Hess Collection Vineyards

Recently I was asked if there was a winery in Napa that has a nice artwork collection. The answer is yes. If you like art, you’ll need to stop at the Hess Collection. This historic stone winery was first built in 1903 in Napa’s Mount Veeder AVA. Donald Hess, a Swiss entrepreneur, purchased the winery in 1987 and spent two years updating it. The Hess Collection first opened its doors in 1989 and today is celebrating 30 years of making wine.

Certified sustainable by the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance, the winery was one of the first 10 to receive certification as a Napa Green Winery. The Hess Collection winery and Contemporary Art Museum is an excellent place to visit, with more than 13,000 square feet of Donald Hess’s personal art collection. Enjoy your trip to one of my favorite wineries in the Napa Valley.

Winery Notes: 2014 Hess Select Cabernet Sauvignon features grapes grown in Napa and Lake County that showcase a rich, full-bodied wine. “This ruby-colored wine has aromas of red raspberry and dark cherry and flavors of red raspberry and black cherry followed with spicy notes of currants, anise, cloves, cedar and a touch of vanilla,” states Director of Winemaking, Dave Guffy. This wine pairs well with broiled or grilled steaks, pasta with tomato sauce, lamb chops, hamburgers, chili, or barbecue. It retails for $17.99.

2014 Hess Select Chardonnay comes from the Salinas Valley in Monterey, where 352 acres of vineyards enjoy those cool, brisk breezes from the Pacific Ocean. “The cool nights and warm afternoons in this valley are ideal for producing chardonnay,” says Guffy. “The moderate temperatures lengthen the growing season and help to produce fruit flavors that have layers of tropical and citrus characteristics of pineapple, lemon, lime and crisp flavors of apple.” Pair this chardonnay with roast turkey, shrimp in garlic butter, scallops, mussels, clams, broiled or grilled salmon, and pasta with cream sauce. It retails for $12.00.

In the Greater Akron area, you can find or order Hess Select Wines at Acme Fresh Markets, Papa Joe’s Wine Shop, West Point Market, Regency, Buehler’s Fresh Foods, Heinen’s Fine Foods, Giant Eagle, Mustard Seed Markets or other fine wine retailers.

Wine Wisdom: Most wines do not need to be decanted. If they do, pour the entire bottle into a glass container, let the wine sit for 15 minutes, then pour it back into the bottle using a funnel. This will allow the wine to be sufficiently aerated and ready to pour into glasses for your guests. The most likely for decanting are very old wines that have developed sediment in the bottle and very young wines that need to be aerated so the wine will open up to reveal aromas and flavors.