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NAPA VALLEY | WINE COUNTRY THIS WEEKTasting Room of the Week:EHLERS ESTATEby Charles NeaveMaybe you haven’t been to Ehlers Estatelately (you should go). Maybe you have neverbeen (shame on you). No matter which, get inyour car, saddle up your horse or get on yourbike and head to this amazing winery just abit north of St. Helena.A few years ago I wrote that the EhlersEstate winery is “a bit like finding a Picassohanging in a log cabin, or spotting a vintageDuisenberg underneath a tarp in some Ozarklean-to” … that is about what it is like whenyou head down the drive to Ehlers Estatenorth of St. Helena. It is even more like thattoday, with all the positive connotations.The tasting room has a lot of historystanding behind it. From the outside you canimagine Andrew Wyeth painting it. Inside aneasy informality reigns above all, one that atfirst almost belies the quality of the wine youare about to try.This is not a tasting room with pretensions;the emphasis here is on the wines and comfortand style. This is a building where wine reignsabove all, where it seems like it is 1886 allover again. In fact the history of the winerydoes indeed stretch back to 1886. That iswhen a Sacramento grocer named BernardEhlers started it with seven grand in gold, andthat is when the stone winery was built.He also planted the olive trees next to thewinery, where today there is a bocce courtand fountain. When Bernard Ehlers died in1901 the property passed into the hands ofhis wife, Anne. Then in 1923 a local residentnamed Alfred Domingo purchased the landfrom her. Since only home winemaking waslegal (this was the crippling era of Prohibition,after all), Domingos and his brother“bootlegged” wine and brandy to a steadystream of Bay Area visitors. Story has it thatthey kept a big cask of their “homemade”wine in what is now the tasting room. Whenpeople would “visit” they would fill up abottle, slap a label on it, presumably somemoney would change hands, and no onewas the wiser.Eventually the Leducq family from Franceentered the picture, at first producing wine atthe winery under their name. When theyacquired the balance of the 42 acres thatcomprised the original estate a few years ago,the name Ehlers went back on the label.Today Jean Leducq is gone but the FondationLeducq, a non-profit philanthropic entitywhose sole purpose is to support internationalcardiovascular research, serves as thebeneficiary of the Ehlers Estate wines. Lookclosely at the ‘Ehlers’ in the label and you willfind the ‘heart’.Today the winery makes all of their redestate wines on the property: the “1886”Cabernet Sauvignon, the “One Twenty OverEight” Cab, a Merlot, and they’re usually soldout Cabernet Franc. The wines are also madeat the winery, using the crush pad in front andto the side of the stone building. The SauvignonBlanc, their only white wine, is also adelight, and a perfect wine to have after youtaste inside at the picnic tables to the side.Behind them are the boxed vegetable gardens,the produce of which goes to those who workhere. The whimsical contemporary artwork atthe new state-of-the-art winery is an amusingbackdrop, as is the mix of furnishings – frommodern to classical – in the tasting roomitself, presided over by hospitality managerMaria Newman. The ceilings are high, thewalls stone, the bar long and polishes wood,the atmosphere welcoming and casual.A short drive down the lane to this beautiful“old Napa Valley” winery is a quiet strollback in time. The wines are unquestionablyaward-winning, but so is the entire experience,one worth making time for no matterhow long or how brief your visit to this partof the Valley might be.Ehlers Estate is located at 3222 EhlersLane off of Route 29 north of the town of St.Helena about two miles, on the west side ofhighway. They’re open from 10 a.m. until 5p.m. Private tours and wine tasting are alsoavailable. For more information and directionsyou can contact them at (707) 963-5972 or look go to www.ehlersestate.com.42 www.WineCountryThisWeek.com
RASgalleries in YountvilleEven owner Ronda Schaer could not haveenvisioned that her affection for the littlevillage of Yountville would someday blossominto a full-blown love affair. “This is a townthat you can get your arms around.” Twentyyears ago she did just that. With the openingof her now famous art gallery, RAsgalleries,Ronda has embraced her community andgraced it with one of its most successful andadmired businesses.It was her passion for art, and glass inparticular, that moved Ms. Schaer to open agallery. “I have always been drawn to glass.”But it was the work of American glass artiststhat really captured her heart. Representingmore than two hundred American artists,the gallery has become one of the premierevenues in which to experience the drama,imagery and vision of this artistic medium.Masters of the art form such as RandyStrong, Rick Satavo, Richard Silver, EdBreed, Jack Storms Calistoga and Mark Levy utilizetechniques as varied as mouth-blowing,TUBBS LANELINCOLNlampwork and fused glass. From bowls tovases and sculpture, the genius of thesetalented people is evident wherever your eyefalls in this amazing gallery. Small pieces,such as perfume bottles and paperweightsmake ownership of this unique art formaccessible to all.Mr. Levy is one artist in particular whoworks has earned him the title, the “JacksonPollack of glass”. His thick, fused cast-glasspieces are layered with colors and texturesthat defy labels. His works consistentlyincites passionate responses from art loversand collectors.Ms. Schaer loves that reaction. “Peopleget emotional when they enter this gallery.That is what I really enjoy about what Ido…seeing people smile and experience aspiritual ‘high’ when they see just the rightpiece. There is always a relationship thatforms when someone becomes attached to apiece of art…between the artist, the work,the client and myself. My real joy is when Ivisit my clients in their homes and see howthe art has become a part of their lives.”The gallery also features the work ofsome extremely gifted fine artists, with originaloil paintings from artists throughoutCalifornia and the Pacific Northwest, as wellas the Eastern Seaboard and point inbetween. The whimsical chefs of ceramicartist, Cynthia Hipkiss are also a favorite ofcollectors.Says Ronda, “I created RAsgalleries with asingular focus on Original American Art,primarily Art Glass, my personal passion.And I’m proud that after twenty years in thesame Yountville, Napa Valley location, thepassion remains.”RASgalleries is located at 6540 WashingtonStreet, next to Bouchon in Yountvilleand is open daily from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.,Tuesday by appointment. Phone (707) 944-9211.ART ON MAINPRATT AVESt. HelenaSILVERADO TRAILALLISONCHARTER OAKOAKVILLE CROSS RD.29YountvilleYOUNTVILLE CROSS RD.WASHINGTONRASGALLERIESBY WAY E.WISECASK29121TROWER AVE.NapaTRANCASFIRST STCALIFORNIA5TH2ND3RDMAIN STMAIN STSOSCOL121HARDMAATLAS PEAKMONTICELLO121www.WineCountryThisWeek.com 43TOVALLEJO
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