Port from Napa Valley? – Prager Port Works

Napa Valley is of course known for their wonderfully structured Cabs, and heading to the area with a friend after work recently, we were looking forward to sinking our teeth into some. We first stopped at Cakebread Cellars, an old favorite of both of ours to start our afternoon off. Cakebread has a beautiful property and wonderful wines…but when did they start forcing you to make an appointment for a tasting? About 3 years ago apparently (which we both couldn’t believe to be true since we had visited more recently than that). After finding this out and putting our names on a waiting list, we looked at each other with a knowing glance…neither of us wanted to deal with a large, commercialized winery today. We wanted to experience new wines and chat with other like-minded souls…we bailed out quietly.

I started racking my brain for something that would fit the bill that was close by…it was 3:30 PM already, and we had precious little time left. And then it hit me. Prager. One of the true gems of Napa Valley and one of the few family run wineries remaining on the main drag. I almost didn’t want to share this one with anyone else, but there it is. You must visit Prager.

First of all, you have to find it. There is a small sign on the left hand side going North on Hwy 29 heading towards St. Helena…if you enter St. Helena, you’ve gone too far. Now that you’ve located it, it’s time to experience something different. The property looks like someone’s home, and it may just be. The tasting room is located in what looks like an old brown barn and once you pass through the cool hallway filled with barrels containing some of the sweetest nectar known to man, you enter the “tasting room”. This is not your typical tasting room, though. The walls, ceilings, lights, and every possible nook and cranny are covered with dollar bills in various currencies…and I mean covered. My friend described the room as one that came straight out of a Caribbean bar. I’ve never been to the Caribbean islands, but it must be a warm and friendly place because before I knew it, a big hand was stretched out in front of me. The hand belonged to John Prager and he welcomed us to his family’s winery. It’s not too often that you get such a friendly greeting in Napa Valley…and from a member of the family that owns and operates the winery no less.

Now I can’t say that I was too surprised, as this was my third or fourth visit here. I fell in love with the place ever since one of my best friends from childhood introduced me to Prager about 8 years ago. After we got past the pleasantries, we began the tasting. John poured 5 wines for us and started out with a traditional Petite Sirah. I wasn’t too fond of the first wine, but I knew that I wouldn’t be disappointed with what was to follow…the ports. 3 dramatically different styles of port were served. The first one was the Aria white port made from Chardonnay grapes. It was lush and buttery and thankfully had no resemblance to the traditional Chardonnays that I pretty much detest. The finish was filled with a huge distinctly nutty flavor, which John liked to describe as hazelnut. I couldn’t believe how nutty it was…it resembled Frangelico more than any wine or port that I had tasted.

Next up was the Tomas port, made from more traditional Portuguese grapes. This port smelled like one of those cherry filled chocolates and tasted exactly the same. It was velvety smooth on the first taste and then developed some level of interesting spice on the finish with subsequent tastes. I absolutely loved it and was sure to take a bottle home with me. The final port was their flagship, the Royal Escort. This remains one of my favorite ports of all time. It’s a huge wine, with an intense berry-filled sweetness. It’s simply sublime, and is one of those special wines that you can cellar and store for occasions far into the future…they say that it will cellar well for 20 years. Wow!

The final wine that they poured, a late harvest Riesling, of course couldn’t stand up to the drama of the previous 3 wines and so was a bit of a letdown. But the memories of the ports extended my smile from ear to ear. I made my purchase, cracked a final joke with John, grabbed his hand one more time, and we said our goodbyes. The high from the experience lingered with us through the remainder of the afternoon and easily carried us through the drive back to the Bay Area. Prager is a real find amidst the big winery machines surrounding it, and one that I truly hope never changes as it passes from generation to generation.