Pride Mountain Vineyards, Napa and Sonoma Counties

Some of the crew went to Pride Mountain Vineyards for a tasting appointment last weekend. If you’ve never been, we highly recommend it. Situated on the border of Napa and Sonoma Counties, this stunningly beautiful winery at the top of Spring Mountain in the Mayacamas range produces marvelously complex and succulent wines in a magnificent setting.

It is true that since the winery’s at the top of the mountain, the ride there can seem a little treacherous. Hegui got motion sickness from the several miles of switchback roads and almost bombed out on the tasting. Fortunately the clear mountain air and the sheer loveliness of the place helped him to regain his equilibrium. Perhaps we erred in coming from the Sonoma side rather than the Napa one? The Western approach did seem a bit longer and somewhat wilder. If you’re planning a visit, besides making a reservation (Pride’s reservation only) consider how your party handles rugged terrain.

That said everything else on our recent visit to Pride was perfect.

The location has a long history. According to the winery web site, the place was first developed in the Nineteenth Century as Summit Ranch. There’s even evidence of some wine production from that period. Nowadays this is a family run vineyard and winery that apparently recently passed to the second generation of winemakers. Pride is an unusual name, suggesting perhaps gay liberation or maybe that Walt Disney movie, The Lion King. The vineyard and the movie both boast a “Pride Rock.” In fact, it’s the family name of the winemakers. That is cool! I wish my family name sounded nearly so interesting.

We didn’t realize that we were to be offered a tour. We’d gone to Pride about three or four years ago and it was sort of a standard tasting at a bar. Things have changed for the better. “Jay” was our very kind and well-informed guide. We started at the tasting room where we sampled the 2009 viognier. Then Jay guided us through parts of the facility including the grounds immediately adjacent to the tasting room and into the wine caves. That’s always a real treat and you won’t be disappointed here.

Pride is unique in that it’s a winery physically on the border to both Napa and Sonoma. If this was the Carneros region that might not seem that remarkable, but we’re talking Spring Mountain. There’s a line in front of the cave entrance that demarks the two counties. They consider it an asset though it creates some confusing bottling issues according to Jay. Since the counties are two different AVAs, if the grapes grown in different lots were mixed together before fermentation, they’d have to be named in some generic California way. It’s something like that. To manage this, the Pride folks separately ferment the wines then in the final blends; indicate percentages by county of origin from which the grapes originated. It sounded a bit complex, though they clearly have everything under control.

We were offered three wines plus a barrel sample from a single block of merlot, but we thoroughly enjoyed them all.

2009 Pride Viognier: This wine was a pale yellow color with a flowery aroma and a distinct creamy mouth-feel. We detected peach and nectarine. I really liked this. Hegui, always a skeptic of white, wasn’t that sure.

2007 Pride Merlot: This was a dark red color. It had an earthy scent and was a full-bodied almost thick tasting wine with supple tannins and a long finish. We detected red and purple fruits with some distinct mineral notes. We all adored this wine. I ended up purchasing a magnum to have as a treat later.

2007 Pride Cabernet Sauvignon: This was a deep, dark red color. I thought there was some cedar on the nose. It was silken with a long, long finish. We really liked it.

We were surprised with a sample of something that was not, strictly speaking, a wine at all. The 2009 Mistelle de Viognier is a blend of the unfermented juice of viognier grapes and brandy. This mildly sweet dessert drink had notes of green tea and honey. It was very pleasant. Callie, one of our group that day, got a 375ml bottle to have this very week!

Afterward, Jay recommended that we enjoy our picnic lunch in the vineyard under some shade trees overlooking one of the many breath-taking views. How could we say no?

Pride Mountain Vineyards isn’t just a pretty face, though that’s always welcome. The Prides make quality wine that’s full of pleasure. Taste it for yourselves sometime soon.