visiting napa wineries

I plan to visit napa wineries in August and would love some help to understand how wine tasting works there. In Australia here tastings mostly free and sips of any or all wines made at each winery are available usually without bookings. I believe there is a tasting fee at wineries in the Napa but can anyone please tell me how much this is, what this includes and whether bookings are required. Thanks so much in advance. (also any suggestions for best wineries to visit would be greatly appreciated). julie

hi Julie -

my experience(s) in Napa are that tasting fees are roundly applied at most wineries in the valley. there are scant few exceptions, though Heitz does offer free tastings IIRC. prices range from about $10 on the low end, to $20+ per sample at other places. what is included, e.g. food pairings, library wines, etc., will vary by producer. probably best to call in advance.

most of the larger places on Hwy 29 and Silverado Trail offer walk-in tasting options, where some of the smaller or “culty” spots require an appointment.

have fun!

Legally, any tasting room that opened after a certain point (mid 90s?) requires an appointment for tasting in Napa. Some can give you an immediate appointment upon arriving and others require advance notice.

Some of this will depend on the wines you wish to taste and the wineries you target to visit. Give us an idea of you wine interests so that better suggestions can be made…Cheers

Julie,

I suggest you pick the wineries you want to visit and limit them to no more than 3 per day to allow for travel time and meals. Group them when you can and make appointments with time to spare between them. OR Just drive up Hwy 29 and stop at the majors.

Here are links to some of the wineries in Napa, with additional links to Yountville, St. Helena and Calistoga.

and one of our board members:

http://www.lagiermeredith.com/

If you’re “in the business” let them know when you make an appt and in my experience most will waive the tasting fees.

I would assume that Napa will be much more commercial than tastings in Australia. In my experience, tastings can range from 10-60 depending on where you go and the esteem of the wineries you visit.

Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars (not Stag’s Leap Winery) is one of my personal favorites, off the Silverado trail. I believe they have $25 and $40 tastings. I also like Trefethan, $25 and $15. Neither require appointments and both are have great Cabs and decent Chards.

I would do your research before hand for appointments because many do require them.