Following a brilliant birthday celebration for my daughter in Northern California this past weekend, we passed through Napa Valley en route to balm for both soul and body at the Calistoga hotsprings. Nothing can diminish my enjoyment of hotsprings, but wine tasting, the original raison d’etre for a visit to Napa? What a disappointment! When I first came to California in the ’80s, wine tastings in Napa were an adventure. We’d cruise up and down Route 29 and Silverado Trail admiring the stunning valley, vibrant with brilliant yellow mustard blossoms against the backdrop of the often misty hills, and stopping at any winery that captured our fancy. Pourers were genial and tastes were generous, and there was an air of exploration about the whole endeavor. Grateful for their generosity, we lay down cash for at least a bottle at each winery, thus stocking our larder for the coming year.

In later years, wineries began charging three or four or five dollars for tastes, and that seemed fair, although we bought less wine.

Yesterday, since it was after 5pm, only a couple of wineries still welcomed visitors. We ventured into Peju’s new tasting room, replete with arched ceiling, stained glass, hardwood floors and stone appointments. It’s lovely. However, they announced we couldn’t start tasting, that the next series would be starting in a few minutes and please step into the next room and sample some mustards and chocolate sauces. We were summoned back into the tasting area shortly, lined up at the two tasting bars, and charged $10 for minuscule tastes of four questionable wines. The two with high pricetags were only marginally better than the early pours. Our server was a nice enough man, but better-suited to a boardroom or classroom than hosting a wine bar, and slow as the dickens; I’m happy to stick around if it’s entertaining, but the point of making customers wait for two sips and dragging the whole thing out for nearly half an hour is beyond me.

I feel so sad for anyone who missed out on the Napa experience as it was “back when.” You missed something quite special.