Customer Reviews

Back Lane Wineries of Napa

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My husband and I just visited Napa and Sonoma Counties, and our trip was special because we used Tilar Mazzeo's Back Lane Wineries of Napa and Back Lane Wineries of Sonoma. We visited wineries that are family run rather than corporate owned. We had some great wine and met fantastic people who love what they do. Remember, though, that if you make an appointment at a small winery and get a personal tour, you will feel compelled to buy a bottle or two at the very least. It is a personal experience, and you will often be talking with the person who made the wine that you are enjoying. Now, whenever my husband and I open one of the bottles, we remember the person who put their heart into the making of it. Buy the book, and get the Sonoma County version as well. Have a great trip.

Tilar Mazzeo's "Back lane wineries of Napa" is a great book for a specific audience: true wine lovers who are visiting Napa Valley, are not bothered by wines costing $30 a bottle or more, and who want to have individualized, hands-on engagement with small producers instead of the mass-producing wineries. If that description fits you, then it's a must buy -- finding a single great experience is well worth the cost of the book.

The format of the book is 1-3 small-sized pages per winery, with a description of the winery's history, the winemakers and/or owners (most often the same), and the style of wines they produce. It describes what is unique to each winery: the location, the wine style, or the story behind it. Mazzeo also profiles a few of the wines and the price range for each winery, so you generally know what to expect ahead of time before making an appointment. It makes no pretense of being complete, and instead selects a few dozen interesting and unique places.

As for the wineries, they are all small, mostly family-owned and operated, and mostly produce 500-3000 cases production a year. These are wines that are nearly impossible to purchase except directly from the winery. By comparison, the larger Napa producers make 100,000 or even 1,000,000+ cases per year ... which are the ones available in grocery stores, national distribution, restaurant lists, etc. The producers in this book are doing things very differently.

The primary "catch" to these wineries is that visiting them almost always requires setting up an appointment for an individual tasting of a hour or two. These are not places where you can drop in along the course of a day of winery hopping; you're expected to seek them out and to visit because of a genuine interest to learn about them. You set up an appointment by calling a week or two in advance, and picking a time. This is a real commitment, not something one should do on a whim.

This is *not* to say that you have to be a wine expert to make an appointment and visit one of these producers -- in fact, most winemakers love to help relative novices understand what they're doing and why, as long as you are sincerely interested in their work and are courteous. Don't try to show off your knowledge; just appreciate what they are offering you, and definitely *don'* be afraid to ask questions! In return, you should expect to purchase a few bottles of their wine. No one will enforce that, but it's just good courtesy. (And no, I don't have any self-interest to say that, I'm just a consumer.)

For my part, I found one small producer in the book who was making something that intrigued me, so I called and set up an appointment for my wife and me. When we arrived -- at the winemaker's family home -- there was one other couple and the winemaker himself. We finished four bottles of wine over the course of two hours, toured the vineyards which were onsite, and chatted at length about their wine, winemaking, and the industry. I left with a fabulous case of wine at $30/bottle ... and most importantly, with the most enjoyable memory of wine tasting that I've ever had (among 100s of winery visits).

Mazzeo includes a few pointers to restaurants, tasting bars, and food shops, which is nice but (appropriately) downplayed next to the coverage of wineries.

In short, if you're a wine lover and are interested to have a unique, personal experience in Napa, this is a great book. Who is it *not* for? If you're new to wine tasting in general, know nothing about Napa, are more interested to visit several places per day, want to sample a lot of common Napa wines, prefer to visit wineries you know and can find at a store, are afraid to engage one on one with a winemaker, or are traveling with a large group, then this is not your book (get a traditional Napa guide instead). Cheers!

Back Lane Wineries of Napa is a pick for any who would locate the wineries 'off the beaten path' in a California county well known for its winery paths. These are smaller venues offering world-class wines and tastings - but are much lesser-known than the larger chateaus. Some seventy-five discoveries are profiled here, with hours, tasting offerings, websites, locations, and history making them easy to plan for.

A fabulous trip through little known wineries along the rural roads of Sonoma County. This carefully researched publication was a joyful companion on a recent trip, accurately pointing the reader toward knowledgeable and most friendly vintners throughout the region. EVERYONE introduced to us in the book made the journey a most memorable one and quite tasty, too. This is more than a guidebook, it is an investment in a wonderful time.

Fabulous book! Great insider info. Don't bother with the huge wineries with lines, enjoy the small boutiques! This book is a must have for your next Napa trip

Just a couple of months ago I reviewed three books about wineries that many of you send back word that you enjoyed as well. One comment mentioned how much they enjoy visiting wineries during travels around the country. That came to mind when I came across a pair of books written to facilitate such touring. :"Back Lane Wineries of Napa" ($19.95, The Little Bookroom, 272 pp.) and "Back Lane Wineries of Sonoma" ($19.95, The Little Bookroom, 256 pp.) both written by Tilar Mazzeo, are guidebooks to out-of-the-way places in two of California's most famed areas for quality wines. Napa and Sonoma both are populated with well-known wineries with regular visiting hours, guided tours and staffed tasting rooms. These books, however, introduce you to the other wineries. The ones that aren't so well-known, may not keep regular hours and the person who pours you a sample may be owners themselves. And as a bonus, the author even included a barbecue joint: Bounty Hunter Wine Bar and Smokin' BBQ, located in downtown Napa.

Informative book on wineries that even seasoned travelers to the valley may not know about. Also has a few restaurant recommendations.

This is a small book in size and smaller in useful information. The author drives us up and down a few winery highways and writes a very short blurb about each winery he stops in to visit.