Wine Tasting at Sterling Vineyards in Calistoga

Adam Weintraub at Tasting Station #5 on the rooftop at Sterling Vineyards.

The first thing to know about wine tasting at Sterling Vineyards in Calistoga is do not rely on the Calistoga Shuttle to take you there. Our hotel’s website promoted the Calistoga shuttle in such a way it made it seem like a benefit to staying at the hotel, pretty sneaky. The truth is Calistoga Shuttle is owned and operated by the city and while others might love it, I found the service severely lacking. I called Calistoga Shuttle at 2:22 and requested a pickup. The woman who answered said our wait would be 30 to 40 minutes. I had been warned by the hotel not to stray from our pickup spot or the shuttle would barely touch the brake and then take off. We waited outside in front of Mount View Hotel and Spa for 30 minutes. Then another 10 minutes passed, and I called Calistoga Shuttle again.

Pitbull and chihuahua mix at Sterling Vineyards wine tasting.

Dude who answered said they had no record of my phone call. That was their story and they were sticking to it. I asked again for a pickup and the fellow requested my phone number, promising he would call back to confirm. Fifteen minutes passed, no return call. I inquired at the front desk if there wasn’t some other kind of transportation we could hire because we did not want to miss our reservations at Sterling Vineyards for 4 PM, and it was almost 3:30 now. They gave me the number of Cab Hopper: 707.341.3022, anywhere in town for $15. The so-called free Calistoga Shuttle card was worth $1 per trip.

We had initially hoped to tour Chateau Montelena as our first winery and then make our 4 PM reservation at Sterling Vineyards, but thanks to our misplaced faith in Calistoga Shuttle, that did not happen. Returning, I had called Calistoga Shuttle when we were dropped off at the bottom. They said the shuttle was right there. We spotted the shuttle, waved and started running, and the Shuttle driver glanced over at the two of us, and promptly left us in the dust. Hurray for Cab Hopper!

View of Napa Valley from 300 feet elevation at Sterling Vineyards near Calistoga.

The driveway entrance to Sterling Vineyards was jam-packed, completely with backed-up traffic. Whatever snafu was happening, quickly cleared, and we were dropped off in front of the waiting line to It’s a Small World. Wall-to-wall people. Since we had a reservation, I snaked my way to the front of the line and shoved the gawkers aside to get to the Will Call window, which was totally and amazingly people free. I could feel a bunch of eyeballs belonging to the group of people standing in line to buy tickets staring in my direction when I announced that we had a reservation.

One woman popped out of line and said, “You could sell that reservation for whatever price you wanted to name.” No, my precious. That’s how awful the lines were. And that was just to buy tickets. Then you had to get into another line for the gondola cars to cart you up the hill. Except for people with a reservation. Booyah! Things were looking up. We got to ride the private trolley up the hill and take the gondola back.

Adam Weintraub at Sterling Vineyards over 4th of July weekend.

The 5 tastings for general admission were scattered and with two of them on the same floor it was hard to figure out which station was which without asking. I kept looking for the little goats’ feet or grape bunches painted on the floor to give us a clue as to where we were supposed to go, and there were none. Everybody wandered in circles, so it wasn’t like you could pick a group and follow them. Except for the pinot gris, I didn’t much care for the general tasting wines. Adam emptied his glass after taking a sip or two. Not me, though, I was not dumping my wine because you never know, by the last sip, you might decide you like it. Each glass was a one-ounce pour, so 5 tastings were about the size of a glass of wine.

Elizabeth Weintraub and Adam Weintraub taste wines in the private reserve room at Sterling Vineyards.

It wasn’t until we reached the private reserve tasting rooms that I found wines I really enjoyed. The wine that blew me away was the 2012 CC Petite Sirah and it’s buddy, the 2012 Rutherford Cabernet. Smooth, dark, robust, buttery, cherry delight. Fond memories began to float in my brain of dinner the night before at Solbar in Calistoga. Suddenly I was ravenous. We nibbled on a cheese and charcuterie tray, decorated with roasted almonds, dried apricots and small slices of sourdough. Yes, another wine club I felt a strong impulse to join. Adam didn’t talk me out of it, either. Even though it meant he had to carry the case of wine.

Sterling Vineyards pours its private reserve wine 2012 Petite Sirah for Adam Weintraub

The thought crossed my mind that I will someday finish the 2012 Petite Sirah, and that will be a very sad day. See, that’s the thing about wine. You have to drink it. Especially California wine. And once you consume it, there is no more wine from that vintage. You can’t just buy more wine from the winery like you could run down to Apple in Arden Fair when find my iPad doesn’t work after you’ve left yours on the plane, which btw, Delta did return to me 3 weeks later. That tells you just how many iPads are left on planes and how much Delta values customer service. I think they hire one guy to come in on every other Saturday to sort through the lost and found. The iPad had my seat number and flight number and they knew exactly who it belonged to but could not contact me for 3 weeks even though I had immediately filed a lost and found report within minutes of leaving the airport.

Adam Weintraub and Elizabeth Weintraub ride the gondola with prized possessions after touring Sterling Vineyards

I told Adam someday he will come home late from work and find me crying on the sofa, hugging an empty bottle of 2012 Petite Sirah, mourning it is all gone. Which the guys in the Sterling Vineyards wine shop found hilariously amusing. Sterling Vineyards told us they had more than 1,800 visitors on July 3rd. A record. Business was so good, unlike other wineries in the region, Sterling Vineyards was not closed on July 4th for the holiday.