Dog Days at Hendry Winery

We took a break from the blog while my friend and designated driver (who also does most of the purchasing) spent two months in Europe, but are now back in action beginning with our visit Sunday, June 10^th to the second annual Dog Days at Hendry Winery.  In addition to receiving an invitation by email there was a poster announcing the event at Alston Park, the adjacent dog park in Napa.  This was an open house where you could bring your dog, enjoy complimentary tastings and receive 20% off wine purchases.  The Napa Humane Society had representatives, and freshly barbequed food was available for purchase from Barger’s Q.  This was set up with picnic tables under an awning.  All of the dogs were very well behaved and friendly.  Some were off leash and got along splendidly.  Mike and Molly Hendry poured the wines which included all of the Hendry wines plus a Zinfandel by Mike and Molly.  We had met Mike and Molly earlier this year at the big Zinfandel Festival in San Francisco where they had their own booth for tastings.  Their Zin and Hendry's were among the standouts of the many Zins we tasted there.  You can check out Mike and Molly here: Mike and Molly Zinfandel

The even lasted from 11AM to 4 PM and we were there from noon until after 2.  Everyone was very friendly so there was much social interaction.  It was more like tasting wine at home because of the informal atmosphere and available food for pairing.  It made it very easy, for example, to try all the Zins side by side or to go back and forth between the oaked and unoaked Chardonnay.  We were also able to purchase a bottle of wine (unoaked Chardonnay) to have with our meal and it paired well with barbequed chicken.  The wines were all very good as was the food.  The weather was perfect.  My wife and our dog, both had a great time.  I'd love to find some more dog friendly wine events, especially complementary ones, so I can bring my wife and dog with me on my wine tasting ventures.

My friend, Bill,  and I had visited Hendry Winery a few months ago, so we focused on tasting wines that we had liked most. The more I try Hendry wines, the more I like them.  They are very honest wines that have not been overly manipulated by the winemaker, which means having to start with really good grapes.  Their "Unoaked Chardonnay", for example, has neither oak nor malolactic conversion so you can taste the Chardonnay varietal and all of the subtle complexities that are often either not there or are overpowered with oak and MLF. But it is best when paired with food.  Their Cab is not the super ripe Parker like Cab that has become so popular but is much more in the older Napa tradition as exemplified by smaller wineries like Smith-Madrone and White Rock.  These are wines that might not jump out in a blind tasting but that require more careful exploration to appreciate the subtleties, complexity and terroir.  It makes the wines interesting and unique and was especially noticeable in the unoaked Chardonnay (on sale for $15.20) and the Cabernet Sauvignon (on sale for $44).  My appreciation of their Zinfandels has also increased, and I was glad to be able to purchase a bottle of the Mike and Molly Zin that we had sampled at the Zin Fest but had not been able to purchase previously.  Each Zin was quite good had its own personality,

Even if you attended this event, I would still recommend that you not miss the extensive three-hour tour and tasting conducted by George Hendry himself.  With really good wines, your appreciation of them can be enhanced significantly by learning about the winery and what the winemaker is attempting to do.  We hope to attend Hendry’s Dog Days event again next year and are grateful Hendry Winery for hosting this unusual event.

Unfortunately I forgot my camera.  If you were at the event and have some photos we could post on the blog, please contact me. Here is the link about our March visit to Hendry Winery:

Our visit to Hendry 

If you would like to sign up on Hendry's mailing lest to learn about the annual Dog Days or other events, you may reach them at:   Hendry Mailing List