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It was about time that Grape Juice Plus tasted some grape juice plus, and given that white wines are made from green grapes, we decided that this St. Patrick's Day we would drink sparkling wine instead of beer. The group partook in a small trip to three of Napa Valley's methode champenoise wineries. First we visited the cathedral cut champagne caves of S. Anderson Vineyard on Silverado Trail in the Stag's Leap District. An hour-and-a-half tour hosted by our Irish guide, Mary Beth, took us through the garden, the facility, the vineyard, and the caves, where we all sampled a bottle of 1996 Blanc de Noirs and toasted Saint Patrick. The Vineyard Cats couldn't ask for a better start to the day. Then we crossed the valley from East to West and and drove North on Highway 29 a bit to eat lunch at Pometta's Deli in Oakville. After some huge sandwiches, we took a jaunt back to Yountville and caught the tour at Domaine Chandon which is the US estate of Moet & Chandon, the makers of White Star. Following the abbreviated version of the tour (the riddling room was closed due to construction), we found the tasting room and shared a magnum of 1994 late disgourged Blanc de Blanc. While enjoying our sparkling wine on the patio, we were witnesses to a performance of the ceremonial tradition of opening a 'champagne' bottle with a saber. It wasted a lot of bubbly, but was very cool to see. Lastly, a voyage South, out of the valley brought us to Domaine Carneros, which is Champagne Taittinger's Carneros Region chateau. The tour started with an informative, but unexciting movie that doubled as a marketing tool to plug the available sparkling wines. Following the second half of the tour, we stepped back upstairs and on to the patio where we chose a 1997 Brut to taste. When the flutes were empty, the trip was complete, and we all headed back to Marin County. Upon arrival in San Rafael, we walked over to the local British pub, the Mayflower Inn, and enjoyed some cornbeef and cabbage, bangers and mash, and fish and chips. Of course, it just isn't St. Patrick's Day without a pint of Guinness, so we had some of that too. Cheers.

Here's everybody's thoughts on the day:

• Adam S. - A 'champagne' tour was a great idea... never had I learned so much about a second fermentation -- my favorite. The only real drawback to the day is that Nicole is demanding, as a condition of our engagement, 'champagne' everyday.
  S. Anderson: By leaps and bounds the most fun place of the day. We sampled a Blanc de Noirs sparkling, which was very good. So good, that it is the bottle of 'champagne' with which we are planning to celebrate our move into our new house. The private cave tour was an awesome surprise and the highlight of my day. In addition to the 'champagne' tasting, I really enjoyed the Chardonnay that we sampled... very unique. The reserve Merlot was very pleasant as well, although it really didn't remind me much of a Merlot... it was more of a Mer-Cab.
  Domaine Chandon: This was the second time that I had done the Chandon tour, and this time they didn't allow us to tour the riddling part of the facility -- the tour was a very condensed version of the real tour. Anyhow, the 'champagne' that we sampled, a late disgourged, 6 years on the yeast sparkling, really wasn't much to shout about. It was drinkable, but not nearly as complex as the other places that we visited. But, I really enjoyed the guy that opened the bottle of 'champagne' with a sword.
  Domaine Carneros: By this time in the day, I didn't really want to sit and watch a movie about sparkling wine making, but it was interesting. I think that our tour guide was lying to us, or at least making stuff up on the tour because she kept contradicting the previous two tours on some smaller issues. The champagne that we tasted, Brut, was very good, but probably would have complemented the Beluga cavier a bit better that the rock-hard crackers and goat cheese spread.
  All in all, a great day, and even though I had to designated drive, I got to taste at each place and enjoy. The End.
  
  
• Michelle H. - I thought it was a nice change from the wine tasting we typically do. I really enjoyed the first tour, especially the caves. It was cool to see the difference between a small winery and a big one. My only suggestion would be that since the tours basically covered the same material (the 'champagne' making process), one would probably have done it for me. I did however like to see the facilities of each. Lunch was great, the weather was great, and overall, I had a fantastic time.
  
  
• Nicole N. - I loved the 'champagne' tour! Of course, that may be because I love champagne! Of the three wineries we visited, I enjoyed S. Anderson most. I really liked the private tour with Mary Beth. She was very fun and really knew what she was talking about. The caves were absolutely amazing! I never knew something like that existed! I thought the sparkling wine at S. Anderson was far superior to those we tried at the other wineries... I don't know, maybe it was because the winery was so small and the process was far less mechanical.
  Second to that I liked Domaine Carneros. You simply cannot beat that location. It was nice to end our day just sitting back and relaxing while we took in the Napa atmosphere.
  I did like Domaine Chandon also, but I have had better sparkling wine from them than the one we tasted that day. I was a bit disappointed in the tour here. We'd been on that tour before and actually got to see the riddling machines that were skipped this time.
  It was a great day, with good food, drink, and friends.
  
  
• Mike T. - My earliest experiences with 'champagne' had much to do with ice cold Korbel and day long headaches, so this trip was an eye opener. Except for the lovely bubbly party held at the cellar of the house of Nimmo, this was the first time I had a load of good 'champagne' in one day. Note well that the S. Anderson tour and tasting far surpassed those of Domaine Chandon and Domaine Carneros. If I wasn't so overwhelmed with house payments and wedding expenses, I would have joined at least their Premier Club and brought a few bottle home with me. Their 'champagne' ruled the lot, but I have to say both their Merlot and Chardonnay were a bit watery. I had also never heard of serving Chardonnay non-cold, but then what the hell do I know? Like the Terminator, "I'll be back."
  Chandon was the big corporate experience one might expect it to be, but I have to wonder what happens if you put someone in the old wooden press cart and cracked the wheel. Their champagne gets an unenthusiatic OK from me.
  Carneros was clearly second place. The go-at cheese was a nice touch and their 'champagne' was better than Chandon. I'd like to go back there, as perhaps, the first stop in an excursion to see if anything tastes any different.
  The best Guinness of the day was served at... oops, nevermind. We'll cover that when we go to Ireland.
  
  
• Chad S. - Ummm. It was fun and stuff. Honestly though, it ws a great day and I'd be happy to go do it again... as long as the girl from Carneros that was on speed isn't giving the tour.
  
  
• Jill A. - Beautiful day for a glass of champagne. S. Anderson was as I remembered from my previous visits. I love those caves. Would have been a real cool place for the wedding but, c'est la vie. I also enjoyed the Chardonnay that they produced. I wasn't as impressed with Chandon, which I drink alot of with my parents, but it could have been the huge turkey sandwich that I consumed right before. Carneros was a nice ending to the day although I was tiring of the school work. I am still waiting for the exam... Overall it was a splended way to spend St. Patrick's Day with good friends.
  
  
• Chad N. - Of these wineries, I had only ever been to Domaine Carneros. It is an awesome location with good quality sparkling wine. The one main thing that I took away from the visit this time was how to properly pronounce Taittinger. I had been wanting to go to S. Anderson to see the cathedral-cut wine caves ever since Jill had mentioned it as a place she had wanted to get married at. I must say, it would have been a pretty cool place to have a wedding. The sparkling wine we tasted was one of the best I think I've ever had to date. I can't wait to try the bottle of the 'Diva' we bought. I am quite willing to go back. I had been looking forward to going to Domaine Chandon as well. The winery it self beautiful and not where I thought it was. It was striking to see how different the process of making a wine with a second fermentation can be. They follow the same steps, but have quite an opposite view of how some of those steps should be applied. All in all, it was a great way to celebrate St. Patrick and his day. And to drink all that fine 'champagne' and still find room to slide a bit o' Guinness down over the top of it, made it just about perfect.
  
  

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