Hendry Vineyard and Winery

 

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Sophia K.

Arcadia, CA

I took the tour with a friend and it was awesome.  George, the owner of the winery, was very informative.  He focused a lot on the science behind wine.  He actually lets you walk through the vineyards, it's a hands on tour.  It's a relatively small vineyard, and walking through the fields made the tour very personal.  The tour was about an hour and fifteen minutes, but it felt like 10 minutes!  It was so interesting.

We got to sample 8 wines, he told us about each wine and we got to compare them to each other.  We also poured our own glasses.  He explained the differences between the wines and what you're feeling when you're drinking it.  He also recommended what to have with the wine.  I highly recommend Hendry Winery.

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Min L.

Stanford, CA

Hendry is a charmer. I am taken away by their friendliness and humility, and look forward to coming back again for the tour (yes, again!) with my good friends. We were given an extensive tour of the wine growing and making process. The tour was more focused on the science of growing and making wine, and George Hendry himself provided interesting history of different regions of his ranch, especially when it came to "grafting".

We then went on to their tasting room where we tried 8 (yes, eight!) wines, and were entrusted with pouring from the bottles ourselves. I was very impressed by their 2004 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay (which I bought), and as the others have raved, the Block 28 Zin (which my friend bought -- the smell of flowers!).

Very, very impressed with this place. I recommend it for its homeliness and warmth. George Hendry and the others here have done a great job of making the wine growing and making process a humble science and art.

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Elite '08

136

158

Krys G.

Long Beach, CA

Every other year it's my turn to plan our anniversary trip, activity or excursion, so on our 2nd, I put together a Napa trip.

My older sister is a foodie (she did all of the SF Chronicle's Top 100 Restaurants in one year. I shit you not.) a pretty good judge of wine and has some friends in the Napa area so she's visited many of the wineries. At her suggestion, we went to Hendry, since she'd been there herself a few times, and really enjoyed the Mom & Pop vibe of the place and the importance put on the wine making process and not the marketing of the finished product.

She booked the appointment for us, so when we arrived we asked for George, and realized at some point that it was George Hendry, owner and wine-maker extraordinaire we were touring with.  As with John's experience, and since my husband and I were relative wine and wine tasting newbies, George took us for the full tour out to the actual vineyards, showing us about grafting of different plants to different vines, and why and how their vintages differ so greatly based on where they're planted, harvesting, etc.

It was a whole wine class and history of the area packed into a tour given by the man in the middle of it all.

After we walked through the fermentation area, George took us into the tasting room, and after going through 8-10 bottles (we paid nothing for this tour or tasting, mind you,) we were satiatied, thrilled and potentially ripped enough to head off with at least a half case of wine or more.

George is soft-spoken, sweet and obviously just an encyclopedia of wine-making.  He's really amazing - we felt like we got to meet a wine celebrity.  Just the fact that he would take that kind of time (2 hours +) to meet with the likes of us, well, it was humbling and so appreciated.  

If you're headed up to Napa and really want the wine-making along with the wine-tasting aspect of the Valley, I cannot say enough great things about George and his fantastic little business there.

John's right - they're known for their Block 28 Zin, but honestly, all of it's good.

We occasionally find their wines at the Wine Country in Long Beach (http://www.yelp.com/bi...) but we're also on Hendry's mailing list so we have the opportunity to order their varietals annually by mail too.

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Elite '08

71

291

Vera D.

San Francisco, CA

My friend had booked a private wine tour at Hendry and we shared the tour with a nice couple and their toddler.  I was pleasantly surprised when winemaker, Mr. George Hendry, himself took us out into the vineyard and explained the winemaking process.  We did the usual tour of the facilities and George also led the tasting himself, telling us great stories about his experience in physics and about growing his business.

My friend and I found him so charming, personable and knowledgeable.  He certainly knows his food and wine pairings and he's unpretentious.  

We bought the syrah and rose, both 2004.

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Matt K.

San Diego, CA

Let me start off by saying that the people working at Hendry are awesome! My wife and I visited by appt. I'm not sure if they are generally open to the public but I think an appt is encouraged. Although there was some mix up, we ended up meeting up with Jan, the winery scientist, and her dog Sadie!

We started out in the vineyards, tasting the grapes still on the vine. Jan showed us how they can tell when the grapes are ready, and we played with the hydroscopic meter to measure sugar levels (I am reminded of my $50 tour at Chateau Montelena where we weren't allowed to touch the grapes or wonder off the pre-selected path!!) We then headed into the facilities where they harvest, crush and ferment the wines, meeting all the great members of the staff along the way!  Since I'm in science Jan and I had a number of things to talk about and we ended up in the lab as she showed me your favorite experimental results of past grape harvests, looking at films of malic acid to lactic acid conversion (Cool stuff for us science/wine geeks!).
 
We then sat down and tasted through their collection of wines. I can't even remember how many we tried.  My wife does not drink wine, but was offered some freshly made iced tea.

The entire time there was so amazing! So much information, one of the best tours and great wines at a reasonable price (compared to Napa pricing)

Hands down, one of the best wine experiences I had in Napa. This is a top rate facility, great wines with no fussy workers just looking to take your money. Oh, and by the way, they didn't charge me for the tour or tasting!!  I, of course, bought a couple of my favorites before leaving and now search for the stuff wherever I shop for wine.

The time and effort they spent with us has made me a fan of their winery and wines for a lifetime!

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Elite '08

445

446

John G.

San Jose, CA

Just a little off of Hwy. 29.  Lovely old estate home on the large property and vineyard. Nice old fashioned feeling. Hendry makes some of the best wines in Napa Valley.

Take the tour of the vineyard and winery.  The vineyard tour is very informative, and they really go into detail why the wines are so different even growing so close together.  The break it up into Blocks and sell their wine in those lots.

The Block 28 zin and Block 8 cab are "world class"  IMHO.  Tasting room servers were "like family" No rush, no big crowds. Nice.  Like all of Napa perhaps 30 years ago

Tours and tasting by appt. only.  

This is a gem in Napa.  You'll spend some time there due to the beauty of the estate, ambiance, friendliness, and just darn good tasting wine.

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