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Napa Valley Wine Tasting

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Last Updated on June 8, 2023 by Leah Hall

Taking a trip to Napa Valley? We have some suggestions for you with this Napa Valley Wine Tasting post!

 

This post was written after the fires in the fall of 2017 in Santa Rosa, California and the nearby Sonoma and Napa Valleys. We have updated it since then. We love spirited travel, and love to share these trips with you!

 

This post contains affiliate links for products that we think you as readers might find useful, and we make commission off of these! For more details about our affiliates, click our Disclosure and Contacts Page.

 

Plant with welcome sign in terra cotta pots, water carafe and wine glasses on wooden table

Frog’s Leap Winery rolled out the red carpet to welcome us to a wonderful tasting experience.

This post contains sponsored content brought to you by Frog’s Leap Winery and Benessere Vineyards  We were provided a complimentary tasting experiences in exchange for coverage on social media and this blog, but all opinions and views presented here are 100% our own. There are also affiliate links, and we make commission off of these. For further information, or if you are interested in working with us please see our Disclaimer page.

 

Napa Valley

While lots of people plan their trips to places like Disneyland, we plan our trips by where we can have an amazing meal or drink! With delicious goals like this in mind, our version of Disneyland tends to be culinary hot spots like Las Vegas, Chicago, or San Francisco. One of our absolute favorite such spots might be Wine Country in California, where amazing vineyards and restaurants are scattered all over the lush valleys of Napa and Sonoma Counties!

Looking down between vineyard rows of grapes in the Napa Valley

Some of the vines at Benessere Vineyards in St. Helena, CA in the Napa Valley.

Traveling to Napa as a couple can be a great trip, with lots of opportunities for romantic getaways. Those can be sipping wine at beautifully scenic vineyards, enjoying meals in some of the best restaurants, or exploring some wonderfully cute towns and cities. However, traveling to Wine Country with a group of friends is an awesome experience as well, and one that should not be missed!

 

We have a group of really close friends we regularly get together with to enjoy lots of laughter, a dinner and maybe a few cocktails (these folks are regularly our test dummies for our cocktail development! We are always talking about how much fun we would have taking a trip to enjoy some wine and before we knew it, we were planning a group vacation to Wine Country for 6 months later!

Some of the evidence of the wildfires that swept through Santa Rosa, CA. scorched trees and foundations left

Some of the evidence of the wildfires that swept through Santa Rosa, CA.

Napa and Sonoma Valley Fires

(These happened in 2017, but there have been fires almost every year since then, just to make you aware). As we were getting the final steps ready for our trip, we heard the news that there had been a number of huge wildfires overnight that swept through the hills above the Napa Valley and down into Sonoma and Santa Rosa. We watched with rapt attention as the firefighters battled to contain the fires and were all on the phones with each other and our contacts about what we should do.

 

As the week progressed and the firefighters had more success containing the fires, we heard from our contacts out in California that we should be good to come visit. With some consultation between all of our friends, we decided that our visit was still a go and we headed out to Wine Country (and are we ever glad we did!).

 

We got to northern California about a week after the fires had broken out and headed up towards our vacation rental near Guerneville, which is a small town to the west of Santa Rosa along the Russian River. Guerneville was west of the areas of Sonoma County that had burned, tucked away in the Russian River Valley among huge California Redwoods and vineyards.

A flight of wines at Frog's Leap in the tasting room in Napa. 1 white wine and 3 red wines in glasses lined up in a row

A flight of wines at Frog’s Leap in the tasting room in Napa.

How to Wine Taste in Napa

With a big group like we had, getting a limo for the day is a great (and safe!) way to go try lots of great wineries, especially when you have a driver. If your driver knows lots of small boutique wineries and can help customize a tour to fit your tastes, even better! We were lucky and had a great driver named Hector from Mr. Napa Limo for both of our wine tasting days who has been driving in Wine Country for over 10 years. Hector was super attentive and flexible, and knows his way around the whole region, which was handy with all the fire related road closures!

 

Getting a limo or a van is a great way to be able to responsibly enjoy a day of wine tasting, and one that we highly recommend!

 

How Much do Wine Tastings Cost in Napa Valley?

The average wine tasting fee seems to be around $35 per person. Some are lower, some are a lot higher. If you are going to do 3 wineries in a day tour, plan for about $150 per person in tasting fees. Some wineries offer experiences, like food pairings, tours or special accompaniments. Some do waive the tasting fees if you buy bottles.

Tree reflected in pond, with yellow grasses and vines behind. At one of the great Napa Valley Wineries!

Part of the original historic frog ponds that is where Frog’s Leap gets their name! Ribbit!

Is Wine Tasting Free in Napa Valley?

There are some, but not many places that do this. The locations that we know of are Buehler, Sutter Home, Heitz Wine Cellars, and Vincent Arroyo. There are also coupon cards, or packs, like the one Napa has to get a discount, or lower cost tasting.

 

Which Places Provide the Best Wine Tours and Tastings in Napa for Couples?

If you are looking for a little romance, we can recommend

  • Schramsburg Vineyards – some bubbles, and tours are available by appointment only to see their wine caves
  • Domaine Carneros – also great for first time Napa Valley visitors this French chateau-esque estate is great for some wine experiences
  • Failla Winery – tastings in a cave. Need I say more?
  • Castello Di Amorosa – it’s a castle. Tastings are in the dungeon. It’s fun, that is all.
  • Trefethen – 400 acre estate that oozes romance. Winery was built originally in 1886.
Friends toasting wine glasses together with red wine at one of the great Napa Valley Wineries

A toast to great friends at Frog’s Leap Winery!

Frog’s Leap Winery

We rolled over the mountain between Santa Rosa and Napa, and headed into our first Napa Valley wine tasting, Frog’s Leap Winery. Frog’s Leap is located in Rutherford, near the heart of heart of the Napa Valley. Founded in 1981 by John Williams on the site of a former frog farm, John and his partner Larry Turley used their experience gained from working at the famous Stag’s Leap Vineyard to launch their own venture.

Fast forward to 2017, and Frog’s Leap has become one of the best known vineyards in the Napa Valley, with beautiful vines, a spectacular tasting room and grounds and a beautiful garden.

Friends enjoy sitting in wooden adirondack chairs at Frog's Leap Winery in Napa Valley

Our friends enjoying their wine while on the beautiful grounds at Frog’s Leap Winery in the Napa Valley.

Guests at Frog’s Leap can expect a great tasting experience. This Napa Valley wine tasting has 3 different levels of tasting, from their garden tasting all the way up to a guided tasting and tour. Our tasting featured a flight of 4 of their wines which was accompanied by a little sampler of crackers, cheese and fruit jams made with fruit from their gardens.

 

We also had an opportunity to enjoy a stroll through the gardens and look at the beautiful vistas that surround Frog’s Leap!

The historic barn at Frog's Leap Winery in Napa Valley.

Some of the beautiful grounds at Frog’s Leap Winery in Napa Valley.

A little nuts, cheese, crackers and fresh fruit preserves on a white plate from the gardens at Frog's Leap Vineyard in Napa.

A little nuts, cheese, crackers and fresh fruit preserves from the gardens at Frog’s Leap Vineyard in Napa.

 

Line up of flavored sodas in wine glasses at Frog's Leap Winery

A complimentary gourmet soda flight is available for those who don’t drink wine!

Benessere Vineyards

After a successful first vineyard visit, we headed for a quick lunch at the adorable and delicious Oakville Grocery and then turned north to head up to our second vineyard of the day, Benessere Vineyards, an Italian inspired vineyard on the gravely, volcanic soil near St. Helena. This gravelly soil proved to be perfect for growing the classic Italian varietals like Sangiovese and Moscato di Canelli as well as Napa the stars Zinfandel, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.

 

Owned by the Benish family since 1994 and named by the Italian word meaning “living the good life,” Benessere was the first vineyard that we fell in love with on our very first trip to Napa!

Micheal, the tasting room manager at Benessere leads us on a tour of the vineyard.

Micheal, the tasting room manager at Benessere leads us on a tour of the vineyard.

We were super excited to share this experience with our friends who are lovers of great red wines, and with us having fallen in love with their reds on our first trip, we absolutely knew they would love Benessere! Our guide for the day Micheal took us on a spectacular private tour of the property while tasting their wines.

Ladies walking with wine glasses in Benessere Vineyards gardens with palm trees in the back

Enjoying the grounds with friends at Benessere Vineyards.

Benessere Vineyard Tour

We got to head out into the vineyard and taste grapes right off the vines, see the tennis court where Luciano Pavarotti shot his “spectacular” movie Yes, Giorgio, and more importantly the crush pad and fermentation tanks where the wines are born before ending up back in the tasting room (where the the old stables used to be!)

 

Getting a chance to taste wines while touring the property was a great experience (especially with wonderful wines to sip on) was a top notch experience and one that we would highly recommend getting a hold of the folks at Benessere to reserve your chance to visit and have their Napa Valley wine tasting!

Fresh juice right out of the grape press at Benessere Vineyards.

Juice fresh out of the grape press at Benessere Vineyards

 

Sign says Sangiovese 6/96 on a wood post in a vineyard

Some of the Italian varietals of grapes found on the grounds at Benessere Vineyards.

Visit Wine Country

Like we stated above, it’s great to have a driver for visiting vineyards. You can also get a driver for your rental car, or a driver with a rental van or limo. Remember to make reservations for your own Napa Valley wine tasting! Or, if your chauffeur company will do it for you, then do that. Plan a lunch, and take water and snacks too, that way you can day drink all day!

 

Also, check out our tour of Sonoma County Wineries, as well as Northern California’s Humboldt Bay Social Club! Also check out Healdsburg, California Hotel options if you are looking for a place to stay!

8 people standing in front of a fall vineyard holding wine glasses at one of the great Napa Valley Wineries

Benessere treated us and our rowdy friends to a first class winery experience!

 

Also, don’t forget to follow us on Instagram and tag #gastronomcocktails so we can see all the wonderful recipes YOU recreate from this site!

 

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Cheers!

 

A red Pickup at Benessere Vineyards.

One of the iconic red trucks at Benessere Vineyards.

 

Like this post? Check these out below, too!

Menu at The Matheson HealdsburgThe Matheson Restaurant, Healdsburg

 

gray building with trees, lights lighting up the frontHotels in Healdsburg, California

Interested in stocking your own home bar? Make sure to see our favorites at our Amazon Store!

 

If you are going to Napa Valley, we recommend a local hotel to stay at! Or, if you are headed to Northern California, stop in at Humboldt Distillery.

 

If you liked this post, don’t forget to subscribe for new (and of course free) recipes by entering your email address on the side bar (and get all the recipes delivered to your inbox when we post), so you don’t miss out on a thing. You can find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!

 

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Jasmine Katie

Wednesday 13th of February 2019

I'm also waiting for those days and also waiting for y holidays.

Billy

Tuesday 21st of November 2017

Napa is a beautiful place. So glad to hear it is open and everything has calmed down. That period of time was tragic and it is terrible to hear all the loss. Last time I was in Napa was when my family and I went on a Napa Bike tour - we went from winery to winery enjoying the scenery and tasting.. It is definitely a fond memory of mine, and to think some of those places may not even be there anymore is awful. Hopefully Napa can return to its beautiful self in no time.

The 'Noms.

Saturday 25th of November 2017

Agreed! So sad, but glad they are on the road to recovery. That bike ride wine tasting sounds amazing! I need to check that out for our next trip!

Jenna

Friday 10th of November 2017

Napa is somewhere I definitely want to visit one day with my husband. I hated watching all the coverage of the horrific fires out there. I'm glad it's reopening but my heart just aches for the people that lost so much.

The 'Noms.

Monday 13th of November 2017

It was so hard to watch. So sad for those that live there! I hope you can go someday soon, it's so beautiful and such a great place to visit!

Samantha

Wednesday 8th of November 2017

I can't get over how gorgeous it is there! My heart was breaking with the news coverage. I'm glad you went on your trip - it looks like it was so much fun! That's a destination that is definitely on my bucket list!

The 'Noms.

Monday 13th of November 2017

Hope you can go soon, it's so pretty there, and the people are wonderful!

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