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Artists- Deanna Yesko & Sam Carroll
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Most wine lovers will agree that touring the earth's great wine producing regions is quite a treat. It deepens our understanding of wine, the earth it grows on, and the people who make it. Wine happens to grow in some of the most beautiful regions on earth, and the Napa Valley is no exception. The valley and the mountains around it offer many breathtaking views and a sense of well-being.
I recently spent two days (7/31/01 and 8/1/01) in the Napa Valley touring wineries and tasting wine. This article is a summary of my impressions, tasting notes, and other tidbits of information that will hopefully be of some use to you whether you have been to Napa before, plan to visit, or would just like to take a cyber tour. Napa Valley
There are two roads running through the Napa Valley. The main one is Hwy
29 with many wineries, restaurants, stores, and the main towns. To the east running
parallel with Hwy 29 is the The wineries that I decided to visit were small to medium in size and adhere to a philosophy of making the best wine possible, and many are making world class wines of complexity, depth, and class.
Most (but not all) charge a fee for tasting their wines. Some charge a fee
just to taste their reserve wine. Most tasting cost from $4 to $7 to taste
regular release wines and $10 to $30 for tasting 3 to 5 reserve limited release
wines. All wineries sell their wines on the premises. I have included my
tasting notes for each winery. I must mention how beautiful all the following wineries and their grounds are. Napa Valley has everything from wineries built to resemble a château in France, to contemporary ones designed by world famous architects, with gardens to match. Some wineries owners love and collect fine art which is displayed to view and enjoy while tasting wine and touring the grounds. All this in conjunction with the natural beauty of the region make for a great experience. On pass tours we were joined by friends with little interest in wine and some that don't even drink wine, and they all loved Napa Valley for their own reasons. Because of it's world-wide fame, Napa can get crowded especially on weekends during the summer months. I advise visiting on the off season (spring, fall, and winter), and if you do go during the summer as I just did, plan to go mid-week, its much more mellow. I also tend to stay more on the Silverado Trail during the busy season.
When entering Napa Valley from the south on route 29 this sign lets you know you have reached your destination.
On this tour I concentrated on four different regions or appellations; The Stags Leap District, the Calistoga Region, St. Helena, and Rutherford. I did not write about every winery I went to, but hand picked a few from each district to write about. If it's your first time to Napa these wineries will get you started, and you can take it from there. The tour is broken down by regions. Click! any region or winery below to see tasting notes, current prices, and more.
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quieter Silverado Trail (Hwy 121). I
started my tour on the southern part of the Silverado Trail in the Stags Leap
District. 
