is a full service wine shop with a tasting bar located on the corner of First and Silverado Trail east of downtown Napa. They used to be located across the street but with the construction of the Ritz Carlton hotel they were forced to move and are now in a larger facility. Look for a curved building with a 50′s diner style flair as the front facade. This … [Read more...]

is a winery we have been meaning to visit for a while as we are familiar with the other wines the two partners in this venture create. They are Oscar Renteria of (Renteria Wines) and Steve Reynold’s of Reynold’s Family Winery located on Silverado Trail. No, these are not the only wineries both are involved in – also see our write-up on Thirteen, a one of a … [Read more...]

are located high on the slopes of Pritchard Hill at about 1500 feet and on a clear day you can easily see the San Pablo Bay at the far end of the Napa Valley and sometimes even the skyscrapers of San Francisco in the distance. In the last 15 years much of this area has been planted with vineyards and their nearby neighbors are Continuum, Chappellet and … [Read more...]

released their first vintage in 1998; their focus is on white and red Rhone & Spanish varietals and they source from their own vineyards near Clearlake in Lake County and at the base of Howell Mountain in Napa County. This is a winery producing wines from varietals not often seen in the Napa Valley. The founders are Sam Spencer and Wendy Roloson and the … [Read more...]

produced their first vintage of wine in 2000. The owners used to vacation in the Napa Valley and fell in love with the area. Unlike many older folks who have fell under the “allure” of Napa, moved to the area after a previous career and started producing wine in their later years, the owners of Hagen Heights are building a winery when they are in the middle … [Read more...]

(Founded 1991) is an interesting winery in that they are spread out all over. Their home vineyards are located in the prestigious Spring Mountain appellation in Napa. Fife is owned by Dennis Fife; his former partner in the winery is the famed author, Karen MacNeil (author of The Wine Bible). In addition, they lease the Redhead Vineyard in the Redwood Valley … [Read more...]

is run by several mysterious partners – even their winemaker is noted as “phantom” and his/her identity is not revealed. We caught up with Phantom in Pasadena to try their inaugural Lava Rock release. Yes, sometimes we travel far and wide to taste Napa wines! Their Lava Rock is 100% Napa Valley grown red wine from two vineyards both planted in volcanic … [Read more...]

is located off of Highway 29 in the southern part of St. Helena almost right next door to the Flora Springs Tasting Room and just south of the Dean & Deluca shopping center. However, they do not share driveways or parking lots. This is one of the older wine shops in all of Napa Valley having been founded in 1983. This shop is often confused with the St. … [Read more...]

is an anomaly in the Napa Valley winery scene. At the time of this review their focus is entirely on very limited productions of two varietals, each quite different from each other – a Pinot Noir and a Cabernet Sauvignon. This winery is owned and operated by Michael Logan who is also the winemaker. His first vintage was in 2003. These varietals are two of … [Read more...]

was originally founded in 1988 and specializes in Howell Mountain grown vineyards including Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon. What a great name of a winery whose namesake also is the appellation. Howell Mountain sits high above the Napa Valley floor (1400 feet and higher) and is well known for producing high quality Zinfandel’s and Cabernet Sauvignon. Many … [Read more...]