VineBuzz

Most wineries' visitors centers need to continuously deepen the effectiveness of their engagement with, and delight of customers. The successful cross-functional team always keeps it eyes and ears open toward the aches and the pains that conflict with the customers' readiness to have a beautiful, unforgettable experience. The hospitality staff must persist in their quest to craft perfect moments, the lifelong memories that places them at the top of their customers' mindshare.

Twenty-five retails stores in Calistoga, California opened their doors to "Cheers to Taste" on September 7, 2001 and hosted the pouring tables of wineries from all over Napa County.

It's a varietal that shows up in many of our favorite wines, but almost always taking a back seat to the other Bourdeaux blending components. Few of us ever get to taste Petit Verdot as the principal (or even secondary) component in any wine. Several weeks ago, as I toured and tasted at Truett-Hurst Winery in Dry Creek Valley, an amazing apparition materialized near the tasting bar.

As William Jarvis explored his estate (in an elevated, rolling terrain of the Napa Valley section in the Wild Horse Valley AVA) during the early 1980's, he took interest in excavating a steep hillside. With little variation in temperature year-round, and an ideal air moisture, Mr. Jarvis discovered the ideal location for the Jarvis Winery.

Ralf Holdenried, head of the winemaking team at the William Hill Estate in Napa, tells me how they collaborate in the field, the laboratory, and the blending bench to determine which blocks and lots are to be married, and in what proportions. They make small batches from the different blocks, which are produced separately from the moment of selection, through crush, fermentation, and barrel aging.