Paul had the pleasure of meeting Ryan Waugh of Waugh Cellars before Jan arrived in Napa, who then invited us up to see his new into-the-hillside winery he is building when Jan arrived. Ryan met us straight from his busy picking day (he was straight from his grapes, he now leases land in several different areas for his growing).
He gave us an amazing tour of his hill top currently under-construction
winery /cellar/ cave/ offices in the Napa hillside. It's 20k sf underground!
We met Ryan in the outskirts of Napa per his directions and then followed him up the winding hillside to a gated dirt road, then a mile up a steep dirt road to his property far above the valley floor.
Here we are waiting for him to open the gate.
No fair Ryan, you've got a 4X4! We're trailing him in our mighty '93 Taurus wagon (sold the EuroVan for new sail money).
We arrive at the cored-out "soon to open" site of his winery and cellars, "Waugh Cellars Winery...into the hillside! (he said, "six months to opening date" ... we will be BACK!)
Are these bomb shelters???
Ryan, with a bottle of wine his best chardonnay and a red, and two goblets in-hand ( he gave us engraved glasses for the schooner, explains the process to us.
(Geez, I look like a bobble-head doll...)
The gas powered generator behind Ryan lit the way, after a couple of pulls, but ran out of gas when we were inside... dark! Temporary fresh air ducts hang overhead.
Ryan and his wife bottled 3400 cases of wine in 2011, all sold thru their wine club. Ryan has been in the industry for 19 years, and loves the craft. See the nice selections at the wine club and feel free to order some ( the Russian River 2009 Pinot Noir was THE best we have ever tasted by far). If you order, be sure to mention Jan and Paul sent you.
Check out Waugh Cellars wine club at:
www.WaughCellars.com
"I think there was a party going on here," Jan says, holding a glass of the delicious Pinot Noir. This is the foyer to the cellar, where Ryan and his investors begin the tour. "Knights of the Round Table" comes to mind.
Into the tunnels we go. These will house the new winery and tasting rooms, and the entire operation is bored into this hillside, totaling 20k sq ft. The property will be fully powered by solar panels on the sunny hillside below. No need for A/C or heat, the hill stays a perfect constant temperature for wine: a bit chilly for the Hawaii girl though.
After we walked all the different tunnels, we went back outside to where the final tunnel was dug toward the west and will soon break thru the hillside to a beautiful view of the Napa Valley and beyond to San Francisco (you can see the top of the Golden Gate bridge if you stand on the picnic table).
This area will soon be the outdoor party / event area and offer amazing views, great wine and feature a wood-burning pizza oven. Ryan described his vision of fountains, winding paths, and amazing garden areas high above Napa Valley to sit and enjoy the food and his Waugh Cellars wine. All available for events and weddings
We love people with a vision...Thanks Ryan! Was great to get to know you and we're looking forward to your next visit to Oahu.
You can also watch the construction of this at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1UHtjYBZr8
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Jan on the picnic table, the wine has obviously taken its effect on her...
"Yippeee...."
A beautiful sunset over the valley.
A BIG "Mahalo" to Ryan for taking the time to show us his cool "office" and a big "Thank You" for the bottle of Russian River Pinot Noir and the etched wine goblets too! Those made it safely back to Hawaii, and we'll always think back to Napa when we use them.
(Poor lil' Taurus, still out of breath, in the background, from the hill climb.)
"Hey Ryan, how are the limos gonna make it up that hill?"
"Ahh," he says, with a wine glow in his face, "nothing a bit of money and asphalt or crushed rock wont fix."
......... the end of this great chapter of Paul and Jan's adventure..........
But, there's yet more to come!
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