Wine Tasting in Napa Valley - Envy Wines

Our third stop to our Napa Valley wine tasting trip with our friends Bob and Bren was at Envy Wines. At this time, the morning fog in the valley burned off and the sky was blue and the temperature got warmer. Also at this time, I was getting a little buzzed which was not surprising because we only had a light breakfast plus we started wine tasting early. Envy Wines has good selections of red and white wines.
This is my kind of winery. Not themed, not huge, and no tourist buses. Aside from Envy Wine, I also noticed the Carter Cellars name on the same sign. While I am not familiar with both labels, I've seen them having good to very good ratings in wine magazines. Bob, Mijo and I stepped inside the tasting room while Bren stayed in the car to check on our lunch reservations and on there other friends joining us for lunch. The Red Wine tasting costs $15 but is waived with a wine purchase. The tasting included 2009 Calistoga Estate Bee Bee's blend, 2009 Envy Calistoga Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, 2009 Calistoga Estate Petit Sirah and 2008 Envy Late Harvest. The White Wine tasting costs $10 and included 2011 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc, 2011 Envy Napa Valley Rosé and 2008 Envy Late Harvest.

[to read my other Wine Tasting blogs, click here ]

Since I opted to go for the white wine tasting, it would be tough to sample their red wines. I did try by drinking water to rinse my palate but the reds still tasted too powerful for my white wined taste buds. I liked their selections especially the Rosé and the Late Harvest. I thought they would be very good for  my Filipino dishes like adobo and pinakbet. Both Mijo and Bob agreed that the red wine selection is good too and are well priced. As expected, they liked the Cabernet Sauvignon but they were both curious about the Petit Sirah. I forgot the name of our server but I think he is also one of the wine makers. He was very helpful and enthusiastic in answering all our questions about the winery and the wines. I added Envy Wines in my To Buy list.

Envy Wines is on Tubbs Lane in Calistoga, Ca.

~rl