This will be our fourth trip to the valley. We have Saturday planned, Smith-Madrone and Vincent Arroyo. Looking for suggestions for Sunday. We prefer family owned operations that make hand crafted wines. We enjoy big reds, but not full on fruit bombs. Something with structure that is thought provoking, if that makes any sense. I do not have Johnny Depp’s wine budget, so <$100/bottle is our target. Under $60 would be even better. In the past we have visited and enjoyed/purchased wines from Vincent Arroyo, Paradigm, Ehlers, Cade, James Cole, Macauley, Robert Sinskey, Cuvaison, just to name a few examples. We are looking for some suggestions for Sunday. We prefer to visit wineries that are not so highly allocated that there is little wine available to purchase.
Have you been to Round Pond?
Togni seems like it would fit, on the upper end of your price target though. Forman and Seavey are worth considering as well.
Robert Craig would fit well based on your description.
If over by Spring Mtn, Keenan is another. Pride.
Plus they have flavored olive oils, vinegars, etc. not just another winery
If you haven’t tried Buoncristiani wines you should. Four brothers that make a variety of small production terrific wines. If it matters, they’ve been getting great press. I’m not sure what their scheduling is like but here’s their contact info
email: bros@buonwine.com.
Phone: (707) 259-1681
website http://www.buonwine.com/
Jeff, Sundays are a bit challenging since many winemakers aren’t available. A friend informed me that Karl Lawrence Cellars is back in action. I would only imagine that given their legacy, they’re making some remarkable juice, but who knows?, give it a try.
1021 Allison Ave
Saint Helena, California
(707) 738-8239
ric@karllawrence.com
Best,
Kenney
Paloma and Herb Lamb fit your description. Family owned, tasting at winemakers/owners house, great wines and priced under $60. Paloma is mostly Merlot and Herb Lamb Cab and Sauv Blanc. Jennifer at HL is the best host in the Valley.
I second Herb Lamb – Couldn’t recall host until you mentioned her, but one of our best visits for sure.
Eagles Trace, if you can get ahold of them. I couldn’t get ahold of them when I was there in December. I would also recommend Tedeschi Family Winery. Family run, some different wine. Not too spendy. Hard to find, but its just southwest of Ch. Montelena.
Pride and Paloma are right next to each other and have excellent wines in your range. Paloma’s tasting is in the guy’s actual house.
O’Shaughnessy, Corison, Black Sears.
Herb Lamb was great. Did a 2009-13 vertical.
Tough to find the family operations open on Sunday, so you may want something big enough to be open then and small enough to not be too corporate. I’d recommend Failla if you like Pinot. Style is medium to full but reflective of vineyard sites, and they source from lots of vineyards. Prices are mid $30s for appellation, $40s to $50s for single vineyards, and you can buy library wines at the estate for a reasonable premium. You can also ask to try Day Zinfandel, which is the Zin side project and a steal at $27 (also on the medium to full side, but not over the top fruit bomb). You didn’t mention white, but they also make good Chardonnay. No affiliation, but I was just there last week and it’s a great experience (cool caves and house).
^^^Agree on Failla. Also, great I’ll Drink to That podcast this past week with Ehren Jordan of Failla. Listen to that and I’m sure you’ll want to make it one of your stops for the weekend.
Thanks for all the suggestions. So far we have Smith-Madrone and Vincent Arroyo on Saturday. Sunday will be Pride at 10:30, then Keenan at noon. That should cover the Spring Mountain area. We have time for an additional appointment later Sunday afternoon. Still thinking about this.
If you have any more time on Spring mountain, see if you can connect with Terra Valentine.
An hour and a half may not be enough between appointments. We visited Pride in December and we were a group of four and our tasting went 90+ minutes. You may want to consider pushing that Keenan appointment back 30 minutes if you can.
Herb lamb is under $60??? Where?
The Herb Lamb Two Old Dogs is $55 a bottle, one of the great wine values in Napa. You don’t always have to buy a winery’s highest price wine when you visit. The HL is awfully good, but I’d rather have 3 of the Two Old Dogs. Last time I was there, bought a mixed case of the Two Old Dogs Cab and Sav Blanc and couldn’t have been happier.