Hi All - Newbie here! My wife and I made two trips to the Napa area from the East Coast over the last ~6 years (the first we had no idea what we were doing; the second we were committed to/have gotten more serious about our wine). We gravitated to the medium/small/family wineries and had great trips each time - can’t wait to go back!
One of our more memorable experiences was at Outpost - we enjoyed both the wine and the hospitality/setting, shipping back some Cabs and Zinfandels ('17/'18s - still in our fridge) and making a connection with our host. My joining/posting is prompted by Outpost’s recent offering announcement. We enjoyed what we drank there and plan to continue to support in some fashion, but our feeling was that this year’s prices (plus $$$ shipping!) were a little steep and feedback in this thread seemed to agree. Outpost offering out today. Any takers? . The price point specifically isn’t the issue but rather our takeaway from the thread was “decent, not worth the cost” - that said, we don’t have a ton to compare it to!
So I’m not looking for an Outpost-specific discussion here but rather tips for sourcing bottles to drink/store of a similar style and price point. Does anyone have any recommendations for resources to help out, vineyards to try or general comments? I realize this is a little open-ended but being 3000 miles away and staring at shipping costs we can’t just “try try try” and while we do have a few spots that we liked, know there is so much we haven’t tried. We have a couple well-curated wine shops in town - but would love to find some direct-to-consumer hidden gems.
I found the “Best under $300” thread and a couple others though we’re looking for something reliable more in the $75-150 range and also one without a (long) waitlist as it appeared many of the ones that were mentioned there have waitlists.
Of course, “Drink what you like” is probably the #1 rule to live by (we like California Zins and Cabs - not necessarily BIG BOLD ones) - but appreciate there is so much we haven’t tried, so wanted to source recommendations from a community like this in the meantime.
I stopped buying Outpost when the winery was sold and the prices went up. The wine is good, Howell Mountain fruit and TRB as the winemaker.
Robert Craig is next door although the winemaking style is going to be different. Still Howell Mountain fruit. Robert Foley, Lamborn also right on the same street. I do buy Robert Craig and its my only Napa winery where I am an active club member.
Di Costanzo will scratch that $75-$150 itch and they should be participating in Berserker Day later this week. That would be another good winery to check out.
I would highly recommend Maitre-de-Chai. They make a great zin and a mountain cab. Have not had an Outpost in years but I am guessing the MDC will slightly less ripe which you may or may not like. Not too expensive to try and I think they will be participating in Beserker day.
Welcome, Mike!
Your timing could not be better. I’m referring, of course, to Berserker Day, this Friday (preview day Thursday for GC/MC members).
This will be a great opportunity for you to learn about, and get great deals from, a whole bunch of producers who will likely be new to you. Based on your description of what you like, I’d bet you’ll find plenty of good stuff.
While the list of producers for this year hasn’t been released, there are usually a lot of return participants. Take a look at the Berserker Day archive from last year to get a feel for the whole event. You’ll find a lot of Board member input that will give you an idea about the wineries’ styles. Of course, you can also ask questions if desired.
Where on the East Coast? Its a broad area Here in Northern NJ we have a WB tasting group where you could join and find a quick way to sample a lot of different wines. Another idea, find a nice boutique wine shop by you and see if they offer tastings, or just have a discussion and let them know what you like and try 2-3 bottles on their recommendation and see if there any hits.
I am not an Outpost guru, but at one time Thomas Rivers Brown made their wine. As noted above, someone suggested Rivers Marie - that is Thomas’ personal label with his wife. But he makes wine for other “affordable” labels like Caterwaul.
For QPR Napa wines, my personal choice is Elyse, and those wines are made by Russell Bevan. Elyse also has some Zins, Syrah and other BDX varietals so if you like their style, you have a lot of options. The fruit will be difference though as its mostly Valley floor fruit and not as high up in elevation as Howell Mnt. 1-2 labels by Elyse are distributed so you may be able to find some in a wine store near you.
On Berserker Day, check out Jean Edwards. Very good Cab portfolio with a few whites and other BDX varietals mixed in. Source fruit from some very esteemed vineyards around Napa. And its a Husband/Wife team from the East Coast, so there is a nice tie in for you…
I second the Elyse and Robert Craig recommendations, and the suggestion to dip your toe into Berserker day later this week. Jean Edwards has some killer cabs in your range and I believe should be participating. Lastly, since you mentioned Sonoma as well and are a Zin fan, Bedrock or Carlisle are well worth checking out.
Lot’s of great stuff and Napa and Sonoma - if you’re looking for quasi-modern wines (e.g. nothing overripe but nothing acid-bomby / hipstery either) a few favorites below:
*Napa
River Marie (good well priced pinots and chards too, their cabs are outstanding)
Caterwaul
Gamble Family
Corison
Ridge (not technically Napa, but great cabs / Zins)
Bevan - these are big but manage to be well balanced for what they are
Sonoma
Bedrock (a forum favorite and tons of great stuff at great prices)
Kutch (these are outstanding)
Peay
Rhys - these get a bit of guff on this forum as pricing has gone up, but they’re very solid California Pinots / Chards
Littorai and Occidental are very high end with pricing to match, but very good
If you want to push the envelope a bit more on more classically (higher acid, low oak, low alcohol) styled wines, you could try Beta in Napa or Ceritas in Sonoma.
Make sure you check out Berserker Day on Friday - lots of great producers and good deals.
My personal favorites from past Berserker Days are:
Scherrer - Pinot and Zin
Curly St James - Cab Sauv / Franc blend
Virage - Bordeaux blends
Jean Edward’s - Cabernet
And to top this off there are great deals on world class beef, glassware, and other foods.
Not a big zin guy but had dinner with a friend who is a Sommelier and his wife last night and dinner wine was Hartford Fanucchi-Wood Road Vineyard Zinfandel 65$. Served with spiced food which works well with a zin. Would highly recommend this wine.
As previous people have mentioned Rivers Marie for cab for sure, Tough to beat TRBs entry cab and pinot.
Rhys, Littorai, Occidental I would give time if you purchase
Love Kutch great QPR last I bought low ABV
Have not had a Selyem in a while maybe someone else can chime in on where they are at these days.
I would recommend getting on Spottswood list buying the Lyndenhurst
Also recommend getting on Accendo and getting the Laurea
Aaaron Potts basic cab may be around 100
If you want to go for bigger Napa
Bevan Ontogeny
Maybe some Venge
Try some Zin blends from Pasos. I am sure someone can steer you in that direction.
East coast is well populated with good shops to source all kinds of stuff from, including small family run California producers.
There’s also the stuff from that Europe place, and we on the east coast get just about everything under the sun from Italy and France. Lots of ripe Bordeaux vintages in the recent past to fit the bill on the Cabernets!
I won’t respond individually but sincerely appreciate all the responses. A couple names that I am vaguely familiar with but the overwhelming majority are new to me and I will be looking into for sure.
To be honest I wasn’t sure what to make of Berserker Day - I had perused last year’s forum but it seemed a bit overwhelming! Glad to know its worthwhile though - I will keep an eye on this year’s offerings.
I’ll definitely have this thread bookmarked for future reference - keep em coming! Thanks again!
Many good options have been mentioned already and I definitely agree with Scherrer (love their extremely low shipping prices and 375mL bottles). Like above, Hartford makes some great Zinfandels that are highly overrlooked because of their prices. Not sure they’re worth $65 a bottle for the single-vineyard Zinfandels, but they are indeed great. They also make an excellent Old Vine Zinfandel that’s only $35. One of my favorite Zinfandel producers.
Carlisle, Bedrock, and Turley are the most consistent and favorite Zinfandel producers out there for good reason (quality, pricing, and availabilty are second to none). I do prefer Carlisle out of the bunch.
Another Zinfandel producer to look after is Once & Future (Joel Peterson’s personal label).
To narrow the wine world, I do 3 things: follow grapes, follow winemakers and listen. If you really like a wine, figure out where the grapes come from and who is the winemaker. That will lead you to some great wines. For instance, I love the Farella vineyard. I first found them through Realm but quickly learned that DiCo had a wine from them as well. Same with Tench. I had a great Nickel and Nickel from there and discovered Riverain which led me to TRB. Those are names that are mentioned all over this board. If I constantly run into a name here, then it’s worth giving it a try. Cheers.
Here in Northern NJ we have a WB tasting group where you could join and find a quick way to sample a lot of different wines. Another idea, find a nice boutique wine shop by you and see if they offer tastings, or just have a discussion and let them know what you like and try 2-3 bottles on their recommendation and see if there any hits.
