Within each category, the top Napa Valley wineries are in alphabetical order. Please note that many wineries require reservations these days. They're not just being snooty, it's a sad fact that Napa was getting so overrun with visitors that new tasting room licenses require it.
Best Napa Valley Wineries: Tours (Reservations Required)
These Napa Valley wineries offer fun, interesting tours in beautiful locations.
- Cakebread Cellars: If you want to learn all about wine-making and don't mind standing for two hours to do it, this tour's for you.
- Castello di Amorosa: The building eclipses the wines at Castello, a faithful reproduction of an Italian castle. The fully-equipped dungeon is often a big hit the kids of all ages.
- Schramsberg: With a great history and sparkling wines that often beat the French competition, there's a lot to like about Schramsberg.
- Spring Mountain: If you ever watched Falcon Crest, this beautiful place is where it was filmed, a romantic mountain setting and a gorgeous historic house make a nice backdrop for sampling some very fine cabernet sauvignon wines.
- Swanson Vineyards: Wine tasting in Swanson's gorgeous salon is more like attending a wine country dinner party, with convivial hosts and excellent wine-and-food pairing.
Best Napa Valley Wineries: Tours (Drop In)
If didn't plan ahead, try dropping into one of these Napa Valley wineries.
- Beringer: Napa Valley's oldest continuously-operating winery is famous for white zinfandel wine and visiting can be a "cattle call" experience, but their Historic District Tour takes you out of the crowds to the historic Rhine House, one of California's most beautiful structures.
- Robert Mondavi: Although it can be crowded, Mondavi offers many informative tours.
- Sterling: Warr didn't recommend it, but we added it because the tour is self-guided, their tasting room kid-friendly and the tram ride is fun.
Best Napa Valley Wineries: Tasting Room Experiences
Many Napa Valley wineries have tasting rooms, but in some you're lucky to get enough attention to have your glass filled. These top places offer a chance to relax in beautiful surroundings and get personal attention. They may charge a little more, but we think they're worth it.
- Darioush: The building looks like a Babylonian palace, and inside, you'll find intimate tasting nooks.
- Del Dotto Wine Gallery: They call it a tour, but we call the Del Dotto experience wine-tasting because you focus on only part of the wine-making process. Taste as you tour, sampling from barrels to learn how wood and wine interact to build flavor.
- Domaine Carneros: It's their patio, overlooking the Carneros vineyards that makes this a top pick. They stay open later than other wineries, making it a great place to end the day.
- Robert Sinskey: Sit and enjoy your wine here, rather than standing at a crowded bar.
Best Napa Valley Wineries: Picnics
A few Napa Valley wineries also offer nice spots for an alfresco meal. If you stop at any of them for a picnic, don't be a freeloader. It's polite to buy a bottle of their wine.- Clos du Val: This winery has a nice picnic area in an olive grove.
- Rutherford Hill: On a hillside shaded by California live oaks, this is our favorite place for a wine country picnic.
Napa Valley Wineries: Free Tasting
Free tasting is almost unheard-of at Napa Valley wineries, but these are a few places where you can taste wine for free (or almost free). Many Napa Valley wineries offer complimentary or discounted tasting for locals.- Downtown Napa Wine Tasting: Not quite free, but it's close. Buy a Taste Napa Downtown card, and taste for 10 cents a glass at any of ten downtown Napa tasting rooms.
- August Briggs: Open daily at 333 Silverado Trail, on the southern edge of Calistoga
- Frank Family Vineyards: The original stone winery building is on the National Register of Historic Places. North of St Helena and open daily
- Sutter Home: Their cute little tasting room is at 277 St. Helena Hwy (Hwy. 29)
Napa Valley Wineries: Tourist Stops
Sometimes Napa Valley wineries start out well. They're fun to visit, welcome everybody, and the word spreads. Unfortunately, the hapless visitor who arrives after a place has achieved a name may wonder what happened. They find big crowds and impersonal, harried staff and leave wondering what all the fuss was ever about. If you still want to visit any of the wineries, don't say we didn't warn you.- Beringer: Because of their white zinfandel's fame, this place sometimes feels more like a crowded bus station than a relaxing wine country stop. Avoid the main tasting room and opt for a specialty tour.
- Robert Mondavi: To avoid a herd experience, choose something specialized from their wide variety of tours.
- Viansa: Once a lovely hilltop winery with a nice outdoor cafe now seems always overrun and we're wondering why anyone stops here anymore (except, of course, for the busloads who have no choice).
- V. Sattui: Once a great place for picnic on the lawn, these days it feels more like you're in the middle of a freeway, and they won't allow food brought in from outside.
