58 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF: DAVID MARTININEZ- BERINGER VINEYARDS / TUBAY YABUT- BERINGER VINEYARDS woman, sees the 2022 Portrait as “a beautiful little summer red… She is very smooth.” In comparison, “The younger sister, the ‘23, she’s sassy. She’s got a little bit of sharpness to her,” Catherine describes. “That’s a youthful characteristic because she is kind of young, but her composition is very different.” She credits the vineyard’s shift to more petit verdot and the entirely new addition of malbec, both hefty, bolder grapes. Down the road, the 150-year-old Beringer Vineyard also draws on metaphors to make the winemaking process more playful and approachable. Andrew Megears, our guide for the afternoon, compares vintages to a theatrical production. “The curtains are the tannins,” he describes. “As the tannins open up in age, you start seeing what’s going on in the bottle. As it softens, you pick up on more subtle flavors in the wine. It’s always changing.” After a tour of the estate’s wine-aging caves and picturesque grounds, visitors step inside the Rhine House, an 1883 Victorian built by the vineyard’s founding {due west} brothers. In a room flooded with stained-glass windows in vibrant jewel tones, Andrew guides guests through a tasting—all cabernet sauvignon, all from the same year, simply different regions. The impact the minerals, elevation and climate have on the vines is notable. While the lower-altitude of St. Helena Home Vineyard coaxes a sophisticated subtlety from the region’s fruit, the harsher conditions on Howell Mountain’s Steinhauer Ranch cause the vines to send their roots 30 feet deep for nutrients, bringing a full-bodied boldness to the grapes. ARTFUL DINING & TASTEFUL GALLERIES St. Helena also embraces its rustic roots through its dining scene. One shining example: Charlie’s Napa Valley along Railroad Avenue. With countryside photos, light wood accents, plank ceilings and fresh flowers on every table, the space brims with farmhouse friendliness. Befitting such a space, many dishes embrace elevated Southern cooking. Like WINE HAVEN RAYMOND VINEYARDS Tastings offered outdoors in the grove or inside the working cellar where stainless steel winemaking tanks are offset by an array of chandeliers and mirrors. Also home to a giant 10-foot-tall eyeball. TRINCHERO NAPA VALLEY A family-owned operation. Its tasting room embraces a dark academia design. ROMBAUER VINEYARDS Offers perfectly picturesque mountain views. DEL DOTTO ESTATE WINERY & CAVES Property elevated by Venetian architecture and old-world grandeur. THE PRISONER WINE COMPANY Boasts a dark, trendy lounge and a dedication to making “rule-bending blends.” ABOVE: Views of the Rhine House at Beringer Vineyards
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