cola, so when we began to drink alcohol, Rum or Vodka were the firewater of choice. An unfortunate encounter with too much orange juice and vodka put me off “screw drivers” forever.
Beazley House now has a full wine list.
Our wine education began, as nearly all things have, due to our dear Beazley House guests. It is not a heroic story full of the nobility of the hunt, but rather more like those lesser beasts who finish up after the lions have had their fill.
A group of business guests took over the inn and ordered “the best Napa Valley wine we could buy for $15 a bottle.” In 1981 $15 a bottle was an extravagant sum. WE had never spent such a fortune on a single bottle, but we had just been introduced to Clos du Val vineyards. THEY had a Frenchman producing fine wines who supported Chamber Music Napa Valley. We knew their wines were good, real good. So we bought 8 bottles at just under the $15 per bottle limit and placed them in our rooms.
The next morning, after the guests had left, lo and behold ONE guest had left behind just under half his bottle, uncorked and lonely. He had appeared healthy,”like he’d had all his shots”, as we say in our family, so we tried the now nicely aired cabernet.
Instantly we tasted liquid ENLIGHTENMENT! So THIS is what good wine tastes like! No more would we wonder why wine lovers purred over perfect reds.
We've come a long way in 30 years...you'll be able to drink up our experience.
We had begun our evolutionary journey out of the primordial swamp of bad wine toward the promised land: Napa Valley. We were saved.
Today we introduce our guests to the best wines Napa Valley has to offer at Vintner-poured wine tastings each Friday and Saturday night. What fun to watch the faces of the new guests as they discover how GOOD really fine wine can taste.
Frequently the wines will be from small vintners offering very limited production. These are the hidden gems known only to locals and wine snobs. They won’t be found anywhere else but our inn and their winery. All of them will be places our guests will enjoy visiting the next day.
And our wine tastings are always accompanied by hors d’ oeuvres which compliment the wines. A complete experience.
