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St. Supery Vineyard and Winery
Rating Details »
- Hours:
Mon-Sun. 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
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91 reviews for St. Supery Vineyard and Winery
DISCLAIMER: My wife and I have a St. Supery "Divine Club" membership, so I am probably biased. On the other hand, we wouldn't have the membership if we didn't love the wine... after all, we have exactly one other winery club membership.
WHY WE LOVE ST. SUPERY: St. Supery does a wide range of varietals, blends, and styles, most modeled after French wines. The wines are all good to super great (the only one neither of us has ever cared for is the semillon, which is disturbingly reminiscent of cashew nuts). Because of this variety, the fifth visit to St. Supery is as fun as the first visit... we made our wine club membership "will call" for a reason. ;-) Also, we find the folks at St. Supery to be fun and helpful... some, like Joe, are quirky, but hey, that's what makes it fun. And plus, once Joe sees you're into the wine, he'll do you right.
HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF ST. SUPERY: If you are tasting in the main room, make sure to taste the moscato (awesome brunch wine) and the Dollarhide sauvignon blanc (the higher cuvee). If they are pouring a library Elu, jump on the chance. The rose of merlot is a love it or hate it thing, but if nothing else, it's a chance to try a wine that will make you think of Jolly Ranchers. You might also get a rare chance to try a single-varietal wine, such as a petit verdot.
JOIN THE CLUB: If you think you'll be back even once, I highly recommend one of the clubs. Why? In addition to the typical free tasting, you can venture into the upstairs club-only tasting room, where they pour some crazy stuff, like library wines, limited release club wines, etc.
HI RICK: I was tempted to write a negative review so that Rick Bakas, Director of Social Media at St. Supery, will take pity on us and give us something special the next time we visit, but I just can't bring myself to do it.
My first though is really, how could I forgot to have written a review?!?!
I've been to St. Supery for every trip I've made to Napa. And no, I'm not a big fan of larger wineries. This place just happens to have some awesome wines and if you know how to smooze then you can get some beyond fabulous service.
First time was way back in 07 the weekend my brother got married, when my parents and I first discovered St. Supery. We started off with some fantastic Sauvignon Blanc, followed by one of the best Chardonnay I've had in years - seriously, no one has topped it for me seeing as how I hate how most are too acidic or over buttery. Rick was our taster and we started talking 5 Points restaurant in LA, which lo-and-behold led him to share an off-list special: the world's most orgasmic, chocolately 2000 100% Dollarhide Estate Cab.
And back then I thought it was good, try going back again three times over the course of two years and the wine kept on giving. Worst part is that this bottle is what I like to call the deal breaker - for my bank account. $120 a bottle was killer on my account, but luckily Rick was kind enough to give me 20% member price and kept remembering who I was when I came back again and again. You can say it made the wine more affordable in my mind. Somehow, they always managed to find "one more case" that became what I like to think a brilliant marketing scheme to temp me to joining their club.
When jobs provide, I will definitely sign my life away to their reserve list, but in the meantime, I'll plan on coming back to sneak in a few more exclusive tastings.
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cute winery with excellent service! I was hoping to do some crushing, but the employee said that it's for private parties =( Our server, Ryan, was super nice and attentive. He let us try one more wine than the allowed 4, which I always find as an excellent way to provide customer service. Afterall, you want us to buy your wine right? =P Their moscato was delicious!! esp on a HOT Napa day. It's similar to Mondavi's moscato, for those of you who have been there. Their other wines are also very good, but it's a shame that it was sooo hot the day I went... I didn't want to try any reds, but I managed to try one glass. I like that you have a list of wines consisting of probably 7-8 wines that you can choose from. That way you can split the tastings with your friend to try most of the ones on the list.
The yelp promotion really works! I also like the little gallery upstairs, mostly just the smelling exhibit.
Definitely give this place a try!
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When we were in Napa last weekend, this was a must stop place on my list.
I remembered loving it on our last trip, and I have to say I wasn't disappointed on this visit.
The older gentlemen that handled our tasting was very nice, and gave us lots of bonus tastings.
On this visit we ended up buying two bottles of wine: one for a friend, and fantastic moscato for us.
I did mention the Yelp ad I saw, (that if you mention Yelp, you get a "buy one,get one free" tasting.)
Since we ended up buying wine, I think we would have gotten a free tasting anyway.
I'm totally smitten with this winery, it continues to be my favorite and will be a must stop on any future Napa trip:)
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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5/1/2007
This was my favorite of all the wineries I visited on my last trip.
The only reason we ended up… Read more »
We needed a place to stop without an appointment before lunchtime and decided we should finally make a stop here being longtime fans of their sauv blanc. We gravitate more toward the smaller family wineries but this biggie isn't as pretentious or overly gifty as some of the others of its kind.
Our server was thoughtful and took a good amount of time with us despite it being really busy. Though I did feel they had an overly salesy vibe.
My husband did the reserve tasting and I did the regular. He liked the 04 Elu with tasty notes of plum. I found my first tolerable Chardonnay in the 07 Oak-Free Chard (seriously, if you hate malolactic fermentation too, give it a try!). We were both fans of the 08 Sauvignon Blanc limited edition Dollarhide. Another thing we both liked is that many of their labels are pretty entertaining and feature original artwork submitted from various artists.
Knowing full well the price of our fav bottle at Costco we decided it didn't make much sense to purchase much of the wine there. I did really enjoy the Moscato and mathematically it made more sense to join the Moscato Club than it did to pay for the tastings, so we did. Now I get a few shipments of this tasty delight a few times a year.
Granted one week later they contacted me about how they were processing my September shipment (which I just got the week before) so I'm not sure if dealing with a larger winery is for me, but I'm hoping it works out!
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Argh. This is a hard review to write because I really like St. Supery's wine and their winery is a great place to learn about how wine is made. I usually recommend it to people visiting Napa. Having said that I may reconsider. Nothing like being greeted by a jerk to ruin your experience.
We walk in, and are greeted by an old guy who asks where we are from, I say Berkeley and he says "oh I'm sorry". You know what... you old cactus of a man... be professional and keep your politics to yourself. Isn't one supposed to get wiser with age? Guess you plateaued a while ago... I'll pour a little of my latte out for you. :-/
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Comment from Tina C. of
St. Supery Vineyard and Winery
9/9/2009
Hi Erik, My name is Rick Bakas, I'm the Director of Social…
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GREAT wine and friendly service.
Once again, go with a Lexus owner on this one and you won't regret your visit here. Knowing a Lexus owner gives you wine club membership for a day and they even put your name on their welcome podium in the front when you enter! Then you are comped on the wine tasting, which you could use on the Reserve Tasting! And you can buy their wines with wine club member's discount.
Their service is stellar and their wines are even better. I had all reds, which included the ventu, elu, 2 cabs... oops. and a dessert wine: a moscato. The elu is a delicious combination of a few varietals and I couldn't help but purchase that one before I left. Our pourer recommended eating a rib-eye with this wine. Yes ma'am!
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I got a free tasting coupon from my friend who works at Google, so we got "wine club member for a day" privileges, which was awesome. We got to taste all their better wines for free from nice Riedel glasses, and got 20% off all purchases to boot.
This was our fourth winery on our first day of tasting, so my palate probably wasn't at its best at this point. However, I thoroughly enjoyed many of their wines, and got a bottle of the Elu, a Bordeaux-style blend, to take home.
Would probably go back if we had another coupon or with a member, since I dunno if I could go back to the regular tasting after being treated like VIPs. :-)
I am updating my review as I am impressed with the proactive customer service I had based on my previous review and will give them another try when I go to wine country since I do enjoy some of the wines.
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1 Previous Review: Show all »
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8/29/2009
This was our second winery and my expectations were high. The woman doing our tasting was not… Read more »
Comment from Tina C. of
St. Supery Vineyard and Winery
9/4/2009
Hi Ayelet, my name is Rick Bakas, I'm the Director of Social…
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I've lived here for many years and driven by St. Supery many times, but I've never actually made the turn into the winery. Dumb.
I've found my new favorite Sauvignon Blanc. Their 2008 was loaded with grapefruit and lime. If you like acid like I do, then you'll love this. My second favorite wine I sampled was their 2005 Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon. Big yet mellow tannins and lots of flavor.
The tasting room is large, but quite full even during a weekday afternoon. I imagine that on the weekends you'll have to be patient. The staff was nice, knowledgeable, and gracious.
This place was a lot of fun. We went with our friends who had a membership there and .. damn, those things are worth it!
The four of us must have each had about 8 tastings and got a great buzz on... all for free! They usually charge $25 for 4 reserve wine tastings.. and we "escaped" with only buying a few bottles.
The "members" section is up on the second level - nothing superb decor-wise but the wine is good. I'm not a huge wine smartie.. I learn something new from each tasting - yes on the zin, no on the cab. White or red? Both! :)
We didn't get up to Napa until around 3pm, so we hit the wine counter vs. walked around. Didn't get to see much of how nice it was outside.. but will for sure next time!
We got the Moscato (dessert wine) -- This is what Sich "thinks" it's called.. it was the most memorable thing we had there. Fair price for this bottle too!
Great buzz - great company - great wine - great review!
SICH MANISH AND DAVEY SMITH YOU TWO ROCK! This place has converted me into a wine drinker.. and I want to go back ASAP. Fun times! :)
Note for next time -bring food as this place will get you buzzed!
Didn't actually do a tasting here, but will come back to try. The tasting varied from $15 for the commercially available to $25 for the estate reserve wine. The upstairs area has a self guided tour of the wine producing facility. Everything is so massive. After you walk to the far end of the gallery, there is a smell display. What is a smell display? It's the name that I gave it, but basically, when someone puts their nose into a wine glass and says, "I smell, fresh cut grass and honey dew." Well, these boxes allow you to smell these types of things. Red pepper, hay, grapefruit, white pepper, there's some odd ones, so beware.
Anyway, the outside is also very manicured and beautiful. I'll definitely have to come back and spend more time at this winery.
This was my favorite place when I went wine-tasting with my friends :)
The self-guided museum part of it was... meh, but the wines are pretty good. Actually, I think the museum part is better than a mere "meh", but I guess I was excited about the wines, especially the moscato which many of my friends had told me great things about.
There was a blonde middle-aged lady at the wine tasting counter who was NOT very friendly. She gave us a funny look for sharing 2 wine tastings amongst the 5 of us, which I thought was quite snooty of her.. (her name was Pam)
SO, we asked for the young friendly man instead, and he was really the best. I think his name was Scott-- he was a young, Napa native. So ask for him if you can.
He was not only much more friendly than the lady, but he was also very helpful, describing each wine and informing us on the history of St. Supery, etc. He was also very generous with the amount of wine he poured us. For me, these servers make or break a good tasting.
I wasn't a huuuge fan of their whites, actually, but their moscato was amaaazing. The perfect amount of sweetness.
Plus, if I remember correctly, you can buy most of their whites in stores, but their moscato is at the winery only.
This winery is a must!
While most wineries tend to be a little snobby, St Supery is great! They're not as well known as some others, so they make up for it in their tours n guest services!
I visited here awhile back, and they took great care of us! Better than Duckhorn and others in the area.
After a nice n extensive tour n tasting, one of the managers took us on a barrel tasting. Fantastic! This made me a huge fan!
Trust me, stay away from the larger wineries and try to visit the more boutique, smaller places. It'll be worth it!
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Once upon a time some friends and I believed we would become entrepreneurs and open the first wine bar in Emeryvile. Although that dream is squashedone weekend of wine reseach led us to St. Supery Vineyard and Winery in Rutherford.
Joe is amazing. So amazing that several tastings later, we were already filling out the sheet to join the wine club. The man knows his St. Supery wines! We hung out in the tasting room for what seemed like hours and walked out with several bottles in hand. In particular, the Muscato, Sauvignon Blanc, and Elu.
After two years, I cancelled my membership due to less frequent visits to Napa. The customer service was oustanding and they even offered to refund my prior two months shipment to me on my credit card.
Make sure to visit Joe and the tasting room the next time you come to Napa!
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St. Suprey
In what must be one of the worst laid out, visually unappealing wineries in the region, St. Suprey has within the confines of its tasting rooms a hidden gem: Joe. Joe is a pourer, social raconteur, educator, counselor and super wine seller all rolled into one. In all my years of coming to wine country I have never been so engaged and so enjoyed the attention from and conversation with a wine attendant as much. Everyone in our party talked about Joe for the whole night.
The wines here represent a wide berth of tastes. All of the wines taste rich and present a diversity of flavors. They even had a Chardonnay I considered buying and I do not enjoy Chardonnay. Instead, I took home another white wine which I am looking forward to opening later this year.
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Regular tastings will run you $15 for your choice of four wines. There were eight on the menu, so smart as we are, we bought two tastings.
Smarter as we are, we joined the Moscato club and comped our tastings and walked away with two bottles of Moscato for less than $40. Good job selling us the club, Laurie!
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Woo hoo! My parents, S.O., and I got a free tasting because we had access to a wine club pass.
We enjoyed checking out the winery dogs in both winery dog books, as well as the Riedel glasses and accessories.
I thought the wine was good, but not enticing enough for me to purchase a bottle.
A nice stop along the winery tour, and I'd certainly return again, especially for another free tasting.
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Number one reason for knowing a Lexus owner: Complimentary wine tasting ($15 value) and 20% off wines during your visit! And that might as well be the only reason unless 5 star luxury hotels are your thing. I don't (and can't) roll like that, so a comp'd tasting and a self-guided winery tour suffices.
While it may sound like Lexus jipped us by providing a free self-guided tour that is typically free anyways, I'd like to say that it's worth it, Lexus owner or not. They basically give you your own winery map including interesting tidbits. You go it at your own pace, which is great if you're slow and can't catch up with tour guides or...you just like to take pictures of EVERYTHING. Because believe me, they (you) show you pretty much everything. From the grapes on the vine to the barrels to the real deal in a bottle. Not only do you get to see it all in the comfort of your own party, it's somewhat interactive with it's smell stations -- these stations feature different aromas and scents present in St. Supery's wines. How about that, a self guided tour that stimulates the senses! A self-guided tour will take you about an hour to accomplish in moderate speed. St. Supery's isn't exactly the biggest winery, nor is it the smallest.
As for the tasting, you get to pick and choose from a list of mass distro and limited edition wines, 4 wines for $15. (Unless you own a Lexus or know someone that does!) The tastes are about a 1/3 of a standard wine glass. Like everyone else that's reviewed St. Supery, the moscato is a MUST. People that serve you are super nice and knowledgeable.
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$15 = 4 tastings.
Really, the only one I loved was the Muscato.
If you join the club you can get it every month or something and at a really good price.
The Sauvignon Blanc is nice but I'm dissapointed that they no longer let you picnic outside. We used to take out of town friends for tastings here, buy a few bottles and then open one for a nice picnic lunch on their patio. When my grandmother came to visit on labor day weekend that was the plan for our stop at St Supery. It looks like they either no longer have the correct permits or the city changed they law because they wouldn't let us outside with the glasses. A dissapointment cuz a big chunk of our wine budget got spent on an overpriced lunch instead of on wine.
Comment from Tina C. of
St. Supery Vineyard and Winery
9/9/2009
Hi Cris. We too are none too pleased with not being able to…
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One of our favorite stops when we come to Napa. This time we arrived at 11:30 on a Sunday and were one of three other couples in the front tasting room. Our favorites here are the whites - the reds are forgettable. But we also just love the Elu. Yum! As for price, they are a little higher than some others, but we never get charged for tastings because we leave with a purchase. Helpful, down-to-earth staff and plenty of parking.
I really like this place. I'm not sure what people who use Yelp Napa are looking for, though. Will it decrease its patronage a lot if I start my review with the word "bongs?"
Bongs. That's the only way to describe the contraptions in the upstairs museum through which you will inhale the scents of black olive, crushed cherry, and new mown hay before you taste them downstairs. That alone was enough to convince all my friends to stop here today.
But then Chalo gave us something like seven wines for the price of four, and would have poured us more had we not protested. In the process, we learned that he came to St. Supery after finding a bottle of wine in a cart at Safeway and that the owner of St. Supery was his mom. It was an excellent time. Then we stole delicious fresh figs from their garden.
I guess the point of this review is never invite me to your house for a dinner party.
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How i wished i bought that moscato when i was there!!! ugh! it was sooo good, i'll have to wait till i go back there again...someday...probably with my mom hahaha
the scenery was nice but the only thing i didn't like about it was that they didn't have any chairs for you to sit besides the benches outside or the benches in the front but it was still cool
most of us just bought a bottle and went outside and played with the little kids
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Awesome, awesome, awesome. This winery is a perfect mix between an informative, educational experience and enjoying a glass of wine in a living room with family and friends.
The grounds are beautiful, the free self-guided tour is neat, they frequently rotate their art collection, so always something new and different to check out.
As a wine-club member (yes, their wines are that good) we did the select tasting in the upstairs more exclusive tasting area. Chalo was pouring that day and he was great. Such a nice guy; friendly, knowledgeable and made us feel right at home. We enjoyed our tastings for about 45 minutes and did not want to leave!
We came back the next day for our private barrel tasting and tour with Don (included as part of the wine club) and loved being up close and personal with the wines as they aged in the barrel. I got to use the "wine thief" to pull tastes directly out of a barrel.
Great wines, friendly staff, beautiful grounds.
I love it here and highly recommend visiting St. Supery.
during my first visit to napa many moons ago, my brother recommended that my hubby and i drop by st. stupery if we had the time. i knew nothing about their wine or winery at the time, and i honestly didn't even think twice about visiting. but trying to burn some time while waiting for our dinner reservation at bistro jeanty, we sat at the provided patio tables in the front of st supery. we only sat there for a few minutes but there was literally one person after another wheeling out dozens of cases out to their cars!
shocked! we decided to go inside and see what all the fuss was about. one sip of their MOSCATO later, i was signed up in their wine clubs (moscato and divine), and i too was wheeling out my share of their wines! which isnt too bad considering my cousin actually knocked up his wife after a bottle of moscato! LoL.
and its not just their moscato that is so yummie! my hubby loves their rutherford wine! my light-weight alcohol consuming mother loves their elu and virtu! i get tons of friends and family visiting me in the bay area all year round, and if were all in the mood for napa, taking them to st. supery is a must! their barrel tasting is educational and fun! btw all the reviews about joe being such a character is true! so if you do plan to do a barrel tasting i recommend requestion him... if your not doing a barrel tasting, from experience, joe can usually be found upstairs in the divine tasting room. =)
St. Supery is a fun place to visit; the winery has an energetic vibe and personality. The grounds, with stained glass yard ornaments and tables and chairs perfect for leisurely picnic lunches, are nice and the tasting staff is enthusiastic and friendly. The wines, however, are generally just OK and many are overpriced in comparison to those of similar quality at other wineries.
My wife and I are members of their Moscato Club, which entitles us to a 20-30% discount on this delicious sweet wine ($22 retail; $17.60 wine club shipments and $15.40 when reordered) and a 20% discount on most of St. Supery's other wines. The moscato has somewhat of a cult following (see other yelpers' reviews) and rightfully so; it can double as an aperitif or a dessert wine and its sweet peach notes and crispness appeal to many palates. My wife and I serve the moscato at parties and our guests love it! The Sauvignon Blanc is also good, but it's $5-$6 cheaper at Costco and Safeway. As for their reds, I enjoy their Meritage blend, Elu. It retails for around $65, but the 20% club discount makes it reasonably priced. Recently they've been pouring their 1998 Elu and, despite that year being a mediocre vintage, it has held up very well and is quite quaffable.
The rest of the wines, though, are forgettable. Visiting a plethora of other Napa wineries gives one a good perspective on cost and quality and St. Supery's are generally overpriced. Also, I have never attended any events due to their being extremely expensive. As a wine club member I taste for free, but attending a cheese and wine pairing would cost me $35. The winery also offers grape stomping days, but those are $40/person. As I'm (very happily) married, that would cost my wife and me $80. At that price point, the events are beyond our budget.
Although I'm disappointed that I may never be able to afford the events, I'm happy with my moscato. Definitely stop by for a visit just to try it. If you fall in love with the moscato like me, maybe you'll even join the club.
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Comment from Tina C. of
St. Supery Vineyard and Winery
9/4/2009
Hi Jason. My name is Rick Bakas, I'm the Director of Social…
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Good wine okay prices. Make a stop and you might find a bottle to your liking.
recommended. muscato.
to do. join muscato club for comped tasting and discounted muscato.
to talk to. laurie.
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I love all St. Supery wines. My favorites: Sauvignon Blanc, Rose, and Virtu. Go try, you won't regret it. :)
HAHA, the staff is nice, educated, and funny. BUT, the guy mistaken my bf for my Dad once. Hilarious for me, not so much for the bf.
Also, if you're a regular, sign up for the Wine Club card. They have wines, including limited ones, shipped to you every 3 months, I believe. Also, we always get free tastings. Nothing's better than a free buzz :)
3 words: BEST MOSCATO EVER. I frequent Napa a few times a year, and must say this has got to be one of my favorite wineries. I tried their Moscato a year ago, and have fallen increasingly in love since then. I've always received their bottles as gifts, but finally made a trip to St. Supery last weekend myself to take the tour and try their other wines. The guy who helped us provided great service and let us try many off-the menu limited edition wines. Among them were the Elu, Moscato, Cab, Virtu, Rose, Oak-Free Chardonnay, and Rutherford Merlot (surprisingly good for a red). We each came home with a bottle of Moscato... and now I wish I bought about 10 more bottles.
The only thing holding me back from subscribing to their Moscato-only wine club membership (which is free to join! and cancel, but why would you ever do that?) is the fact that I live in a dirty, old Berkeley apartment whose tenants might very well steal my beloved bottles of Moscato.
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for our last stop in our wine tasting adventure, we went St. Supery.
it was different from the others in the sense that it was a lot less "wine country" like, and had more of a restaurant type feel. it was super crowded, but we stuck around just to taste their dessert wine, moscato.
many wineries have their own version of the moscato, also called, muscat in some places, but st. supery's was by far the best. it had a sweet fragrance of lychee, that made me salivate just by smelling it. a mixture of peaches, lychee, and tangerine make up the sweet, yet tart taste of the muscato wine. delicious. it's worth the trip and the wait.
we tasted 4 different wines for $15. their tasting portions were generous so we just shared glasses among 4 girls which was plenty.
they also have a selection of books on wine and cooking, and they sell riedel glasses in the corner. artsy and classy. i liked it.
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oenology = is the science and study of all aspects of wine and wine making from harvesting to bottling. St. Supery just might make an oenologist out of you!
The main building looks a bit corporate but hiding inside is a functional and welcoming winery that encourages first-time tasters (ahem, me!) to learn more about oenology.
Our group ended up here principally out of a lack of planning. We decided day-of to go to Napa and had made no tour reservations. A woman at the Napa Welcome Center recommended this place for its free, self-guided tour. On that tour, we got to peek into the fermentation and barrel rooms, an 1880s restored Victorian, and a "sample" vineyard. My fave was the SmellaVision: a contraption made of tubes and levers that allow you a whiff of various aromatics commonly found in their wines. It was like being at the Exploratorium but with booze.
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This place left a bad taste in my mouth!
We bought the up-sale to the reserve tasting menu and room upstairs. Big mistake.
We would have been better off downstairs.
We paid at the counter, and were told we could take a seat while someone came around. I believe his name was Joe, and we were warned he was a character.
I wouldn't know because he ignored us the whole time. We paid extra to be ignored. Fabulous.
Finally after he skipped our group numerous times we moved up to the counter.
Its a self guided tour though an educational, fun area upstairs. Lots of work by local artists. Cool maps of the world with wine production and labels. 2 diff tasting, up and downstairs. We went to the basic downstairs- $15 each. they have 8 types to try and you can pick which one you like. Since there were 2 of us, we went for all 8, and shared tasting. the muscato was light, and not sugary like most moscotos. If I could bring it home, I would have bought a case!
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Great whites here... mainly their legendary Sauvignon Blanc. If I only drink one white the rest of my life, that is pretty much it. Still gorgeous after all these years.... A bottle of St Supery Sauvignon Blanc (a '97 no less) was the first bottle of non-dessert wine I ever bought.
Used to be this place was just a quaint white house with a huge and gorgeous grass lawn outside. You walk in, pay $5 for a tasting, and they give you a lifetime tasting pass. I still have mine from '98...hahaha. I don't think they really give them away anymore....Now they have this kinda olive green office complex looking building that looks kinda ugly behind the quaint white house. And half the lawn has been compromised for some concrete picnic area. Man.... too bad. It was so nice to sit on the lawn before. So they lose a star for that.
The white wine, and Pam, pouring our wine, were so awesome though, that they still get 4 stars. As we started talking to her, she ended up pouring almost the whole wine list, including the club member/reserve list for us. It was $10 for the "normal" tasting, and $20 for the "club member/reserved" tasting. The cabs were quite nice, though also quite pricey at $75 a bottle. I ended up joining their wine club, just for their whites (their sauv blanc really), so all of my friends' tastings were also comped. Nice to have a little not-too-touristy winery still in Napa... god just coming back to Napa this time, I realize why I always go to Sonoma now.
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This has been one of my favorite Napa Valley wineries since I first discovered it. It's next door to Peju (another favorite) and just a hop down the road from Robert Mondavi (yet another fave!) --- all three off which I consider to be the three points of what I refer to as *the golden triangle* making it easy to hop skip and jump... and stumble... giggling and laughing from one place to the next.
The servers in here are very generous and very cool; they like to set the tone up to a fun level. We ended up doing a full tasting of red wines with a full tasting of whites thrown in free of charge...how cool is that?!?!
And whilst all this complimentary wine tasting, our server was more than happy to share with us tastings of the same wine from two different years, making this last visit a true wine tasting experience.
I recommend stopping by here at the end of the day, while most other wineries close at 4 pm, they are open until 5 pm.
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Nice wines! We enjoyed premium tasting, a $15 cost for tasting 5 premium wines; the tasting was upstairs, where they have an art gallery with works of local artists. The regular wines in the tasting list include Elu from 2004. But the kind gentleman who served us at the counter let us try also the limited availability Elu from 2000 and 2001! Wow. All Elu wines tasted outstanding, but also, very different! Our favorite was definitely the 2000 (with hints of blackcurrent & walnut).
By the way, a 'regular' tasting is available downstairs, for $10 per person.
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I love this winery mostly because they produce my very favorite Sav Blanc on the market, has hints of ruby red grapefruit. It just tastes so FRESH!
Also, while I used to be a member and finances required me to drop it, they are accommodating to their members' needs re: different delivery schedules. You aren't just stuck with an every month delivery. Also, although we are no longer members, they keep us in the loop and do seem to provide membership benefits anyway at times. They have called to let us know about current offers for their wines and since we love the stuff, we don't mind.
My honey says that when he brought a friend up to St. Supery and told one of the guys pouring that he USED to be a member. Instead of charging them the non-member tasting price, they were given tastings for free! Fabulous customer service!
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