WINE & SPIRITS

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As the days went on, we heard the winemaking techniques from the vintners themselves and all the irresistible tales of the wineries' histories. Take Beaulieu Vineyards: as far back as 1900, a pioneer named George de Latour planted cabernet in the heart of Napa. When all the other fledging wine operations in Napa had to close, he survived Prohibition by making sacramental wine for the Catholic Church. Today his Beaulieu Vineyard is going strong, making some extraordinary reserve wines.

Another early Napa legend is Sterling Vineyards, which started in 1964. Here, the first vintage-dated, varietal merlot in the U.S. was produced. The cable car-accessible hilltop winery still makes outstanding merlot, as well as great cabernet sauvignon. It's one of the most visited wineries in Napa. (And Napa gets more visitors than any other tourist attraction in California—even Disneyland.)

In the late 1970s, the Acacia Winery was one of the early comers to the Caneros wine region. The influences of the cool bay and the summer fog made the winery among the first to attempt pinot noir and chardonnay, both of which need a cooler growing climate. Some remarkably good sparkling wines—and still pinot noir and chardonnay—are made from Acacia's grapes.

Moon Mountain Vineyard, while newer on the scene than Acacia, is already making its mark by growing organic grapes high up in a ridge in the Mayacamas Mountain Range, and lays claim to Sonoma's first winery cave. At this remote, high-altitude vineyard, many varieties, among them cabernet franc, malbec and zinfandel, are grown. And the newest winery to join the Crush Camp program is Provenance, which, in its short seven years of existence, already has a cult following. Winemaker Tom Rinaldi, after years with Napa's Duckhorn Wine Company, is getting great reviews for Provenance, which is taking off like an Opus One.

Crush Camp was book-ended by two dramatic displays. We started off at Moon Mountain for a wine tasting atop the mountain at sunset. Soon an enchanting harvest moon appeared like a giant ball lingering over the turreted winery. On the final afternoon in Carneros at Acacia, we witnessed a riveting falcon demonstration by Napa's leading falconer, Karl Kerster. The predator flew in swooping circles, scaring away scores of startled birds, and then back onto his master's shoulder. The view from the hilly vineyards onto San Pablo Bay just north of San Francisco was spectacular. Moved by all the natural beauty, I resolved to neglect Napa no more