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WINE COUNTRY THIS WEEK | WINE COUNTRY NEWS
Wine Garage – Wine Shop ... or Winery
Most readers have learned over
the years that some of the best
wine-deals in Napa Valley can be
found at the Wine Garage in
Calistoga. When Todd and Joy
Miller moved to Napa Valley in
2001, they were surprised to find
that they could hardly find any
wines for less than $45 a bottle.
Then they went to a dinner party
at a winemaker’s home, and were
shocked to discover that many
winemakers couldn’t afford to
drink the wines they made. That’s
when the Millers decided to open
the first wine shop in Napa Valley
that only carried wines under $25
a bottle.
So in 2003, Todd Miller
swapped his corporate necktie for
jeans and boots and started
scouring Northern California for
great, undiscovered wines to offer
at his new wine shop, the Wine
Garage in Calistoga. Miller drove the roads less traveled, meeting with
winemakers, walking in their vineyards and tasting their grapes,
barrel samples and finished wines. The winemakers, tickled to have a
real, live wine buyer at their winery, shared stories with Miller over a
glass of wine at the dinner table.
The Miller’s started a wine club three years ago shipping six bottle
shipments for $100. Well, the club was so successful that last year
even Rachael Ray heard about it and featured the Wine Garage on her
Tasty Travels show on the wine country.
Way back in 2003, when Todd was getting permits for the store he
had a vision of selling wine right from the barrel in half gallon jugs
just like they do in France and Italy. To do that he needed an out right
winery license and permit. He got them – much to the shock of the
local winery folks because that kind of thinking was unheard of in
Napa. You can’t be a “winery” and a “wine shop” at the same time in
the same place. No. Well actually yes, you can … under the right
circumstances. The jug program was originally delayed due to the
success of the wine club but Todd did hire a winemaker and set off
trying to find deals on grapes just like he had on case goods. He drove
around after harvest and wrote down what vineyards still had fruit on
the vine that was unsold. He sought help from his many winemaker
and vineyard manager friends. He found deals. He and his winemaker,
Massimo Monticelli – a former assistant winemaker at Silver
Oak – made some wine. Good wine.
Todd found some Cabernet grapes up on Diamond Mountain back
in 2006 from a grower that was nervous about a rain storm coming in
right during the peak of harvest. He cut a deal. Then he made another
deal on some Zinfandel and then later on some Syrah. After 18
MASSIVE WINE SALE
Get a mixed case
from store at 20% off,
or case of Wine Garage
labeled wine for 30% off
during month of February
months in barrel the wine is ready. Go
taste it for yourself, for free.
The Cabernet from the Diamond
Mountain section of Napa gets very
expensive – up to $275 per bottle from
one winery – but the vineyard Todd
found was across the road from the
boundary of the Diamond Mountain
AVA and sold for less money because
you couldn’t put “Diamond Mountain”
on the label. The Wine Garage “Hillside”
Cab sells for $45. It is yummy,
too. Big and rich, dark in the glass,
smooth tannins, ripe fruit, chocolate
covered coffee beans comes to mind.
The Zin and Syrah are equally good and
sell for less than the Cab, $30 and $25,
respectfully.
The Joy Ride is a white blend of
Albarino, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier
and Muscat Canelli. The wine was
fermented completely dry in stainless
steel tanks without malolactic fermentation.
The nose is extremely fragrant
with white peach, apricot, meyer lemon and jasmine. The body is full
with generous weight on the mid palate and a rich, silky mouthfeel.
There is surprising acidity on the clean and crisp finish. This is a
perfect wine for a wide variety of foods which include sushi, cracked
crab, lemon chicken and many cheeses.
Fill ’er up with wine “pumped” into the half-gallon jugs from the
specially designed gas station nozzles. Two different Wine Garage
blends are offered and filled to order, one Bordeaux based (read: Cab)
and one Rhone (Syrah) and are selling for $29.99 per half gallon jug
that you fill yourself.
Visit Wine Garage at 1020 Foothill Blvd. (Highway 29) in Calistoga;
open every day from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. For more information,
call (707) 942-5332 or visit the website at www.winegarage.net.
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