10 June 2000
Note: This page is still
under construction. I am in need of photo's. If you have any you are
willing to share, please send them to me.
I can scan and return photos if you do not have an electronic copy.
Al
Terpak organized a tour of Napa Valley on a warm June weekend. The itinerary included brandy
sniffing, wine tasting and a delicious lunch.
 |
|
The cars line up at the back of the RMS distillery for the start of a spring drive through Napa Valley. |
The
group met at the RMS distillery where we received T-shirts compliments of Mark
Dali Racing. Al passed these out with his usual flourish and flair.
 |
|
Al Terpak passes out the goodies from Dali to a crowed that can barely control themselves for all the excitement and the anticipation. |
Doug,
the RMS guide, gave us a very interesting tour of the distillery with all of the
brandy one could sniff, but unfortunately, not drink. We learned about all
of the processes of producing brandy and how to tell a properly aged brandy from
a bottle of ode du vie.
 |
| The stills were originally built in France in the 19th century. They have been in operation since the founding of the distillery. |
Walking in to the barrel storage cellar was enough to make even the hardiest of Brandy drinkers feel a bit tipsy. A Thousand barrels venting off Brandy scented alcohol made you appreciate why the angels came for their share. After a few minutes in the cellar no one was fit to legally drive. From there we walked back to the distillery to see how the ode du vie or raw brandy was created.
|
|
The distillery was full of stills from the 19th century that were made in France and unchanged for the past 100 years. |
Then
last but not least, a very educational tutorial on the different brandy's and
the different stages of fermentation. Unfortunately, we could only learn
by sniffing the product as the state would not allow them to have a tasting
room.
The drive to Stag's Leap Winery was short and orderly. Finding parking room for 20 some NSX's was a bit of a challenge though.
 |
| At Stag's' Leap the group was treated to a lecture on how to trim vines to achieve the perfect sugar content with the fewest leaves. Everyone thought this was the highlight of the tour. Well, maybe not everyone! |
But
once the group was together, we were joined by our tour guide. There the
group was given a riveting lecture on
the number of leaves required per shoot (17) ripen two bunches of grapes.
From the vineyard things went uphill (literally) as we went up to the caverns
for a tasting of the full range of wines on offer.
 |
| The wine at Stag's Leap is aged in casks in a temperature controlled environment. Now, how to fit one of these in to the boot of an NSX? |
From
Stag's Leap the group moved on to S. Andersen Winery for a tour of a small scale
production facility for champagne and wine with more tasting. There we
toured the oldest of the man-made caverns in the valley and sampled some wines
and some champagne.
 |
|
Checking out the dark recess of the Andersen Champagne Cellar's caverns. |