Domaine Carneros - (707) 257-0101

If you love sparkling wine, this a stop worth the climb up the stairs. Soon as the chateau comes into view it is breathtaking. architecture & gardens meticulously thought out. You forget about the stairs as you take in the different plants, several plateaus w/ historical plaques to teach you the story & relaxing water features. I found myself a lone wolf one day in Napa, CA & decided to treat myself to this winery. I had frequently bought their sparkling & loved them so wanted to see where the "magic happened". It was a rainy day & what better than to sit inside, take in their spectacular view(they sit on a bluff)& sip the bubbly. I was greeted by a pleasant host & she directing me to the tasting room that is dressed w/ brass n glass tables & simple chairs. I picked a table near the french windows overlooking vineyards, gardens & the horizon. The server was not very talkative, so i just read the menu on my own. Since I am familiar w/ their sparkling, I decided on a red flight of regular wine. I did not personally find the reds to be anything to write home about. I had more fun digging into the cheese, bread & fruit platter! From now on I will just stick to the bubbly. I bought half a dozen of my favorites.(Their Rose is worth the drive!)

Domaine Carneros is a great experience. This is the second year in a row that my group has done a wine tasting tour and this winery was one we had to come back to. The wines are delicious, the service is extremely friendly, and the location and views are gorgeous. I’d recommend it to anyone looking to have a great day in Napa.

We began our vacation in Napa on a damp Saturday with our plans rained out. Domaine Caneros had not been on the list of wineries we were planning on visiting, but we were nearby and with nothing else to do, we figured we'd give them a try. We walked into the tasting room and decided to stand at the bar--a welcome respite after almost eight hours on airplanes earlier in the day. We were immediately greeted by Michael who talked to us about the various wines that Domaine Caneros produced. We tried several of their sparkling wines and cuvees, and had a very nice discussion on the topic of lesser known French Champagnes with Michael. Although we weren't wine club members (yet!) he shared one of the Members Only selections with us, and we were hooked. We joined the club and bought a case to ship home as well as a bottle to take back to our hotel with us. We ended up spending a good part of the afternoon there with Michael who was a great conversationalist and all around nice guy. He gave us some tips as to other wineries to visit, and confirmed that some of the places we were planning on visiting were good choices. The long staircase you have to climb from the parking lot to the tasting room was well worth the effort once you reached the top. Domaine Caneros was one of only two wineries that we visited twice on the trip, the other was Opus One. One our return visit we chose to sit at one of the cafe tables and enjoyed a bottle of bubbly together. We didn't order anything off the menu on either visit, but the treats that we saw others eating looked fabulous. We weren't able to take the tour this time, but definitely plan on doing so on our next visit.