Wine-ings (a working title) Post 1: My top 5 Napa Wineries

I have been asked multiple times by friends and family to start writing a blog about my wine tasting trips. So today, after going to bed early and getting a good amount of uninterrupted sleep, and not having Bible study this morning, I'm motivated to finally write the first post. And it is a doozy! 

Back story on Napa: to be honest, it isn't my favorite place to wine taste and that is based on the fact that I'm about 50/50 there - about half the wineries I visit each time I like both the wine and the experience. The other half? Well, either one or both criteria suffer in my eyes. However, I do love the terrain that I get to taste in so that sometimes outweighs the experiences and the 2-2.5 hour drive there (depending on if I go all the way to Calistoga or stay in the Napa Valley). One more addendum: most of the wineries on this list are actually in the St. Helena/Calistoga area, not in proper Napa Valley.  Anyway, here is my list for my current* Top 5 Wine and Experience in the Napa Valley or related area:

5. VINCENT ARROYO, Calistoga. The hospitality is the best of all on this list. It is located in Calistoga and worth the slight zig zag drive to the winery. The winery is tucked away and in a beautiful small valley-like setting. They greet you as if you are the most important person to visit and they are generous in trying their wines. If they know I like a certain wine, they will add to their traditional 5-6 tastings. Once, because they had 12 bottles open, I got to try all 12! Luckily, I was with a friend that time and we had plenty of food in our trunk since it was the first winery of the day! I can't say they'll do this every time but they have proven to be generous. They also usually include a full tour of the winery with each visit and you have your own wine host/hostess for the entire tasting, which is always by reservation only (even before Covid). The only reason they are bottom of my top 5 are that I'm not quite sure about their wines tasting to the mass' palates. Don't misunderstand me: their wines are excellent. But they are a tad different to those who are more used to someone like Beringer, Robert Mondavi, and the like. Their highest selling wine is their Petite Sirah, but I always come home with a bottle of their Bodega - a Cabernet/Malbec/Petite Verdot blend that is my favorite of all Cab blends I've had so far. At only $42 per  bottle, it's a NV or Calistoga steal!

Pricing: $22-$68 per bottle

Tasting fee per person: $20

Vivino winery rating: 4.2

My rating (of 5): 4.5

4. PARADUXX, Napa - This winery is just beautiful. It is smaller in grounds but I loved their set up. A sister or child (not sure which is a better description) of the Duckhorn winery properties, each wine it produces are a pairing of two Duckhorn wines - hence the name Paraduxx. Clever, right? I went to this winery for New Year's Eve a few years ago and it has stuck with me throughout visiting about 30-40 wineries since. The wines were excellent and different in a good way, and the hospitality and grounds were so peaceful and relaxing. I was able to sit in the covered porch-like area, out of the sun and out of the louder inside tasting room. My wine hostess was excellent and knowledgeable in the Paraduxx and Duckhorn wines, something that is paramount for me when I visit a winery. My wine host should know about the wines and give me a little history - even if its a rehearsed one. I was not disappointed in the wines here or the service - I left with a bottle of wine over $50 for the first time ever here. For my previous, debt-riddled budget, this was a huge thing for me. I liked it that much. And I drank it right away on my second week of vacation. 

Pricing: $34-$100 per bottle

Tasting fee per person: $40-$325 per person

Vivino winery rating: 4.2

My rating (of 5): 4.6

3. TURNBULL, Oakville. Off the main highway and next to Cakebread Cellars, is this little gem. Though its not rare, the old tractors stationed around the barn-like tasting room was welcoming to this farming family girl. I may not be a farmer myself (far from it) but my roots got sentimental here. But what I remember most about this place and the wines were the wine hostess and the wine club members that tasted next to me. They were so nice, so generous and had complete conversations with me. It was a fun place, but also quiet. I was allowed to walk the grounds as I tasted each wine and just returned to to the tasting room for my next one. And due to the best wine being open for the wine club members next to me and them being so generous, I was able to get a taste of it - which was not on my tasting. Delicious! I did not walk away with a bottle here as my favorite bottle was $135!!! But I have regretted it ever since. I had 2 wineries to go that day and they were not as memorable as Turnbull was (Cakebread was one -though its in my top 10 - and Odette - not impressed).

Pricing: $50-$150 per bottle

Tasting fee per person: $40-$80 

Vivino winery rating: 4.3

My rating (of 5): 4.6

2. DUCKHORN, St. Helena. My favorite Cabernet Sauvignon so far, period. I have not had a cab I've liked more (to be honest though I'd like to compare it to the Caymus and DuMol I've had in Cabs but those are outside of my price range and I don't think I can taste at DuMol - Caymus is next on my list though). It comes from Mt. Howell, I think it has a slight percentage of another wine but it is smooth and tasty and I love it so I don't care about this run-on sentence! It was $100 a bottle so I did not come home with it but I did drink the very generous pour. If you haven't at least driven by the Duckhorn campus, you should. It is exquisite, and the pretty landscaping is worth the $40 base tasting even if you don't like any of the wines (which I highly doubt). I was on my own for this one (which isn't unusual) but my wine host was was as attentive to me as he was the table of 6 sitting next to me. I hated leaving without even a less expensive bottle but this is somewhere I would suggest everyone go - even on a budget like I was. I couldn't not spend more than $30 on a bottle of wine because I wanted to taste at a few wineries that had higher priced tasting fees - but I'm so glad I tasted here. If we're talking favorite wine conglomerate companies, Duckhorn is my favorite hands down. On my top 5 non-Napa list is Calera, purchased a few years ago by Duckhorn properties. It is in the Hollister area and has very tasty Pinot Noirs. But I'll leave talking about it on another post. Seriously, go here. 

Pricing: $28-$155 per bottle

Tasting fee per person: $40-$325

Vivino winery rating: 4.2

My rating (of 5): 4.7

1. MADRIGAL, Calistoga. This is my top winery for three reasons: The hospitality, the wines, and the location. I do not know what it is about their simple, in the middle of the valley, tasting area but it is super peaceful and you can see everything. Plus, they take you right into the grapes and allow you to taste a few at certain parts of the year. They are super knowledgeable about their wines and others (I found out about Danica Patrick's wines and Yao Mings wines through them), and just very welcoming. My favorite Temperanillo is now here (sorry, Justin, they finally beat you in my book) and they have added a French-style (dry) Rose that rivals my favorite - the aforementioned Danica Patrick - and the first Sauvingnon Blanc I like outside of Australian Sauvignon Blancs (not a big fan of Saugvignon Blanc or Chardonnay). In addition, the person who referred me here and to other favorites in Napa Valley, now works here and is very knowledgeable about wines in general. It is a small family winery, and you can tell with every minute you are there. You are treated like family. 

Pricing: $35-$114 per bottle

Tasting fee per person: $35 (Calistoga), $25 (Sausalito tasting room)

Vivino winery rating: 4.1

My rating (of 5): 4.75

Honorable Mentions:

Hall Wines 

Cakebread Cellars

Frank Family

*current - as of 11/29/20. I still have many wineries still to try, including the ones mentioned like Caymus and DuMol (if available), and others like The Prisoner, Sterling, Stags Leap, etc., that have been suggested to me in the Napa Area. This also does not include favorites from other areas I've tasted like Livermore, Sonoma area, Temecula area, and the Paso Robles area.