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Napa Valley | Napa
| Wineries | Wine
Tastings
 
 Madonna
Estate wines have been handcrafted by the Bartolucci
family, Napa Valley winegrowers and winemakers for more than eighty
years. They are created from 100 percent organically grown grapes,
which are dry farmed on the Estate Vineyard. Located in the world
renowned Carneros Region, the Bartolucci's take great pride in the
wines they craft. Through great skill, elegance and care, Madonna
Estate wines are styled to capture the best of the vintage, the
vineyard, and the variety. In addition to organic farming, Andrea
believes dry farming is the best method to ensure maximum quality
and grape flavor. Using the dry farming method the newly planted
vines are irrigated only until they create an extensive root system.
After the roots become established, all irrigation lines are removed
and the vines are left to fend for themselves.
PUBLIC TASTINGS
ORDER ONLINE (707) 255-8864 DIRECTIONS
 Quixote
Winery - We've spent decades working against the conventional
wisdom of the Napa Valley. When Cabernet Sauvignon dominated the
California wine industry, we passionately supported Petite Syrah.
We still do. But a little cabernet is nice, too. We want to make
good wine, not a good name. If our wine doesn't speak for itself,
no signature will make it any better. Ours is a family-owned winery.
As you can see, given the number of owners and the size of our production,
we have a strictly enforced allocation system to ensure that customers
can have a few bottles of Panza and Quixote to enjoy. Unlike many
winemakers, Monticelli doesn't have concerns about leaving a “wine
widow” at home. His wife Anna, whom he met at Davis , is the
winemaker for Bryant Family Winery. “Wine governs our lives,”
says Mario.
BY APPOINTMENT TASTINGS
ORDER ONLINE (707) 944-2659 DIRECTIONS
 St.
Barthelemy Cellars - While we cultivate our own vineyards
dedicated to growing grapes for our ports, we have forged relationships
with vineyard owners and growers in order to harvest the best quality
grapes at the ripeness levels we seek. The hand-harvested grapes
arrive at the winery picked much later than grapes used for a still
wine. The longer “hang time” of up to one additional
month on the vine allows the grapes to develop higher levels of
ripeness and more intense flavors. At the winery, the juice is tasted
daily during fermentation in order to determine the optimum time
to fortify with brandy. Combined with testing the wine’s natural
sugar content, we use taste as the main factor when deciding to
stop the fermentation process. We then add aged brandy from RMS
Caneros Alambic Distillery to raise the alcohol level and halt the
natural fermentation of the wine. The wine, now a port, is then
put into oak barrels to age for 18 months.
PUBLIC TASTINGS
ORDER ONLINE (707) 966-1513 DIRECTIONS
 Van
Der Heyden Vineyards - is a family owned winery nestled
in the beautiful, world famous Napa Valley wine growing region.
We are located on the charming and prestigious Silverado Trail just
south of the Stags Leap District. We bottled our first wine in 1984
and a couple years later we opened our tasting room up for the public.
Wine enthusiasts will truly appreciate us since we specialize in
Estate Bottled Chardonnay Wines, Cabernet Sauvignon and Late Harvest
Desert Wines. The Van Der Heyden name and subsequent reputation
has become world renowned because we are the only winery in the
world that produces a Late Harvest Cabernet Sauvignon. Casual wine
lovers and tourists visiting the Wine Country will be delighted
to find a personal, quaint wine tasting experience. You might just
become one of our hard-core wine lovers after sampling our wines!
We look forward to sharing our family history and passion of wine-making
with you!
BY APPOINTMENT TASTINGS
ORDER ONLINE TOURS (707)
257-0130 DIRECTIONS
 Elyse
Wine Cellars - What will you find in a bottle of Elyse
or Jacob Franklin wine? I make wines that I want to sit down and
enjoy – juicy, rich, voluptuous wines. I like a little oak,
but I don’t want it to be overpowering – I want to taste
the fruit. I love wines that pair well with food. A meal without
wine is eating; a meal with wine is dining – it’s a
conversation, an event. It’s what wine is about. When I make
a wine, my tastes and techniques will influence the process, but
what’s most important is the fruit. The fruit dictates what
the wine will be. We’re fortunate to work with an amazing
group of growers and vineyards, whose fruit keeps taking us to wonderful
places. We started out making Zinfandel, then expanded into Cabernet
Sauvignon and Petite Sirah. No doubt those will continue to be the
focus of our winemaking, but now we’ve made a tiny quantity
of Chardonnay, and soon we’ll be releasing our first Pinot
Noir. What wines we make after that will depend on the fruit that’s
available, because I just can’t say no to wonderful fruit.
BY APPOINTMENT TASTINGS
ORDER ONLINE (707) 963-5496 DIRECTIONS
 Buoncristiani
Family Winery - We, the Buoncristiani brothers, take
pride in performing all aspects of enology, viticulture, wine production,
and art design in order to share with you a true expression of our
wine making passion. Our motto is quality not quantity and we craft
our wines without compromise. Handcrafting these limited production
wines allows for the utmost attention to detail of every gallon
in each barrel. We are very pleased to share with you Buoncristiani
wine. We are excited to be a part of a new cave winery in the southeastern
hills of the Napa Valley. Come meet the brothers! We are offering
limited private tours and tastings strictly by appointment only.
Please call us at 707-259-1681.
BY APPOINTMENT TASTINGS
ORDER ONLINE CAVES
(707) 259-1681 DIRECTIONS
 Domaine
Carneros - Located in the heart of the Carneros region,
Domaine Carneros stands alone as the only sparkling wine producer
using exclusively Carneros grapes. The Carneros Appellation is the
first American Viticultural appellation to be defined according
to climate rather than along political lines. The appellation is
characterized by a long, moderately cool growing season tempered
by the maritime breezes and lingering fog off the San Pablo Bay
just to the south. These are optimum growing conditions for pinot
noir and chardonnay, the two primary grape varieties used in Domaine
Carneros wines.
PUBLIC TASTINGS
ORDER ONLINE (707) 257-0101 DIRECTIONS
 Signorello
Vineyards - Signorello vineyards makes limited quantities
of premium varietals that blend classic French wine making characteristics
with California fruit. Our style of winemaking is directly tied
to our vineyards. We strive for lush, concentrated fruit flavors,
and good acid balance in all of our wines. The goal is to have wines
with early accessibility, as well as the potential to develop additional
complexity as they mature. Signorello Vineyards began to develop
a style of winemaking based on the idea of "winegrowing"
described by a French word "Vigneron". It means that everything
done in the vineyards is intimately connected to the winemaking.
His technique or style is used in the Burgundy region of France.
Ray Signorello's preferences and tastes are decidedly Burgundian;
striving for lush fruit to produce rich Chardonnays, like those
of Domaine Coche-Dury and Domaine Leflaive. The winery focuses on
elegance, balance and depth thus producing the magnificent Pinot
Noirs like those from Domaine de la Romanee-Conti and Domaine Leroy.
BY APPOINTMENT TASTINGS
ORDER ONLINE TOURS (707)
255-5990 DIRECTIONS
 Trefethen
Vineyards - Designed and built in 1886 by a Scottish
sea captain Hamden McIntyre, the winery was originally known as
Eshcol. He designed it to use a "gravity-flow" system.
A horse-drawn winch would bring grapes to the third floor for crushing;
gravity would then carry the juice to the second floor for fermenting
and eventually to the first floor for aging. The winery was heralded
in the local papers of the time as a "model farm". Known
as the "Big Four", is the small cluster of McIntyre-designed
wineries -- including Greystone (now the West Coast campus of the
Culinary Institute of America), Far Niente, and Inglenook (now the
Niebaum-Coppola Winery).
BY
APPOINTMENT TASTINGS
ORDER ONLINE TOURS (707)
255-7700 DIRECTIONS
 Clos
du Val Wine - Our friendly tasting room is open to
the public daily from 10am to 5pm. Tastings are $5 per person; the
tasting fee will be waived with any wine purchase and is free for
Cellar Club and Dusty Bottle Club members. Stop by on Saturdays
and Sundays for a sample of our favorite Clos Du Val reserve and
library wines. Tasting is $20 per person and includes a Clos Du
Val logo glass; free for Cellar Club and Dusty Bottle Club members.
Please call for an appointment for groups of 8 or more. Tours are
also available to the public by appointment at the discretion of
the winery. Please call Clos Du Val Hospitality at 800.820.1972
or 707.261.5225.
BY APPOINTMENT TASTINGS
ORDER ONLINE TOURS (707)
259-2200 DIRECTIONS
 Luna
Vineyards - Luna Vineyards is located at the southernmost
end of the historic Silverado Trail, an idyllic region renowned
for its natural beauty and quiet sophistication. President Mary
Ann Tsai heads a dedicated team in crafting Napa Valley wines of
intricate character and exquisite taste, using techniques such as
co-fermentation and natural yeasts to achieve distinctive results.
Luna has achieved critical acclaim and is quickly becoming known
for producing wines whose timeless attributes evoke a lifestyle
of refined taste and sophistication.
PUBLIC TASTINGS
ORDER ONLINE TOURS (707)
255-5862 DIRECTIONS
 Vine
Cliff Winery - Vine Cliff Winery is a small, family-owned
winery located in the Oakville appellation of the Napa Valley. We
proudly create premium Napa Valley wines that capture the essence
and magic of the region. Our current varietals include Cabernet
Sauvignon, Merlot, and Chardonnay, and we maintain estate vineyards
in Oakville, Carneros, and Calistoga. The Vine Cliff of today maintains
a commitment to live up to its historic legacy by working with the
best possible fruit and the best winemaking technology to make the
high scoring wines in its portfolio. For the past few years, The
Sweeney Family has invested heavily in vineyards located in the
most desirable grape growing locations.
BY APPOINTMENT TASTINGS
ORDER ONLINE TOURS (707)
944-2388 DIRECTIONS
 Bighorn
Cellars was founded by Bill Hill to combine his two
ambitions -- developing ultra premium vineyard sites and handcrafting
limited quantities of exceptional wines from the regions where they
grow best. Bighorn's mission is to produce wines from exceptional
vineyards in the best growing regions for each varietal. For example,
we make Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from Napa Valley, Chardonnay
from Carneros and Pinot Noir from Sonoma Coast and Willamette Valley,
Oregon. Bill Hill's extensive experience developing 'Grand Cru'
vineyards in many different geographies makes this unique multi-regional
approach possible. Look for additional releases in new regions in
the near future.
BY APPOINTMENT TASTINGS
ORDER ONLINE (707) 224-6565 DIRECTIONS
 Etude’s
Estate Vineyard - Unlike many vineyards that are planted
in grids that maximize efficiency, the blocks for Etude’s
Estate Vineyard were customized to conform to the various soil types
and the changing contours of the topography. Individual vineyard
blocks average only 8 acres in size. The spacing is dense to ensure
low per vine yields of fully concentrated fruit. Mindful of their
roles as stewards of this special property, the Etude team adheres
strictly to sustainable agricultural practices that enable them
to farm in concert with the surrounding environment. Native flora
and naturally occurring wetlands have been protected, and creeks
are being restored. Wildlife has been afforded safe passageways
through the vineyards.
BY APPOINTMENT TASTINGS
ORDER ONLINE TOURS (707)
257-5300 DIRECTIONS
 Shafer
Vineyards - I never would have started a winery without
a vineyard, since the greatest factor in consistent wine quality
is consistent grape quality. And owning your vineyards allows you
to maintain consistent quality, year after year. After growing grapes
for a number of years, I realized our vineyards had the potential
to make outstanding wine. I'd lucked out by selecting a hillside
vineyard in what would later become the Stags Leap District, and
that's where our Hillside Select Cabernet still comes from today.
But as great as the area is for Cabernet, we realized it wasn't
the best for Chardonnay. That's when we bought some land in Carneros
- our Red Shoulder Ranch.
BY APPOINTMENT TASTINGS
ORDER ONLINE (707) 944-2877 DIRECTIONS
 Robert
Biale Vineyards - The Biale family, immigrants from
Northern Italy, began growing grapes in Napa in the 1930’s
– Zinfandel only. Zinfandel, California’s adopted grape,
was widely planted by immigrants throughout the State’s history
as a highly flavorful red grape well-suited for the climate. Each
harvest, the Biale’s fruit was routinely sold for bulk wine.
For decades before the global demand for Napa Valley wine, one winery,
the Napa Valley Co-Op winery, processed almost half of Napa’s
grapes. Before big companies moved in, most of Napa’s fruit
was grown by local farmers like the Biales. In fact, prunes and
walnuts were as valuable as grapes in those days, and the Biale
farm produced its share along with eggs and vegetables
BY APPOINTMENT TASTINGS
ORDER ONLINE (707) 257-7555 DIRECTIONS
 Atlas
Peak Vineyards - Atlas Peak. Howell Mountain. Spring
Mountain. Mount Veeder. The cornerstone mountain vineyard sources
behind the Atlas Peak Cabernet Sauvignon wines. These high-elevation
appellations frame the Napa Valley and provide ideal growing conditions
for bold, complex and intense wines. Our goal at Atlas Peak is to
create wines that reflect their origin. Mountain Cabernet is known
for its lush, full-bodied character with big, bold tannins, and
deep, concentrated color. The Mountain Cabernet Series includes
five wines sourced from four of the finest mountain appellations
in Napa: Atlas Peak, Mt. Veeder, Spring Mountain and Howell Mountain.
BY APPOINTMENT TASTINGS
ORDER ONLINE (707) 252-7971
 Altamura
Vineyards and Winery, established in 1985 by Frank
and Karen Altamura, is the only winery located in Wooden Valley.
Stag's Leap Winery, Pahlmeyer and Caymus purchase grapes from this
area, which is within the Napa Valley appellation, yet Altamura
is the first to capture Wooden Valley's special characteristics
in a bottling. Napa Valley natives Frank and Karen have a decidedly
hands-on approach to every step of the growing and winemaking process.
Thus, a natural production limit is established and the wines reflect
the Altamura's deep commitment to reflecting the terroir of their
Wooden Valley Ranch.
BY APPOINTMENT TASTINGS
ORDER ONLINE TOURS (707)
253-2000 DIRECTIONS
 Silverado
Vineyards - The Stags Leap District is one of the smallest,
yet most renowned, wine growing regions in Napa Valley. Here, Silverado
Vineyards has been quietly producing world-class wines from their
state-of-the-art winery for over 20 years. With grapes sourced almost
entirely from Silverado’s family-owned estate vineyards, these
hand-crafted wines are created in small lots with extreme care.
They express richness, elegance and age-worthiness. Silverado wines
are unique – one-of-a-kind blends of location, philosophy
and winemaking style. The Mediterranean-style stone winery, established
in 1981, stands on a knoll above the Silverado Trail in the heart
of the Stags Leap District. Silverado is a legendary name from the
early mining days. Today it symbolizes the Miller family’s
long term commitment to the future of Napa Valley wine.
BY APPOINTMENT TASTINGS
ORDER ONLINE TOURS (707)
257-1770 DIRECTIONS
 Rocking
Horse is a small quality producer of Napa Valley Ultra
Premium red wines. When established in 1989, production was limited
to 600 cases. Born from the desire to produce the absolute best
wines from legendary growing regions, Jeff and Nancy Doran began
their quest moving quietly from a backyard bottling line to their
current 8,000 case production level. Extreme care is taken to marry
the proper vineyard site and appellation with the appropriate varietals.
Trademark wines are typically “made in the vineyard”
and picked at optimum ripeness to ensure a silky full mouth feel
and dark crimson purple hue. Each wine is true to its varietal character
and offers many layers of complexity. Properly aged wines will be
rewarded by cellaring.
BY APPOINTMENT TASTINGS
ORDER ONLINE TOURS (707)
226-5555 DIRECTIONS
 ZD
Wines - The success of ZD Wines can only be attributed
to the dedication and winemaking philosophy of the de Leuze family.
As ZD Wines moves forward, the family continues to grow. Norman
and Rosa Lee's grandchildren represent the 4th generation to contribute
their time and skills to the winery. In 1996 the de Leuze family
purchased an historical, 33-acre vineyard in Carneros. Formerly
owned by Irish immigrant Patrick Flanagan, the property is planted
with 26 acres of Chardonnay. Another seven acres was planted with
Pinot Noir which produced its first vintage in 1999. As the winery
continues to grow, so does the vision of ZD Wines.
PUBLIC TASTINGS
ORDER ONLINE TOURS (707)
963-5188 DIRECTIONS
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