Travel Tips
Suzy Gershman’s Bottle Blogs: Cakebread Cellars
The first thing I asked when I sat down with Brian Streeter, Resident Chef and Program Director at Cakebread Cellars, was whether or not the vineyard did weddings.
“Are you planning a wedding?” he asked.
“No,” I said, “I just like the idea of a wine called ‘Wedding Cakebread.”
Plenty of people like the regular Cakebread wines just fine. It is one of the best-known little known wines in the country.
Cakebread is actually a family name; the vineyard is one of the most famous in the Napa Valley for its combination of wine and hospitality in that they make their wines to accompany food and host events that feature both with equal importance. Their special events are legendary: their annual Harvest Workshop—which lasts over a long weekend each fall—has a long waiting list for the 12 spaces, which usually go to wine club members.
Explore California’s wine region with Suzy:
Although the Internet told me there was no signage on the road and that finding the vineyard could be difficult, I found a small sign and the vineyard was easy enough to spot since I was looking. The average eye might dismiss it as a tiny farmhouse or private home but once through the welcome center and onward to the Barrel Room, it’s clearly a huge farm and a large operation. Besides the Rutherford winery I visited, there are some 12 other fruit-growing parcels.
The tasting/tour experience is one of the most interesting because it is structured differently from most others. While the vineyard is open to the public, it works best with an appointment; you register in the Barrel Room (follow the signs) and hopefully have already chosen one of the seven different programs on offer.
There is no tasting bar or restaurant-style service center. After you check in (six wines for a $10 tasting fee, one of the most reasonable offers in the business), you are handed an empty wine glass. Then your group is accompanied on a private tour, stopping to taste at randomly chosen spots on the grounds, meaning that no matter how often you repeat this tour, it is unlikely you will have the same experience. Your group is simply the people you came with; it’s unusual for an artificial group to be created.
Check out gorgeous photos of wine county in Vineyards of Sonoma County, a photo gallery by Andy Katz.
The Cakebreads registered their winery at the same time as Robert Mondavi. Both are great families in the industry and in local lore, it’s just that Mondavi (RIP) is better known outside of Napa. Brian Streeter has been at Cakebread for more than 20 years, offering cooking classes (private or group), corporate events, wine club festivities, meals on the Pecan Patio and off-property events around the world. Because Cakebread is a family endeavor, the idea has always been to keep things homey and casual.
Indeed, the style of the property itself—and its numerous out-building and hospitality areas—is comfortable without being stuffy. There are no French pretensions or snob attitudes offered up. There is a large vegetable garden and a chance to work with the local community of food providers and a fabulous California terroir expert chef.
And on your way back to the car, you can stop at the honesty hut and pick up a zucchini.
Honest kisses,
SuzyKG
By Suzy Gershman for PeterGreenberg.com. Visit Suzy on the Web at www.suzygershman.com, and check out more of her “Bottle Blogs” at www.borntoshoplady.blogspot.com.
- Suzy’s Bottle Blog Part One
- Suzy’s Bottle Blog Part Two
- Bottle Blogs, Pt. 3: Sonoma County’s Rodney Strong
- Bottle Blogs, Pt. 4: Napa’s Jordan Vineyards & Winery
- Suzy’s Postcard from San Francisco, California
- Suzy’s Postcard from Hanoi, Vietnam
- Suzy’s Postcard from Santa Barbara, California
- Suzy’s Roadtrip from San Antonio to San Francisco
- Suzy’s Postcard from Shanghai, China
- Suzy’s Postcard from El Paso, Texas
- Suzy’s Postcard from Paris, France
- Suzy’s Adventures in Las Vegas
