Many visitors on our Napa Valley winery tours don’t understand that our region is split into different American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) – so while your Napa Valley Cabernet was definitely grown here, the grapes might have come from the Rutherford, Spring Mountain, or Carneros districts, among many other excellent Napa Valley winery areas!
One you can’t miss on your Napa Valley winery tour is the Oak Knoll District. The area has been under vine since 1851, when the Gold Rush attracted settlers to the region. And while these vines thrived, the early 1900s were tough on the wine industry, bringing Prohibition, economic recession, and war. By the 1960s, there was little trace of vineyard left in the Oak Knoll District–once a thriving part of America’s wine country. But in 1976, when California wine beat out a French competitor for top honors in Paris, some of those American grapes were grown right here in the Oak Knoll District! Now, about half of the area’s acreage is used for cultivating fruit – more than 4,000 acres!
Join Beau Wine Tours today on a virtual visit to some of our favorite Oak Knoll District destinations, perfect for your Napa Valley winery tour!
Robert Biale Vineyards
4038 Big Ranch Road
Napa, California 94558
(707) 257-7555
Like much of the Oak Knoll District, Robert Biale Vineyards has a connection to the area’s early success. Fourteen-year-old Aldo Biale founded the winery as a bootleg Zinfandel operation during Prohibition, using the code word “black chicken” to signify a jug of Zin. The name stuck, and today, the winery’s flagship wine is the Black Chicken Zinfandel, though you can taste other bottlings from their lauded portfolio, including more Zinfandels, Petite Sirah’s, and red blends, as well as a Rosé. A number of tasting and tour experiences are available to your Napa Valley winery tour, like the seated tasting at Aldo’s house, or the Founders Tour, which includes tasting wine from a barrel!
Monticello Vineyards and Corley Family Wines
4242 Big Ranch Road
Napa, California 94558
(707) 253-2802
Jay Corley planted his first 80-acre vineyard in the Oak Knoll District in 1971, and today, his family still owns and manages his namesake winery – just with a few more acres under vine! Now with three separate labels – the single-vineyard CORLEY wines, the Monticello Vineyards bottlings, and the sparkling Montreaux Brut – Monticello Vineyards offers a huge variety to visitors on Napa Valley winery tours, in the gorgeous setting of the estate’s own Jefferson House gardens. Choose from a number of tastings, like the Vintner for a Day experience. Or join a member of the Corley family on a walk through the vineyards and the crush pad, before a seated tasting!
Trefethen Family Vineyards
1160 Oak Knoll Avenue
Napa, California 94558
(866) 895-7696
Another must-see for your Napa Valley winery tour is the historic, family-owned Trefethen Family Vineyards. A variety of tasting experiences are available, including a tour of their wooden winery designed and built in 1886 by Hamden McIntyre, who also designed Napa Valley landmarks Greystone (home to the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena), Far Niente, and Inglenook. The McIntyre Building, as it is now known, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988, and just reopened after an extensive renovation! Sip Cabernets and other varietals, including the flagship wine, HaLo, named for the latest generation of the Trefethen family, Hailey and Loren. Made only from their finest Cabernet Sauvignon grown on the Hillspring Vineyard, it’s a pleasure to see, and taste, their credo in action: “One Family, One Estate, One Passion.”
Beau Wine Tours wants to tailor your wine tasting experience to your palate while showcasing the finest wines in Napa Valley. Let us plan your tour around the beautiful Oak Knoll District!
Let Beau Wine Tours tailor your tasting experience to your palate while showcasing the finest wines in Napa Valley. Contact our reservations team here and let us help you. Discover many, many more Napa Valley wineries here.
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