Locals Pick Napa's Best Wineries
Discover a quieter side of Napa on the Silverado Trail. Day 2 agenda for first timers to Napa uncovers the BEST wineries, restaurants, and picnic spots. Local Wally's Napa Tourist Guide.
LOCALS PICK THE BEST WINERIES FOR FIRST TIMERS
More Authentic, Less Touristy Wineries that Locals Love
First time visitors to Napa often gravitate towards the big name, corporately owned touristy wineries and I get it. Can you really visit Napa without going to the castle or taking the tram? Well you should… at least once.
But locals also know that once you checked them off your list that there are plenty of other options, wineries that are as focused on their wines as their experience. Some of these wineries you’ve heard of, some you have not, but all of them offer an authentic Napa experience that sets them apart from the more “touristy” options.
Meet my local friends, experts in the wine industry who live in Napa and know it well. They are also drivers and tour guides and I’ve included their info if you want to connect.
Napa wine tasting can get expensive. Fight back with a Priority Wine Pass, the original Napa and Sonoma pass that gets you discounts and 2 for 1 tastings. I’ll note which wineries offer 🍷 deals and if you decide to get one the link for the cheapest price on the pass is right here.
Meet the Locals: Greg Frediani
Greg has been a Napa local for nearly 10 years and grew up in the San Francisco area and is now a trusted Napa driver. When he’s not driving visitors in his SUV he plays tenor sax in the Napa Band and has has performed on guitar and vocals at Paoletti Winery many times.
👍 Need a ride? Greg has the lowest rates in Napa and will drive up to 5 passengers in his own vehicle. Email Greg to check on his availability and for rates.
Meet the Locals: Melissa McLaughlin
Melissa is a Napa local who spent years driving for one of the big tour companies before branching out on her own. She owns her own company, A Drive for Wine, and focused on providing a full service experience from helping you pick wineries to making all of the reservations, allowing you to just “get in and go” on your Napa adventure.
👍 Melissa has both a luxurious Expedition Platinum with captain chairs that seats six and a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van with seating up to 11 guests. Email Melissa for more information on rates and availability.
Meet the Locals: Dave Thompson
Dave is the only person I know who has visited every winery in Napa Valley. He owns and maintains the Napa Wine Project, the definitive collection of winery reviews, and has personally tasted and reviewed over 1,200 Napa wine producers.
👍 When Dave isn’t writing winery reviews he drives my readers in either his vehicle which can seat four guests or your rental. Email Dave for more information on rates and availability.
best napa wineries for first timers
A deeper dive than the typical “greatest hits”, wineries that offer exceptional hospitality to go with their superior wines.
👍 Highly Recommended 🔥 Top Pick 💎 Hidden Gem 🍷 Priority Wine Pass Deal
Cakebread Cellars
👍 The perfectly short wine production tour and it’s 2 for 1 Mon - Thurs!
Every first timer needs to experience one wine production tour, to learn about the process and tour the facilities. The small group tour at Cakebread is short and sweet with the bulk of your experience spent savoring that classic Napa wine. Wine educators lead the way, you’ll learn as you taste and leave with a solid appreciation of their wines, the winery, and Napa itself.
CAKEBREAD CELLARS | Rutherford | Classic Tour is 45 minutes
PRIORITY WINE PASS OFFER: Get 2 for 1, Mon-Thurs, two classic tastings (with tour) for $50.
Chateau Montelena
Love chardonnay? You be the judge!
The Judgement of Paris, depicted in the movie Bottle Shock, was the 1976 battle between over confident France and up and coming Napa over who made the best wines. Chateau Montelena won for best chardonnay. Impressive winery with a Chinese garden and Jade Lake in back, built prohibition when the winery closed and became the retirement home for Yort and Jeanie Wing-Frank who wanted the landscaping to remind them of their ancestry.
CHATEAU MONTELENA | Calistoga | Communal 45 minute bar experience, $45, walk-in’s allowed 10:00 AM to 2:30 PM or make reservations.
Frank Family Vineyards
Big cabs alongside top notch sparkling, chardonnays and pinots
Perfect for first timers, Frank Family Vineyards offers a friendly and educational tasting experience with engaging hosts who know their wines and are eager to share their enthusiasm and knowledge. You’ll learn as you taste and afterwards can extend the experience at a picnic table where outside food is allowed.
FRANK FAMILY VINEYARDS | Calistoga | One hour tasting, $60 | Picnic tables $25 per person but often waived with purchase
Frog’s Leap
🍷 What wine pairs best with frog legs?
There was a time when frog legs ruled in San Francisco and this frog farm in Napa was happy to oblige. As time went on the property, located near the Stags Leap area, evolved into one of Napa’s best known and best loved wineries. Great cabs and a crisp sauvignon blanc, a fun experience at an iconic winery.
GREG’S FAVORITE: “For first timers I recommend Frog’s Leap Winery. They have a casual garden tour, basically a walk around the grounds and vineyards with wine, and more formal experiences that are very accessible for all levels of wine lovers. It’s super fun!” Check if Greg can drive you.
FROG’S LEAP WINERY | Rutherford | 45 minute Garden and family experiences, $50. Other tours start at $75 and last 90 minutes | Reservations required but same day appointments allowed if space is available.
PRIORITY WINE PASS OFFER: Show them your wine pass and get an extra pour at the end, normally $10 per person.
Hall St. Helena
Back to the bar tasting, Walk In’s welcome!
Be spontaneous - Hall St. Helena’s basic tasting experience, Reflections of the Valley, is an old school bar tasting and I love it. 45 minutes, walk-in’s welcome, and a sampling of their very credible cabs that made Hall Wines famous. And of course, the views and modern art, as well as the surrounding grounds, just add to the experience. Servers are friendly and knowledgeable, a welcome surprise for a bar tasting experience.
HALL ST HELENA | St. Helena | 45 minutes, $45 | Reserve or Walk-In
Regusci Winery
🔥 Authentic Napa experience, skip the castle and visit a true historic winery!
Regusci Winery might not be on your first timer list. It certainly doesn’t have the same name recognition as Sterling Vineyards or Beringer, it doesn’t have influencers on YourTube whirling and swirling in front of a castle, but it is one of my favorite wineries. Dating back to 1878, the setting is peaceful and the experience intimate and authentic. These are wines you’ll sip today and savor tomorrow and an experience that reflects the non-touristy side of Napa. Highly recommended.
REGUSCI WINERY | Stags Leap | One hour tasting, $65
Best “Next Level” Wineries
Wineries that don’t often show up on a first timer’s radar… but should!
👍 Highly Recommended 🔥 Top Pick 💎 Hidden Gem 🍷 Priority Wine Pass Deal
Aonair Winery
🍷 Breath in the mountain air - is this still Napa?
10 minutes off the Silverado Trail is another world where wineries like Aonair cater to those looking for a private experience with views - and wines - that will literally take your breath away. Visit their caves, gaze from their deck towards the vineyards and mountains, it’s a relaxing experience that feels like hanging out with your new best friends. This place books up a month or more in advance to plan ahead.
AONAIR WINERY | Howell Mountain | 90 minute experience, $85 per person
PRIORITY WINE PASS OFFER: Up to four tasting fees waived with one $300 purchase, saving you $85 per person.
B Cellars
Napa’s best wine and food pairing?
The most amazing wine and food pairing with creative offerings prepared right in front of you by the chef. Enough food for a light lunch and every bite is a delight. Of course the wines are top notch as well and a walk through the caves where we were able to sample and purchase “futures” was an added bonus that you won’t want to miss.
B CELLARS | Oakville | 90 minute experience, $150 per person for wine and food
Judd’s Hill Bottle Blending Day Camp
🍷 Make your own bottle of wine, your way!
Learn the art and nuance of blending your own bottle of wine with Judd’s Hill, a boutique winery where they’ll help you identify the flavors you like in a wine and teach you how to capture them in your own unique blend. It’s fun for sure but you’ll also learn a lot about wine and understand what you like. Great for newbies, great for somm’s. Take away four bottles of your own blend and do a blind tasting at home to see how your wine stacks up.
JUDD’S HILL BLENDING EXPERIENCE | Napa | Two Guests: $425 total, four guests: $660 total. Each experience includes a total of four bottles of wine to take home
🍷 PRIORITY WINE PASS OFFER - get 10% off with wine pass.
Schramsberg Vineyards
👍 Napa’s best cave tasting experience
Unlike most wine caves which are basically cement tunnels, the caves at Schramsberg were hand dug with pick axes by Chinese laborers, far more interesting with a lot more character. It’s also the perfect setting for a candle lit sparkling wine tasting featuring the wines that are so good they’ve been served at the White House by every president since the Nixon era.
SCHRAMSBERG VINEYARDS | Calistoga | 90 minute experience, $100 per person
Sequoia Grove Winery
👍 Redwoods, wine and food pairings, and a welcoming friendly vibe!
200 foot sequoia tree welcome you as you enter, this isn’t your ordinary Napa winery. A restored 1908 barn serves as their tasting room but the best spots on a warm day are outside under the sequoia trees. Voted the Best Napa Valley Estate tasting room in 2023 for their warm hospitality and featuring one of the best wine and food experiences. They even have a Wine & Food Pairing at Dusk experience, incredible!
DAVE’S FAVORITE: “Whether you’re a first timer or repeat Napa visitor, Sequoia Grove Winery should be on your list if you’re looking for a relaxing, non-touristy experience with excellent cabs and a great wine and food pairing that doubles as lunch.” Check if Dave can drive you.
SEQUOIA GROVE WINERY | Rutherford | 90 minute experience, tastings start at $60 per person, Wine and Food Pairings start at $85 per person.
Tres Sabores
Women owned, family run winery
Sipping wine under a shady tree, a charming setting for a laid back relaxing wine experience. Taste right in the vineyards, check out the farm animals and winery dog, you can even bring your own picnic lunch and with advance warning they’ll set up the table up for you with a linen tablecloth, plates and utensils. Such a contrast to the fancy and often ostentatious modern wineries. Buy some wine here, you’ll want to take it home.
TRES SABORES WINERY | Rutherford | 90 minute experience, $65 per person
best napa wineries for a picnic
Not every winery allows picnics so before you lay out that blanket check out our locals list of best picnic friendly wineries.
👍 Highly Recommended 🔥 Top Pick 💎 Hidden Gem 🍷 Priority Wine Pass Deal
Honig Vineyards and Winery
💎 Cheap tastings and bottle service makes this a great picnic spot
With tastings starting at just $30 per person for their 30 minute “Fly By Flight” and a standard flight at $45, Honig Vineyards certainly is one of the more affordable wineries in Napa. Picnic tables are first come, first served after you purchase a tasting with half and full bottles to enjoy with your outside food.
HONIG VINEYARDS | Rutherford | Outside Food Allowed | Tastings start at $30, standard tasting is $45 | Purchase a tasting first to access their picnic area.
Pestoni Family Estate
🍷 Get the Picnic Flight , it’s 2 for 1!
A true family run winery with an impressive tasting room, their standard tasting is a 75 minute excursion into their estate grown wines. That’s great but if you’re coming to picnic know that you can take this flight “to go” to enjoy as a self-guided experience at a picnic table with your own snacks or lunch.
DAVE’S FAVORITE: “Not many wineries allow you to bring in your own food but Pestoni Family does. Hit up Oakville Grocery for great sandwiches, about 5 minutes away.” Check if Dave can drive you.
PESTONI FAMILY ESTATE WINERY | St. Helena Area | Outside food allowed | Flights at your picnic table, $45 per person
🍷 PRIORITY WINE PASS OFFER: 2 for 1 tastings, get two tastings for $45.
Pride Mountain Vineyards
🔥 Exceptional tasting experience with picnic tables right in the vineyards!
Here’s one off the beaten path - Pride Mountain Vineyards. Your adventure begins with a 90 minute tasting and tour where your wine glass remains filled as you experience the winery. Afterwards you can select from three different locations to enjoy a picnic with your own food, including tables literally in the vineyards.
MELISSA’S FAVORITE: “Pride Mountain Vineyards has to be one of the best Napa picnic spots with the views and tasting experience. It’s 6 miles off the main road in St. Helena, a 20 minute drive into the mountains where Uber and Lyft don’t have service so hire a driver if you plan to visit. Give yourself a couple of hours and don’t forget to pack a lunch.” Check if Melissa can drive you.
PRIDE MOUNTAIN VINEYARDS | 20 minutes from St Helena | Outside Food Allowed | 30+ picnic tables scattered around property, including the vineyard | Must purchase tasting experience to access picnic area, bottles available for your lunch | Tastings start at $50 pp
Rombauer Vineyards
👍 Often overlooked is one of Napa’s most beautiful settings for a picnic
Most people visit Rombauer Winery for their buttery chardonnay and $25 tasting fees, one of the lowest priced in the valley. But those who know know that it’s the hidden picnic grounds that are the star here. Gardens, sculpture art, picnic tables nestled in the trees, it’s stunningly beautiful - and they allow outside food, something that is hard to find these days.
ROMBAUER VINEYARDS | St. Helena Area | Outside Food Allowed | Wines by the glass and bottle and $25 tastings
V. Sattui Winery
🍷 Yes it’s popular, but for good reason - and it’s 2 for 1!
Wait, what? Yes, I know that everyone already knows V. Sattui is a top notch and ultra popular picnic spot but what you might not know is that they just reopened a newly remodeled and reinvigorated marketplace deli with house made charcuterie, incredible cheese selection, and gourmet panini’s and sandwiches. Owned by the same person who built the Napa Castle, this is one touristy winery that deserves to make this locals list.
V. SATTUI WINERY | St. Helena Area | No outside food allowed
PRIORITY WINE PASS OFFER: Get 2 for 1 with either their inside experience, normally $45 per person, or with their Premier outside experience, normally $55 per person.
