Atalon Winery is located north of the small town of Calistoga in "the shadow" of the area's tallest mountain, Mt. St. Helena which anchors the northern part of the valley. Atalon was started by the Sonoma/Napa winery giant Kendall Jackson and their wines were available for tasting at Jackson owned Cardinale until their present physical winery facility was purchased in 2006. This winery was originally Robert Pecota winery, and once he sold, Robert soon purchased additional land about 1/4 mile down the road and currently plans to build his own new winery (which we will review once completed).
To understand Atalon, first some history is in order. Atalon itself is a relatively new winery releasing their first commercial vintage in 1997. When the brand was first founded the wine was made high on Howell Mountain at an old ghost winery built by W.S. Keyes. In the late 1800's Keyes was producing award winning and some of Napa's finest wines. Atalon is a derivative of a French word meaning "benchmark". The idea behind the winery was to produce high quality wines from the vineyards used in this original winery. Following up with the French meaning of benchmark, you could almost say Atalon is using the original W.S. Keyes winery as their own benchmark. Today they source fruit from a variety of vineyards in select locations within Napa Valley.
The winery sits in a bucolic location totally surrounded by vineyards just north of Tubbs Lane (near the Old Faithful Geyser). As a result of its location this is one of the most northerly based Napa wineries. We always like visiting this part of the valley as there are less people, less traffic, and the wineries are much more spread out. Tasting, while by appointment, is informal and enjoying their wine is a very pleasant experience. This winery has finished major renovation and upgrades; the gardens and outdoor landscaping were redesigned and Bob Pecota's old house was converted into a tasting area. Weather permitting, the tasting will be outside on the patio near the pool otherwise it will be inside their cozy tasting room. Atalon is known for merely two tiers of wines: a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and in addition a hillside grown Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. However, note that their first white wine, a Sauvignon Blanc was released in 2008.
The Napa Valley vintages we tried were all very well balanced with soft smooth tannins. There are definitely some noticeable differences based on terroir and the hillside grown fruit versus the valley floor. The hillside grown wines tend to be bigger in structure with rich very ripe fruit flavors. The grapes used in their wines come from several premium vineyard locations in the Napa Valley historically known to produce very high quality grapes. There are nice views of the vineyards and nearby hills from the wooden deck in the covered fermentation area. Also note the handprints of Bob Pecota in the concrete (former owner). We refer to the two "C's" which are the best bicycle friendly areas in Napa Valley. These are Carneros to the south and Calistoga here in the north. Bicyclists will find these small vineyard surrounded roads a joy to ride especially considering this part of the valley sees less traffic then much of the rest of Napa Valley. A bike rack is available in front of the winery for parking. Visit: www.atalon.com
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Open to Public: No
Appointments: Yes
Regular Tours: No
Hours: 10:30-4pm
Phone: (800) 224-4090
Address: 3299 Bennett Lane, Calistoga
 Winery Photos Winery Website
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