So, how hard could it be to blend Zinfandel? I mean, don’t you just fill a beaker halfway with Zinfandel and then fill it to the top with... Zinfandel? Um, no. You don’t.

The Pisoni Vineyards include several discrete vineyard blocks, all of which sit high in the hills at the southern extreme of the Santa Lucia AVA. Altitude, latitude and proximity to the ocean work together to ensure that the grapes get plenty of cooling to complement the plentiful sun. The resulting wines are generous and fruit-forward, neither overblown nor flabby. Many top winemakers who would happily enter into a UFC cage match for rights to these grapes which are provided only to select wineries, including Siduri, Peter Michael, Miura and Kosta Browne.

Imagine yourself on an expansive wood terrace overlooking a beautiful vineyard. There is a light spring breeze in your face. Napa Valley sunlight is softened by the leaves of an ancient oak tree. Pepper the deck with your best friends. Give everyone a glass of fine, vintage sparkling wine. That is a “happy place” we’d all like to go to. And you can.

Mumm Napa has opened a new luxury terrace at their visitor center. For just $30, you can spend an afternoon lounging on the comfortable furniture with your feet up. And you get two flutes of gently-aged vintage sparkling wine from their library. If you prefer, you can choose a food pairing sampler for two. That comes with cheese, nuts, fruit and sparkling wine and is just $20. Additional options are available.

Richard Grace wants to be on a plane to Tibet tomorrow. But he won’t be. It seems the Chinese government is cracking down on foreign visitors again. His presence in Tibet could put his hosts at risk, so he will stay in Napa for now. How does this relate to a wine tasting?

When winery owners go to a tasting, they often bring a binder or portfolio. In some cases, the binder includes pictures of the vineyards or tasting room. Sometimes it has pictures of the winemaking process. Other binders have winemaker’s notes on the individual wines. What is the blend? How much new oak was used? At how many degrees brix were the grapes picked.

Dick Grace brought a binder to the tasting last night. He showed it to everyone he could.   It was full of pictures. But there was not a grape or vineyard to be seen. The pictures showed Tibetan children. It showed the poor living conditions they used to have and the run down schools. And it showed the new dormitories and beautiful schools Mr. Grace has helped build for them. It showed supporters of the Dalai Lama unfurling banners of support on the Golden Gate Bridge. And there was a photo of Dick showing THAT photo to the Dalai Lama.

Grace Family Vineyards makes some of the best wine in the world. Many people can attest to that and we will too. The wine is so sought after and made in such low volumes that at this moment there are about 4,500 people on a waiting list just to get onto the allocation list. That allocation list can only include 600 people. So if you want to try to taste the wine, you need to have a friend who already gets it. Or buy it on consignment from a store with such a friend. Or go to one of the rare public tastings as we did.