Visiting or Buying Wines from Napa? NEWS FLASH

There is a vocal group of Napa aficionados who seem to be hooked on a couple dozen larger wineries in Napa Valley. I don't know how widespread this is, so I may be here with some earthshaking news.

Napa has nearly 500 wineries producing 1,700 wine brands.  Yes, I said one thousand seven hundred different labels. Holy crap! There are 400 wineries with tasting rooms, plus dozens more "urban" tasting rooms, most of them in downtown Napa. This could be shocking news, too!

Castello di Amorosa, a very popular destination

So why does it seem there's a small number that get talked about online and in the media? No, there's nothing wrong with visiting or buying wines from Sattui, Castello di Amorosa, Darioush, Cakebreak, etc. These wineries are popular for a reason, but maybe rather than being part of the herd that lines up to get into these places, add a few lesser known, smaller wineries to your itinerary or shopping list. Why? With so many wines available, you've only scratched the surface of all the great wine out there waiting for you to discover. 

Not all are fancy with cool architecture or fountains. Many are ma and pa operations and these can be the most memorable. There may even be some that don't charge $75 to taste! 

How do you find these hidden gems? Google is the way to start, so you can get ideas from different sources. Realize your best sources might be from people who live in Napa County. Note that "family owned" can include folks like the Gallo family, so watch for that, if it matters to you. There are also quite a few that are "rich guy" absentee landlords. That also may or may not matter to you.

There are a few family hands-on wineries I have visited and can recommend. Check their websites and see if any are of interest. As always, I never get paid to promote anything. The short list is Dutch Henry, Prager, Schramsberg, Smith-Madrone, Storybook Mountain, and Vincent Arroyo. Benessere is another small operation with excellent wines besides Cabernet(!) though I believe it's an absentee owner so doesn't quite qualify as ma and pa owned and operated.

Disclaimers: I haven't been to most of these in a while. As far as I can tell, all are still family owned.  

So do some work before setting up your trip or your next visit to the wine shop. Explore something new.

Tedeschi Family Winery, Calistoga
Haven't been there yet, but it looks interesting
and is on my list. Tasting area is not too fancy.
Bet they don't even have a fountain.  :)