Range: 1 to 9 (9 is best, 5 is average)
European-styled winery just north of Saint Helena. Variety of reds and whites.
www.charleskrug.com
I was told about Charles Krug Winery during a visit back in 2008 to Rudd Oakville Estate. The fellow hosting my small-group tasting had suggested Charles Krug as a good place to visit. Later, I would notice Charles Krug’s property as I would drive north past Saint Helena, but I did not pass it on every trip. So, when it came time to visit on this trip, I had trouble remembering where it was located. Because I have switched to using the Silverado Trail and Deer Park Road to bypass the Saint Helena traffic, I have not been passing the Charles Krug estate. As I would seldom travel north of Freemark Abbey’s tasting room, my sometimes unreliable memory had me believe that the tasting room was north of Freemark Abbey, when in truth the winery is located just south of Deer Park Road, across from the Culinary Institute. (Ah, that’s it! I was distracted by the thought of food every time I drove by.)
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| The old-world style of the Charles Krug winery building |
The Charles Krug winery operations building houses the tasting room and is set back from the main road a short distance. You’ll walk a bit further from the parking lot, past the gardening structures and around the side of the building to find the entrance. The winery operations building has an old-world European feel to it, with tall walls, small, arched, brick-lined openings for windows, cornerstones running up each corner, and a gabled roof with dormer windows popping out. Inside, the tasting area is set up in a large open space. Unlike the tasting room at Ehler’s Estate, where the floor is divided (buy sofas and tables alone) into nine tasting areas, there are just two tasting bars at Charles Krug. The vast middle of the room is mostly vacant except for a small cluster of tables near one of the bars. Behind the main tasting bar they have installed a tall bottle rack much like the handsome backlit rack at Etude, although the rack here is stocked with dummy bottles all bearing the same label (a reference to 1861). The floors and walls are all unfinished concrete, with some woodwork added to soften the feel. The overall feel of the operations building is blended nicely with a few visual comforts to create an interesting (albeit dim) tasting room.
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| The mix of concrete, wood, and interesting items inside the Charles Krug tasting room |
I opted for the basic tasting flight, but dropped one of the white wines in favor of another red wine. I started with the 2012 Carneros Chardonnay and followed with the 2012 Carneros Pinot Noir. Next was the 2012 Napa Valley Cabernet. I ended my flight with the 2012 Zinfandel, which was added to my flight. Of these wines, I enjoyed the Zinfandel the most, but I would prefer not to be drinking 16.7% alcohol in my wine. (The highest Zinfandel I have ever tasted was 17% and was delicious.)
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| The wine rack wall inside Charles Krug winery |
Based on this experience, I would rate the winery as a 7 and the wines offered as a 6.
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