707-942-4437
255 Petrified Forest Rd. Calistoga, CA 94515
Tasting Room:
yes
Tour:
yes
Picnic Area:
yes
Hours:
CLOSED
Description
Richard Graeser inherited this beautiful and secluded hillside property from his parents in 1984. Richard's father had purchased the property from the family of the original owner. The first home built on the property in 1880 is now the tasting room, soon to have an adjoining art gallery. The large home built in 1886 is now used for tastings and special events. The interior and furnishings of this amazing house are original.
Graeser Winery is also a dog friendly destination. What does that mean? Richard's two large and very friendly dogs wander freely and you can bring your dog into the tasting room (air conditioned in summer)! Love of dogs runs so deep that one of the Graeser wine clubs is called Fo Paws and raises money for the Humane Society. Dogs are also featured prominently on many of the wine labels at Graeser.
Grounds
The grounds are open and invite lingering and relaxation. The many tables are available for picnicing and expanses of green grass provide room for laying out a blanket and taking an apres picnic snooze or playing a game of frisbee. All of this space is available for special events as well. There is one picnic table at the top of the hill which guests can reserve. It is rumored to be a very romantic spot and site of more than one marriage proposal.
Tasting Room
Though reservations for tasting are suggested, walk-ins are also welcome. For $10 you will taste 6 wines minimum with, perhaps, 2 more on week-ends. When I visited on a weekday afternoon, a young couple from Canada were the only folks there when I entered. The host was generous with wine knowledge and obviously enjoyed his job.
For $25 per person you can make reservations for a sit down tasting which can last from 60 minutes to a record 2 1/2 hours! Richard Graeser often hosts these tastings himself.
Served the day I visited were ...
- 2004 Semillon, Napa Valley
- 2002 Two Dog Merlot
- 2003 Estate Cabernet Franc
- 2003 Coeur de Leon, 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Cabernet Franc
- 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, Pointer Run Vineyard
- 2001 Cabernet Franc Estate, This was a library wine our host opened in response to the preferences of the Canadian lady tasting at the time.
Wine Clubs
Graeser Winery has several wine clubs, the Fo Paws Club was mentioned above. One of the most unique and enjoyable of the clubs is called the Barn Restoration Society. For $1275 per year you get a case of wine and a 3 night stay in a lovely cottage complete with kitchen, porch and solitude. You simply reserve the dates you desire and then enjoy the tranquility of life at this beautiful spot. In case you wondered, no actual physical labor on the barn is required.
Rating
Good
Reviews
A disappointment - May 5, 2009
Poor
Late in the day we came up the road from Calistoga to Healdsburg and saw the sign for Graeser Winery. We decided to stop. What a mistake that was! We were "helped" by the elderly owner, who was roaring drunk and screaming at the top of his lungs and pounding on the bar. This certainly wasn't a pleasing experience in any way. The wine had been open for several days, and having the first two tastes, we decided to share to the end of the tasting. There are many wineries in the Calistoga area with much better and more appropriate service, as well as more appealing wines. We suggest visiting them.
By Anonymous
Hospitality seems to have changed - May 16, 2009
Poor
First of all, we hoped to very much enjoy this stop, as it had been highly recommended to us by several friends who had visited it late last year.
We stopped here in the afternoon, and were "greeted" (well, they flung themselves at our car, causing me to need to panic-brake on the steep drive) by the two enormous winery dogs (one of whom seems to be blind). Our hostess was an unpleasant woman, who declined to answer questions about the wine and stared expectantly at us as we sampled. This might have been almost acceptable were the wine extraordinary. Unfortunately, it isn't. One of the bottles was severely corked (and had been poured through halfway...why our hostess continued pouring such an obviously flawed bottle is a mystery). All of the estate reds exhibited very little fruit and a pronounced camphor character. The zinfandel was brown around the rim and completely exhausted.
My advice? Skip this one: there are friendlier stops, with better service and much better (and less over-the-hill) wine. In all honesty, any winery that persists in pouring such over-the-hill product must be in some seriously dire straits.
By Lloyd
I love this place. - Oct. 7, 2009
Amazing
I discovered this winery on my honeymoon, and yes the owner is a character. His staff is nice, they help you a lot. They will give you the tastings for free if you buy one bottle of anything. They also have a pair of picnic tables at the top of their hill with the best free view of the Napa valley. You must enjoy dogs to visit this place. Make sure you try their port that they pair with some spicy home made chocolate. If you are looking for snobby go somewhere else. If you are looking for down to earth folks, these are about it for Napa. Their Cabernet Frank is amazing. I took some friends last week (October 2009) and after about a dozen wineries, this was their favorite. We visited on a Friday, and we spent 2.5 hours there enjoying a bottle of wine we bought from them and a picnic lunch from Dean and Delucs(sp?).
I only wish I could afford more of their wine.
By Gregory Cohen
What a lie! - Dec. 13, 2009
Poor
For months, I worked to promote this dump. The owner is a sleaze, his "partner" is worse. Less ethical, and more reprehensible, people you would be hard pressed to find. Simply stay away from them. The wine is bad, the ethics are worse. Don't dirty your soul by patronizing this rotten, god-forsaken, deservedly bankrupt (and desperate!) dump. Let me feel as though I have not thrown away the past several months of my work life for nothing.
By Desire Missaggia
Simply abysmal - Dec. 16, 2009
Poor
The wine is nearly void of flavor, having been aged in oak so long. The only hospitality staff seems to consist of a drunken old man who spent the duration of our tasting (I must note, we were the only couple in the tasting room...perhaps the only couple visiting the place the entire day) raving about his miserable divorce and how the world had so mistreated him.
Our advice? Skip it. It's not worth recommending for the wine, the experience or the scenery. It's simply pitiful.
By Anonymous
It's closed - March 10, 2010
Poor
Looks like it's closed. The notice of default is prominently posted on the property. Unless you're looking to buy a vacant winery, feel free to skip this one.
By Rudy
Bank-owned. - March 30, 2010
Poor
This winery appears to be owned by the bank. Judging by our two tasting experiences there, the wine was not very good, so I can't say that we're surprised. I'm sure it will resurface under new ownership (one that doesn't imbibe heavily of its own wares, and then rave drunkenly to customers), though.
...but until that time...is shuttered. So, bide your time, and even then, considering what Graeser produced, I should be quite suspicious of the quality of the fruit.
By Steve H
Closed - April 11, 2010
Poor
As others have noted, this winery seems to be closed permanently.
By Henry McDowell
Closed. - May 18, 2010
Poor
Closed indeed. Very, very closed. Don't bother making it a stop on your trip.
By Jon Swenson
Go elsewhere - May 23, 2010
Poor
Beautiful place, terrible owners. The woman pouring in the tasting room left us standing there for 15 minutes while she went outside to yell back and forth with the owner, apparently over some domestic dispute. Ugly. We only managed to taste 2 wines, one of which was obviously corked, and finally left without paying. Needless to say, we won't be returning.
By Frank the Cabby
Legal Problems Here - Avoid - May 24, 2010
Poor
It appears that there are illegal squatters on this property (the owner's ex-girlfriend and her son) and they are engaged in a misguided yet futile attempt to wrest control of the winery from Richard Graeser, the rightful owner of the business and property. Their names are Rebecca and Jordan Ahl, and they are ruthless and have no conscience whatsoever. Because the owner is 77 years old, this appears to be a case of elder abuse. My advice is to avoid this winery until the legal problems are resolved; otherwise, you may be walking onto a landmine.
By Zin Fan
Graeser Foreclosure - Nov. 17, 2010
Poor
This is in response to the previous review that was written about me and my son Jordan Ahl. The review is obviously written by a very demented individual that is out to hurt me and my son by making false accusations. First of all I was Richard’s significant life partner and the winery managing partner for almost 8 years. The winery was in bankruptcy for almost two years when the bank foreclosed on the property in late spring 2010. Richard continued to borrow from friends and family and myself for years knowing that he would never have the funds to repay in the end. The toxic environment was a direct result of his actions alone and not anyone else! He lied to everyone that he encountered including his own family, often remarking about how much he disliked all of them but would still borrow their money and have no intention of ever paying it back! Abuse of a 77 year old man, you must be kidding!!!
Glad it’s over!
By Rebecca
Where's my wine? - Dec. 16, 2010
Poor
Graeser took my money for a case of wine in January 2010 with a promise of shipping to me in May. After dozens of calls and e-mails that were never answered, I am still without the wine I have paid for.
If the bank foreclosed and I paid for wine, I guess the bank owes me. The wine was my property not the winery's.
By Clifford Brown
Closed - Feb. 3, 2011
Poor
It's shut. Please tag it as so and cease intimating that it's perhaps, after all, actually open. Bankrupt. Foreclosed. Gonzo. No more. Never to be seen again.
By Spunky McMonkey
Rebecca - Feb. 9, 2011
Poor
I was there when your worthless 28-year-old son grabbed the 77-year-old owner around the neck and tried to choke him. Then you tried to claim to the police that HE attacked the both of you. A 77-year-old man threatening a 28-year-old...that's laughable.
Rebecca, you're disgusting and you know damn well the only reason you (and your drug-addict sons) stayed on the estate as long as you did is because you wanted to drive the old man's family estate into bankruptcy, then leave just as it's being foreclosed upon. At the same time, your sons drank all his wine, broke into his safe several times and stole his hard earned money to buy drugs, while YOU took $60,000/year from the old man and worked (maybe) 5 hours a week AND had him pay for your face-lift in 2007 AND while you're running around the valley having affairs behind his back. How in the hell do you sleep at night?
By Zin Fan
Shuttered - June 5, 2011
Poor
The property is shuttered and held by a receiver on behalf of the lienholder. It's being rehabilitated for eventual sale. Please mark it as shut in the vineyard database; it's frustrating to plan a trip on the basis of partial recommendations and end up hitting a number of closed places.
By Kerwin Mulcahy
Items for sale - Oct. 26, 2011
Ok
Do you have any signage saying "Graeser Winery" for sale? As a Graeser (and my husband has been in the wine industry for 10 years) I'd love to buy something. If anyone with rights is monitoring this post please respond.
By Graeser namesake
Post Your Review!
