Starting a collection and going to Napa, which wines can I only get at the vineyard?

Hello all,

First post here and it looks like an awesome forum. I’ve always wanted to start collecting wine but haven’t had the means until recently. I’ve purchased a La Cache cabinet and am about to embark on filling it up.

I have a trip t Napa coming up in September. I am wondering if I should be trying to buy and ship some wine to add to my collection, however this begs a question. Most of the Napa wines I like to drink I can buy either locally or online, so I am wondering if you all have any advice as to whether I should try to visit some vineyards that don’t sell to major distributors? I am also wondering if there would be any significant savings in buying by the case at the vineyard itself.

Napa wines I have bought and enjoyed include Caymus SS, Kistler/Cakebread/Montelena chard, Mout Veeder cab, etc. I know I get can all of these locally. There is one I have visited before (Castello di Amorosa) which I believe is only available there.

So my questions are:

  1. Which vineyards would you visit for the purpose of buying wines to ship home? I’m looking mostly for stuff I can’t get online or at a local shop.
  2. Would you ship from the vineyard or collect all wines and make one shipment in bulk, and if the latter, who would you use for shipping?

Thank you in advance for any feedback…I have a feeling I will get a ton of useful information from all the people on this forum.

-Graham

Its rare these days for a winery to sell a wine only through the tasting room. The last time I recall that was at Babcock when they had a batch of Chardonnay with some unexplainable suspensions in the wine. It tasted fine but he couldn’t sell it through normal channels. So he put it in the tasting room at half price and sold it out that way.

For shipping it depends on how much you are buying at each stop. Shipping costs are lower per bottle on cases so if only buying 2-3 bottles per stop, I take them and consolidate. If buying a case then have the winery ship it to avoid the hassle and they may even discount it for the full case purchase. Plenty of shipping options in Napa. Everyone has their favorite.

Graham, Welcome to the forum. There are so many great wines and wineries in Napa / Sonoma. The area has been on a pretty good run lately and you will taste a lot of good wines when you go there. There are plenty of great cabs that you can buy while there and quite a few you can’t. Some of the best will require you to earn your way on to the top tier wines or be on a wait list until a spot opens. Over the years my wife and I have gone with many couples new to quality wine and have had some of our best experiences at Pride Mountain Vineyards and Del Dotto. I think Del Dotto is sold thru the winery only. We have also been to “The Castle” (Castillo) many times. It’s a fun stop. Pick a few wineries you like and get on their wine list/club. As far as shipping goes we usually just have the winery ship them. It’s not convenient to haul many bottles around and then try to find somewhere to ship. We will check a few when flying sometimes but not usually. Another recommendation is if you haven’t already create a Cellartracker account. Best way to keep track of your wine and get community reviews. A must have.

Thanks so much. I will definitely try cellar tracker.

Which wines can you think of that you need to be on a waiting list for, and what do you mean by earning my way up?

Shafer Hillside Select is one example of a top end cab you can add yourself to the wait list. (I highly suggest doing so) Pride Reserve wines are sold to customers who regularly purchase their wines. I don’t know exactly what it takes to get on the list. Robert Foley wines can be purchase on line today.

Graham, read this thread to get a better idea of what the majority think is the best CA has to offer.

If you see or taste a wine you like at the winery, perhaps you can look it up on wine-searcher.com or Google it to see if you can get it elsewhere or if you can get it elsewhere for a better price.

Yeah that was my plan, I just figured I’d poll some experts since I only have 2 full days of tasting:)

I haven’t tasted Shafer before so I reserved a time…I wish they would apply the tasting fee ($85) toward a purchase though!

Shafer offers a port that they only sell to visitors. It’s not bad but a bit spendy

Get appointments at Hourglass, Anomaly, Larkmead, Bevan, Brand, and Morlet. Well worth the visit.

Is it naive to suggest asking the tasting room which, if any, wines are not available elsewhere. I’ve done that but not much since the number of wineries began multiplying like rabbits.

There are a small number of wineries that make and keep wines available only at the winery. Most or all are family owned wineries, not those now corporate owned and run. Some make ports, dessert whites or small lot oddballs, while others make a one of a kind or one time only wine. If you like Zinfandel, drop into Caymus. Probably won’t let you taste it, but will sell you a bottle or two. Prager Port Works usually has a still wine or two available at their facility.

I didn’t know Caymus even made Zinfandel…I am planning on a tasting there, and will pick up a bottle if possible!

I would try Rocca Family Vineyards. I had an older vintage the other day and it was delightful.

Be sure to ask wineries you visit what they are offering from their libraries. Some (like BV) have their entire library available all the time, others offer a select list. You can usually find interesting wines on those library lists, perhaps a wine the winery doesn’t make anymore or some perfectly stored selections with some age on them.

Lots of good information above. And I pretty much agree with all of it. You may be surprised how many wineries there are in Sonoma and Napa and you can really only taste at 3 (maybe 4) per day. My two cents, and wineries that you can only get via direct to consumer and are really wonderful include: B Cellars, Goosecross, and Regusci.

Do most napa or Sonoma places require booking ir waitlist? I’m a newbie and I plan on visiting my sister in atwater, with my mom and shes into wine and has gone several times. I know I cant catch up to her without some knowledge but I hope to catch up to her with the help od this forum, as i recently inherited s small lot of wine from a deceased relative and luckily there was a decent amount of napa and i dont want to open each one and try those before I learn about it because then I cannot fully appreciate it without the knowledge and experience of wine tasting.

Lisa - Yes, most tastings rooms in Napa and Sonoma require reservations. You don’t state when you plan to visit but note that Covid-19 related restrictions change regularly. I believe that tastings rooms in most of the state are currently closed again. Throughout the summer most places have been operating at reduced capacity so even when they reopen you may need to book appointments earlier than you would expect.

hi eric! Thank you for educating me on this. Any info is greatly appreciated. Are there any winter tastings? Or do they only happen in summer? And yes the covid restrictions makes it hard, I was hoping by 2021 summer, I would have brushed up on a decent amount of wine knowledge to match my sister. I’ve only heard people( in my circle who love wine) talk about wine tastings in the summer… Never heard about wine tastings in summer. Do you recommend classes before going to a tasting tour or do you think i could learn sufficiently by doing my own research, learning from this forum and trying wines myself( before booking napa. Tour assuming covid restrictions arent so bad)