Love the private tours! Perfect for both families and friends. It comes with both a walk tour and a formal sit-down tasting paired with complementary cheese and chocolates. Can a girl ask for more?
I'm in particular a fan of their Cabernet Sauvignon - very bold without being overtly tannin-ridden and their Violetta dessert wine - seriously off the charts!
Magnavino Cellars - Winemaker and owners Rob and Barb Wagner celebrate the beauty of transforming premium winegrapes into delicious, hand-crafted wines. Located in the heart of the Ventura County wine Trail, Magnavino offers a choice of 4 white and 6 red wines, something for everyone's palate.
Hours:
Fri 2:00pm to 8:00pm
Sat 11:00am to 6:00pm
Sun 11:00am to 6:00pm
The Dry Creek wineries produce a wider variety of wines and styles of wines than the traditional PN and Zin crowd along the Russian River. The Amphor tasting room location is in the same parking lot as 10 other wineries tasting rooms - right off Dry Creek Road. Stop at this location and you will be able to taste wines from Amphora, Collier Falls, Dashe, Forth, Philip Staley, Peterson, Lago di Merlo, Kokomo, Mietz and Papapietro.
Out back winery in the Apple Hill Area has a large following. The wines are unpretentious and you will likely enjoy their Zinfandels and Syrahs.You will find that the taste of the wine does very considerably year to year, however, they have all been good and at the price point.
Delicious wine and sparkling views of Napa. I know there are tons of quality wineries around that have similar offerings, but Rombauer is definitely one worth visiting. Gorgeous garden space with some cute little trails to walk along while you enjoy your wine and soak up the Napa Valley air.
I prefer to go in Fall or early Spring or during the week. The servers or more relaxed and they seem to have a better time introducing you to their wines and letting you know more of the wine history. You get to sample 5 of their wines including their AMAZING chardonnay and Fiddletown Zin. These are the bottles we always end up with and they are usually priced pretty similar to what you would find in a big store (BevMo, Total Wine, etc.). Most of their pricier zins like the Fiddletown aren't sold in stores however. They give you the wine glasses as part of the tasting as well.
Clos Du Bois seemed to make a very little effort to hide the corporate image with big buildings and parking lots marked 'Corporate visitors only'. Still they make a very decent selection of table wines, especially at their pricing. Have you been to Costco lately? While I have yet to purchase a bottle of Clos Du Bois it has been served to me a number of times visiting friends. My goal is to make a trip to try their higher end wines and their flagship "Marlestone" and their old vine carignane.
Nestled in the hills of the San Pasqual Valley in Escondido, you'll find Cordiano Winery, a family-owned and operated vineyard that takes pride in the craftsmanship of good wine and of the labor practiced for ages in the old country. The winery is a lifelong dream realized; a reflection of the love and passion of its proprietors, Gerardo and Rosa Cordiano.
We were immediately greeted by Steve with a big smile. He took our group to a semi-private room to the right of the entrance. We all got the special reserve tasting and enjoyed all the reds - so much that I ended up buying a bottle of each one, oops! The tasting pours were very generous.
Founded more than 125 years ago, Wente Vineyards is the country’s oldest, continuously operated family-owned winery. Today, the winery maintains its leadership role in California winegrowing under ownership and management by the Fourth and Fifth Generations of the Wente family. Blending traditional and innovative winemaking practices, the winery draws from approximately 3,000 acres of sustainably farmed Estate vineyards to create an outstanding portfolio of fine wines. Located just east of San Francisco in the historic Livermore Valley, Wente Vineyards is recognized as one of California’s premier wine country destinations, featuring wine tasting, fine dining and championship golf.
Bill coined the name Random Ridge on a poetic whim. “Once you’ve been here, you know; it just fits.” The land is steep and rugged, on a 2200 foot ridge at the edge of Mount Veeder, an ancient uplifted ocean seabed with rock-strewn decomposed volcanic soils. The north and eastern views toward Napa are of pine-covered mountains, with no homes in sight. The southern view spectacularly encompasses the San Francisco Bay, Mount Tamalpais in Marin, and the Golden Gate Bridge. Sometimes the sunset illuminates a glimpse of the ocean, 30 miles to the west, through a break in the coastal foothills.
