Our cousin, Bruce, had told us to watch the movie Bottleshock prior to our Napa trip. It's a great movie that tells the true story of the events that led to Paris wine tasting of 1976, where Napa won over the French wine. Chris Pine aka Captain Kirk plays a wacky hippie, and Gustavo Brambila is a friend and co-worker of his at Chateau Montelena. Gustavo had the keen taste for wine, and was working on his own wines. I knew that we had to stop by and see his boutique. It's a cute little wine boutique right in the middle of Oxbow Square, so it's not hard to find at all. I'm only sad that we didn't get to meet him or Thrace, but we were still welcomed by their employee, which I forget her name...but she was a wonderful host. She was very charming and sweet, and we had a great end of the day wine tasting. You would think after the entire day of wine tasting, we wouldn't have the palate for it...luckily we had stopped by Oxbow Public Market for some good treats. We enjoyed all the wine here, and got some good recipes that would pair nicely with the wines as well. We bought the 3rd Bottle Red Table wine & Tessera, which were both priced fairly decent. We were happily pleased with our purchases. read more

Gustavo Wine - Gustavo Thrace - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Napa, California

My wife and I decided to do a winery visit ($25) rather than the tasting room visit ($15) because in general I find the experience much more personal. We were not disappointed. Both Gustavo and Dan (also a winemaker) greeted us at the winery (on Mother's Day no less) and were very generous with both their time and their wines. We were there for about 1hour 40minutes.....just us! We did a tasting of 5 wines after being given a brief visit of their wine-making operations. I found all of the wines to be of exceptional quality, in particular the Barbera and the Cabernet Sauvignon. Both were nicely rounded with great fruit and acidity balance. Bought a bottle of each. Once you've taken the time to do the usual Hwy 29 tasting experience, and are looking for something much more genuine and memorable, Gustavo is a great choice. A real gem! read more

Came here yesterday after our trip to Oxbow Market. Met Thrace (co-owner) Wonderful Hospitality! Had an amazing time chatting with her, and learning about thier wines and also about the winepod. The Barbera is incredible. So is the Cab. The other wines were nice too, but those were my favorites. They have some pretty cool stuff that is bottle shock movie related too, but the main reason to go here is the wine. It's a solid choice. read more

Came here because they had a nice clean and welcoming entrance so decided to go in for some tasting. The gentlemen was fairly friendly in welcoming us. As I tasted the wine I didn't really think much of it, nothing really special about their flavors. And the price for their bottles were, overpriced. As we finished the tasting, that was when he told us the price of the wine tasting. $5 per person was bad, just would had been nice to have him say so before hand. If it was anymore than that I would had really been upset. read more

Went to a tasting and spent afternoon with Joanne. She is absolutely hilarious. We shared stories and then came back later for a tasting class with Victor and met Gustavo! Perfect ending to a nice day with the Gustavo family! His tastes ate truly gifted and amazing. read more

My husband and I stopped in here during a lazy day that we planned on spending near the hotel. Our wine pourer, Kevin, was awesome. He was super friendly and made the experience fun and approachable. Both of us learned a lot from him about wine. This is an awesome tasting room to check out while in the Oxbow Market area. We bought a bottle of one of the amazing vintage wines and cannot wait to crack into it! Great place to taste. While sitting at the bar, we also observed Kevin waiving a tasting fee for a small group that needed to leave the tasting room early and only had the opportunity to taste about 2 wines. What an amazing gesture! Good wine and good people. read more

Encanto wine tasting is the best!! I highly recommend to drink amazing wine and learn a little history of wine! Enrique was an amazing host!

Gustavo Thrace is a must visit for any level of wine enthusiast. Long story short, Gustavo was raised in the vineyards and has wine in his blood. Thrace is the partner with a deep love of viticulture and has business talent. Together, we all have the benefit of Gustavo Thrace wines that can be found near the Oxbow market in Napa. We were lucky enough to taste wines with Thrace herself. Personality for days and knowledge to share, we enjoyed the visit as much as the wines themselves. We tried a number of wines, but only left one bottle of "The Third Bottle" red. However, we did take home a white, but that was Toolbox. Thrace also has another wine making partnership that benefits Habitat for Humanity and shares the same tasting room. Really, there's a lot that could be said. Bottom line, it's a great stop during your visit to Napa Valley or on your Bottleshock tour. read more

When we think of wineries and tasting rooms the last place I bet any of us picture is a storefront/strip mall-like location. But for some reason Gustavo Thrace is located in one and definitely off the beaten path of many of the other wineries in the region. We arrived and were the only ones there on a Sunday afternoon so we had the dedicated attention of our server. On her suggestion we decided to split a tasting of 10 wines though she gave us an additional couple wines to taste. All of the wines served were from the Gustavo Thrace label and a new label of wines called Toolbox. None of them were spectacular but they were good. We ended up buying one bottle of chardonnay and if it wasn't for the great service I would definitely have given it 2 stars as there are other wineries that provide a better overall experience combined with better wines. read more

High-pressure sales. I'm disappointed by the lack of free winetasting is that I'm used to having in Napa and Sonoma.

Hubs and I stopped in on our Napa Valley self guided bike tour! Thought it was just going to be a throw away wine stop. We were wrong! Really good wines and even a better wine purveyor (he is also a 3rd level Somm)- Victor!!!!He was very inviting and even encouraged us to eat our Gott's take out in the shop while we sampled the wines... Victor made us feel like we were at home!! read more

My boyfriend and I popped in after having burgers at Gott's. I expected we'd be there maybe 15 minutes and we stayed for almost 2 hours. We had a great time talking to JoAnn, who happens to be the wife of Gustavo the winemaker. She was so much fun. My boyfriend and I shared a tasting and he loved all of their wines, especially the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Coombsville. My favorite was The Third Bottle White Table Wine. We bought a bottle of each. We will absolutely be back! This was the best tasting room we have ever been to. read more

We visited Gustavo's wine tasting room recently and became big fans. We were celebrating our 5th anniversary and being up and about in Napa we arrived right when they where closing, the nice lady let us taste the Chardonnay for free and ask us to return the next day so we did. The experience was very nice and warm, the wines didn't disappoint either. The Cabernet and Pinot were excellent, Chardonnay and rosé fresh and delicious. We got to meet with Gustavo, he is such a nice and humble person, we were happy to have the opportunity to talk to him. I'm not quite sure if we like better talking to him or the wines but one thing is sure, we'll be back. read more

My husband and I had an incredible time at the tasting room. Amber walked us through the history of Gustavo and provided an incredible atmosphere during our tasting. We would come back again and again. Thank you. read more

Jesus was the perfect host. Gustavo Brambila (nice guy) worked for Grgich Hills for many years and was played by Freddy Rodriquez in the movie "Bottle Shock" (where the California wines kicked booty in an international wine competition). Great chardonnay, barbera, merlot, and cab. Put on do not miss list. read more

This review has more to do with location than it does the wine itself. My wife and I were in Calistoga and we wanted to visit Gustavo Wine because of the movie Bottle Shock. The shop itself is a little bigger than a studio appartment and it's located in a strange place. Not exactly what you might expect from a well known wine shop. I'm just saying this wasn't what I expected. That's all. read more

I can't recommend Gustavo's tasting room enough. I've had two great experiences here, once served by Joanne, Gustavo's wife, and once by Amber, their daughter's best friend. It's obvious that this is a tight family run winery and I'm so happy to support it! They define hospitality! Both times coming here they have opened and stayed late for our parties. The wines of course are very good and award winning! Did you know Gustavo was the first Mexican wine maker in the valley? I hope that the next time I come in I get to meet more of these wonderful people! Go check them out, you won't be disappointed! read more

Gustavo Thrace Tasting Room is located across from the Oxbow Public Market near downtown Napa. The Gustavo in "Gustavo Thrace" is Gustavo Brambila, one of the characters depicted in the movie Bottle Shock. In the movie his character was played by Freddy Rodriguez from Six Feet Under. Currently he is a partner of Gustavo Thrace winery as well as their winemaker and general manager. Thrace is Thrace Bromberger, a winery partner. They began producing their wine in 1996. The tasting fee is $10, but I've read that there are many coupons for complimentary or discount tastings. Our tasting began with one of their second label wines called The 3rd Bottle. This was their White Table Wine which sells for only $17 and is a good buy at that price. It is 90% Sauvignon Blanc and 10% Semillon. It is a dry white with some minerality, good acid with a nice balance. Next, we sampled the Gustavo Thrace 2006 Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon at $65. This was a very nice Cab for the money but we both preferred the 2007 Tessera Cabernet Sauvignon Blend which was only $10 more. It was an excellent Cab and we purchased some. A wine we purchased last year and still remember was the Gustavo Thrace 2006 Petite Sirah, which is currently sold out but deserves mentioning. It was $40 from the winery. Big with ripe cherries and supple, integrated tannins and spice. Nicely balanced. This is an exceptional Petite Sirah and well worth the price. This one has everything you would want in a Petite Sirah and is highly recommended. read more

We were planning on visiting a few wineries but once we came to Gustavo's, we didn't want to leave! As a connoisseur, he is incredibly knowledgeable on the making of wine and the art of tasting; he even teaches a course on this topic at the local Napa Valley community college. He offered us such beautiful wine that truly have made a significant impact on our life's wine experience thus far. We fell in the most love with the Malbec and took one home for our collection. Surely, we will stop by the next time we visit Napa. read more

My husband and I were on our honeymoon and though we visited many wineries, The wines and the Fantastic experience here were by far Our greatest. Cant wait to go back again:O) We joined the wine club and cant wait for our first shipment to arrive. read more

Second time wine testing, first time here. Amazing, I recommend the Zinfandel. If you have a taste for reds. Make this a must visit. Victor gave us some wine wisdom which was a perfect treat! Hope you stop by and enjoy a glass of their Zin! read more

We walked in this place randomly and decided to do a tasting. I got the select and the person I was with got the basic menu. The place has zero music on and no one else was there. It was awkwardly quiet. The woman working the counter was asleep when we walked in, which should have been our sign to get out while we could. She brought out our glasses and apologized that they were so dirty (water spots). She said she "got busy" and didn't have time to polish them. It was an awkward excuse because literally it was a ghost town. Anyway. You know when you accidentally drink two day old water that has been sitting out on your nightstand? Well that's got a better finish than any of the wine we tasted. The whole thing was so uncomfortable and the single employee repeatedly forgot what flights we ordered and neither of us ended up getting the wines we were supposed to. Sitting in a dark closet would honestly have been more fun. We walked out and decided it would be best if we pretended it literally didn't happen. Literally comically bad. Don't go here. read more

This is my boyfriend and I second time we come to Gustavo wine tasting room and got a chance to catch up with Joann seriously these are some of the nicest people we've meet in Napa. My boyfriend is a huge cabernet sauvignon and there's is so good.. I highly recomend this place when in town definitley a must try. Well be back again can't wait to come back to do the barrel room tasting. Great wines , friendly staff and owners. read more

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Very nice tasting room with great service. Nice background story - not exactly my style of wines though.

Amber did a wonderful job with our tasting today! I bought the Malbec! She was able to provide tons of info. In a relaxed atmosphere. Definitely will visit again. read more

Gustavo Wine - Great wine! Amber did a wonderful job with the wine tasting! Saw hello to Gustavo for us! - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Napa, California

This winery has great history and the lady running it knows it really well, makes for good conversation.

Wonderful experience with Gustavo at the 902 Enterprise location where we had a sit down tasting and barrel room tour. Gustavo, his daughter and family friend from Encanto wines gave us a great time! So down to earth and informative and educational. read more

The wine is always good and friendly staff. Across from Oxbow makes it easy to get all you need. Reds are my favorites and whites are crisp. Intimate setting and you feel a part of it all. read more

Overall, would recommend this tasting room, especially if you're at the nearby Oxbow market. For our day trip to Napa, we were looking for a winery that had relatively inexpensive tastings and interesting wines. At $10 a tasting for 7 wines made by an established Napa Valley winemaker, Gustavo Thrace fit the bill. Gustavo Brambila was made famous by the semi-accurate Indie flick "Bottle Shock", and the tasting room shows it. We were pleasantly met by one of Gustavo's son who was friendly and knowledgeable. Gustavo dropped by later in the day and was completely friendly. In addition to the 7 wines on the tasting menu, there were 4 other wines that day opened for tasting so we got a total of 11 wines to taste. The wines ranged from meh to good. Our favorite was the Barbera, which is not your typical Napa Valley wine but pretty tasty. If you buy the bottle, you get your $10 tasting fee waived so the bottle of Barbera comes out to be a pretty good price. read more

Oh yelp, you led me astray with this one. I fell for the good reviews and the hollywood glamour. I love Bottleshocked and thought it would be great to try some of the wines by a guy who helped produce some Chateau Montelena. Turns out, Gustavo was only there one year. Still, I like small producers, sometimes you find a gem! But not in this case. I didn't think the wines were great and my group members agreed. They were pretty acidic, without great noses. Their table wine was 25 bucks. Kinda pricey for table wine from the producer. I think you can pay that in a restaurant for table wine. The girl behind the counter was nice and funny and would be a really fun person to be friends with, but she really knew nothing about wine and basically said as much. I'd skip it next time. read more

This place, although not on a vineyard, has a very authentic and homey vibe. I believe this comes from the owners and employees. I came with my mother and we were the only customers that rainy early afternoon. We sat at the bar and tried some of the better wines in the county. The barbarossa is stunningly great and moderately priced. And, although I usually avoid whites, the Chardonnay is unlike any I've tasted before. Not oaky. Not buttery. You can go try it and assign your own flavors. Neither Thrace nor Gustavo were present when I went in, but that was no matter. One of the younger local women served us. She was apt for conversation and completely non-intrusive. Very humble and knowlegable. I highly recommend a tasting. I think it was $15-$20 and it's two for one. read more

Very great place for wine tasting best in Napa very informative and friendly great interior and decor plenty of room to taste and enjoy Napa valley read more

We took a cab downtown and this was our first stop. The pourer was really nice. We had a Living Social deal so we got a free signed bottle of wine and a copy of the DVD Bottle Shock with one of my favorite actors from Six Feet Under: Freddy Rodriguez. They share the space with Toolbox. read more

Joanne was an amazing host. The wines were great, and the company was even better. I would definitely go back and pick up another bottle of their 2009 Cabernet. read more

My daughter and I visited with Gustavo and Victor. They were the most friendly, informative and knowledgeable people we ever met. They spent a lot of time with us and answered all our questions. It was the best visit we ever had at a winery. The wines are exceptional. You have to try them to believe how exceptional. I highly recommend this winery and the wines. This is a MUST for any Napa visit. Debbie, Waterbury, CT read more

Our first time having Gustavo wine. We were greeted right away upon entering your victor. He was very professional and knowledgeable. My husband and I LOVED every single wine we tasted, and walked out with 8 bottles of wine, and a wine club membership. Completely worth it. read more

Very good wines - one of my husband's favorite wineries in Napa!

This was our very first stop of our wine country vacation. Both owners were there which made the experience so much more personal. They set the bar high for the rest of our trip and we were happy to have stumbled upon their tasting room. Naturally after meeting Gustavo we had to watch Bottle Shock. Good movie by the way. Gustavo had come in during our tasting and we were also treated with wine he brought in from their winery. I would highly recommend this stop. It's right by the Oxbow Market and so convenient. read more

Old world style wines grown by one of the most famous grape growers/wine makers in both valleys. It's either a love or hate experience because your palette may have certain expectations of certain wines. read more

I was there with family about a year ago. They were great, the owners wife was so nice and chatted with us and told us all about napa etc. I will plan to go back! Wine was amazing read more