Great place to taste a lot of boutique wines. Friendly knowledgable staff. Great spot to taste a broad variety of wines from a number of wineries and winemakers! It's a custom crush facility, so a whole array of wines are represented and the tasting menu changes regularly. Pahlmeyer, Blackbird, Ghost Block and more are poured here. It's rather like Ma(i)sonry in Yountville, but without the art. Michael Pozzan's wines are always tasty and very affordable. Rob Lawson's Pavi wines and Fisticuffs also offer high quality at a very reasonable price. Definitely worth a stop to get some variety.

Cottonwood Canyon Vineyard & Winery is a boutique winery known for its handcrafted Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Syrah. Established in 1988 by the Beko family, the winery is situated in Santa Maria Valley, on the northern edge of the Foxen Canyon Wine Trail within Santa Barbara County's wine country. Visitors are welcome to explore the 78-acre estate and sample the distinctively different, age-worthy wines produced there.

The key to crafting these unique, age-worthy wines lies in both the vineyard and the wine caves. The fruit is hand-harvested when it reaches slight tropical flavors, typically around 24 brix. The naturally high acidity of the fruit allows lees to remain in contact with the wine until bottling, enhancing flavor extraction while maintaining a balanced interplay between fruit, oak, and acidity.

The combination of the fruit's inherent high acidity and the controlled conditions of the wine caves results in wines with exceptional longevity. These wines evolve gradually over many years and achieve near perfection when aged between 8 to 12 years.

PlumpJack Winery's story began in 1992 with the opening of a modest wine store in San Francisco's Cow Hollow/Marina neighborhood, known as PlumpJack Wine & Spirits. Founded by Gavin Newsom, the store was designed to create a welcoming space where people could explore and discover wines in a friendly, approachable setting.

The name "PlumpJack" was inspired by one of Shakespeare's most memorable characters, Sir John "PlumpJack" Falstaff, a fun-loving, irreverent figure known for his unbreakable bond of loyalty with Prince Hal (Henry V), shared over many goblets of wine at the local tavern. Embracing this spirit of camaraderie and enjoyment, Newsom, along with acclaimed composer and philanthropist Gordon Getty, envisioned a winery that would embody the essence of Falstaff's character. This vision came to life when they acquired a historic 42-acre estate in the heart of Napa Valley, an area renowned for producing dynamic, long-lived wines that capture the essence of Oakville, with a history dating back to 1881.

The property had changed hands over the years, eventually being acquired by James and Anne McWilliams in 1974. In 1995, the McWilliams received a proposal to revive winemaking at the historic estate, leading to the creation of PlumpJack Estate Winery. The winery was founded with a commitment to crafting high-quality wines that celebrated the land while remaining approachable.

A pivotal moment in PlumpJack's history came in the 1990s when the wine industry faced the growing problem of cork taint, or trichloroanisole (TCA), which caused undesirable flavors in bottled wines. Unwilling to compromise on quality, Getty and General Manager John Conover took a bold step toward innovation. PlumpJack Estate Winery pioneered the use of alternative closures for luxury wines, introducing screw caps with the flagship 1997 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. This move eliminated the risk of TCA while ensuring bottle consistency and longevity. To this day, PlumpJack bottles its Estate and Reserve Cabernet Sauvignons 50% under screw cap and 50% under cork as part of a long-term experiment.

In 2012, Winemaker Aaron Miller joined the team, continuing the legacy of producing elegant wines that honor the Oakville Estate Vineyard. Under Miller's leadership, PlumpJack achieved significant milestones, with the 2013, 2015, and 2016 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignons earning perfect 100-point scores from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate—a testament to the winery's dedication to quality and approachability.

Larkmead puts out some of the finest Cabs and Sauv Blancs in the valley. The vineyard itself is beautiful, located right on the valley floor. Sonny treated us great, explaining the winemaking process and the unique history behind Larkmead. Not to be missed if you are in Napa. The Larkmead Vineyards tasting room is open from 10am to 3pm, by appointment.