Waterstone Winery makes a very pleasant, reasonably priced 2008 Merlot at $18 and a really nice 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon at only $24, with all of their other wines being quite decent for the money and most coming from vineyards in Napa Valley (The Pinot Noir is from the Sonoma side of Carneros.) Waterstone has no vineyards, but sources all of their grapes. Waterstone Wines are available for tasting at the new Taste at Oxbow. Taste at Oxbow wine tasting salon offers a complete downtown Napa experience, featuring Waterstone Wines, along with gourmet food and boutique retail items.

Conn Creek is a small but nice winery located in St. Helena. The staff was very friendly and knowledgeable about the wine and estate even explaining to us the different regions around Napa, Sonoma, Rutherford, etc. I really liked the Cabernet Franc and the Cabernet Sauvingon. If you're a big red wine fan, they have a flight tasting of just red wines if you don't want to try their mixed wines.

Crane offers some excellent reds in a beautiful, unassuming, and unpretentious format. Your proprietor, Tom Crane, a second generation owner/grower, will sit out on the lovely porch and describe each one of his wonderful wines. No pressure to buy here; the wines sell themselves. Tom offers a Cab, Merlot, a Bordeaux blend called Allison's cuvee (named after the winemaker), and a Port all at good prices. While the estate is small and lacks the flash and polish of larger operations, the hospitality and great wines more than made up for it. If you are the adventurous type and want to go off the beaten path for a warm Napa afternoon at a boutique winery, by all means give Tom a call.

The grounds are gorgeous, as is the tasting room. Very elegant and spacious. Our wine Diva was Linda, who was one of the most informative and fun wine pros we had met. She schooled us in such a fun and creative way we almost didn't want to leave!