A Tasting of Peju Province 

April 05, 2016
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Photography by Michelle Walker

On our way to a recent offsite meeting in Calistoga, we stopped in Napa for a visit at Peju Province Winery and what a treat that turned out to be. Situated on Highway 29, within the prestigious Rutherford Appellation, Peju welcomed us with its iconic pruned Sycamore trees, French Provincial architecture, impeccably landscaped gardens and a lush 30 acres of vineyards.

Offering award winning and sustainably farmed wines, Peju represents the owners, Tony and Herta Peju’s, deep horticultural interests as well as their long and committed journey to discover this magical, grape-loving terroir.

In addition to daily tastings, Peju has a full-time chef, Alex Espinoza, who offers a wide range of culinary explorations including hands-on cooking classes, chefs table lunches and dinners featuring local seasonal ingredients, food and wine pairing classes, corporate team building events, private dinners and wine and cheese pairings every Friday at 10:30am and 1:30pm, with local small farm cheeses.  Quintessentially romantic, Peju is also the popular “engagement” winery where many a hopeful have popped the question.

From the kitchen, we made our way to the 50-foot tasting tower through the gift store, where we spotted some jams, spices and grapeseed oil (all sourced from the property itself) and other fun accessories for wine loving friends. 

The Peju tasting ended our journey on the right note. Although we did not encounter the famous yodelmeister, Alan Arnopole, our wine educators were informed, enthusiastic and passionate about sharing the history and tasting notes on each wine. And, apparently on any given day, winemaker Sara Fowler likes to pop into the tasting room to add her “notes” to each wine’s story.

We loved it all and will definitely be going back.