This has been one of our families and I’m sure most of yours favorites for a long time. Nickel & Nickel has a history of critically acclaimed wines that are standouts in the industry. Located directly across CA 29 from Robert Mondavi Winery is Nickel & Nickel. It is hard to miss as it is a large white farmhouse that a massive barn located behind it. The gate is closed at all times and you will need to be buzzed in to make it to your tour. This was a little difficult for us as they would not pick up and we kept getting sent to Far Niente’s tasting room. They would eventually help us get in to make our tasting so make sure you allow enough time to get through the gate. The Sullenger House was built in 1884 and used as the tasting room for the property. The barn located on the back of the property is the winery and was orignlaly located in Meriden, New Hampshire. This barn was originally built around 1770 and was dismantled and reconstructed at the location you see today in 2001.

Once in the property we were taken to the garden and sat at one of the small tables and given a glass of Sauvignon Blanc to start. This seemed to be a staging area for them to then setup the tasting. After a few minutes we escorted up the stairs of the Sullenger House and onto the porch where we were seated for our tasting. The most impressive thing about this tasting was the information and visual props used to help you understand what exactly is going on in the vineyard. For instance, they offer a wine from Copper Streak Vineyard located in the Stags Leap District, this vineyard gets its name from the copper streak that runs through the soil. One of the props they use to demonstrate this is a core sample from the vineyard that shows the copper streak.

One of the nice things about this experience was that the host will ask you questions about what you enjoy and what some of your favorite wines are, also if any of them are Nickel & Nickel. They will proceed to form the tasting around what you like to make it more enjoyable. We were given tastes of the Truchard Vineyard Chardonnay, Quicksilver Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Kenefick Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon, and two vintages of the Copper Streak Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (2011 and 2017). Our favorite of the bunch was the 2011 Copper Streak Vineyard which displayed blackberry, cedar box, baking spice, tobacco, leather, chocolate and metal on the finish. After finishing our normal tasting, we were also given a sample of two of their sister wines: the Far Niente Estate Bottled Cabernet Sauvignon and the EnRoute Les Pommiers Pinot Noir.