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Beringer Vineyards
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
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$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
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"Went here today with my husband in celebration of our 1 month of marriage. This was the first stop on our schedule as we both love the wines…" read more »
84 reviews for Beringer Vineyards
This was our 2nd to last stop in Napa Valley- and I'm so happy that we stopped here..
I had put this winery on the "to-do list" for the day, so we had planned on coming here, then decided we didnt have enough time to PLUS it's just Beringer (we had some at our house thanks to Safeway) - BUT as we were driving past it, I asked my BF to please turn around and go back! OMG- it was sooo worth it.. It looked like a French Chateau... and so big, you can easily enjoy a nice walk around.. The little gardens, and the beautiful round fountain as you're walking in.. AGH!
Yup-it's so nice there.. didnt really think it was too important to do the wine tasting there since it's such a common wine, but really caught my eye as we were driving by..It's BEAUTIFUL and worth staying on the list!!! =]
Only 4 stars cuz i didnt taste the wine then and there..
Reasons Why You Should Visit Beringer Vineyards or Why You Might Not Want To:
#8. Beringer Vineyards boasts of BEAUTIFUL sprawling estate and manicured lawns, MAJESTIC stone houses and stained glass windows--like a FRENCH CHATEAU. It is such an eye catcher that it is hard not to be curious and impressed when you pass by it on your way to St. Helena. http://www.yelp.com/bi... http://www.yelp.com/bi... http://www.yelp.com/bi...
#7. AFFORDABLE wine tasting starts at $10. Probably one of the CHEAPEST in Napa Valley aside from V. Sattui.
#6. It has LIVE MUSIC in a gorgeous outdoor setting with picnic tables and chairs.
#5. Separate buildings (but right next to each other) for full-bodied tasting and light-bodied wine tasting.
#4. Beringer wines are COMMONPLACE in Bay Area like Safeway although I'm sure they have fine wines that are available only at the winery. They were selling 6 mixed bottles for $38 at the winery.
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
#3. Not my favorite because it looked like a family park when we visited. KIDS were RUNNING around. Um, no, thanks.
#2. Best place to take a WHITE ZIN fan or White Merlot fan. (Okay, you don't have to say that you like White Zin but I'll say it does taste good minus the headache that comes with it later. LOL! )
#1. Still worth-visiting on your way to Downtown St. Helena for a relaxed more laid back wine tasting experience in an IMPRESSIVE and GORGEOUS setting.
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I don't really buy Beringer wines too often especially when I can find it on sale for $5 at some stores, but it's definitely worth visiting this winery.
It is beautiful and the estate is gorgeous. We were thinking of doing the Family Tour but got there too late for the 1:15 tour. We were concerned about time, so we decided to do a tasting only for $10 instead of doing the 2:30 pm tour. I think it is probably worth doing the Family Tour because for an extra $5, you get to learn the history of the winery along with a tasting of 3 wines.
I don't remember what I got, but all the wines I tasted were good, mostly red. The one that stood out the most to me was the White Merlot. I ended up buying a bottle for $7. For that price, it makes me wonder if I could find it in the stores. I have to look now. Anyways, we got the deal where if you buy 4 wines, you get 25% off and you also get a free 6 wine carrying Beringer grocery tote bag. Since some of my friends were buying wine, we decided to put it under one transaction to get the deal.
It was so hot, but we still walked around the grounds. They were having a classic car exhibition and saw a really cool mustang. Also there was live music too. We did go to the Rhine House as well where you can taste the reserves for the $25. The Rhine House itself was very pretty and I loved the stained glass windows on the front door.
Going here reminded me that Beringer does make some good wine. You just need to get past the cheap white zin (I do like it!) and everything is good.
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I loved this vineyard! It was beautiful - the estate was gorgeous! The whole time I was thinking, do they do weddings?
The wines were good; we tried the Leaning Oak Chardonnay and I ended up buying a bottle. My mom liked it too - she was still giggly from the Mondavi tour.
PS. They don't do weddings :(
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Ok, ok, ok, I know it's Beringer- the cheap wine at Lucky's, Safeway, etc. But I challenge you to drive past this AMAZING estate, and not want to stop and have a better look.
We stopped in last friday to check out the site, which is nothing short of amazing. I felt like I was in France. We entered the tasting room, and were greeted by friendly staff.
For $10 you sample 3 wines. Majority of their wines are $10-$16 and a few were in the $20-$50 range. All were good. We also ordered a cheese tray which comes with a free wood cheese board ($12), the tray was small but delicious.
We ended up buying a few bottles of wine (how could you not at their prices), and they sent us home with a cute wine bag (free) and the wooden cheese board. We were happy campers.
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This was my first trip ever to a vineyard to experience wine tasting and I am looking forward to another trip in the future. I came here with my mother and partner and took the Vintage Legacy Tour, its the 1 hr and a half, $35 tour which I believe is the most expensive offering.
The tour guide was Marisa she was awesome throughout the tour and seemed like a real person, loved answering questions no matter how novice they may seem.
The tour began with a lovely glass of Savignon Blanc and a trip to the Savignon vineyard to see the grapes still on the vine. Since we came in October, it was harvest time, which meant we could pick grapes from the vine to enjoy the flavor of the grapes used in their 2009 vintage. In addition to tasting the grapes we learned about how the grapes are harvested and how the vines are cared for.
Next we walked into the underground storage area where the wine barrels are stored, they had a room set up with a long table and glasses for the group to sit and taste several choices. We tasted 1 selection of wine from the barrel, meaning this was wine that wasn't ready yet for bottling. It was interesting to see what unfinished wine tastes like....then we had several other selections to enjoy. The selections were varied and toward the end of the tasting they brought chocolate and salts so we could experience how different flavors affect the taste perception of the wines.
Overall I thought the tour was excellent, the guide was awesome, the grounds were nicely kept.......although I cannot give 5-stars because they did not provide bread of crackers to cleanse the pallette between wines, also we had to use the same glass for a couple of the tastings (the 2 from outdoors).
This was a great value and a good way to spend 90 minutes....especially if you have not done a tour before.
We got here pretty late around 5:45pm. We knew it was closing up but we couldn't pass up the beautiful victorian like building. We walked around the premises and took a couple of pictures. I was kinda sad that we spent so much time at the castle when we probably would have had a much better experience at Beringer.
been here twice.
the 1st time wine tasting here was great because their customer service was professional and a joy to be around while tasting great wines. they gave free Beringer wine glasses during this visit!
the 2nd time wine tasting was equally fun. we bought the cheese and cracker plate. the 3 types of cheese were sooo delicious. the crackers were yummy fresh water crackers. with the food order, we got to keep the Beringer cheese cutting board!
i can't wait to come back.
So none of the wines were anything special as far as tasting, but this place is all about the grounds!
It was a special festival day so admission for tasting/tours was $25 [$35 for reserve tasting]. Usually a tour is $15-30 and a tasting $5-15, so it was like paying for a $20 tour of "The Cave" and a $5 tasting. But the tasting is unlimited. Sure limitless mediocre tasting is still middle of the road, but at least you can feel like you're getting your dollar's worth.
There were vendors by the Rhine house, which I did not venture near and a few vendors by the tasting room. Mostly cheese vendors. A-OK! I basically set-up camp at Fiscalini salivating over the Bandage Wrapped Cheddar and the San Joaquin Gold. Two sharp white cheeses.
The Cave was awesome! Very brief tour - only 30 minutes and not a ton of factoids in the mix. But the Cave was so cool. It smelled like Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean and church candles. Pretty neat! Some interesting bits, too. Bring a taste in with you to occupy your tastebuds. Ask questions at the end.
I think a private party in the Cave would be awesome. Tour guide said to check in the winter for the holiday party which would include a choir -- the acoustics must be amazing!
They do have wheelchairs for free. Very nice touch. Want to see the Rhine House, especially now that it's been restored. Really less about the wine and more about the history and property.
What the heck is Nightingale? Also, my bestie was able to get Reserve wines while paying non-reserve price. Pays to be cute, people!
I was part of a tour here that included a private tour of their grounds along with dinner in their wine caves.
Some of the highlights...
The tour started off with a tractor ride. You are in a trailer being pulled from the tractor. You get pulled so close to the tractor that you inhale all the exhaust fumes and end up smelling like exhaust fumes as well. Reminded me of driving on the 405 in LA during bumper to bumper traffic. They would've received an extra star if we could bring our glasses of wine on the trailer as we got pulled. My favorite was when our group raised their hands like a roller coaster as we slowly cruised down one of their 3 foot hills.
Wine tasting, The owner of the vineyard, I forget his but he even came down and personally welcomed a couple people from our group. I was able to take a picture with him and he answered a couple of my bonehead questions about wine. Very personable.
Cave dinner. They try to dress up the cave as much as they can with candles, rugs, and the such. But it's still a cave, be it with a Cro-Magnon urban contemporary flair. I just love what you've done with this sedimentary rock.
Cave dinner food. Prix fix. One would expect a massive Flintstone sized hunk of meat, Something served rare and still bloody since the dankness of the cave also makes you feel like Dracula. But no, this is wine country and it was a petite sized filet mignon with a couple of lightly sauteed shrimp. Scrumptious.
Next time, this caveman will grow out all his hair and wear a white linen suite and order the roast duck with the mango salsa just like the Geico commercial.
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After buying a killer bottle of 2001 Beringer Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve at Cellar 360 the other day, we just had to come here. The weather was glorious and the drive from SF was a pleasant one. Been coming to this winery for years and it is truly an awesome winery, definitely one of my all-time faves.
I have held their Private Reserve cabernets in the highest regard, ever since the general manager (of my first office job out of college) saw the '90 issue of Wine Spectator magazine which stated the '86 Beringer Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve as their pick for #1 wine of the year. He wanted as many cases as we could get so that he could enjoy and give them as gifts and I recall calling practically every wine merchant in the bay area as they were as rare as hen's teeth after the article came out. I will never forget that wine.
Anyway, it was a beautiful day yesterday and we did the Old Winery tasting upstairs and then the Reserve tasting in the mansion downstairs. The air-conditioning was much welcomed and appreciated. I did the Reserve Red tasting and was blown away by the quality of the four selections that I was able to taste on the list. Among them was an excellent single vineyard cabernet sauvignon and also two Private Reserve cabs, a 2003 and a 2005. I really wanted to try their 2004 which I have been told is an exceptional vintage, second only to the 2001, but they were temporarily out so I will definitely have to go back soon.
The gent that helped us in the Old Winery tasting room was really great and we learned a lot from him. Downstairs in the Reserve tasting room, the person that served us, (pretty sure her name was Hannah) was fantastic and we had such a fun time tasting and talking with her about wine, movies, and a variety of topics. She was so knowledgeable and had the greatest personality...exactly what I'd expect in a place like Beringer. As always, people and service make such a difference.
Lastly, before we left, we tried some of their dessert wine known as Nightingale which is similar to or done in the style of a French sauterne. This celestial concoction, this delicious quintessential nectar of the gods was downright heavenly, pure happiness in a glass...the last time I had anything like it was at Fifth Floor year ago when I had a $40 glass of Chateau d'Yquem. Truly amazing.
As if all this wasn't incredible enough, Beringer is an affiliated sister winery to our wine club membership at Cellar 360, so our tastings (and up to three guests) were complimentary at no cost! Wow. The reserve tastings alone should have been $25 each.
Afterwards, we hit their gift shop where I picked up some earrings (for her) and a mousepad for myself and rec'd another discount, in addition to the discount on wines, thanks to the above membership. Ya gotta love it. Life is good!
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We brought our out of town friends here last summer. The winery is located just after St. Helena downtown. This is a beautiful winery with impressive castle like structures and large beautiful gardens. The place was impressive. I thought the wines were okay and for the most part not spectacular. It's worth a stop if you have visitors as the grounds and the buildings are impressive.
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Beringer's popular name should at least justify a visit! When I visited a few months ago, our group decided not to take the tour and to only venture into the tasting room. We ended up having a lot of fun with the other tasters...Personally, I felt that the wines weren't life changingly great; however, they were never bad either ;D This is a decent stop if you're looking for a warm, welcoming environment. I would imagine this would be a good place to bring people who are less familiar with wine, simply because Beringer has such an established name...White Zin...Yum
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If want to visit a winery that blasts rap music in the background, visit Beringer.
I had friends from Italy who wanted to visit Napa Valley. We only had time to visit one winery, and I recommended Beringer based on its reputation and its status as one of the oldest in Napa Valley. But when we arrived, a DJ was playing loud and obnoxious rap music in the background. Apparently, Beringer was having a wine sale and had hired a DJ as part of its publicity campaign. The place was also "decorated" with hideous balloons that gave it the aura of a used car lot.
Sadly, the noise lasted throughout our stay. It made it difficult for us to enjoy the scenery and the wine. I couldn't even hear myself think, much less focus on what our the tour guide was saying. The experience left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Moreover, I felt embarrassed because I was the one who convinced my friends to visit Beringer versus the other wineries that looked appealing to them. Based on this experience, I will NEVER AGAIN bring guests to Beringer.
I have to wonder ... what in the world was management thinking?
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#9
My wife is not a big fan of alcohol but she sure loves her White Zin. She knows it's seen as garbage wine and everyone looks down and laughs at it but she doesn't care. We buy it quite often that even I've gotten drunk off of it. With that said a stop in Napa Valley would not be complete without visiting the Beringer Vineyards. First off it's conveniently located off the main highway and the grounds are spectacular. Driving up you pass a giant Victorian home but we didn't stop there. This is a nice place for pictures. As one can imagine the popularity of this cheap brand also makes it for a popular tourist spot. Luckily for us it was getting late and the crowds were brisk. We walked into the tasting room which first greets you with a large area where you can purchase souvenirs. The actual tasting area is towards the back and it's quite small compared to the rest of the building. We were able to taste the same types you find at your local store and some you will not. None of the wines were outstanding to me but my wife sure enjoyed their sparkling white zin. We strolled around for a bit and took lots of pics. This is a nice place but definitely not for the die hard wine snobs. If you've never been I'd say check it out. You'll enjoy it.
Yelp Rating 3.5 Stars
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This is such a great Winery with such a great tour. We went on The Vintage Legacy Tour $35.00. This included the one and a half hour tour. Along with 5 wine tastings, and a trip to the caves. We went down to the fields and talked about the Cab wines. We started off with a Chardonnay, and worked our way through different Cabernet wines. We ended up in the cool caves and even had a young wine from the barrel. Our tour guide was informative but a bit slurry at times. Might of been the heat and wine tasting. The only bad experience from this tour was about an old couple from Colorado. The wife's question was about the labor workers. If Beringer picked them up from the gas stations?! I was like WTF did she really ask that?! It was such and awkward moment and the guide took it professionally and we continued with our tour.
Being that this is one of the oldest wineries yet being sold many times in its time. I think this is a must see. But will definitely check out more in the future.
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My friends and i went up to Napa for a birthday celebration and to learn about the wine world and to learn a little something about how to be classy. We went on the Taste of Beringer tour which included 4 glasses of wine and a walk through their caves (which maintain a constant of 58 degrees, for anyone who cares). I'm sure the tour and the wine would have been great had it not been for the inclement weather and our noticeably intoxicated tour guide.
Our reservation was for the last tour of the day, and from the way our tour guide was acting it looked like she had been drinking all day. She was repeating stories, slurring her words, and finding anything to lean on to keep from falling over. Can we say CRUNK?
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The house is beautiful, but if you want a house tour, it is only available as the 1st tour of the day. The grounds are truly beautiful and I loved taking pictures all over the area.
There were tables and benches all over where we were able to have our lunch that we bought from the Model Bakery in Napa.
I thought it was nice to see once, but I didn't feel I would need to come back every time I come to Napa.
If you've never toured this winery, please go and enjoy. It's a pricey tour (starting price: $20 per person), but it is informative. You will taste four wines along the way and enjoy being inside the cool mountain cave built in the 1870's. The last limited edition wine is a Port and served with dark chocolate candy which enhances the flavors of each!
The gardens are beautifully landscaped and the gift shop has a good variety of mementos and useful items to commemorate your trip by purchasing. Of course, there's the wine - on special, of course!
Thanks to the bossman for taking us to, yet, another fabulous winery for the holidays! Why you gotta spoil us with pricey bottles of wine every year? Then I go home, look at my rack full of cheap Trader Joe wines and turn my nose up in disgust. It's all good.
I really enjoyed every varietal we had here, but I still have that Nightingale Semillon Sav. Blanc on my mind and I was pretty lit up by the time they served that to us. I'm normally not big on Chardonnay (unless I'm brown bagging it in the Mission), but the 2006 Spraglia they served was fantastic.
Free flowing delicious wines, great tour with barrel tasting, fabulous Chef (understatement of the century) Mr. David Frakes. wow ..just wow [Menu http://www.yelp.com/bi...].
How can you make short ribs melt in your mouth like cotton candy? And that butternut squash puree beneath the polenta crusted sea bass made me wanna hurt myself. Everything we ate was delectable.
Our Tour guide was nice, but pretty chatty and I wanted to get into our party already. The stained glass in the winery is gorgeous & they have a cute little gift shop with some of the best smelling fig lotion I have ever smelled.
We got to eat in the 'main house', which is a very special treat because it is not open to the public. I guess the boss is a club member and a high-roller at Beringer. I love this man! My friend that came with me is from the south, so we had a bunch of 'main house' jokes, as this place just screams 'we owned slaves!' Especially with the banjo music playing as we walked on the wrap-around porch.
This was the 2nd party I have been to this week with a banjo band, it must be a 'white' Christmas.
If you are a Beringer wine club member and need to throw an impressive event, this is the place to go. They'll treat your guests like royalty.
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This is the most beautiful winery and property in Napa. If you are visiting the area or have guests coming you need to visit Beringer for a WOW experience. I only knew Beringer for the crappy grocery store wines and never realized they have amazing high end wines. I don't really like their whites too much, but the high end Cabs are great.
**I'd strongly suggest going directly to the mansion and tasting there.** You can sit on a stunning patio or in their amazing old fashioned rooms with fancy old leather chairs and tables.
They have some fantastic estate wines! I recently had a bottle of the Chabot Estate Cab which was wonderful! You owe it to yourself to go here on your next trip. Absolutely among the top 3 places to visit in Napa.
DO NOT PASS GO, DO NOT GO UP THE STAIRs,
Go directly to the mansion for reserve tasting.
Twenty five dollaroos gets you four of the following: two reserve chardonnays, a measly Merlot, three impressive cabs, and a honey suckled "Nightingale."
And here's a tip: they're having a 20% off chards/pinots for Thanksgiving. That and 20% off if you buy more than four bottles will give ya 40% off a reserve chardonnay rated number forty seven on Wine Spectator's Top 100.
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Woohoo for wine tasting! Below is my happy wine glass cup (which said "Beringer" on the glass) that I got to take home! $10 for 3 tastes (glass included!) at the bar was a great starter in Napa.
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A clean, beautifully designed, lovely estate made for a relaxing wine tasting. The building itself from the outside was fabulous, and if it wasn't for the rain it would have been nice to explore the great outdoor setting.
The workers were friendly, informative, and prompt in serving us. I wish I got to take the wine tour, but I shall return! Next time I will remember to take careful note of the wines I explored. But from what I remember, the cab was smooth, the bubbly chardonnay was sweet and pleasant, and the Merlot was a bit too dry for me. It seems like Beringer had a good selection of sweet and light wines!
I will distinctly remember the nature around the estate and how gorgeous it was. I couldn't resist taking home with me not just the memories with the wine glass, but the gigantor-bigger-than-my-huge-head leaf fallen to the ground outside. Next time I will stick around longer on a sunny day and not make like a tree and leave ;)
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Before going on this tour I didn't know anything about wine - only that red goes with beef and white with fish and that I quite like riesling and sauterne but hate chardonnay and merlot.
Walking out of this tour and tasting, a mere $20 lighter in the pocket, I now know 10x more about wine, realized I like certain cabernets, and had a blast chuckling at our tour guide's quips. A gruff man who was a serious wine collector I felt at ease with my lack of knowledge as he cracked jokes about all the gadgets and gizmos people use to make their wine collections look impressive when all you need is a wine glass and a means to pull the cork to actually know wine.
Four large pours, plenty of knowledge without being overwhelming for our small group, and a glorious property I only wish we could have seen more of where the wine was actually made (across the street) than the museum-esque tour we receieved.
Apparently they filmed some aspect of a Walk in the Clouds here which allowed our guide to crack jokes about Keanu - for me, that is a plus. :-) Plenty of discount bottles, 20% off 4 bottles, and a cool shipping program plus a company with a lot of history.
This is the only place that i took a tour with so far. $25 for a complementary wine glass, informative tour, and various tastings of whites/reds/mixes. The tour was definitely informative since I've never been.. The underground barrels and the cool interior was an amazing experience.. Who would of thought this is how people make wine? It makes you feel like you are in a dark cave.. a dark cave filled with fermented juices getting ready for us wine drinkers to taste..
This is another touristic place indeed.. The estate is beautiful and green and spacious.. The Houses are too cute..There is a spot where it tells you the history of Beringer brothers... The tasting rooms are small indeed but AC'ed up.. They do have spots to line up for the tour times in the front of the gift shop/tasting room area... During nice weathers, they bring out the tasting bar to the front so you can enjoy the sunny weather while sitting and enjoying the wines/food accompanying you.
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I've been to the tours here 2x
1) I"m not a fan of Beringer wines; they're not very tasty (to me). The only one i like is the Port, which is a good value and yummiest wine they have there. The SB tastes too 'heavy'; too much like a chardonnay.
2) Beautiful property
3) My group of friends and I had a reserve tasting, which we thought was overpriced. We were also served by a very (very) rude, flippant pourer; we had a group of 8 and he treated us like he was doing us a public service favor. Hello. we were appalled. We felt very uncomfortable at the service
4) Nice shop; they have good products- cab choc sauce (yum), truffle oil, fig + onion dip and artichoke dip. Very yummy. I like it better than their wines!
5) a little toooo commercialized and impersonal for my tastes
If I've to bring visitors to go to 1 or 2 wineries in a day without being too hurried, this is the one I will choose, for its oldest standing, historic properties including well-maintained cave for storing wine and tour with history play out and wine tasting.
We took the taste of Beringer Tour and our tour guide was a trendy gentleman. During the tour, he gave us a brief introduction about the history behind all these old houses, grape growing, the probable oldest oak and a glimpse about $$$$ required for running this business. The tour only cost $20 and I think it's well worthy for visitors new to winery tour.
Later, we also stopped by Robert Mondavi. We loved the rich history behind Beringer but also would like to see this Napa Valley legend with great outdoor view.
Took to the tour $20 a person. Four wine tastings go with it. The tour guide was very friendly and laid back. However, he didn't go into much depth in explaining. I felt that we learned a lot more on the Mondavi tour. (This was the second winery we went to on our trip. The first being Mondavi.)
The Port was really good. Yum, especially with chocolate! Totally surprised me. Bought the port and the white zinfandel (with chardonnay).
If you buy 4 bottles of any wine, you get 20% off your total purchase.
Four and a half-star rating because of the staff that runs the place. Less uptight than the Mondavi people. Lost half a star because the tour wasn't very thorough.
This place is like the Disneyland of Napa Valley. It's so crowded and busy, and there's a big gift shop where you can buy various souvenirs if you don't mind waiting in a big line. Not my kinda thing...
What I did like was the food/wine pairing class we took. It was not only informative, but it was also A LOT of fun! But that may have been mostly cuz of the really drunk guy we were sitting next to. You know how there always has to be that one class clown. :) We also got a lot of fun reading material to take home, in case we forget.
I deducted a star cuz I noticed that some of the silverware wasn't washed properly, and the place overall wasn't too well kept. That's how tourist busy they are.
This review was for the winery. I had a lot of fun here. As for the wine itself, I used to think it was a decent wine, but I won't be buying bottles of Beringer anymore. Just saying...
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We had a nice time here strolling the grounds but did not go on a tour or do any tastings - but it was an impressive vineyard nonetheless. We'll be back next time.
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The large and beautiful estate is a good place to roam around, take the paid tour of, and relax (or sober up).
The wine, especially the basic flight, is just okay for me. What $10? What's that? I forgot to pay because of the tons of people that were tasting during the weekend?
Ooooops!
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$10 to taste some medicore wine w/ a souvenir glass to keep? HELL YEAH!!
The weather was nice that day so it was awesome sitting outside listening to their live band and sipping on some so-so wine. You're alotted 3 glasses each but if you flirt a bit, you'll end up with endless refills and walk out of there completely trashed.
I flirted. I tried every single wine on their wine tasting menu which was well over 10 glasses.
I had an awesome time.
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We took the tour, and it was pretty fun, but lets be honest, we're all talking about wine here.
For about $25 you get a wine glass, the tour, and tons of wine tastings throughout, which you fill up with various whites, reds, mixes in between. The estate itself is beautiful and is just immaculate. The tour guide was extremely knowledgable, and let us ask all sorts of questions (John B thinks I'm an ass asking about margins per barrel), touch the grapes, taste as much as you want.
Berginer has really solid wines. Like people mentioned, the tasting room is small, but the estate is huge. I love the barrel rooms, very cool underground and perfect to cool off the wine drunk heat you might be feeling by the end.
Just a great experience. I reccommend hopping over to Dean and Deluca's (only one on the west coast!) for some lunch afterwards and finish off that bottle you bought at Beringer. Or there's the OG Taylor's Refresher.
To be honest, I had already had about as much wine as I could take by the time our tour reached this destination! I was ready for a martini by this point! However, we were grateful to our tour guide for squeezing this stop in.
The winery is gorgeous, with the winding roads, historic house set just off the road, beautiful landscaping. And of course we've all heard of Beringer, so who wouldn't want to stop!
I only made it through the cute gift shop (there are two) and bought a t-shirt and bottle of a non-alcoholic sparkling soda. Ok, I actually thought it was an individual sized bottle of wine, but my dehydrated body was relieved to find out it was only wine-flavored!
Others in my group did taste the wines; in fact, one couple purchased so much they qualified for a free reserve tasting!
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Reserve tasting room here I come, don't pass go. So, here we go. We taste everything, my friends love me especially on wine tasting days, we get to try everything. I love this estate. It's totally cool to walk around and sip the wine, wow are we really in Napa.
The thing I love most is trying things that are Estate only and did we buy a case of Port well, actually a case and half. We got the last 05s they had left. Woohoo, along with a few other things. We we go again, yep, the hand cart. 3 cases later.
That's why, I'm the Wine Diva. This training is really paying off.
On the real side, this is a must do.
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The Beringer Sparkling White Zinfandel is pink, delicious and 12 bucks a bottle. Cheese plate is just 10 dollars with a full tasting which is also 10 dollars.
The Beringer estate has a classic charm lots of shade, benches and fountains.
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the grounds are really pretty. it's like taking a walk in a quiet park on a nice day. makes you wish you could have a picnic there.
it's one of the wineries i'll take out-of-town visitors to if we do the 'napa tour'... haven't actually done their winery tour but did some tastings throughout the years.
hopefully beringer won't start charging people to enter their property like rubicon does now... such a shame...
Tip: When wine tasting, swish (whatever the fancy wine snob term is) the wine around your entire tongue; let it touch all the different taste buds. I always chug (gasp!) wine because I hate the taste of alcohol. Swirling it around in my mouth really made a difference. I didn't like the taste more, but I did dislike it less.
The first and only tour on our day trip to Wine Country.
Very large, a lot of ground to cover. We picked the hour long tour with 4 wine tastings. I liked our tour guide. Hard to describe him...had a bit of a backwoods accent, gave lots of information but in a off-the-cuff way that made it fun to listen to. You walk, stop, he speaks, get a small glass of wine, then walk to the next stop.
At our first glass, he went, "Mmm, I need a sip of this myself after all this talking." My favorite part was seeing the caves they dug into the mountain. It was very cool inside; nice for the sunny day we came. It made me sad when I learned that the oak barrels can be used only twice. I forget what it gets used for after that, but that's a lot of trees.
I also noticed a large dining table with an entire set of chairs in the middle of the caves, you'll see it. It made me think of a secret society, sitting around posh and polite, delicately eating something fancy while someone's gagged and blindfolded in a dark corner...yeah, I got a wild imagination. It struck me as a very random place to have a dining room set.
Port de'something was our last tasting. I've never had port before. It's tannic (ick) yet sweet (yum) = I kinda liked it. It also helped that you're supposed to drink it with a piece of dark chocolate. I learned afterwards you're supposed to put the chocolate on your tongue, THEN drink the port.
One of my friends bought 4 bottles of wine here.
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For the record, I didn't love the wines they offered, and the white zin makes me cringe, but my friend loves their white zin, so we had to stop here for her. The grounds are super lovely, worth taking a walk around. The grounds are not handicap friendly. My friend walks with a cane and can't walk for long periods, and there's no easy way to get up to the tasting/tour area without a wheelchair, which she doesn't have. For mobility limited guests, it would be helpful to have a golf cart to be able to assist from the parking lot to tasting room. Even a person in a wheelchair has to wheel a long ways, up hill, to get there, and take a lift. We skipped the tour, we've done it before, and just did a quick tasting, bought her white zin and got out of there. It's 10 dollars for three small pours of wine. We tried 6 different wines, none were fantastic, but again, I'm not a fan of their offerings, others might enjoy it more.
We took the grand deluxe, ultimate, 1.5 hour tour and It. Was. Fabulous.
Jameson, our wise and glorious leader, led us around the grounds, through the vineyards (where we tasted wine grapes right from the vine!), and into the caves for some wine tasting. We were able to taste wine during its first fermentation (straight from the barrel!). He was very accommodating, and even let us try a special release chardonnay that was not part of the original tastings (we bought 2 bottles). He was extremely knowledgeable and friendly - mixing in funny life stories with various wine facts.
The grounds are gorgeous, the wines are fantastic, and the tours are informative and fun. Definitely not a winery to miss!
