Atalon Winery

Despite being told «by appointment only,» we showed up without one. No worries! Our group of six was treated to a free tasting as we sat around a large table with fresh flowers in a beautiful private room. The 2005 Minstrel’s Block Cab was excellent. Thank you, Kim, for being gracious and knowledgeable and for putting up with our shenanigans!

Is there such a thing as a perfect day?
I don’t know if there is, but this place comes close. For wines they offer Napa Valley Sauvignon Blank, Napa Valley Merlot, Keyes Vineyard Merlot, Napa Valley Cabernet and Beckstofer Vineyard, Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon ranging in age from 2002 to 2007. They take you on tour of the winery and got to try some wines straight from the barrel. I’m not a Sommelier or even come close to being a wine connoisseur, but I know good wine… I hope.
We came here for our Manager’s outing and the Executive Chef chose Atalon Winery as our get-​away retreat. This place is located in the middle of Calistoga in the famous Napa Valley County, and it’s absolutely gorgeous. It’s surrounded by rolling hills with endless rows and rows of grape vines. The weather was comfortably in the 70’s with a nice, cool and constant breeze. We got lucky as the Host later said that it was in the hundreds all of last week.
Arriving at the gates, you get greeted with a Tennis Court with immaculately green lawns ala Wimbledon. It turns out it’s made from fake turf, hence making it unnecessary to water the court. Hey, it’s cost effective and efficient; especially during a drought year. And the technology has vastly improved compared to the fake turf in the Brady Bunch’s backyard. However, the ball will take a weird bounce from time to time so beware.
The guesthouse is Mediterranean inspired and fully furnished with all the amenities you can think of. My only beef was that there was only one restroom. With free flowing wines and more than 40 people in our group, there were a lot of clogging in the restroom and I’m not talking about the plumbing. But the positives totally outweighed just one negative. They have a wonderful deck in the backyard, swimming pool, garden, outdoor fireplace and grill.
And speaking of their grill, we put it to good use. We grilled Lobsters, King Crabs, Dungeness Crabs, New York Strip Steaks, Pork Chops, Lamb Chops, Frog Legs, Scallops, Fillet Mignons, Yellow Tail, Veggies (for the health conscious) Tuna, Duck Breasts, Quails and Foie Gras. Oh my goodness, we stuffed ourselves silly it was ridiculous. But wait we had more: Spam Musubi for brunch, Tuna Tartar, Sweet Tomatoes, all kinds of Pies, Chocolate Cakes and all sorts of Pastries.
We had so much food we had to take some home. Of course, both my dogs, Maxie and Francine benefited. And to top it all off… I won the Texas Hold Em Poker Tournament and got enough dough to fill half a tank of ga$.
Come to think of it, this was pretty close to a perfect day.