Napa Valley Vineyards

Description

Located on the Sivlerado Trail, Duckhorn, with its 25 years of experience in Napa Valley, is well known as a top winery to visit. Producing Bordeaux styles wines, Duckhorn has a streak of elegance and strong dedication to their wines.

Grounds

The tasting room is surrounded by vineyards and gardens with a large wraparound porch. Walking around the property, visitors will be treated to several fountains, great gardens, and lots of seating to relax in and enjoy your beautiful surroundings. Estate Tours are twice daily at 11am and 2pm. Each session includes a tour of the winery and finishes with a private tasting. For $30, which is only $10 more than the normal Duckhorn tasting, it is a good deal.

Tasting Room

It is obvious that the founders, Dan and Margaret Duckhorn, have put a lot of time and thought into Duckhorn's tasting experience. Upon entering the winery, it is refreshing to see a lack of the merchandise and junk for sale. This "Disneyland" effect is seen through the Napa Valley and the lack of it allows visitors to really focus on the wines and Duckhorn's architecture. Visitors are not allowed to taste at the bar, period. The founders feel the only time wine should be drunk standing is while cooking. Instead table seating, more likely to be found at a restaurant, is available. It has an elegant feel with none of the crowds normally found at a tasting bar.

Staff

We visited Duckhorn just as they were opening and therefore could not give an accurate representation of a busy weekend. I would speculate since it is an appointment only winery and has table seating, there will be significantly less pushing and shoving than some of the large wineries during the summer.

Wines

Wines are presented in a row one at a time, which allows you to go back and taste the differences between their Estate and normal wines. Duckhorn owns 7 vineyards and every couple of years evaluates new vineyards to buy. They also buy from top growers throughout Napa Valley. For $20 we tasted...

• 2006 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc
• 2005 Napa Valley Merlot
• 2005 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
• 2004 Estate Grown Napa Valley Merlot
• 2004 Estate Grown Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Our Rating

Goood

Reviews

felted rushed ,sever never - Sept. 8, 2008

Poor

felted rushed ,sever never explained the wines

By Anonymous

Fantastic - Oct. 7, 2008

Amazing

This winery is FANTASTIC. It is a must stop when we have friends in town.

By Anonymous

This is a great place to - Jan. 1, 2009

Good

This is a great place to visit to wrap up a tour or a long day.
There are two tasting options offered. $15 and $25. Each wine is presented with an individual card with the specs and description of the wine. The tasting room is open and restaurant-esque. We enjoyed sitting at our own table after sharing a bar with other groups all day. Our host very knowledgeable of the Duckhorn wines and of many other Napa and Sonoma wineries. He was honest and gave great advice. He even recommended other wineries to check out depending on the different wines we enjoyed. Our visit was wrapping up as they were closing; we did not fell rushed at all. They encouraged us to take our time and enjoy the wines.

By Tatiana

Beautiful place - Nov. 13, 2009

Amazing

If you want a beautiful place to visit, a great tasting room and some really good wines, this is the place. We were really well looked after by Danny, our server, who was very informative without being intrusive. Tasting measures were very generous and the set up was very civilized - not overcrowded and seating at tables. We could have stayed all day!

By Jim

Ok - Sept. 3, 2010

Ok

We started out with a great server who was very informative, unfortunately his unexpected replacement lacked a friendly attitude and knowledge. In short, we went from VIP treatment to feeling like we were a chore. I doubt I will return for a second visit. Go see Paraduxx instead.

By Anonymous

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