Our favorite wine

My husband Reed and I have had the opportunity to visit the Napa Valley every summer for the past three years. Since Napa is where he proposed, it has always held a special place in our hearts. And since we love great food and wine, it is like Disneyland for us. The second year we visited, we got a recommendation to try Saddleback Cellars. When we drove up, we saw the plain cinderblock building and the picnic benches outside and were not expecting anything special. Wow, were we surprised! Not only did we love the atmosphere, the wine was some of the best wine we have ever tasted! The picnic tables are next to one of their vineyards, and they encouraged us to walk through the rows of grapes while we tasted our wine. It was a fabulous setting and hearing the story about the origin of the winery made it all the more exciting. Legendary winemaker Nils Venge was the general manager and winemaker at Groth Vineyard, one of Napa’s most famous and best. He was the first winemaker to receive a score of 100 on a bottle of his cabernet sauvignon. He began making his own label, Saddleback Cellars in 1983, and eventually left Groth to focus on Saddleback. The wine is so complex and perfectly balanced. And the price is not bad, especially compared with other wines from Napa.

My husband could eat a steak and drink a glass of Saddleback Zinfandel every night and be satisfied. I’m not so sure I could do the same, but their wine is phenomenal. I don’t know how readily available it is in all areas. We haven’t found it in the Seattle area yet. Check them out online: www.saddlebackcellars.com