I will be visiting Napa in mid-March to attend a concert at the City Winery and want to squeeze in a few winery visits. While I have an idea of some of the standard name recognition wineries to see, I’m curious about the smaller by appointment only wineries that don’t have regular tasting room hours and which would be worth the effort.
If you had to whittle a list down to just 3 wineries to visit on a Fri/Sat, what would you recommend? I’m a fan of all styles of wine so I don’t have anything particular in mind. I pretty much want to try something off the beaten path of the usual tasting room tours.
Keenan - wonderful drive up Spring Mountain to a rustic tasting room overlooking one of their high elevation vineyards.
Seavey - On the east side of Napa a bit out of the way, you’ll almost feel like you’re leaving Napa.
Stony Hill - Also on Spring Mountain but not accessible by Spring Mountain Road. A focus on white wines but a very special Cabernet Sauvignon is produced here in recent years. If the weather permits you to taste on their patio, you get a great view down onto the valley and across the valley to Howell Mountain.
Fisher - best high altitude Chardonnay in California? [I don’t know the actual altitudes, but Sleepy Hollow always looked like it was on more of a lazy hillside/valley than where Fisher “Mountain” sits]. Plus Fisher Wedding is [or at least was, before the replanting] maybe the single most elegant Cabernet in California. And they’ve got a high altitude Syrah which is members-only.
Togni - most ageworthy Cabernet in California.
Foley - just to listen to the dude talk. I think his Dad was a Nuke Engineer, and he obviously inherited a ton of his Dad’s smarts.