July Wine Blog

Napa Travel & “Art”

Where have you traveled to this summer?  What have you seen?  After all, we’ve made it to the heart and soul of sight-seeing season—when the weather is gorgeous and the travel is easy. 

I had opportunity to travel with my wife to Napa Valley, California this past May.  It was incredible!…Breathtaking scenery as you drive Highway 29 (reminiscent of northern Door County)! Relaxing atmosphere! Yummy cuisine!  And “culture” to boot! 

I say this because the lasting impression of my time in Napa can be summed up in what how my wife response to our trip.  She said, “Wine is an artform.”  Wine is more than just fermented grape “juice.”  It is more than what is collected in each individual bottle placed neatly on our stores’ shelves for comsumption.  It is art—sometimes it is having a winery team tasting a blend of red grapes some seventy times to get the taste just right.  It is art—one’s “agricultural” perspective on organic, biodynamic, or sustainable grape-growing and how it is applied.  It is art—understanding from the winemaker their personal “touches” on each style of wine they produce.  It is art—how each winery or vineyard accounts for the weather that is provided to them in each growing season.  All this, and more, you can experience in a wine country trip—I highly recommend it (and Otto’s experienced wine staff certainly is able to assist you with recommendations for your own trip)! 

But until your first trip (or next) to Napa comes around, you should enjoy all that “art” has to offer from your wine glass this summer!  Here are some of my favorites from Napa:

Markham Sauvignon Blanc—notes of citrus and tropical fruit make this refreshing

Black Stallion Chardonnay—vanilla and white peach flavors give this wine good character

Rutherford Hill Merlot—true French-style (a bit of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, & Cabernet Franc blended into the Merlot) from the Napa Valley

Sterling “Anniversary/Celebration” Red Blend—It’s perfect partner is the grill!

All these wines are under $20, so stop in to one of Otto’s seven locations and you can be in Napa enjoying “art!”

Cheers!

Andy,

Wine Manager

Otto’s Brown Deer