The Beaune Yard

July 7^th 2009

Trahan Wine Tasting Room – Napa – Stopped in to Check it out

I was wondering downtown Napa with a friend while we waited for our lunch reservation to start and we happened along a new winery tasting room downtown and decided to give it a try.

The room is nice and inviting and you immediately sit down and start tasting without giving it much thought.  Chuck was working the counter this day and there was a business colleague who had stopped by to say hello so we had the place pretty much to ourselves. 

Chuck engaged us in conversation throughout the process and talked my friend and I though the different grapes and harvest areas.  He is one of the entrepreneurs of Napa.  This is a group of people that have stuck out on their own and are buying grapes and leasing equipment time and then packaging something that they are proud of.  It takes a lot of guts, some skill and luck to make this work and the product is either ok or really good.  Think of it as the ultimate boutique winery.

One side note is that Chuck seemed a little rough during our first encounter.  His opinions of some of my personal favorites (where I know the families, etc) were a bit harsh and to a new customer that may be a bit of a turn off.  That being said (since I promised to always be honest in my assessments) he is true to what he says and he will tell you that.  Can’t fault a guy for being honest.

 In light of this, his wines did make up for the rough edges.  One in particular (see review of Trahan Petite Verdot) was so good that as much as I wanted to save one of the bottles that I bought, it just couldn’t happen.  Each time I was looking for a very nice bottle of wine, I gravitated to this wine.  It is smooth yet bold.  It comes off very silky with more than a hint of berries and drinks like a $50 wine easy.

Give Trahan and Chuck a try.

Remember that life is too short for bad wine or bad friends.