GustavoThrace Winery is about as urban as you can get for little ol’ Napa.  Their tasting room is located in downtown Napa, right across the street from Taylor’s Refresher. They throw parties in the back parking lot, and make their wine in a warehouse.  However, these city slickers have deep roots in the community.  Gustavo Brambilla started working in the vineyards as a kid.  He later worked alongside Mike Grgich at Grgich Cellars before partnering with Thrace Baumgardner to start Gustavo-Thrace in 1996.

Thrace and Gustavo met when their sons were on the same baseball team.  That is when Thrace convinced Gustavo that he not only needed to start his own winery, but he needed her as a partner!   They began with 200 cases of Zinfandel.  Since then they have added Cabernet, Red Table Wine, Barbera, Petite Sirah, Merlot,  Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay.  The wines are what we classify as “food friendly”, usually having less than 14% alcohol, soft tannins, and a high acid.&nb sp; A style of wine that reflect Gustavo’s old world wine making methods and Thrace’s palate.

We featured the Chardonnay this month on our urban wine tour.  The Chardonnay is aged 75% in stainless steel and 25% in new French oak with no malo-lactic fermentation, thus giving it a crispness while still having a nice mouth feel.