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13 reviews for Outpost Wines
13 reviews in English
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Review from Theo S.
Minneapolis, MN
1/16/2012
Go for the people, go for the wine, go for the view. Your choice, but make sure you go! We thought we were going to swing in for a quick tasting, but fell in love with every aspect of this vineyard.
Kathy and Rich gave a great tasting and tour. They actually let the wine speak for itself. They were busy telling us about the plots of land and the intricacies of planting grapes in granite, while our small group quietly enjoyed three of their fantastic wines. With wine this good, we didn't need to be told what to look for in the nose, we just enjoyed it. If our glass was empty during the vineyard tour, no problem, Rich kept the bottle in hand and was happy to refill the glass.
Oh yeah, and the view. At 1400 feet, the tasting room and patio have an incredible view of the valley. Take the 2:30 tasting so you can watch the sun start to set.
Our intended 30 minute run in for a taste turned into more than an hour and a half of winery heaven. I wish we could have spent the evening in their tasting room.
Make this appointment first, then plan the rest of your day. -
Review from Lindsey W.
Minneapolis, MN
1/23/2012 1 Check-in Here
This place was so welcoming to us! We really enjoyed talking to the owner Kathy and hearing about their unique business model. The wines that they are producing are great and it's very neat to see what other projects they are working on.
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Review from phil h.
3/17/2011
It's good to know people in the wine industry - a friend took us to Outpost for a tasting and we were all blown away. The views were fantastic, the wines amazing and the people down right nice.
Unlike other wineries where you're elbowing others to get a taste, Outpost is wine tasting for grown up's. As we were outside learning about the history of the property, our tasting was set up for us inside. We then worked our way through three fantastic wines, each one more complex than the first.
Howell Mountain is a bit of a trek on winding roads so definitely make your appointment for early in the day. But defnitely do yourself a favor and give Outpost a shot!Listed in: Wine Country Living
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Review from barry k.
Mill Valley, CA
9/19/2011
We are local and were doing a wine tour of Howell Mountain and this was on our list, but never thought to call ahead. We ended up joining a nice couple for their private tour (they were so generous to let us join them when the Outpost guy asked) and had THE BEST time. Bought a bunch and I am waiting for the delivery as I type this. This is great wine, a lovely facility and very pleasant people. We are so sick of cheezy napa wineries that charge and arm and a leg and cater to the tourists...no fun. This was a very personalized tour and we were so fortunate to have glided in on it.
PLAN AHEAD and make an appointment! Also enjoyed Pope Valley Winery to just stop in.
Remember this lovely, small, homey town is CLOSED up on Saturdays, no gas, no corner store, no cafe. It is their day of worship (town was settled by 7th Day Adventists) -
Review from Kristin H.
Los Angeles, CA
4/19/2011
Came up here for a private (Free! Amazing in Napa) tour and tasting on recommendation. It's definitely a bit of a drive, but once we stepped foot on the property we were SO glad that we came. The most spectacular views. The tasting room was inviting and well appointed. Kathy, who owns Outpost with her husband, gave us our tour. She was beyond gracious and gave a great history of the property while educating us on their wines, which, by the way, were BEYOND fantastic. No one else was up on the hill during the time except us and in no way did we feel rushed. Amazing experience and I can't wait to get my hands on more of their amazing product. A must visit if you're a red drinker. In love with their grenache and zins!
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Review from Ed K.
Califon, NJ
9/12/2010
Scott Creamer, the wine sommelier at Brix, recommended Outpost to us. Since we planned on visiting a few wineries on Howell Mountain anyway, we added them to the list.
The view off the patio is spectacular. With a view like that, I question their building a tasting room.
My wife and I really enjoyed Outpost wines. We are big Zin drinkers and these wines were very enjoyable. So much so that we are now on their mailing list.
Highly recommended. -
Review from John R.
El Monte, CA
3/8/2009
2004 Outpost Howell Mountain Zinfandel
This was the bottle I brought to our big Zin Tasting. I have a friend who was working for this winery last year and got me on there list. The wine again is strictly mailing and restaurant only. The 2005 Vintage scored 64th place on Wine Spectators Best Wines of the world list. Seghesio was 10th. Hey Wine Spectator!!! I get that one but not this one. This was a wine that I had high expectation for but it did not deliver. As my brother told me once. How the hell are they growing warm weather grapes on Howell Mountain. I don't really know. Overall the wine packs a huge cedar, oak and tobacco nose and taste. They overwhelm the wine completely as to not have much fruit come forward. The wine can be lit on fire as well with a 16% plus alcohol level... The 2005 vintage I did taste as well last year. It too was to heavy on the wood notes for me to really like. I passed on purchasing any 2006 wines. Not sure if I will every buy anymore of it.
Try it if you dare
Cheers! -
Review from Powell Y.
Costa Mesa, CA
12/19/2007
originally posted on http://winodepot.com
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Date: December 13, 2007
Winery: Outpost Wines
Winemaker: Thomas Brown
Tasting: Tasting by Appointment
Contact: 707.965.1718 - Tony Velebil
The visit was requested by Josh Nelson of the Kitchen and Ella (the family owns both restaurants), ended up that Josh had a case of flu, so just CHICO and I headed up to Howell Mountain for the visit.
I didn't take any notes during the visit, while going through three 2005 Outpost bottling plus various barrel samples and catching up with Tony and Thomas. Conversation topics ranged from The Mitchell Report, talking shop, to reminiscing about corks flying and Riedels breaking at last year's post Wine Symposium dinner at the Kitchen.
If you are a fan of Thomas Brown, this is where you need to visit. Aside from Outpost, Shrader, Maybach, GTS (Tom Sever), Carmen Policy's projcet, Two Hands (US project sourced from Spring Mountain Vineyard) and probably few others I can't recall at the moment all can be found here.
We wrapped up the tasting after couple of hours, until next time...Listed in: Napa Valley Treasures - the…
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Review from Daniel C.
Irving, TX
4/21/2010 6 photos
Thomas Rivers Brown is the man of the hour. We did a private tasting hosted by Brown. TRB is also the winemaker for Shrader. Pretty much had EVERYTHING except for his Shrader. Outpost wait list is 2 yrs. The 07 out of the barrell is great stuff. Anyway, my wife and I agreed we will name our first child Rivers.
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Review from John O.
9/23/2008
So much hype on the eBob message board for this tasting and it fell way, way short. No organization, the tasting room was a mess and it was rushed. We wasted our time driving up to visit this place.
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Review from Greg H.
Yountville, CA
9/6/2010
Outpost Wines is one of the best wineries to visit in the area. They have a new Tasting Room Hostess Erin, very nice girl. They have Thomas Brown as the wine maker, enough said. The crew of John's does a stellar job. ( there are three or four John's working there) Owners Kathy & Frank Dotzler couldn't be more gracious. The True Vineyard Cabernet 2006 is one of my favorites. They also have one of the best views in Napa County.
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Review from Chris H.
Naperville, IL
12/9/2010
Outpost Wines.... Incredible View from the Porch was simply the beginning of one of the most memorable tastings our Group had on the 2010 trip. Erin our beautiful host begin the tour on the Patio with a lovely healthy pour of Outpost Grenache. This was followed by some history of the winery and it was on to one of the best Zins..... a Zintastic pleasure to the palate. We then toured the crushpad, and watched as Frank and Kathy Dotzle crushed some of this years harvest. Followed by a simply awesome Syrah in the tasting room. I would recommend that anyone making the trek to Howell Mountain would be remiss to not visit The Dotzle's and Erin.
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Review from Robert S.
Charlotte, NC
11/12/2009
I had just the opposite experience as everyone. The tasting was very organized and detailed. Dan hosted us and knew plenty about every aspect of the business. The tasting room and views were amazing. The wines... goodness, they were delicious. Thomas Brown is the wine maker here and he knows what he is doing. Make sure you stop here and don't let the other reviews steer you away. The Zin's were top notch, Syrah, Cab's, Grenache, you name it all top notch.
