Beringer

This is a picturesque external view of Beringer Winery located at St. Helena, Napa Valley, California clicked by Varsha in Dec 2004. It's always been my dream to visit an ancient winery still in working condition and hence the obvious choice was Beringer's. It was founded in 1876 by Beringer brothers and they are still one of the major wine producers in California. I love the Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon they make. It was an awesome scenic drive from Davis to Napa during last week of December, the air was crisp and it was very soothing cold outside. One more reason to love California!! We didn't need any signs to know that we've entered Napa. Fresh green trees with dark pink colored grapes welcomed us from both sides of the road. St. Helena, a beautiful sleepy town is a treat to the artistic eyes. 5 mins drive from the so-called-downtown-St. Helena, we saw big castle like buildings on both sides of the road and one of the biggest one is "Beringer Winery". They have this beautiful garden outside which also is a parking lot. our car was lucky! :)
The tour started with a warm and loud welcome by Steve, our guide for the tour. He was walking us through the inside of the winery where they actually used to crush grapes with this huge wooden crusher in yesteryears. It looked ancient and mysterious inside. With all those oak barrels inside, sweet smell of grapes mixed with woody smell of oak we were in an entirely different era. Some of the barrels were so beautifully carved and they were used to serve wine to the Royals in ancient times. Steve was explaining the current process of wine making and simultaneously we were exploring the long, dimly lit tunnel with thousands of gallons of wines in huge oak barrels. The tour also included free wine tasting which was the best part. I loved the zinfandel and I have had it many times after that, but it never tasted the same again. May be the overall ambient effect!! Overall it was a very very nice tour and after that whenever I taste wine I can't help thinking about this outing. (more pics here)