Best Wineries and Vineyards in Napa Valley

Their energy bars are famous, but did you know the Clif Family also makes wine in Napa Valley? The Clif Family Tasting Room in St. Helena is a unique combination of wine, food and bicycling. That's right, bicycling. At Clif Family Tasting Room, you can taste small, production wines, for sale only at the tasting room and pair your favorite with a bite to eat from the Clif Family Bruschetteria Food Truck. If you're worried about indulging, you can burn off the calories cycling through Napa Valley. The Clif Family Tasting Room will help you plan a custom ride. They'll even take care of the bike rentals. You can spin in the morning and have a food and wine pairing waiting for you when you return.

Drinking something with bubbles can be a lifesaver for a palate headed toward wine tasting overload. Mumm Napa is one of just a handful of Napa Valley wineries that specializes in sparkling wine. Tastings are offered outside on the patio or indoors in the Tasting Salon. Both spaces provide scenic vineyard views. Visitors can taste sparkling wines by the flight or by the glass. Winery tours are also available. Reservations are strongly recommended. Best known for sparkling wine, Mumm Napa also makes a variety of still wines including Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and even brandy. The winery and visitor center are located in Rutherford, on the Silverado Trail in Napa Valley.

Whitehall Lane is a family-owned winery in Napa Valley's St. Helena. Founded by two brothers in the late 1970s, the winery gets its name from a road that borders the property. Now owned by the Leonardini family, Whitehall Lane farms more than 145 acres of Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley vineyards. The bright and cheerful tasting room is a nice spot to learn about wine without feeling intimidated. Along with Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot, Whitehall Lane offers Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. If you like sweeter varieties, the winery also crafts a Belmuscato and a red dessert wine named Belforte.

The Estate at Jericho Canyon Vineyard is anything but a typical Napa Valley winery. Home to the Bleecher Family, they've preserved 70 percent of the estate as wildlife habitat. A former cattle ranch, trees weren't removed to plant grapes, vineyards were planted around them, creating unique vineyard views in the process. Wine is made in the Bordeaux style, and hand-crafted in small lots. Seated tastings are designed around current releases of estate produced wines, and are by appointment only. Along with a tasting, all visits include a vineyard and cave tour. ATV tours are also available and are a great way to see more of the vineyard's hilly terrain.

Miljenko "Mike" Grgich earned world-wide recognition, and put Napa Valley on the winemaking map, when the 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay he crafted won the 1976 Paris Tasting, beating some of France's best wines. Grgich then partnered with Austin Hills and his sister, Mary Lee Strebl, from the Hills Bros. Coffee family, to create Grgich Hills Estate. The winery offers an assortment of tour and tasting options. No reservations are needed in the main tasting room for the Napa Valley Flight, which includes a flight of five wines. The winery also crafts a dessert wine called "Violetta," in honor of Grgich's daughter, Violet. Grgich Hills Estate vineyards are all certified organic. The winery made the switch to solar power in 2006.

If you like surprises, you'll love Raymond Vineyards. Vibrant, colorful and modern, Raymond Vineyards does wine tasting with a twist. Glitzy by Napa Valley wine country standards, there are a number of rooms visitors can taste in when visiting the winery. The Crystal Cellar focuses on decanting wine. Unlike any other working winemaking cellar in Napa Valley, it boasts a collection of historical crystal decanters from Baccarat. Decked head to toe with red velvet, the Red Room is a by appointment only lounge with bottle service. Half a dozen themed rooms give visitors a variety of tasting possibilities. Raymond Vineyards is glamorous, and it knows it.

The Hess Collection dates back to the late 1970s when Donald Hess bought 900 acres on Mount Veeder. In 1989 the winery opened to the public. But it's never been just about wine. The Hess Collection Winery includes a 13,000 square feet gallery to showcase Hess' personal contemporary art collection. Hess began collecting art in 1966; the Museum is open to the public free of charge. From ATV excursions to wine blending and wine and cheese pairings, there's a variety of unique experiences for guests to choose from. Reservations are required for many of the offerings, however, walk-ins are welcome to take part in the Current Release Tasting at the standing tasting bar when there is availability.

Castello di Amorosa knows how to make a big first impression. Set in Calistoga, the winery calls a 13th-century medieval Tuscan-style castle home. It took 15 years to build the 121,000 square foot castle in Napa Valley. The Castello has 107 rooms, 95 of which are devoted to winemaking. It also has all the extras you'd expect from a castle, like a moat, drawbridge, church and torture chamber. Dragons and stone gargoyles guard many dark corners. The winery produces hand-crafted Italian style wines, exclusively available at the Castello or on its website. An assortment of guided tours and tastings are available. Reservations are recommended, but not required.

Chateau Montelena shocked the wine world when it won big at the Paris Tasting in 1976. Beating the French competition, California's Napa Valley became a recognizable name. Built into the hillside in 1888, the Chateau is made of stone, which provides natural insulation against outside heat or cold. (Some of the walls are an amazing twelve feet thick.) Along with walk-in bar tastings, there are a number of experiences you can take part in when visiting the property. Reservations are required for the Vineyard Tour and Tasting offered during the summer months. It's also worth planning ahead to secure a spot in a Library Tasting. It includes vintages not easily available otherwise.

A Scottish expression meaning "cozy corner," the first grapevines were planted at Inglenook in 1871. Thanks to the vision of a Finnish sea captain, the eye-catching Chateau was added to the property in 1887. Inglenook is best known for producing Cabernet Sauvignon from its estate on Napa Valley's Rutherford Bench. In 1994, Inglenook's estate vineyards were among the first in Napa Valley to be certified organic. There are a number of tasting experiences to choose from; the Inglenook Experience includes a walking tour of the estate and a seated tasting paired with a selection of artisan cheeses. Advance reservations are strongly recommended.