Definitely in the top three of the winery/vineyard tours during our stay in Napa…read more I absolutely loved the unique feeling that Bravante offers. First, we had to "climb" the mountain to get to its secluded location. Then you're in for a surprise when you walk in. It's like walking into a cave. We visited on a super foggy day. The silence was almost deafening. Coupled with the fog, I seriously felt like we were in the middle of peace and serenity. Jake did an amazing job of showing us around and the Bravante way of wine making. We loved his warm energy. The wines here were amazing. We have done way too many tours on this trip and had stop purchasing wines at the last few tastings but we had to have some Bravante wine shipped home. Not to mention, Bravante is owned by two women! Girl power. The private tasting was absolutely amazing. Definitely a must-see when in Napa.

Our hostess was very friendly & informative. Excellent wines!! Beautiful tasting room.read more

This vineyard is an amazing place to visit. Not only is the wine amazing, but the owners and their…read moreanimals are fantastic, the pigs are fun, the dogs are amazing this is a place to visit for sure. Besides the amazing beauty of the venue and their amazing wines, the owners are extremely personable and Rich sat and told us about every bottle, every different vine and where it came from, as well as why the wines have their names! The rescuer going back to Donner Party times! We experienced this winery as an auction item, this is now a place for our family to visit for years on end.

Discovered this winery at a wine pairing dinner at Beaujolais Bistro…read more This small French style winery located south of Calistoga is not open to the public. Their old school and small production is all about the terroir, limiting production to under 500 cases. This was the first I have heard of dry farming. It's obvious this stress on their vines have created some fabulous wines. The managing director, Adam Fox presented four wines for the evening. The Cuvée des Cendres Rose 2020 was one of the first rosés in years I have enjoyed. This was newly created after the Glass Fire destroyed the entire 2020 vintage. This 100% Grenache was sourced from the high altitude in the Paso Robles area. Right away you taste the crisp strawberry essence. This will be a fabulous summer sipper on hot Reno days. Portions of the proceeds are being donated to the Valley Community Disaster Relief Fund. A fantastic fun bottle and delicious wine. I also fell in love with the 2017 Estate Zinfandel. Other winery Zinfandels in the past have been heavily spiced or peppery to me. This more rich fruit forward wine with a little jam to me was delicious on its own or perfectly paired with the mushroom soup. The duck breast was paired with the Canard 2017 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. This signature wine is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and from a single vineyard. Subtle dark fruit notes made this glass a great 3rd course choice. The final course, cheese plate pairing was another interesting story wine. 2016 The Rescuer, is named after Reason P Tucker - a lead rescuer of the Donner Party. This deep dark 90% Merlot uses cuttings from Duckhorn's Three Palm vineyard. The deep deep red color and dry finish was spectacular to top off the evening. Now I wish I could drop into Canard when ever I'm in the Calistoga area. If this sampling represents their entire wine selection- you can't go wrong.

Another visit to Outpost Wines on Howell Mountain and another 5 star review. We were greeted by our…read morewine educator Kendall near the tasting room. Kendall took us on the lookout area and pointed out the vineyards in which the grapes were grown to produce our wines. We were then invited into the beautiful tasting room where we enjoyed exploring 5 of the Outpost wines. Kendall is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to Outpost Wines as well as their incredibly talented winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown. Every wine we tasted was world class and the stories behind the wines we will treasure for a lifetime. My favorite wine of the tasting was the 2023 True Vineyard Immigrant. It exhibited great structure and finesse with loads of dark fruit. It paired beautifully with dark chocolate. We loved our visit to Outpost Wines. The memories created will be cherished for years to come.

I found this gem on one of those lists of small boutique wineries and given the acclaim decided to…read moremake the drive all the way up to their idillic spot up on Howell mountain. The a part of a consortium of other small wineries around the world and in Napa focus on a narrow selection of grapes and wines some, like their Chardonnay are very limited with only a couple hundred cases. Their stars are the big bold cabs priced in the $100 range and we tasted both the current release, 2017 as well as the 2016. Their was also a light and fun Gamay in limited quantities and a hearty zin. Tasting fee of $45 is waved with three bottle purchase. It's worth the long slow drive up the curvy mountain roads for the view alone and host Brian couldn't have been more welcoming. This is most definitely a destination winery and their max group is 6 people. Given the limited tasting slots you must plan well in advance if you want to experience this one of a kind spot

Wifey and I were here in July 2019, after which we became members. Seven years later came back with…read moremy cuz and his esposa. Jeff was our host then and now. The facility is gorgeous with a unique cave. The wines are world class. Their Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are elegant and delicious. They age well. These wines are great as sippers but improve when paired with food. Truly special.

Outstanding Wine Tasting In A Cave!…read more SITREP My dear friend Jennifer - one of my true wine connoisseur friends - has made an appointment with the good people at Chateau Boswell, since it is a winery you can see by appointment only. And it is truly an outstanding experience. THE SETUP We actually arrived to Chateau Boswell in Saint Helena (from Sacramento) about 60 minutes before our appointment, but we were received warmly and were able to engage in our truly unique and fun wine tasting experience right away! Chateau Boswell is on the Silverado Trail side of the Napa Valley - not on the HWY 29 side of the valley - so it will be a pleasant drive away from most of the tourist traffic. MATT SIMPSON Marketing Expert, Wine Docent, Vintologist Extraordinaire, and Napa & Sonoma Valley (and European AND Chinese AND South American, etc. etc.) Wine Region expert, Matt is definitely the best "go to" guy you could ask about wine - it's acidity levels, it's pairing with foods, what vines we could grow in our backyard in Sacramento, etc. etc. - and so we were lucky from the start to get his one-man history lessons filtered through the most hiLARious stand-up comic. IN A CAVE Matt guided us through what can only be described as a cave in the hillside of where the Chateau Boswell winery is, and THAT was fun! We went through the labyrinth of several different well-lighted & interior-altered tunnels of this wonderful cave, seeing rows upon rows upon rows, levels upon levels upon levels of the vintage barrels all stacked up nicely & neatly. The white wines were in uniformly plain barrels. The red wine barrels had a giant band of red coloring around their perimeters. [As part of the due diligent maintenance of the storage areas, I found it interesting to see the ultra-violet bug zappers were uniformly distributed throughout the cave, zapping any of the small groups fruit-flies that might sprout up because of the sugars that might excrete from the barrels and dripped onto the ground where the little gnatty creatures liked to congregate.] CAVE-TASTING It was so much fun to be in what can only be described as our own special alcove in the cave, with a wine-barrel with glass-top serving as our wine-tasting station. It is here where Matt delivered some of the most incredible wine knowledge I've gotten to date about the current state of the wine industry, comparing ours to the burgeoning development going on with China's wine industry, all while serving us up some excellent glasses of Chateau Boswell wine. The white Jacquelynn Cuvée Blanc was decidedly by far my most favorite of the bunch we tried, with it's light dry taste and an excellent light-fruity finish, though the red Cabernet was rich with fruity notes that I enjoyed too. The wines are not cheap, and will run you between $50 - $150 a bottle. But if you are truly a wine connoisseur, you are bound to find a unique and quality red or white in this winery that you will truly enjoy. THE LOWDOWN An excellent wine-excursion stop in Napa Valley along the Silverado Trail.

Stone throw from downtown Calistoga, River Marie tasting room is contemporary and intimate to taste…read morethe single-vineyard bottlings of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon that Rivers-Marie began crafting since 2002. We have been purchasing River Marie for many years:hands down on quality to value ratio as Thomas Rivers Brown would say: "we don't pay big bucks for the winemaker!". Advance reservation required, and it is worth your time!

Appointment Only -…read more Rivers Marie is a brand named after middle names of Mr. Thomas Rivers Brown and his partner Genevieve Marie Welsh. It's not uncommon the wines are consistently sold out on the release day, and go thru legit site auction on K&L Wines if we want to get library vintages. I hope it's enough to convince how hard you should try to try a bottle of Rivers Marie if you haven't done so, and perhaps get onto the mailing list. Following other footsteps of cult wines that Mr. Brown oversee as winemaker (Schrader, Outpost, just name a few), Rivers Marie and Aston Estate are going to best represent his vision and legacy (in my humble opinion), also perhaps with more emphasis on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir varietals (although not necessarily true as we were able to barrel taste the new Cab and loved it). Having said that, it was quite an experience that the tasting room was generously made available to my visit. Frank, after we finally met in person, we found that we were from the same school! Well, just a decade apart (lol). My friends and I are all very grateful of Frank's hospitality and share his wealth of knowledge. The tasting room really show me about how much the brand cares about blend in into nature, community involvement, and finally, the wines, each one are so expressive to its terroir in which is why the wines are so difficult to get in the market. Once again, many thanks for having us!

Heitz Cellar is GORGEOUS. From its outdoor patio entering in, to the indoors dining tables, to its…read moreoutdoor venue in front of the vineyards, this is an experience of its own. They have an hors d'oeuvres with highlights of the potato chip caviar and New Zealand lamb lollipops. The lamb didn't taste gamey at all, was very tender and juicy! I'm a bread fiend and they had solid crispy sourdough. I was really impressed by the short rib, which was melt in the mouth tender. I think the other dishes, like the pasta faglioli, almond torte was alright. The pasta faglioli didn't have deep flavors and the almond torte was a little too dry for my liking. Service was very efficient and friendly! Always got my refills of wine :)

Heitz Cellar is one of the wineries that participated and placed at the Judgement of Paris in 1976…read more You MUST have a reservation to visit this winery, The service is exceptional, and the experience is divine. Membership is available, they do not host private events, and parking is limited.

Dave, scott, jimmy and owner chris madrigal ALWAYS treated every guest like family. Beautiful…read moreproperty, wine education would take us out in the vineyard. Love madrigal! Highly recommend. Beautiful back patio deck views and barrel room. The madrigal family has been caring for the land for decades makes killer wine. Update: Sad to hear madrigal is CLOSED recently sold June 2024. Sign is down. Per the north bay business journal (Jul 10, 2024) quote: "The deal, completed June 21, includes 8 acres of planted vines, the winery, appointment-only tasting room, a garden and a small home, but founder Chris Madrigal retains the namesake brand, according to Hundred Acre. Madrigal did not respond to inquiries on the future of the brand. Madrigal's father, Jess, also founder of Madrigal Vineyard Management, retained 40 acres of vines, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The purchase price and other terms of the deal weren't disclosed. The Madrigal grape and wine family came to Napa Valley with Jacinto Madrigal from Mexico in 1938. Jess Madrigal started the vineyard company in the mid-1980s, farming about 800 acres of vines. Chris Madrigal started the winery in 1995, and it was producing about 10,000 cases annually."

Phone number doesn't work and no website or email. They must be permanently closed! Hard to make…read morea reservation when there is no contact information!

Freemark Abbey Winery was established in 1886. What a beautiful piece of history. The stone…read morebuilding was hand built in 1899. The winery offers Cabs & Chardonnay. This winery is part of the Jackson Family Wines portfolio. Located in St.Helen right on the Hwy. Greeted with a welcome taste of Chardonnay and then we had the appellation tasting- it's 6 red wines compared side by side in twos ( same year, different terroir). Our server was nice "enough" but breezed over information about the wines and repeatedly just described the wines as jammy. I discovered this really isn't my style of red - I prefer fresh savory reds. The interior had a very clean light wood modern aesthetic. A couple notable facts is their wine is single vineyard and they have a female wine maker.

First off - this is not a review of Freemark Wines, this is a review for the experience they…read moreprovide. As positive as it gets. Very personal approach, the host took her time to talk to guests even so she was working three parties. Very knowledgeable of Napa Valley history as well as the history of the Freemark. Manager was in the room stepping in when needed if a hostess wasn't readily available. Property is beautifully renovated and kept. Very interesting art on display. Wines are certainly not bad to say the least, high end Spring Mountain cab was among the best the Valley can provide. All-n-all, if you are looking for a good experience from an iconic Napa Valley winery, this is definitely a place to go to.