Places we’ve been:
  • Sterling: cool ride up to winery in their aerial tram, nice setting; I like it as far as touristy wineries go since you can actually walk through their winery while you do the tastings and you don’t have to sit in one place (like at Castello); also, it’s really scenic and beautiful (downside ~1.5 hour drive from SF)
  • Castello di Amorosa: over-rated, cannot do wine tastings in the venue (wine tastings are done in their tasting room, which means lots of chugging at once), filled with tourists
  • Inglenook: haven’t done tasting but enjoyed the property/sitting outside, beautiful estate/house; the wine is quite good
  • Darioush: nice, smaller setting, did premium tasting with cheese pairing downstairs, quite liked it but $$$; continues to be one of my top choices for Napa area even after trying other places
  • Domaine Carneros: nice chateau, pleasant to sit outside for tasting but no tour/no inside space to see unless you pay for the more expensive option, wine is really mediocre; great scenery, beautiful spot for chatting/catching up with friends
  • Del Dotto: toured caves in Napa (they have a few locations), standing tasting at end of cave tour with their in-house pizza/snacks; nice wines with lots of options to try – not bad for educational element but having to do a long wine tasting standing up is not that fun

On my short list of where to go next:

  • Opus One: fancy wine, very expensive but beautiful setting ($50 for one glass I believe)
  • Jacuzzi vineyards & Cline Cellars: beautiful settings, close by and owned by same family, seems cheaper but maybe wine is not great quality; think you can BYO picnic lunch which is nice
  • Round Pond: can only do tasting outdoors if you pay for the premium option
  • Clos Pegase: not sure if you can do tasting outdoors, might be stuck indoors only (also it may be a bit less wine focused as part of a hotel/resort)
  • Tres Sabores: they have golden retrievers but I think the wine is average