Porter Family Vineyards and their Sandpiper Rosé 2016

My friend Erika wanted to celebrate her special birthday in Wine Country so asked me to organize a trip for us to Napa Valley.   Two amazing asks in one request!   Firstly, I get to join my friend in one of my favorite places in the world and two, I get to plan!  I do love to plan things. 

We stayed at my favorite hotel, the stunning Hotel Yountville right the heart of the little town of Yountville itself.  I put together five days of wine tasting, exquisite dining and a relaxing spa day. 

One of the tours I asked our tour company, Napa Private Tours to put together was at a vineyard a friend recommended to me called Porter Family Vineyards in the Coombsville region of Napa Valley.  I expected nice wine as my friend only loves great wines but what didn’t expect was the personal welcome we received upon arrival.   

Waiting at a table overlooking the magnificent landscape of the vineyards was a bottle of the Sandpiper Rosé 2016 just waiting patiently to be poured into two P initialed wine glasses.  As a side note, both Erika and my last name starts with a P so of course we had to buy the glasses.  Rosé was poured and our charming engaging host, Florencia talked to us about the Porter Family and their wines.

Our tour led us around some of the vineyard itself and then through the 17,000 square feet of wine caves past the fermentation bays, blending tanks and walls lined with French oak barrels filled life’s joy… wine!

Before we sat down for the actual tasting we were greeted with the wine that got me hooked, an exclusive Red Family Blend 2012.  A sip of this wine and I was signing on the dotted line to become a Porter Family wine member.  The selection of wines we spent the next 45-60 minutes tasting only compounded my decision to join this exceptional wine making family. 

For this review we are going back to talking about the Rosé, which I purchased a few bottles of.  When I first poured the wine I got a strong whiff of acidic strawberries leading me to think (incorrectly) this wine was going to be sweet and overbearing and I wasn’t going to be able to hide it on my face.  I have been told I am very transparent.  I could not be more wrong.  This wine presents piles of berry fruits with strawberries leading the charge but not sweet at all.  Think of that first strawberry you taste in the spring that is just perfection – this is it.  It rests in the mouth and bounces with a refreshing watermelon crush taste.  It was a little cool on Saturday night but I can imagine on a warm evening I would be sitting on my patio drinking this delightful porch wine with friends.  Instead I enjoyed a much needed night in on my sofa watching the equally delightful Bridget Jones’s Baby.  

I love dry Rosés with something special and this one is just the delightful ticket inviting sunshine into anyone’s life that’s lucky enough to drink it. 

Their signature label with a Sandpiper on it offers a wonderful story of discovering fossilized footprints of the little Sandpiper bird when they were drilling the caves.   

I highly recommend a tour of this winery if you are ever in Napa and even if you are not one to join wine clubs you must treat yourself to a couple of bottles of their wines.  You will absolutely be hearing more about them on LifeFoodWine as I open up more adventures in tasting from Porter Family.