Skip to content
The best vineyards of Napa Valley
Soon, the harvests will be over in the best vineyards in Napa. Some of them harvest using machines, while others harvest the grapes by hand. Harvesting the grapes by hand means fewer of them are bruised or damaged in the process. The best vineyards of Napa Valley match different varieties of grape to their particular soil and microclimate to create wines of unique and exquisite aroma and flavor and rich, smooth mouthfeel. There are about 400 wineries in the valley.
In the coolest parts of the valley, the best vineyards of Napa grow Pinot Noir and Merlot grapes. The hardy Cabernet Sauvignon grapes can grow in any part of the valley, but they yield better wines in some areas than in others. The winemakers taste the grapes every now and then during the ripening process in order to make sure they harvest them at precisely the right time, when the grapes are ripe-tasting but don’t contain too much sugar.
The best vineyards in Napa have tasting rooms where the best of their wines can be tried for a fee, paired with the finest dishes. Bigger vineyards schedule tours, and you can usually tour the smaller ones by appointment. There you have a much better chance of talking to the owner, or at least someone who does some of the work there. The best time to visit is this time of year or in the spring.
One of the best vineyards in Napa is near St. Helena
Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley, a 10-minute drive from downtown St. Helena, is one of the best vineyards in the Napa Valley area. Their Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux blends are widely regarded as among the best wines in Napa. Their Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and non-malolactic Chardonnay of this vineyard also have a cult following. It holds tastings in its barrel caves, where current releases and library wines may be sampled and visitors can learn all about the process of making and storing the wine. Cave tastings are $65, but one tasting fee can be waived by joining their wine club or making a $100 purchase.
Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards produces world-class wines at affordable prices, including the 2011 Èloge. 2011 was a wet and cool year, with a lower yield but particularly high quality. The Èloge shows this quality with its aroma and taste of dark fruit, licorice, spice, cigar box, coffee and hints of violet perfume. This will be a wine to cherish for thirty years or more. Anderson’s wines are sold online and in five locations in Napa Valley, and many other locations nationwide. Join their wine club and order a bottle today.
The best vineyards in Napa
Running one of the best vineyards in Napa is a lot of work. A vineyard is a farm, and farming is already famous for being hard work. In addition, the winemaker must match the right variety of grape to their particular terroir and choose just the right moment to harvest the grapes — the margin for error is much lower than when harvesting, say, corn. And every piece of equipment used at a winery that comes into contact with the must needs to be kept surgically clean and sterile — the sugar-rich must that sustains the yeast until the sugar is converted into alcohol could just as easily sustain the growth of toxic bacteria. Even with that, every tank and barrel needs to be checked every few days to make sure it’s at the right temperature and isn’t suffering any bacterial invasion.
Wine clubs and wine tastings at vineyards
The best vineyards in Napa have tasting rooms and wine caves, where visitors can sample old library wines and the vintages of more recent years for a reasonable fee. Joining a wine club is a great way to get invited to wine tastings. Bigger vineyards have scheduled tours, and you can usually tour the smaller vineyards by appointment. When you visit a smaller vineyard, you have a much better chance of talking to someone involved in making the wine, or even the owner — although they may be very busy, since, as mentioned before, running a vineyard is a lot of work.
Some of the best wines in Napa come from near St. Helena
Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley, a 10-minute drive from downtown St. Helena, is one of the best vineyards in the Napa Valley area. Their Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux blends are widely regarded as among the best wines in Napa. It holds tastings in its barrel caves, where current releases and library wines may be sampled and visitors can learn all about the process of making and storing the wine. Cave tastings are $65, but one tasting fee can be waived by joining their wine club or making a $100 purchase.
A wine you might find at an Anderson’s Conn Valley wine club wine tasting is the 2009 Estate Reserve Cabernet. Coming from an excellent year with a long hang time for the grapes, the ’09 Estate Reserve is a dense purple wine with a reddish-purple edge. Its aroma is of red and black cassis, violets, loamy earth and concentrated minerals. It has a medium to full-bodied mouth feel and the flavor of dark berries and red fruits with earth, leather and graphite notes. Join their wine club today and try a more recent Estate Reserve.
How the best vineyards in Napa Valley become the best
There are about 400 wineries in Napa valley, and many different microclimates and regions of soil that add up to 16 American Viticultural areas. No one of them produces the perfect grape — instead, the best vineyards of Napa Valley match the right variety of grape to their particular terroir, tend the vines lovingly and harvest the grapes at just the right moment. They grow Pinot Noir and Merlot grapes in the coolest parts of the valley, Zinfandel grapes in the mildest and the hardy but exquisite Cabernet Sauvignon grapes anywhere they want. (Premium Cab grapes from Napa sell for about $20,000 a ton.)
Wine clubs and wine tastings
The best vineyards in Napa have tasting rooms where old library wines and the vintages of the past few years can be tried for a reasonable fee. Joining a wine club is a great way to get invited to these tastings.
Bigger vineyards have scheduled tours, and smaller ones can usually be toured by appointment. When you visit a smaller vineyard, you have a much better chance of talking to someone involved in making the wine — or even the owner.
One of the best vineyards in Napa near St. Helena
Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley, a 10-minute drive from downtown St. Helena, is one of the best vineyards in the Napa Valley area. Their Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux blends are widely regarded as among the best wines in Napa. It holds tastings in its barrel caves, where current releases and library wines may be sampled and visitors can learn all about the process of making and storing the wine. Cave tastings are $65, but one tasting fee can be waived by joining their wine club or making a $100 purchase.
Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards produces world-class wines at affordable prices. The vineyard is a 40-acre estate just south of Howell Mountain, and has been owned and operated by the Anderson family since 1983. Anderson’s wines are sold online and in five locations in Napa Valley, and many other locations nationwide. An example of what this vineyard can produce is the 2012 Right Bank. This comes from one of those perfect years for grape growing, when sun and rain seem to conspire to produce high yield and high quality. The wine features a strong blackberry aroma with hints of red berries, plums, dark cocoa, leather, blue violets, roses, cloves, anise and allspice. The flavor is similar, and perfectly balanced with seamless oak and grape tannins and bright acidity. This wine is expected to be good for 30 years. Order a bottle of the 2013 vintage today to see if it’s equally good.
How the best wines of Napa Valley are grown
To find the best wines in Napa Valley, wine connoisseurs judge wines on appearance, aroma, body, taste and finish. The wine should be clear and brilliant, with the proper color and a complex, intense aroma. The weight and texture of it in the mouth is nearly as important as the flavor, which should be well balanced with recognizable notes of flavor. Its aftertaste should linger pleasantly in the mouth after it has been swallowed.
The best vineyards in Napa Valley match different varieties of grape to their particular soil and microclimate to achieve these qualities. There are about 400 wineries in the valley. In the coolest parts of the valley, winemakers grow Pinot Noir and Merlot grapes. The hardy Cabernet Sauvignon grapes can grow in any part of the valley, but yield better wines in some areas than in others. (Premium Cab grapes from Napa are sold for about $20,000 a ton.) The winemakers put planning and judgment into harvesting the grapes at precisely the right time, when the grapes are ripe-tasting but without too much sugar.
The best vineyards in Napa have tasting rooms where old library wines and the vintages of the past few years can be tried for a reasonable fee, paired with artisanal cheeses or other gourmet dishes. Bigger vineyards have scheduled tours, and smaller ones can generally be toured by appointment. When you visit a smaller vineyard, you have a much better chance of talking to someone who does some of the work there — or even the owner. The best time to visit is fall or spring, so as to avoid the crowds of tourists. In the fall, you can watch the harvest, but all the employees will probably be busy.
One of the best vineyards in Napa near St. Helena
Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley, a 10-minute drive from downtown St. Helena, is one of the best vineyards in the Napa Valley area. Their Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux blends are widely regarded as among the best wines in Napa. Their Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and non-malolactic Chardonnay of this vineyard also have a cult following. It holds tastings in its barrel caves, where current releases and library wines may be sampled and visitors can learn all about the process of making and storing the wine. Cave tastings are $65, but one tasting fee can be waived by joining their wine club or making a $100 purchase.
Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards produces world-class wines at affordable prices. The vineyard is a 40-acre estate just south of Howell Mountain, and has been owned and operated by the Anderson family since 1983. Anderson’s wines are sold online and in five locations in Napa Valley, and many other locations nationwide. Order a bottle today.
The many vineyards of Napa Valley
A vineyard is a kind of farm, but it is like no other kind of farm. While all farmers worry about weather and soil quality, not even in Idaho has anyone ever been invited to a potato farm for a french fry tasting. Wine may have begun as something people drink to quench their thirst or get drunk, but it has long since become an art form, in which soil, sun, wind and rain are balanced against different varieties of grape to bring each variety of wine to its own perfection.
With so many different wines grown just in the Napa-Sonoma area, figuring out which are the best vineyards in Napa mostly depends on what sort of wine you’re thinking of. In the coolest parts of the valley, Pinot Noir and Merlot grapes can be grown. The hardy Cabernet Sauvignon grapes can grow in all parts of it, but produce better vintages where the microclimate is just right.
There are about 400 wineries in Napa Valley. The best vineyards in Napa have tasting rooms where both the newer and older wines can be tried for a reasonable fee, paired with artisanal cheeses or other gourmet dishes. Bigger vineyards have scheduled tours, whereas smaller ones can generally be toured by appointment. When you visit a smaller vineyard, chances are the person you’re talking to would normally be doing work, rather than somebody assigned to the task of looking after visitors.
The best time to visit is fall or spring, so as to avoid the crowds. (Yes, the vineyards can get crowded with tourists. They’re that popular.) In the fall, you get to see the harvest — the downside of this is that everyone will be very busy, and you might be in the way.
One of the best vineyards in Napa near St. Helena
Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley, a 10-minute drive from downtown St. Helena, is one of the best vineyards in the Napa Valley area, widely known for their Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux blends. Their Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and non-malolactic Chardonnay also have a cult following. It holds tastings in its barrel caves, where current releases and library wines may be sampled and visitors can learn all about the process of making and storing the wine. Cave tastings are $65, but one tasting fee can be waived by joining their wine club or making a $100 purchase.
Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards produces world-class wines at affordable prices. The vineyard is a 40-acre estate just south of Howell Mountain, and has been owned and operated by the Anderson family since 1983. Anderson’s wines are sold online and in five locations in Napa Valley, and many other locations nationwide. Order a bottle today.
