Whether you’re planning a day trip or a fun-packed weekend to explore the wineries near Yountville, you will find that there is no shortage
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@cornerstonecellars12
Whether you’re planning a day trip or a fun-packed weekend to explore the wineries near Yountville, you will find that there is no shortage
Wine and Food Pairing with Cornerstone Cellars: Elevate Your Culinary Experiences
There’s only one way to become a wine and food pairing expert: eat and drink a variety of wine and food! You might start with classic, tried-and-true pairings that never fail. But the way to become skilled at this art is by venturing off the beaten path. Consider all of the dimensions of the wine you’d like to pair and allow your curiosity to guide you.
Let’s take one of the most famous grapes in the world as an example. Cabernet Sauvignon has a robust flavor profile of dark fruit, vanilla, smoke, and even chocolate is made bigger by structured tannins and rich acidity. This gives us so many food pairing options.
Your best cut for your best Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
When it comes to your cut of meat, the bigger the better! Red meat and fatty meats pair perfectly with the robust tannins found in Cabernet Sauvignon and complement the wine’s intensity.
Dishes like grilled steak are rich in texture and accentuate Cabernet’s oaky notes, bringing an extra char and earthiness to the forefront. Beef stew adds layers of flavor, and smooths out the tannins. Lamb chops are rich enough to cut through the pronounced flavors of Napa Valley Cabernet, and you’ll find that the seasonings you chose for your meat are enhanced.
Rich cheeses for rich Cabernet
With cheese, we can follow the same school of thought: the richest, most dramatic cheese in your selection will be an adventure alongside a glass of Cabernet.
Aged cheddar is a classic, crowd-pleasing cheese with a firm texture and sharp, developed flavors that won’t wash away with Cabernet’s intensity. Smoked gouda has a smoky, salty profile that will enhance Cabernet’s dark fruit, while blue cheese (like Roquefort) is pungent and unforgettable: a perfect choice for a Cabernet with high acidity and jammy fruit.
Grilled vegetables go best
Did you know that Cabernet Sauvignon also pairs perfectly with grilled vegetables? A little bit of char on your veggies gives them a smoky, bold profile that holds up nicely with your favorite red wine.
Eggplant is heavy and rich and holds up nicely with Cabernet. Try it grilled as a side dish to your steak, or try eggplant parmesan. Grilled portobellos have a beautiful umami profile that brings out Cabernet’s earthier flavors, and don’t be afraid to try greener vegetables. Zucchini is irresistible with a char to it, and the brightness of the vegetables enhances Cabernet’s herbaceous character.
Indulge in chocolate and Cabernet Sauvignon
Not everyone knows that chocolate, perhaps the most beloved sweet in the world, pairs beautifully with the best Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon in your cellar. The wine’s tannins and rich fruit balance the bitterness of dark chocolate, so let’s repeat our Cabernet rule here: go big or go home.
Desserts like triple chocolate cake, chocolate molasses cookies, and chocolate espresso truffles will showcase the dark fruit notes in your Cabernet. To bring out even more fruity flavor, try desserts that feature a little bit of fruit like chocolate and fig cake or chocolate raspberry tart.
Elevate Your Pairings
If you think a little bit about the dimensions of the flavor profile of Cabernet: dark fruit, structured tannins, oaky notes like smoke and chocolate, and herbs, you see a world of culinary options open up. Give this a try with your favorite grape. Happy pairing!
Here’s what you can expect from joining what we think is the best wine club Napa Valley has to offer.
Formerly a portion of the iconic To-Kalon and surrounded by the celebrated vintners of Oakville, the Oakville Station is not only a premium
Exploring Yountville’s Terroir
In the heart of Napa Valley, Yountville has a distinguished terroir that sets its wines apart. The terroir here is relatively new compared to wine regions around the world–although it's still 150 million years old!
What was once ocean floor was pushed upwards, and valleys formed. One of them was the Napa Valley, where Yountville, California wineries enjoy incredible soil diversity and unique microclimates.
Yountville’s unique microclimate
Yountville’s southerly location brings cooling breezes and morning fog from the San Pablo Bay right to the grapevines. The grapes stay cool in the afternoons when the sun is most intense.
Yountville experiences significant temperature swings, called diurnals, from day to night. During the day, grapes ripen in the sunshine, and then night temperatures cool them down, allowing them to retain their acidity. This balancing act in the vineyard allows us to create wines with depth and age-ability.
Yountville, California wineries’ soil diversity
Soil type greatly affects how a grapevine grows, how much water and nutrients it can get, and the quality of grapes it produces.
Yountville soils are sedimentary in origin and are made up of gravelly silt loam and alluvial soils and rock. Loam keeps the soil poor enough so that the grapevines have to struggle. This sounds bad, but it’s actually a good thing–grapevines need a little stress to produce quality wine grapes with concentrated flavor compounds.
The gravelly alluvial soil and rocks provide excellent drainage for the grapevines, forcing their roots to dig deeper into the earth in search of nutrients. This means longevity for the vineyard, and it also means complex wines!
Signature grapes of Yountville
Some of the most famous grapes in the world are grown here, including Cornerstone Cellars, making distinctive terroir-focused wines. Here are just some of what Yountville, California wineries have to offer:
Cabernet Sauvignon makes structured wines with complexity and the ability to age for decades
Merlot can make fresh, fruity wines with high acidity or deep, complex wines with bold dark fruit flavors
Cabernet Franc makes wines with dark cherry and currant, as well as herbaceous notes like green bell pepper
Chardonnay is an incredibly versatile grape that can make crisp, mineral-driven wines with citrus fruit, or full-bodied, creamy wines with tropical and stone fruit.
Sauvignon Blanc is an aromatic white grape with notes of grapefruit, passionfruit, and flowers
Local winemaking traditions
Here in Yountville, our winemaking tradition is built on a desire to showcase terroir—what each plot of land has to offer our grapes. Our winemakers at Cornerstone Cellars often create varietal wines, also known as single-vineyard bottlings. Rather than blending one grape from several vineyards, winemakers will choose to make wine from the fruit of one single plot of land. This is how we practice the art of storytelling.
That tradition and history also includes our very own tasting salon! Dating back nearly 150 years as the oldest standing structure in the Town of Yountville, our building was the original train depot for this part of the Napa Valley. We are honored to keep our own little part of history in Yountville alive and well.
At Cornerstone Cellars, we are dedicated to providing our wine club members with access to the finest wines in our portfolio, hand-selected
If you're seeking some of the best wine tasting Yountville has to offer, explore Cornerstone Cellars. A gem in the heart of Napa Valley, Cor
Wine Club Gifts: The Perfect Present For Wine Lovers
The holiday season is coming up, and we know that you want to gift something special to the wine lovers in your life. But sometimes it can be hard to shop for wine enthusiasts…how do you find the perfect bottle you know they’ll love?
A wine club subscription is the perfect solution to this question. A wine club is an excellent way to become acquainted with a favorite wine region and to experience the joy of tasting exciting wines regularly.
Plus, many wine clubs offer exclusive access like limited-production wines not available elsewhere, special events, and other discounts.
Here’s how a wine club subscription makes the perfect gift
A wine club is the gift of ongoing joy. Unlike traditional gifts that are enjoyed once, and then forgotten, wine club memberships are year-long, as members receive regular shipments of premium wines.
Wine clubs offer curated experiences, giving recipients the opportunity to receive personalized selections that are handpicked by experts. If picking a bottle for your wine-loving friend sounds overwhelming, you can leave it to the experts and trust that they’ll get something special.
A wine club subscription is the perfect gift because it allows recipients to discover new favorites and explore a variety of wines they might not otherwise pick for themselves. But it also gives them the best gift of all: a chance to taste wine regularly!
How to find the perfect wine club to give
There are many wine clubs out there, and we have a tried-and-true way of picking one that always works for the wine lovers in your life.
The next time you’re sharing a glass of wine, or chatting on the phone, ask them: what wine regions are you interested in right now? What’s new and exciting in the wine world? Take note of any regions or producers they mention. Next, find a winery in that region that showcases terroir in its portfolio and of course: has a wine club! There are so many options in wine regions around the world.
Your gift will be a surprise they never saw coming and a gift that keeps on giving.
We love our team here at Cornerstone Cellars and we want you to too! This week we'd like you to get to know Megan.
Wine Etiquette 101: A Guide to Enjoying Cornerstone Cellars Wines with Elegance
When you invest in boutique wines, you’re in for a unique experience, and it’s important to understand how to get the most out of what your collection has to offer. Follow the rules of wine etiquette and you can turn your cellar, dining room, or patio into one of the best tasting rooms Yountville has to offer.
Select the right glassware
Not just a rumor, the shape of your wine glass can influence how well (or poorly) you can detect the subtleties in your wine. Different varietals show better in specific glass shapes and sizes.
The 2021 Farina Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc would be enhanced when served in a stemmed glass with a smaller, more narrow bowl.
The 2020 Fiddlestix Vineyard Pinot Noir would really shine in a stemmed glass with a very wide bowl.
We suggest the 2019 Benchlands Cabernet Sauvignon should be served in a stemmed glass with a taller, larger bowl.
Temperature matters, too
Properly chilled (or warmed) wine can significantly enhance your tasting experience. Here are the ideal serving temperatures for our wines.
The 2021 Farina Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc should be served at 45°-50°F.
The 2020 Fiddlestix Vineyard Pinot Noir can be served stored at 55° F.
The 2018 Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon and other full-bodied red wines can be served stored at 59°-64° F.
Master the art of pouring
Pouring gracefully and efficiently adds elegance to your wine tasting experience. Knowing how much to pour in the glass will allow for optimal aeration and aroma release, while also adhering to proper serving etiquette.
The proper amount to pour for a tasting or a flight is 2 ounces.
The proper amount to pour in a glass is 6 ounces.
Here’s how to properly pour your Cornerstone Cellars wines:
Have a clean napkin or cloth nearby.
Leaving the wine glass on the table, hold your bottle from the bottom half and tilt the neck over your glass to pour.
Pour slowly and steadily to allow for slight aeration.
To finish, tilt the bottle upwards with a slight twisting motion.
Wipe the bottle’s lip with your clean napkin to prevent wine from dripping down the bottle.
Create a Yountville wine tasting experience
To fully appreciate the complexity of your Cornerstone Cellars collection, follow this step-by-step guide to tasting wine. These techniques will elevate your wine-drinking experience, and you’ll feel like you’re hosting your very own Yountville wine tasting in your home.
See - look at your wine. What color is it? How concentrated is the color?
Swirl - Swirl the wine in your glass to release the aromatic compounds in the bowl of the glass.
Sniff - Smell the wine. What aromas do you pick up on?
Sip - Take a sip of the wine and notice any flavors or textures.
Savor - Swirl the wine around in your mouth and take note of how flavors and texture develop, change, or fade. How long or short is the finish?
Dare to pair
To add a personal touch to your wine tasting, you can do what the best tasting rooms in Yountville do: pair your wine with food!
Whether you’re pairing the Farina Sauvignon Blanc with tortellini and arugula salad or the Benchlands Cabernet Sauvignon with filet mignon, you can create harmonious pairings that enhance your wine and the dish you serve at the same time.
From Grape To Glass|Cornerstone Cellars
From vineyard to bottle, winegrapes go through a fascinating journey of change. The processes that take place all depend on the climate, the grape, and the choices of the winemaker. The best Napa Valley wineries are a unique amalgamation of these factors, and wines are cultivated to express the specific terroir of our region.
The Joy of Unboxing: A Look Inside a Wine Club Delivery and What to Expect
The best part of being a member of the Cornerstone Cellars wine club is delivery day. Up to four times a year, our members receive a carefully curated selection of wines based on the kind of lifestyle they share with their wines. Unboxing these wines is an exciting ritual that might stir up new ideas of dinner parties and people you wish to connect with in the coming months. Let our wines inspire you to share food, time, and laughs with the people who matter to you the most.
Let’s take a closer look at what kinds of wines will be delivered to your door when you become a member of our community.
A peek inside the Classic Club
For our wine club members who never need a reason to open a great bottle of wine, the Classic Club was designed just for you. Featuring wines that never go out of style, wines that go with food, and wines that compliment that “just because” attitude that you love to live by, the Classic Club wines are the core of our portfolio.
When you become a member of the Classic Club, you’ll enjoy a box of 4 of the finest wines Cornerstone Cellars produces, delivered to your door four times a year.
A peek inside the Collector’s Club
Are you ready to dive deeper into the Cornerstone Cellars portfolio? The Collector’s Club was made for the discerning wine enthusiast who loves wine so much, they couldn’t drink just one style. These deliveries showcase our most distinctive wines, our softest wines, and everything in between.
Four times a year, members receive 6 bottles that demonstrate the full range of the Cornerstone Cellars portfolio.
A peek inside the Case Club
Case Club members get the ultimate unboxing experience. This is our most special offering, designed for the serious wine collector.
Case Club members receive 12 bottles of wine four times a year delivered to their door. Each box is curated by our winemakers specifically for careful aging in your personal cellar. Case Club members experience the joy of not only unboxing our most coveted wines, handcrafted from the best vineyard sites in the Napa Valley.
The beauty of the wine club
Being a member of a wine club is the perfect way to treat yourself to endless, special wines. Cornerstone Cellars wine club members enjoy other exclusive benefits like discounts on wine purchases, complimentary visits to our Yountville tasting room, and first access to allocated, reserve, and library releases.
Happy unboxing!
7 Tips to Storing Your Wine At Home |Cornerstone Cellars
Building a wine cellar can be as simple as keeping a rotation of twenty bottles at a time, or it can be as involved as building a library from the best wineries in Yountville and around California. Whatever your undertaking, you’ll want to know the best practices for storing your wine at home so that your bottles stay safe until you’re ready to enjoy them.
cornerstone winery|Cornerstone Cellars
Our Classic Club is a great introduction to our core wines, handpicked by the winemaker, offering a glimpse of what makes Cornerstone Cellars so special.
Seasonal Delights: The Best Time To Visit Yountville For Wine Tasting
At the heart of the Napa Valley, Yountville is the perfect place to taste local wines and get a sense of the wine region. With an abundance of natural beauty, wine, and award-winning food, this is a rejuvenating, exciting destination all year long.
We get one shot at harvest each year, and each season of that year brings something new to experience. No matter what season you’re visiting Yountville, you can find the best wine tasting Yountville has to offer. We’ve compiled a list of what kinds of events and tastings you can look for depending on which season you’re visiting.
Yountville wine tasting all year ‘round
Spring is an exciting time to be a wine lover. The buds are bursting, marking a new ripening season, and the vineyards are in full bloom. If you book a Yountville wine tasting during this time, you’ll be among the first to try the newest releases of our winemakers.
Coming back in Spring 2024 is also time for Taste of Yountville, which showcases over 50 award-winning restaurants and world-class wineries. Spring is also in time for Art, Sip & Stroll, a festival that celebrates the region’s status as a premier arts destination.
If you’re visiting in the summertime, you will enjoy plenty of outdoor tastings. Yountville is buzzing all summer long with events, festivals, local art, and music. This is the perfect season for morning hot air balloon rides or picnics in the vineyards.
Music lovers will enjoy the Yountville Summer Music Series at Veteran’s Memorial Park. In June, celebrate Yountville Pride with musical events and exclusive wine tastings.
Fall is a magical time in Yountville. The grapes are ready for harvest and the winemakers are busy! Booking a Yountville wine tasting during harvest season is an opportunity to experience the magic firsthand and get an exclusive insight into what the wineries are up to.
Most of our wineries host harvest crush parties or even grape stomping parties! Visitors might also enjoy riding the Napa Valley wine train, which visits local wineries, stops at grape crush parties, live music events, and wine tastings throughout the region.
Wintertime is cozy in Yountville
In winter, Yountville is twinkling with holiday lights and festive decor. The coldest season is the perfect time to cozy up to tasting room fireplaces and enjoy the special charm that the holiday season brings. This is also a time to drink in the warm, hearty reds that our region has to offer.
The Holidays In Yountville is a six-week-long event that is packed full of holiday festivities from November to January.
During this off-season, you are bound to find exclusive offerings, special events, and quieter visiting times. For example, the Yountville International Film Festival merges world-class short films with wine and culinary delights.
Book your visit on the weekdays for a chance to experience personalized wine tastings, quieter crowds, and lower hotel prices. You’ll feel like a local in no time!
Thanksgiving Turkey Tips | cornerstone cellars
Thanksgiving is just a few days away. My turkey is thawed and awaiting its initial brine before being cooked for the family. The Cornerstone Oregon 2010 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir and 2011 Chardonnay have been dropped off at my mother’s house so they are at cellar temp before dinner.
From Grape To Glass
From vineyard to bottle, winegrapes go through a fascinating journey of change. The processes that take place all depend on the climate, the grape, and the choices of the winemaker. The best Napa Valley wineries are a unique amalgamation of these factors, and wines are cultivated to express the specific terroir of our region.
To better understand this, let’s go over the foundation of viniculture, and how you can truly appreciate the wine in your glass.
What happens in the vineyard
Winemakers have to choose the perfect time to harvest their grapes. They make their decision based on sugar levels, which rise as grapes ripen, acidity levels, which drop as summer progresses, and flavor development.
There are various ways to test these factors, but harvest time also requires a bit of intuition, and the ability to anticipate the ultimate wild card: weather.
When it’s time to harvest, vignerons will either hand-harvest or use mechanical harvesters.
Hand harvesters use tools to harvest ripe grapes, place them in bins, and carry them to the winery. Winemakers who hand-harvest prefer the method because it is gentler on the grapes and keeps them from splitting open before they reach the winery.
Mechanical harvesting uses an over-the-row machine to harvest more grapes in less time. It allows for more affordable wine but can be harsher on the grapes.
The winemaking process
Once the grapes are picked and carried to the cellar, it’s time to sort, crush, and ferment the grapes.
Sorting & Crushing
Grapes are sorted to remove the stems, leaves, and other raw materials that might have been collected during harvesting. This material can affect the quality of the wine, leading to off flavors. During this time, unripe or rotten grapes are also removed.
After sorting, the grapes are crushed. This step ensures that the grapes are split open to expose the sugars so that fermentation can begin. There are two main ways of crushing grapes:
Traditional foot stomping is an ancient way of crushing grapes that is still used in some wine regions.
Mechanical crushing is more modern and commonly practiced in most wine regions.
Fermentation
Yeast plays an important role in winemaking.
Yeast converts the sugars in the grapes into alcohol, and in this process, releases aromatic compounds that develop the flavor profile of the final wine. But even the type of yeast can influence the taste of the wine.
There are two main types of yeast. Indigenous yeast, also called native, wild, or ambient yeast, is naturally occurring on the grapes’ skins. But it’s also present in the winery itself. Indigenous yeast can give a wine funky, complex aromas.
But using native yeasts runs the risk of encountering what is called a “stuck fermentation”—the wine stops fermenting and is unable to finish the process.
Commercial, or cultured yeasts, are known for being more dependable. However, they tend to be more aromatically neutral.
The temperature that your wine ferments also matters. Temperature and duration can influence various flavors and aromas, and even change the structure of the wine.
Red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, or Cabernet Franc wine are fermented at warmer temperatures.
White wines like Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Gris are fermented at cooler temperatures.
Aging & Maturation
Wines may be aged in oak barrels, stainless steel, concrete eggs, or clay vessels. Different vessels impact the flavor, texture, and aging potential of the wine.
For example, oak barrels not only allow for a slow amount of oxidation to develop complexity in the wine, but they also impart direct flavors like vanilla, spice, and coffee to the wine.
Unlocking the secrets of the best Napa Valley wineries
To fully appreciate your wine, pour it into a bowl-shaped glass and give it a swirl. This releases the aromatic compounds into the glass. See what kinds of aromas you can identify.
When you take a sip, swirl the wine around in your mouth. Take note of flavors and textures. Is the wine astringent? Or is it more juicy? What kind of fruit, flowers, or earthy flavors are you picking up on? Is the acidity high, leaving you feeling like you just sucked on a lemon? How weighty is the wine?
In the answers to these questions lies the key to understanding what happened in the vineyard and in the winery. Wine is a journey of discovery of how the subtlest choice can make a difference. What’s more exciting than that?