I was introduced to Tor cabernet while at dinner at Wally's in Beverly Hills. It surprisingly…read morewasn't a recommendation from their sommelier but the sommelier's brother, who fortunately for us has a keen eye for great wine. I have a trip to Napa in the spring planned and look forward to stopping at the winery for a few bottles to take back to Los Angeles.

We arrived at the 2nd winery of the second day in Napa a few minutes early, I remember the couple…read moreleaving saying "beautiful and delicious but you need deep pockets!" In about 5 minutes we got in and man this was another unique place! Full of art and paintings all over the walls, the wine bottle labels all originate from a real painting. The atmosphere was super intimate, relaxed and full of funny/interesting stories about how they came about from not drinking any wine to what it is today, a reputable boutique winery. The most impressive part of it all is that Mr. Behrens himself, the visionary is the one and only winemaker and he did all of it without any formal training at all and to this day it remains this way. Robin Coopers is brilliant, she is a fantastic storyteller and a wine connoisseur at the same time, a real asset for Behrens Family. I heard that she is going to have her own label very soon, I'm very happy for her and looking forward to tasting a wine that matches her personality! Below I'm attaching a quick summary from their website about their history, which is shorter than Robin's version! Not better, you will have to visit the winery to get a taste of this! ---------- Les Behrens (aka the Jersey Boy) was born in Perth Amboy, NJ and moved to California with his family as a young boy. Lisa Drinkward was born and raised in southern California but realized that she was a northern California girl when she spent her college years in Humboldt County. Arcata, CA was where Les and Lisa met and were married in 1987. Their mutual love of food and wine led them to create Folie Douce Restaurant in 1991. Lisa explored her creative food side as chef, and Les was able to develop his passion and palate for wine as sommelier and wine buyer. A mutual enthusiasm for wine developed, resulting in the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for their eclectic wine list. This passion and the encouragement from friend and mentor Ed Oliviera prompted Les and Lisa to purchase their first 3 and a half tons of grapes in 1993. Bob and Lily Hitchcock came on board during that first harvest to manage the business and financial machinations of the winery, and Behrens & Hitchcock Winery was officially formed. Les, without any formal training, has been the sole winemaker at Behrens & Hitchcock since its inception, making wine in a style that flows from his great instinct and confident palate. Although Lisa is involved with all aspects of winemaking, during harvest her real focus is on vineyard management and grower relations. After four years of running both the restaurant and winery, Lisa and Les sold Folie Douce in 1997 and moved to Napa Valley to make wine full-time. In 2005, with the announcement of Bob & Lily's retirement, Lisa and Les bought out the Hitchcocks' share of their Spring Mountain winery, leading to the formation of Behrens Family Winery. The name Erna Schein on the label is a dedication to Les' mother, a woman who was near and dear to all who knew her. Her home was a place of hospitality and friendship, a feeling that we try to replicate here at the winery. She was also a fantastic baker, taking after her mother who was a Cordon Bleu-trained pastry chef. It is Erna's original vintage Kitchen Aid pictured on our label. It reminds us that food and wine is our favorite way to create and maintain friendships. ---------- FYI: We did spend over $1k in wine, some of the purchases were mainly because my brother's wife felt in love with the label's art!

Robin is as good as it gets! For top wines, as well as all the insider stories you could ever…read moreimagine, she is the best. The array of wines from Les and Lisa are truly amazing, as is the creative art work that adorns many of the releases. They are proud to have mentored such prominent winemakers as Mike Hirby at Relic and Mark Porembski at Zeitgeist to name a few. The new tasting room under construction will blow you away!

My very first time to Napa included a tasting at Sabina Vineyards and it could not have been a…read morebetter introduction to Wine Country! The grounds are beautiful, and each piece of art had a special meaning, energy and significance to the full Sabina experience. David and Susan we so welcoming and especially to my fiance and I who didnt know much about wine when we first stepped onto the grounds but by the time we left we felt very comfortable and educated with Vino! And last but not least - the WINE!!! Again my fiance and I didnt know too much at the time but what a phenomenal wine to get us started on your love for Wine! Both the Pinot Noir and the Cabernet Sauvignon are perfection, and we often find ourselves comparing other wines we taste to the Sabina's. If you are ever in Napa I highly recommend making a reservation for Sabina Vineyards.

I had an incredible time tasting at Sabina Vineyards. It was truly a special experience that my…read morefamily and I still reminisce upon. The people at Sabina sincerely welcome you to an educational tour of their winery then walk you to the outdoor patio where you see incredible views of Napa Valley while tasting delicious red wines. The tasting area is surrounded by their vineyards, hand selected art pieces and happy dogs, which makes for the perfect tasting atmosphere for their world class wines and one of the best cabs I've ever tasted in Napa. I'd definitely recommend scheduling an appointment. It'll be an experience you long to remember and a taste you'll never forget.

We had an amazing experience at Ink Grade, a beautiful tasting room with top notch architecture,…read moresuper modern and inviting interior and beautiful crafted wine where the winery is about 30 miles from St Helena. As it is far to visit the actual vineyard, and before the owners can build a full winery for visitors, the tasting room is a great option to taste their beautiful red blends as well as the Cabernets. Everything here is top notch and the attention of the details show! The Zinfandel merlot blend (2019) is actually very approachable. The Napa Cabernet blend is brilliant and of course the Howell Mountain Cabernet is to die for! The hospitality team here is so awesome and we had a lot of fun talking about food, wine and the vintages. The stars all aligned on our visit, what a pleasant tasting!

Took part in the SENSES by INK GRADE tasting last Saturday with Max. "Soarin' Over California"…read moremeets Wine Country was the coolest experience! Highly recommend this experience with some great wines!

Will your GPS find this place? Who cares you're a napa, just grab an uber and enjoy. This spot…read moreserves up big bodied Merlot wines. This is probably the best view I have seen in Napa. You enter through the winemaker's home and you sit on the balcony overlooking the vineyards. Truly spectacular. Sheldon, the owner and winemaker, is Napa's unofficial historian. He knew everything. We very much enjoyed the hummingbird feeders and the two wonderful pups. The hummingbirds were so active. I believe Sheldon said he goes through 10 pounds of sugar a day to feed them. Wow! This place is definitely an experience and I definitely recommend it!

Simply put, THE BEST Merlot you will ever taste. The tasting experience is unlike any NAPA flashy…read morewinery. Shoot up to Spring Mountain and experience what NAPA hospitality used to be. Sheldon is a warm and colorful guy with a long history of NAPA and his lovely winery. The tasting is done on the owner's deck overlooking tha valley with lots of hummingbirds. The highlight is the wine. I joined the club immediately after tasting this yummy wine.

This was our first winery visit of our 4 day Napa trip. Getting to this place was very easy, just…read more50 minutes from Downtown Napa towards Calistoga, around 30 minutes from St Helena. There were lots of parking spaces available and the property was very simple, small and PRETTY. We were hosted by Barbie, she was super personable and friendly. We learned about the Carter Family, their wines, their mission, and approach to the winemaking. We started off with a little white wine that I barely remember (that happened a month ago) because all reds were impressive! The first red was a Merlot, very rich, decent body and finish. Then we moved to all the big boys which are the single vineyard Cabernets. These babies were crawling (unfortunately) since all were current releases 2016, but I can see where they are going and by 2020 and beyond they will be monsters. We all loved the Three Kings Beckstoffer to Kalon 2016. Side note: This winery is very exclusive, you can only get in by appointment if you are recommended by someone or if you are a member. They operate simultaneously with a winery called Envy Wines which is a lower level of wine, kind of a second label in which everybody can enjoy tastings without appointment. I didn't try it, but I will assume those Envy Wines are good as well.

Amazing wines, all made from Beckstoffer grapes. Absolutely gorgeous and structured wines…read more Located at Envy wines.

What a beautiful property & family vineyard. Sally & Fred are always so welcoming and Wendy is a…read moredelight too. The wine is always a spectacular treat sipping while listening to the stories of the Schweiger travels and inspiration. If you haven't tried the white port, it's a must! Cheers See you soon!

Such a special spot! Schweiger offers excellent service, beautiful views, and a warm, welcoming…read morestaff. It feels intimate and peaceful--perfect for a relaxing tasting experience, even with the kids. Highly recommend if you're looking for a smaller, family-owned vineyard off the beaten path.

Another visit to Outpost Wines on Howell Mountain and another 5 star review. We were greeted by our…read morewine educator Kendall near the tasting room. Kendall took us on the lookout area and pointed out the vineyards in which the grapes were grown to produce our wines. We were then invited into the beautiful tasting room where we enjoyed exploring 5 of the Outpost wines. Kendall is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to Outpost Wines as well as their incredibly talented winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown. Every wine we tasted was world class and the stories behind the wines we will treasure for a lifetime. My favorite wine of the tasting was the 2023 True Vineyard Immigrant. It exhibited great structure and finesse with loads of dark fruit. It paired beautifully with dark chocolate. We loved our visit to Outpost Wines. The memories created will be cherished for years to come.

I found this gem on one of those lists of small boutique wineries and given the acclaim decided to…read moremake the drive all the way up to their idillic spot up on Howell mountain. The a part of a consortium of other small wineries around the world and in Napa focus on a narrow selection of grapes and wines some, like their Chardonnay are very limited with only a couple hundred cases. Their stars are the big bold cabs priced in the $100 range and we tasted both the current release, 2017 as well as the 2016. Their was also a light and fun Gamay in limited quantities and a hearty zin. Tasting fee of $45 is waved with three bottle purchase. It's worth the long slow drive up the curvy mountain roads for the view alone and host Brian couldn't have been more welcoming. This is most definitely a destination winery and their max group is 6 people. Given the limited tasting slots you must plan well in advance if you want to experience this one of a kind spot