Off the vine

I think it may be a while until we make another trip to Napa. We used to live 30 minutes away from wine country. Now we live in Fremont.

Still, we discovered some lovely spots for wine nearby.

We checked out some wine tastings in Milpitas at Big Dog Winery.


This is a sample of Big Dog’s grappa. For folks who can’t handle all the alcohol – winery staff offer a coffee bean. Wine fans drop the bean into the glass and that mellows out the flavor.

This boutique (aka small production) winery, tucked into the hills of Spring Valley, produces some nice Cabernet Sauvignons and Merlots. Try estate bottles when you can. The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon – Estate Grown, scored smiley faces on our tasting menu. It felt nice and full on my mouth, rich and complex with blackberry tones and balanced with woody notes.

Winemaker Mark Capalongan told visitors that he’s working on another Syrah to rival his 2006 vintage. Inside the cozy wine tasting room, surrounded by barrels of zins, cabs and more, Mark opened the last 2006 bottle on Mother’s Day. His wife told us she was disappointed by the Syrah when they first sampled it. She realized it was a hit when the Syrah became the fasting selling wine for Big Dog.

Mark also said that he may release the winery’s first Chardonnay this winter.

Meet Cab – more or less, Big Dog Winery’s mascot. No – he doesn’t sample the wine. On this weekend, the poor thing looked all cooped up inside the tasting room. The rain forced him to stay in doors. Still, Cab’s a friendly dog who’s probably as big as me.

We also went south of Spring Valley to Santana Row. We window-shopped outside of luxury stores and watched Teslas cruise by shoppers. Then we spent a few hours inside the Vintage Wine Bar with one of my favorite bottles of wine, Bonny Doon 2006 Cigare Volant.

It’s a tiny space, but we squeezed into a bar next to the window. Over some very fine glasses of red wine, we watched dogs walk their owners and cosplay girls model poofy Anime dresses. The wine flights are pricey inside Vintage Wine Bar. For an extra $10-$15, you can enjoy an entire bottle.