Bella Vineyards and Wine Caves

Wine: Winery: Ambiance: Dec 28, 2011

This may have been my favorite winery during our trip to Napa and Sonoma Valley in March 2010. The tasting room was in a cave, and everything about it had a young vibe to it. It was stylish but without the snobby or pretentious nature of some of the other wineries. Everything about this place just seemed fresh and hip. It sits on top of a hill and there is a large gorgeous oak tree at the top. It's surrounded by gnarly old vines that were pruned in an older style--I wish I could remember what they said about that. I think they cut the vines off at the top so that they come down sort of like a fountain, rather than training them along a support like most of the newer-planted vines are. Anyway, something about the vines gave an old-world feel to the place. And the wine itself was outstanding-- some of the best we had. I'd rank the wine as maybe in the top five of all the wine we had during that trip, but the overall experience was probably the best. This is a must-do!