Robert Craig Winery
T he tasting room for Robert Craig Winery is nestled in a quiet business park near Napa’s downtown, adjacent to the Napa River and overlooking a riverfront park. The modest, office-like exterior of the building betrays no hints of the modern yet inviting ambience you’ll find once you get inside. The main tasting bar seats about 8, and there are several other seating options as well. As an appointment-only tasting room, you’re likely to be some of the only (if not the only) guests, making this a quiet, unhurried, educational place to visit. After finishing his military service in the 1960’s, Robert Craig was part of a club in San Francisco that tasted numerous wines, and he discovered that mountain...
Paraduxx
T he Paraduxx tasting experience is like no other. Nestled between vineyards along Silverado Trail, just south of Rutherford, is a yellow farmhouse that serves as the tasting room and hospitality center for your visit to this amazing property. Paraduxx does not have a stand-up bar like most tasting rooms – rather, you choose a seat, indoors or out, and your selected tasting flight is brought right out to wherever you’re seated. What makes the experience at Paraduxx so unique is that it is at the same time personal, casual, and truly relaxing. We visited on a Sunday in mid-February, and didn’t arrange a reservation ahead of time, but I imagine that reservations are a must during peak season (and...
Long Meadow Ranch Winery
L ong Meadow Ranch is a sustainably-farmed ranch in the Mayacamas Mountains to the west of Napa Valley, producing fine wines, handcrafted olive oils, grass-fed Highland cattle, eggs, organic fruits and vegetables, and honey. In fact, their St. Helena tasting room and adjacent Farmstead restaurant and gardens are only a part of the Long Meadow Ranch experience, which includes LMR Rutherford Gardens and the 650-acre Long Meadow Ranch itself. Set back from the main highway a bit by a “green zone” of vines, vegetables, and fresh herbs, the Logan-Ives house that serves as the main tasting room is a restored 1874 Gothic-revival farmhouse, and is at once modern, timeless, and elegant. The...
ZD Wines
J ust because ZD Wines ends up being the last alphabetical entry in many lists of wineries, don’t let that stop you from moving it right to the top of your own list of places to visit in Napa Valley. The ZD Wines tasting room is located along Silverado Trail in Rutherford, and offers some excellent organically-grown wines in a pleasant, friendly environment. After parking near the certified-organic Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards, you walk down a shaded garden path to a tasting room bathed with soft, indirect light from the North-facing windows and are greeted by the warm, friendly staff. And now you’re ready for the real treat: ZD’s wines. ZD Wines was founded in 1969 by two aerospace engineers, Norman...
GustavoThrace (plus Toolbox Wines)
N apa’s underrated downtown is home to a number of tasting rooms, including this one. GustavoThrace is conveniently located near the corner of McKinstry and First streets, across the street from the Oxbow Public Markets. With several tasting rooms to choose from within a few hundred feet, this one just seems like the most fun. The interior looks like a hot-rod garage exploded and left quirky, cool artifacts everywhere. All that’s missing from the serious (but classy) man-cave vibe is a pool table. From the street, a stained-glass portrait of winemaker Gustavo Brambila hangs proudly in the front window. You might recognize the names Brambila and GustavoThrace from the 2008 movie Bottle Shock, where Brambila was portrayed by actor Freddy Rodriguez as a young lab...