Happy 25th! The 2015 Mt Veeder Wine Tasting

Mount Veeder Appellation Wine Tasting PostcardMark your calendars because the Mount Veeder Appellation Council celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Mount Veeder AVA during their annual Mount Veeder Appellation Wine Tasting on Saturday, September 19. Don’t miss this opportunity to taste and enjoy wines from 25 Mount Veeder wineries, several of which are not normally open to the public, all gathered at The Hess Collection (4411 Redwood Road, Napa).

On the southwestern side of Napa Valley, Mount Veeder is an appellation where richly intense, age-worthy wines have been produced since the 1860’s. The white wines grown here display luscious stone fruit, hints of citrus, and herbal aromas and flavors.  Mount Veeder red wines typically exhibit dark fruit flavors of blackberry or raspberry, sweet herbal notes and deep stony minerality with forest flora aromatics.

Mount Veeder Appellation Wine Tasting

Mount Veeder Appellation Wine Tasting

General Admission is $100 per person but if you move quickly you may still be able to purchase Special Advance tickets for $75 each. Between 1:00 pm and 4:00 pm that Saturday, the Mount Veeder Appellation Wine Tasting will celebrate the amazing wines from this appellation accompanied by small bites, live music and raffle prizes.

For more details, and to purchase tickets, please go here.  Tickets at the door will be priced at $125 per person, but the event is likely to sell out so you should just follow the link above and buy your tickets now.

Fontanella Family Winery

Fontanella Family Winery

Participants in the Mount Veeder Appellation Wine Tasting include wineries both big and small, with experience all the way up to 40 years in the business. Some of the wineries pouring will be Chateau Potelle, Fontanella Family Winery, Godspeed Vineyards, The Hess Collection, Lagier Meredith, Marketta Winery, Mithra Winery, Mount Veeder Winery, O’Shaughnessy Estate Winery, Progeny, Robert Craig Winery, Rubissow Wines, Vinoce, Y Rousseau Wines and Yates Family Vineyard.

Caprese Skewers

Caprese Skewers

In addition to the great wine, a major attraction of this annual event is the food, prepared by Hess Collection Executive Chef Chad Hendrickson for attendees to enjoy between sips.  Last year, guests’ choices included Charcuterie, Nuts, Cheeses, Radishes with Sea Salt, Caprese Skewers, Grilled Figs, and Smoked Chicken Bruschetta.   There were also Oatmeal Cookies and Chocolate Chocolate Chip Brownies to help with sweet tooth cravings (or a red-wine-and-chocolate-pairing attempt).

And let’s not forget the music!  The Hummingbirdz will be performing live once again at the Mount Veeder Appellation Wine Tasting.  Originally formed in the spring of 2004, the band gained a loyal following in the Bay Area playing covers and original songs inspired by blues legends such as Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon and Junior Wells.  You can hear a sampling of their songs by following this link.

Y Rousseau Wines

Y Rousseau Wines

As you can probably tell, we strongly encourage people to attend this event because we easily find wines to love and recommend to others at each year’s tasting. Last year’s Mount Veeder Appellation Wine Tasting revealed many terrific Chardonnays and Cabernet Sauvignons and we were lucky enough to also discover noteworthy white wine blends, Bordeaux blends, Zinfandel and Syrah wines.

Another reason you should consider attending this year is because you can revisit the Hess Art Museum the same day.  Yes, it is now fully reopened following the restoration and repair efforts necessary to address damage sustained in last year’s Napa Earthquake.  There is no charge for admission to the Museum, and no reservation necessary, so you can appreciate the art either before or after the Wine Tasting.

Mount Veeder Appellation CouncilThe Mount Veeder Appellation Wine Tasting is presented by the Mount Veeder Appellation Council. The appellation covers about 16,000 square miles in Napa Valley within the Mayacamas mountain range that separates Napa and Sonoma Counties.  Due to the scarcity of plantable sites on Mount Veeder, only about 1,000 acres out of 25 square miles are planted to grapes.  Yields on the mountain vineyards are exceptionally low (about half the Napa Valley average) which helps produce richly intense and age-worthy wines in this appellation.

Once again, for complete details about the event, a list of all participating wineries and/or to purchase tickets, please go here.

 

 


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