I went to Napa with a good friend of mine and accompanied by his wife on Sunday. It was an extension of my birthday in which he unexpectedly treated me out for lunch at Ruthurford. We had their awesome cornbread for appetizers. I had a Ribeye cooked to perfection - med rare- as my main course. Our original appt. at Caymus was scheduled for 11:30am but do to unforced circumstances, we didn't make in time, which is how we unexpectedly ate at Ruthurfords.
After lunch we headed over to Caymus to see if we were able to get squeezed in with another group. Apparently Caymus sticks to 10 people (max) per tasting and they were fully booked for the rest of the day and several weeks to come. As I spoke to one of the workers, I asked if there was any thing they could do, he responded with, "how about I give you guys a taster." I responded with, "that would be awesome, thank you so much!"
He opened a door and said, "Follow me."
My two friends and I looked at each other with a large grin as he took us through a door behind the cashiers counter. We entered a large dark room that appeared to be holding cell filled with barrels of wine. He walked away for a min. to pour us our tasters as we whispered to each other in amazement. When the guy came back with our glasses, he turned the lights on. We were struck in amazement. The guy then said, we usually never take anyone back here. He then pointed over to a room that was visible with a large window and said, “That's where our tastings are held.” As we finished our glasses conjugated around an upright barrel, we all asked the guy a few questions. As he answered our questions and gave a brief background history of Caymus, he poured us another glass.
Although we didn't get the full 5 tastings at Caymus due to our tardiness, that private tasting was better that what we had planned. The gentleman who had assisted us was FANTASTIC!After Caymus we headed off to Castillo Di Amorosa. We did the castle tour and had a great time at the wine tastings there. We took some fun snap shots inside the castle. With my friends emphasizing that it was my birthday to the tour guide, I received a couple more tastings than allowed. Our host enjoyed our company as our sarcasms made her laugh. During the tour I had noticed a couple used French Oak Barrels that were lying around with a for sale sign. After a few inquiries, I had two barrels purchased along with a few bottles of wine. I gave the other barrel to my friend.
