My husband and I attended a JDRF event in Reno last year, and as usual, we were drawn to the silent…read moreauction table. A few things caught my eye, but the big prize for me was a magnum of Eagle Eye wine and a private tasting at the vineyard. My husband and I were familiar with Eagle Eye thanks to other wine tasting events in Reno, and I knew that I must have that bottle! As luck would have it, I was the big winner! The owners of the vineyard (Bill and Roxanne) were there that night, hosting a tasting table - so my husband and I ran over there with our giant bottle of wine and told them how excited we were to win, and that we were looking forward to visiting their vineyard! They were immediately super friendly, and told us they looked forward to our visit!
Fast forward many months - we are so busy, and we wanted to gather a group for the tasting - needless to say it took a while to coordinate the visit, but Roxanne was super accommodating with our scheduling.
Our group ended up being six - my husband, me, my dad and his girlfriend, and another couple that came out with us from Reno. We arrived at our destination to discover that Bill and Roxanne actually live on the vineyard. We were greeted happily by both of them, plus their two standard poodles, and we were off! Bill gave us a very detailed tour of the vineyard. It was winter, so there weren't many grapes to be seen, but he gave us a description of the growing cycles, the work that goes into growing and protecting the grapes, and how they are taking advantage of advances in modern technology to perfect their grape growing. They also grow olives to make olive oil.
Once our tour was complete, we ended up on their patio overlooking the vineyards. Roxanne had prepared a plate of meat and cheese and other snacks, and the tasting began! Roxanne brought each wine out in perfect succession, while she and Bill explained what went into each bottle. They produce two exquisite blends - Infatuation and Voluptuous, that you won't want to miss! However, their varietals are also amazing. I particularly enjoy the petit verdot. Roxanne also brought out some of their olive oil to enjoy, and it is incredible!
Needless to say, the six of us went home with quite a few bottles. My friend even joined their wine and olive oil club! We are lucky that we live within driving distance, but if you don't - you should plan on shipping some home! Our group hit about 10 wineries over 2 days, and we all agreed that this was our favorite stop!
So, if you're going to be in Napa, and you're game for a little trip off the beaten path (it's just a bit outside of the traditional tasting neighborhood of Napa), give these wonderful people a call, and check out Eagle Eye Winery!