While harvest is the busiest season for the people who make wine in Napa Valley, or any wine region for that matter, summer is the region’s tourism fully comes to life. Route 29 and Silverado Trail, the parallel roads that run up and down the valley, will be backed up in both directions with wine lovers, while tasting rooms, restaurants, and hotels will be bursting at the seams as oenophiles flock to America’s favorite wine region. We have our go-to spots and activities, like sharing a private cabana with friends at Louis M. Martini for a food and wine tasting, enjoying a glass of Quintessa while taking in the winery’s panoramic views, or savoring a mezze plate alongside a flight of wine at Darioush, but we’re always on the lookout for something new. With more than 400 wineries and tasting rooms to choose from, planning a visit to Napa Valley can seem overwhelming, but if you have to be the first one to experience the latest thing, you don’t want to miss out on these new additions to the Napa scene.
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Maison Fayard
Image Credit: Suzanne Becker Bronk French born winemaker Julien Fayard has just made it easier than ever for wine lovers who like his style to find bottles that have felt his touch. Maison Fayard in downtown Napa is the first of its kind wine shop, featuring Fayard’s own labels Les Vins Julien, Julian Fayard Wines, and Covert Estate, plus juice from two dozen boutique wineries that he works with in Napa and Sonoma and beyond. No other renowned winery consultant has yet to launch a dedicated bottle shop and tasting room. Fayard is also making grape-based brandy in response to climate change and is focusing on small lot, artisanal Napa Valley spirits. Maison Fayard hosts private tastings by appointment and features several lines of fine glassware.
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Napa Valley Wine Yacht
If you’ve already been there and done that with the wine train and hot air ballooning, the next step is gathering your gang for a custom three-hour cruise up and down the Napa River. The 55-foot power catamaran Kiwi Kat is one of a kind, designed to navigate the river’s shallows while you and a party of up to twelve enjoy pours from small, family-owned wineries alongside appetizers and small bites made with local ingredients. With fully customizable options, you can bring in a chef for a food and wine extravaganza or go all out and hire a justice of the peace for a wedding on the water. You will truly be in the lap of luxury as you cruise past rolling vineyards and majestic mountains. No matter how many times you have been to Napa, you’ve never seen it like this.
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JCB St. Helena
At the pre-opening party of this latest addition to Jean-Charles Boisset’s collection of tasting rooms and wineries, one of us said that it looks like a cross between a high-class bordello and the Sistine Chapel. We mean this in the best possible way. On Main Street in St. Helena, this is the perfect spot to savor wine from the Boisset family’s properties in Napa, Sonoma, Burgundy, Champagne, and Chablis among Baccarat chandeliers, red velvet and tiger-striped upholstery, and a combination of original art and repurposed works from museums around the world. The extensive menu of wines by the glass, flight, or bottle is only available at this location and one unique option is a comparative tasting of wines from California and Burgundy. Decadent food pairings, including cheese, charcuterie, and exclusive JCB caviar perfectly complement the diverse portfolio of wines.
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Outdoor Estate Tasting at Baldacci Family Vineyards
As we roll into summer, Baldacci Family Vineyards has opened up the terrace for its brand-new Outdoor Estate Tasting. Hosted on the open-air Estate House Terrace, this experience begins with a welcome splash of Pops sparkling, a delicious blanc de noirs from Carneros, followed by a taste of three limited-production, single-vineyard, estate-grown wines, including two new Cabernet Sauvignons, paired with seasonal small bites. Guests may choose either Chardonnay or Pinot Noir and then enjoy Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon and Calistoga Cabernet Sauvignon. Set among Baldacci’s organically farmed vineyards, this tasting allows you to relax and take in the natural surroundings in the heart of Stags Leap District on Silverado Trail.
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