Thank you for reading Part 1 of 11 Ways to Find Your Napa. Here is Part 2 of my suggestions to help you find your Napa (plus, a few ideas for downtown tasting rooms that go above and beyond).
- MAKE YOUR OWN WINE
Participants in Conn Creek Winery’s Barrel Blending Experience ($150) sample mountain and valley-floor Bordeaux wines aging in oak before fashioning their wines. Also in St. Helena, attendees at Joseph Phelps Vineyards’ Insignia Blending ($150) seminar compare their creations to the current release of the winery’s legendary Insignia wine.
- BRING THE WHOLE FAM
Up to eight people of any age can participate in a Family Tasting ($45) at Cakebread Cellars. The “communal walking experience” lasts 45 minutes or so. Book directly with the Rutherford winery.
- TASTE ZINS AND PETITES
You won’t find Cabernet at Napa’s Robert Biale Vineyards, specializing in Zinfandel and Petite Sirah. Patrons of Valley Vista Tastings ($50), held on a vineyard’s-edge covered back porch, hear well-spun tales about farming challenges and a bootleg wine code-named Black Chicken.
- PICNIC WITH THE PESTONIS
Follow a Heritage Tasting ($50) at Pestoni Family Estate Winery—the Swiss Italian ancestors of the current owners settled in the Napa Valley in 1892—picnicking (BYOF) on the grounds. Order a Merlot or Sangiovese to accompany your repast, and you’ll be savoring it steps from where its Rutherford AVA grapes were grown.
- SIP BY THE GLASS OR BOTTLE
Staffers serve the iconic Rombauer Vineyards Carneros Chardonnay and other wines by the glass (from $14) for sipping on the St. Helena winery’s terrace or in the landscaped garden. On weekdays, Clos du Val in Napa invites parties of up to four to book a table ($10 per person) in the Silverado Trail winery’s olive grove and share a purchased bottle.
PLUS: 5 DOWNTOWN TASTING ROOMS THAT OVERDELIVER
Fees at downtown tasting rooms are often lower than at wineries. The places below consistently overdeliver.
- ROBERT CRAIG WINERY, NAPA: Known for high-scoring mountain-grown Cabernets, the winery offers $35 tastings at its 2nd Street Victorian.
- HILL FAMILY ESTATE, YOUNTVILLE: Doug Hill grows grapes for a who’s-who of Napa Valley vintners’ wineries but also produces his own wines, many of them Bordeaux-style reds served (from $40) in an eclectically decorated storefront space.
- ELIZABETH SPENCER, RUTHERFORD: Visitors pass through “downtown” Rutherford’s 1872 brick former post office on the way to garden tastings (from $50); add $15 to view the intriguing Kathleen Thompson Hill Kitchen Memories Collection of cooking utensils.
- NIGHT WINES, ST. HELENA: This boutique winery’s owners also operate The Saint wine bar, where for $40 you can taste their lush, tannic Spring Mountain Cabernets.
- LAWER FAMILY WINES, CALISTOGA: Curated art shows provide the backdrop for tastings (from $30) of European-style Bordeaux reds, plus sparkling wine and Sauvignon Blanc.
