Napa's Top Five Wine Tours

As a wine educator who lives and works in the Napa Valley, I have often been asked to list my favorite wineries in the area. Fortunately, I have pondered this subject at length, and I can still remember being overwhelmed by the sheer number of tasting rooms located within Napa. Without a doubt, there are a good number of people who visit the valley with specific plans to visit selected wineries. Others — and I believe they still comprise the majority — plan only far enough ahead to book their hotel accommodations.

I certainly don’t fault anyone who arrives in Napa without an agenda. After all, vacations should not require structure, and there are plenty of wineries that welcome drop-in visitors with open arms. In fact, most of the wineries along Highway 29 do not require any type of appointment whatsoever. To be honest, there is a strong upside to visiting wineries without doing any prior research — you may just stumble upon a new favorite. Even for those who plan to only visit the walk-in tasting rooms, the choices remain endless.

With the advent of so many limousine services here in Napa, coming to the valley to “taste” wine has essentially become a highfalutin form of bar-hopping. For many people, renting a limo is often a license to binge, which is fine by me. I am the last person who wants wine tasting to become an elitist endeavor; if folks want to trek to Napa to cut loose, then by all means, they should. But there is a growing segment of wine drinkers who want to leave Napa with more than just a hangover.

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I developed this list quite some time ago, with several factors in mind: quality of wine was the primary consideration, with other important elements helping to narrow my selections. I will note at the outset that the wineries listed below do not offer any walk-in tastings. Therefore, they do require a bit more foresight than simply trying to book a reservation from the winery gate. While appointments do sound a bit elitist, let’s face it, your experience at any winery will not be that memorable if you are just another face at the tasting bar, elbowing for position on a three-day weekend. How could you reasonably expect otherwise?

I must also note that this list is certainly not my list of “top wineries” in Napa Valley. Such a list would incite too much debate, and personal taste is almost irrelevant in this case. While the wine itself is important, the rating of wine is far too subjective to be the sole basis of this list. Although I do place special consideration on the overall quality of the wineries listed below, my favorites may not be your favorites. However, in terms of the wines themselves, the following selections are pretty safe by any standard. Each of these properties produces wine that is eminently approachable. Many people will already be familiar with these wineries, at least by name:

• Schramsberg

There has to be at least one sparkling wine producer on this list, and Schramsberg is by far the natural choice. In terms of quality, it is a cut above Domaine Chandon, Mumm, and Domaine Carneros. In terms of its history, Schramsberg’s inclusion in this list is an obligatory nod to Napa’s pre-Prohibition era. Hundreds of wineries were in operation in Napa in the 1880s, and only a handful of them exist today.

Schramberg’s system of caves, which covers one mile and contains over two million bottles, is a trip back in time. The Chinese railroad workers excavated the first half-mile of caves over a century ago, while machinery added another half-mile to the labyrinth in 1982. While most caves in Napa Valley are coated in gunnite (the same material used for swimming pools), Schramsberg’s caves still feature bare mountain rock (look close for chisel marks) covered with lichen.

• Nickel & Nickel

As a winery that features single-vineyard wines, Nickel & Nickel fills a very unique niche within the Napa Valley. For those who have ever wondered how a splash of Merlot, Cabernet Franc or Petit Verdot might affect a Cabernet Sauvignon, Nickel & Nickel helps to answer that question by removing these wines from the equation. After all, none of Nickel & Nickel’s wines are blended, meaning that each of their 11 different Cabernets are all 100% Cabernet. There is no better way to isolate the true nature of varietal than to taste it in its pure form.

The kicker, however, is that all of the Cabernets at Nickel & Nickel are different from one another, since they each originate from different vineyards throughout the valley. The winery’s “Terroir Tasting” — which includes a walking tour of an exquisitely landscaped property — really underscores the profound influence that soil and climate can have on vines, grapes and wines. The tour is as enlightening as it is unique, although the Cabs will cost you.

• Chappellet

Chappellet boasts a formidable history that easily rivals that of any pre-Prohibition winery, including Schramsberg. Here in Napa, the “hangover” from Prohibition was a lengthy one, lasting several decades after its repeal in 1933. Founded in 1967, Chappellet was just the second post-Prohibition winery built in Napa, with the Robert Mondavi Winery being constructed just one year earlier. But unlike Mondavi, Chappellet is still family-owned, and it boasts a killer portfolio at attractively low prices. The winery itself is incredibly scenic, located atop Pritchard Hill in the Vaca Mountains.

• Kuleto Estate

No property in the Napa Valley seethes with as much personality as Kuleto. Like the many successful restaurants he has owned and designed, Pat Kuleto’s winery features his signature style, which seems to be universally adored. When it comes to design, Kuleto certainly has his formula dialed in, so it should come as little surprise that the Kuleto Estate tasting room feels like a remote, mountain-top satellite of the Martini House, Kuleto’s successful restaurant in St. Helena.

Beyond the personality of Kuleto’s design, the surrounding property itself is stunning in its raw beauty. Austere, steep and rugged, Kuleto Estate operates at significant elevation, and offers terrific views from the Vaca Mountains. For me, the view at Kuleto trumps the view at Chappellet, which is no mean feat. In terms of Kuleto’s wines, I tend to prefer the Syrahs and the Zinfandels (your results may vary).

• Palmaz Vineyards

Until something more inspiring comes along, Palmaz Vineyards easily boasts the most impressive winemaking facility in the Napa Valley. Built into the base of Mt. George (along the southern tip of the Vaca Mountians), Palmaz Vineyards has only been open since 2003. Without going into too much detail, Palmaz’s impressive “carousel” of fermentation tanks — coupled with its 18-story gravity-flow system — definitely earns the winery a deserved spot on this short list. For the record, the wines at Palmaz are very well made, and the sit-down tasting is accompanied by cheeses and other wine-friendly snacks.