Napa Valley, California
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Calistoga Wine & WineriesCalistoga has a number of outstanding wineries just minutes from downtown. Whether you want sparkling or still, red or white, tours or just tasting, you'll find a day's worth or more of wine adventures. |
All Seasons Bistro, Wine Bar and Wine Shop
1400 Lincoln Avenue
Calistoga CA 94515
Restaurant: 707.942.9111 Wine Shop: 707.942.6828 800.804.9463
California Bistro - Entrees $18-$35
Legendary, with a killer wine list. Established in 1983, it was one of the first great restaurants in the valley. Great vegetarian fare and desserts. A favorite with locals as well as visitors. Wine bar offers wines of the world with a focus on Napa Valley and Northern California, and a daily selection of more than 20 wines.
Calistoga Wine Stop
1458 Lincoln Avenue #2
Calistoga CA 94515
800.648.4521
Email: calistogawinestp@aol.com
Located in an old railroad car in the middle of the Calistoga Depot. A wide selection of wines, specializing in California labels with a focus on Napa and Sonoma counties.
Castello di Amorosa
4045 North Saint Helena Hwy
Calistoga, CA 94515
707.942.8200
A spectacular Italian castle owned by Darryl Sattui, who also owns the popular V. Sattui Winery at the south end of St. Helena. Castle has 107 rooms, seven levels (four below ground), a moat (dry) with drawbridge, and a dungeon with assorted instruments of torture including a top-of-the-line model iron maiden. Charge for tasting and additional charge for tour. Appointment necessary for tour.
Chateau Montelena
1429 Tubbs Lane
Calistoga CA 94515
707.942.8200
Two miles north of Lincoln Avenue (Calistoga's main street).
A view of the lake at Chateau Montelena
Chateau Montelena is one of the two Napa Valley wineries that won top honors in the historic Paris wine tasting in 1976. Montelena won for its 1973 Chardonnay. The winery was founded in 1882 and reborn in 1972. Excellent wines in a beautiful setting. Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling.
Clos Pegase Winery
1060 Dunaweal Lane
Calistoga CA 904515
707.942.4981
Open daily for tours and tasting.
Directions: 7 miles north of St. Helena to Dunaweal Lane and turn right. 1/2 mile to winery on the left
Clos Pegase Winery, designed by famed architect Michael Graves (Photo courtesy of the winery.)
Clos Pegase is named after Pegasus, the winged horse of Greek mythology. According to legend, the birth of both wine and art occurred when Pegasus' hooves unleashed the sacred Spring of the Muses.
After an international competition overseen by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the winery was designed by renowned architect Michael Graves, who was commissioned to build a "temple to wine and art." The architecture is absolutely stunning. It's a rather amazing place for a picnic, which you can do in the company of a 300-year-old oak tree and adjacent Merlot vineyard.
Dinner in the caves at Clos Pegase Winery. (Photo courtesy of the winery.)
On the third Saturday of each month (except December and January), owner Jan Shrem's slide presentation, Wine Seen Through 4,000 Years of Health, Literature, History and Art, is presented free to the public.
"Mother Earth" - a sculpture by Henry Moore, one of the 20th Century's most well-known sculptors.
Clos Pegase has an exceptional collection of art, including sculptures outside the winery, and paintings and other works inside. The collection ranges from 4,000 year old wine vessels to paintings by contemporary European painters.
Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Franc, Zinfandel.
Enoteca Wine Shop
1348-B Lincoln Avenue
Calistoga CA 94515
707.942.1117
A wide selection of wines from all over the world, ranging from under $10 to over $2,000 in price. Owner Margaux Singleton has assembled cult wines, foreign favorites, reasonably-priced U.S., South African and Australian wines, as well as ports, sherries, sparkling and dessert wines. The interior of the shop has been painted in tromp l'oeil style by Carlo Marchiori, Calistoga resident and owner of Villa Ca'Toga, to look like the interior of an underground wine cellar.
Frank Family Vineyards
1091 Larkmead Lane
Calistoga CA 94515
800.574.9463
A popular and friendly place producing Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Sangiovese and Zinfandel. They also produce a sparkling wine which they, unlike any other winery in California, refer to as "champagne."
Graeser Winery
255 Petrified Forest Road
Calistoga CA 94515
707.942.4437
Open daily for tasting. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot. All from vineyards on Diamond Mountain. A beautiful setting one mile above Calistoga.
Hans Fahden Vineyards
5300 Mountain Home Ranch Road
Calistoga CA 94515
707.942.6760
Open daily for tasting. Driving from Calistoga, the winery is located shortly before the Petrified Forest. It's at 1200 feet elevation. This beautiful property has been in the Fahden family since 1912. Hiking, picnicking among the water gardens. Fly-fishing and wine cave events by appointment. Estate-grown Cabernet Sauvignon. Also produces vinegar (intentionally).
Schramsberg Vineyards
1400 Schramsberg Road
Calistoga CA 94515
707.942.6668 800.877.3623
Tours and tastings by appointment only. $20 per person. Designated a California historical landmark. Founded in 1862 by Jacob Schram with caves dug by Chinese laborers at the turn of the century. Robert Louis Stevenson visited the winery in 1880 and devoted a chapter of his book "Silverado Squatters" to Schramsberg and its wines. Schram's original gardens were restored by Jack and Jamie Davies, who purchased the then-abandoned winery in 1965.
Schramsberg wines have been served at state occasions by every president since Richard Nixon. Jack Davies was a pioneer in preserving agricultural land in the Napa Valley and the winery's Querencia Brut Rosé was created to honor his efforts and generate funds to continue preserving the valley. Sparkling wines from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, made using the Méthod Champenoise.
Sterling Vineyards
1111 Dunaweal Lane
Calistoga CA 94515
707.942.3344
North of St. Helena turn east on Dunaweal Lane. Sky tram charge includes tasting (for adults).
The SkyTram takes visitors to the Sterling Vineyards winery at the top of the hill.
A beautiful Mykonos-style winery, sparkling white on top of a hill just south of Calistoga. Travel the Sky Tram to the winery where you can take a leisurely self-paced tour. Gorgeous views of the valley below.
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir.
View from the Sterling Vineyards SkyTram.
Von Strasser Winery
1510 Diamond Mountain Road
Calistoga CA 94515
707.942.0930
Tours and tastings by appointment only. Only wines from the Diamond Mountain appellation. Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Chardonnay.
Wine Garage
1020 Foothill Boulevard #C
Calistoga CA 94515
707.942.5332
A very personalized wine shop. Owner Todd Miller drives and tastes his way throughout the wine regions of California, seeking great buys from small wineries with limited distribution. No wine is more than $25 and many are less than $10.
If you'd like to sample wines from a variety of wineries, but your visiting time is limited, consider wine bars. Wine bars offer you the opportunity to taste wines from a number of wineries at a single location.
In the past year, the number of wine tasting bars in the Napa Valley has greatly increased. There is a fee for sampling the wines, but the wine bars are convenient and they also give you a chance to try hard-to-find, limited-production wines.
