Stonehedge Winery opened their tasting room in 2007 and it is located a few blocks north of downtown Napa. For reference it is right across the street from the Vintner's Collective. Stonehedge was founded by the Shahabi Brothers who are originally from Iran and the winery dates from 1992. They produce a wide variety of affordable wines starting at about $10/bottle. Their philosophy is to handcraft wines that are affordable to the majority of the population. What really separates this winery from many other Napa wineries of its size (other than the low prices) is its amazing International distribution.
Their wines are found in select locations from Azerbaijan to Oman to small islands you don't normally here about like Faeroe Islands and Mauritius. They have distribution throughout 49 of the 50 states as well as Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. As a result, out of all the 600+ commercial Napa wine producers we have visited and tasted with, this winery gets the award for the most International distribution! They have grown rather rapidly since their first vintage in 1992 as initially they were very small but now their production is about 150,000 cases. For a Napa winery that amount of production is huge. They source fruit from vineyards all over California from Mendocino in the north to Amador County in the East all they way down to Santa Barbara. Stonehedge offers three types of wine, California Appellation (wines from all over California), Napa Valley wines and their Signature wines which are available in very limited quantities.
A tasting here is relaxed and informal. The tasting room is tastefully decorated and faux cellar blocks are painted on the wall to give one the idea they are tasting in a cellar. In addition real oak barrels line the edge of the room. There is also a nice tasting room behind the main tasting room for private tastings. Stonehedge makes many different wines; as a result we tried just a few. The 2003 Terroir Select Syrah is a delicious fruit forward wine from mountain grown grapes. The Terroir Select 2006 Pinot Noir is also worth a taste with its rounded mouth feel and flavors of raspberry and cherry with just a few hints of oak. Their Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is amazingly priced considering it comes from the well-known Stagecoach Vineyards near Atlas Peak whose fruit used in wine from other wineries often commands a much steeper price.
Here is an interesting story regarding the Stagecoach Vineyards. When the owner Jan Krupp was ready to sell his initial grapes no one would buy them as his vineyards were in "unproven" terroir". He told us he had to make 40 calls before anyone would even buy fruit. Wow, how far Stagecoach has come in a relatively short time as now their grapes are in very high demand! Stonehedge has several other labels including their very popular under $15 "Cool Fish Wines" which are typically white or light wines. Visit: www.stonehedgewinery.com
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Open to Public: Yes
Appointments: No
Regular Tours: No
Hours: W-S, 11-7pm
Phone: 256-4444
Address: 1004 Clinton Street, Napa
 Winery Photos Winery Website
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