Well, I'm finally getting around to posting about our Napa Valley trip back in October. We visited about 15 wineries overall, so expect a series of posts to come. Enjoy!
One of the most beautiful wineries in the valley is Kuleto Estate:
The winery is owned by famed San Francisco restaurateur Pat Kuleto. It sits high up in the hills above the valley; the driveway itself takes about 10 minutes to climb. Though I nearly lost my breakfast on the way up, the view was definitely worth it:
The tasting started in the main building with food pairings and the first couple of wines. I almost felt as if we were back in Tuscany, especially drinking Kuleto's Sangiovese, which is the same grape used to make Chianti.


A Kuleto tasting wouldn't be complete without a long walk throughout the grounds. Our guide filled his neoprene bottle carrier and we were off on our tour.
Raise your glass if you like drinking at 10 am!
Pilot, the trusty wine dog of the estate, decided to join us (apparently he is a real attention hog and escorts most of the tours).

As we continued on our walk, we sampled several more wines and generally just enjoyed the scenery:
This reminded me of the old widow in Great Expectations:
The really cool thing about Kuleto is that it's a self-sustaining compound. Pat Kuleto actually lives up there, and nearly everything needed for survival is grown on the property. From the gardens to the animals, it's all right there. Very green!

We're not the only ones who enjoyed the view:

The scenery at Kuleto, combined with the friendliness of the staff, made it one of our favorite wineries of the trip. Even though their wines don't quite measure up to some of the others in the valley (they're great - don't get me wrong - just not the best in Napa) the entire experience of being at the estate makes them unforgettable. My favorite was the Sangiovese, but their Cabernet was also very good. Though I wasn't able to talk Dan into joining the wine club, we did pick up about 6 bottles to add to the cellar.
Though we didn't get to try a Kuleto restaurant when we were in San Fran, later on during our trip we had dinner at another one of Pat Kuleto's restaurants, Martini House in St. Helena.
It's widely considered one of the best restaurants in the valley, and it definitely lived up to the hype. Dan and Jesse had pork chops, and Karen and I enjoyed mushroom bisque and grilled halibut. We paired everything with a fabulous Merry Edwards Russian River Valley Pinot. Delish!
Many more winery recaps to come!