California

You don’t see many log cabins in Napa Wine country, and you certainly don’t see many stuffed bears or boar heads, but that’s only because you haven’t visited the William Harrison tasting room. The general store feel of this lesser-known family owned winery sports a relaxed and casual vibe. While the owner sprouts from an Italian winemaking family, the tasting counter feels homegrown American. Try the Estate Cabernet Sauvignon and Estate Cabernet Franc, and ask the tasting room guy if he has time to give you a tour.

Housed in an ivy-covered, French-chateau styles stone building, the family owned Cosentino winery continues to produce a wide variety of wines. While zinfandel comprises much of the 70,000 case production, visitors to their just-north-of-Yountville tasting room can sidle up to the copper counter and try a pinot grigio, chardonnay, cab, sangiovese, pinot noir or merlot. Winemaker Mitch Consentino prides himself on producing a wide variety of artisanal wines using traditional methods.

Folie a Deaux is a psychiatric term that refers to two people sharing the same delusional ideas. Perhaps a whimsical name for a winery, but appropriate if the founders of the winery happen to both be psychology professionals. While the original couple no longer own the winery, their legacy lives on in the Rorschach dancers on the logo. The tasting room sports a variety of wines for tasting, including several Menage a Trois blends (one white, one red, one rose) as well as a Napa Cellars merlot, zin and sauvignon blanc. The available picnic tables make this stop particularly appealing for those who’ve purchased lunch vittles from the Oakville Grocery up the road, and need a place to nosh.

Tucked away in a charming plaza, alongside art galleries and a custom jeweler, Hendricks tasting room, which features hope & grace wines, offers a quaint tasting counter, a handful of antiques, and two oil paintings worthy of contemplation. Winemaker Charles Hendricks has served as a Napa consultant for more than two decades, and while he’s known for making cabernet, he loves his pinot. Sourcing his fruit from Napa (cab) and the Santa Lucia Highlands (pinot) and naming the wine after his two daughters, Hendricks released his first wines with the 2001 vintage. Today, they make about 1800 cases, available primarily in the tasting room and at various high end restaurants.

Visitors to the Peju tasting room enjoy several unique experiences. They are walked through a systematic tasting, with an attendee carefully pouring and explaining as they go, while not being distracted by newcomers. If they wander into the newest wing of the tasting space, they can marvel at the exquisite quartzite floors that reportedly echo the owner’s impression of a stone Persian rug. Owner Tony Peju, originally of Iran, and his Austrian born wife, founded the winery in the mid-1980s after years of running a successful high end landscaping business. Their devotion to fine art, sculpture, and gardens is apparent as soon as one enters the drive, as the carefully pruned Sycamore trees beckon you in. Lush gardens and an antique stained glass window, coupled with their open-late reputation (unlike many of their neighbors, Peju’s doors are open until 6pm) no doubt help make this one of the most profitable tasting rooms in Napa.