Day 3 of our four day Wine Excursion in the Napa Valley.

(Editor’s Tip: for more information about the wineries and their wines, click the blue text introducing them. You can also click/ tap here to see all my Napa posts going back to 2008.)

Today, its Sparkling in the morning and visiting old friends in the afternoon

Mumm Napa

What better way to start the morning than with great Sparkling Wines and beautiful views!

“Established in California in the late 1970s, Mumm Napa follows traditional winemaking techniques of its French heritage to create the finest hand-crafted sparkling wines.” (from their website)

Visiting two old friends in the afternoon

Round Pond Estate

Rutherford’s Round Pond Estate offers not only great wine and food pairings but also excellent olive oil tastings. We have enjoyed both in the past, but today we only had time for a tasting.

How do you deliver eight glasses of wine all at once? Here’s how..

Inglenook Vineyard

In 1879, Gustave Niebaum purchased the Inglenook property in Rutherford, California, establishing one of the earliest wineries in Napa Valley. The construction of the property’s chateau took six years to complete, and the estate eventually expanded to 1,100 acres. In 1964, the Inglenook name, along with the chateau and 100 acres, was sold to United Vintners, becoming part of the Inglenook/Heublein conglomerate.

In 1975, American filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola envisioned reclaiming one of Napa’s classic icons, the Niebaum Inglenook Vineyards. Over the following years, he acquired more of the original property, and in 2011, he secured the Inglenook name.

The result is a distinguished estate known for producing some of the finest wines in Napa Valley (I may be biased!). Their flagship Rubicon Cabernet Sauvignon is an exceptional wine that epitomizes the classic Rutherford Bench wines.

We have been visiting Inglenook for years, including attending their annual Harvest Festival Events. The tastings and tours are truly immersive. Click/ tap here for a look at our early visit in 2008.

^{_{(Editor’s note: I was too busy tasting the wine and enjoying our group’s company this trip to take pictures, so here are a few from our visit to Inglenook in November last year)}}

Several years ago, Inglenook launched a new venture called Niebaum-Pennino, which involved splitting off several of its labels. The name “Pennino” pays homage to Coppola’s grandfather. Notable labels from this venture include the Edizione Pennino Zinfandel, CASK Cabernet Sauvignon, and 1882 wines.

Recently, they opened a tasting room in a small building located at the entrance of the Inglenook Estate. Although it is still quite new, the tasting room provides a casual and informal alternative to the more immersive experience offered at the Estate.

When you open a tasting room, there must be a way to get wine to it…

_{^{(Editor’s Disclosure: the Niebaum- Pennino pictures were actually taken the day after our Four Day Wine Excursion when two of us couldn’t resist a side trip to the new tasting room… and their 50% off flash sale)}}

---

Click/ press here to go to Day 4.

---

August 27, 2025

Click/ press here for full-size, no watermark, images at www. ImagesByBill.us

Click/ press here to see all my Napa posts back to 2008.

Click/ press here to see all my Road Trip Adventure posts.

Thanks for visiting!!

---

I appreciate your support and hope you enjoy my posts! Any donations would be greatly appreciated. Together, we can keep the creativity flowing and deliver even more engaging content. Thank you for being part of my journey!