Oh, and then on Friday morning when I woke up and popped my head outside, this beautiful hot-air balloon was passing right over the resort. Ah, wine country...The ride, called the "Reverse Calistoga" loop, is from the Oakland Yellowjackets routesheet library. My total mileage was 6-7 miles higher since my starting point was in downtown Calistoga. The route is pretty straightforward: you follow Silverado Trail a couple of miles, then turn east for a bit of a climb up Deer Park/Howell Mountain road, then take Ink Grade to Chiles Pope Valley to Lake Hennessey. Then it's back up Silverado Trail. There was a steady climb up Deer Park/Howell Mountain, but it wasn't too bad, topping out at around 1800 feet before I turned onto Ink Grade. Ink Grade is a well-known climb in the north bay (it's featured in most of the centuries in the napa area) so I was expecting some pretty harsh climbing at this point. But it turns out that this route approached Ink Grade from the other end so all I had to do was descend. Maybe that's why they call this route the "reverse" Calistoga. Whatever. I was quite happy to be plunging down this grade rather than slogging up it.
The rest of the ride was really nice. The route takes you through vineyards and farmland, by the incredibly dry Lake Hennessey, and through two villages, Angwin and Pope Valley. Not many services to be had in this back country, so I was glad to have my panniers with plenty of food and water.Animules: 2 foxes (I think), several deer, many lazy cows
Total Miles: 52
Elevation Gain: 3900 ft
Route map (bikely.com): Calistoga Loop
Wine Notes
As long as I'm up in wine country, it seems stupid to not do a little bit of winetasting, right? So on Friday, right after finishing up the ride, I headed over to Vincent Arroyo. I've been meaning to visit this place for quite some time. It's off the beaten path a bit, but I had heard that they had very good wines and that they sell out of their small production early in the season. Turns out that you're supposed to have an appointment for tasting, but Dave, my host, graciously signed me up for an impromptu appointment. I thought I was pretty special to receive this treatment until I saw them do the same for other walk-ins. Apparently they aren't zoned for a public tasting room, but they are happy to accommodate a small number of walk-ins.
Vincent Arroyo produces only about 8000 cases a year, and most of that is sold on pre-order before it's even bottled. I bought a bottle of their 2006 Chardonnay, which is lightly oaky with a bit of citrus, and a 2005 Petite Syrah, their signature wine. I also tried the 2005 Melange reserve (a gamay blend) and the 2005 Entrada, a blend of old vine Syrah, Petite Syrah, and Cabernet. It was a very elegant wine with a smooth finish, but at $65 a bottle, a little more than I wanted to pay.
On Saturday, on my way back to town, I stopped in at Heitz Cellars, just outside of St Helena on highway 29. Heitz is known for their Cabernet Sauvignons, particularly the Oakville "Martha's Vineyard" label. After trying their 2005 Chardonnay and a Verdot, I tasted the 2002 "Trailside Vineyard" Cab, then the 1998 Bella Oaks Cab. I actually preferred the latter because it had a lovely smooth finish, but that's probably due in part to the fact that it was 1998, right? Next I sampled three ports-- the Ink Grade port, the "vintage" Ink Grade port, and the Grignolino ruby port, that has an interesting citrus aroma that I don't think I've run across in ports. After all this, the host poured me a bit of their signature Martha's Vineyard cab, but my palette was pretty overloaded at that point. I'm sure it was delicious though. So, I ended up buying two bottles of the Chardonnay, one bottle of the Verdot, and one bottle of each of the ports. Yeehah!
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