This past weekend I was treated to a private tour of the historic Mondavi Winery. The unusually early spring has started the tourist season off with a bang, and passing under the iconic arch was like going through the turnstile at Disneyland. There were easily three hundred and fifty people spread out over their three tasting rooms, retail store and courtyard. I have to say-  the hordes were handled with perfect aplomb by the Mondavi staff.

The Barrel Thief has an insider at Mondavi, so I was not a part of one of the guided tours. This may have been one reason that I never felt like part of a herd. But I suspect that even the corn fed hoi polloi felt pampered by the incredibly patient staff. It was nice to see such consummate professionalism at such a gigantic tourist attraction.

Of course one of the first things I want to see are the barrel rooms. There are three main barrel rooms at the Mondavi winery. The room in this photo is exclusively Fume Blanc barrels.

One of my favorite wines produced at Mondavi is their Fume Blanc. They spend a lot of money on wood, and, god knows, if they tore out those To Kalon vines and planted Cabernet, they would at least triple their money on tonnage. It’s not just on the reserve level  though, I was drinking The 2010 Napa Fume during the tour and thoroughly enjoying the lush pear and stone fruit. I absolutely love the depth and complexity that barrel aging adds to this grape variety.

By the way, I would like to apologize for the poor quality of the photos at this point: The Mondavi people were afraid that taking photos of their wine would steal its’ soul, so they took my camera. I was forced to sneak pictures with my phone which doesn’t do justice.

This next room is the reserve room.

 This is where they keep the good stuff. At the back end there is a big cage full of old vintages, some in big, beautiful large format bottles.

 I have had the good fortune to taste some older vintages from here; 30+ year old wines that have held up magnificently! I suspect that some of the three liter bottles that they have stored here will be drinking for 50 years! Who says California wines don’t age well!

The sub reserve room has a more impressive quantity of barrels, which, I dare say is a beautiful sight to behold.

Well I finally got someone to assist me in stealing some barrels, but it was a bad idea to try and take them from the bottom of the pile so I’m afraid the Barrel Thief was foiled again!

The facilities are stunning. The fermentation room is like a cathedral.

But just sitting outside in the beautiful spring weather drinking Fume was really the highlight of the visit. This is a newly planted benchland vineyard that is the view from the winery. Won’t be in production for several years but looks nice now.