So, you’re looking for a wine cave experience in Napa Valley? I’ve visited my fair share of wine caves in Napa and have finally rounded up the best ones. Wine caves are practical, as they act as a naturally cool environment to store, age and make wine, but also look pretty dang coo and make for a great wine tasting experience. Keep reading to see the best wine caves in the Napa Valley.
Best Wine Caves in Napa
Pine Ridge
Set in the Stags Leap District off of the Silverado Trail, Pine Ridge is a gem of a winery – and you would never suspect they have a massive wine cave attached to their tasting room! The cave is around 32,000 square feet and holds over 3,000 barrels. In the very back of the cave they have a secret tasting room with an exposed cave wall and plush couches – basically the ideal place to be sipping on your wine. (pictured above!)
Pride Mountain Vineyards
Pride is one of my absolutely favorite stops – it encompasses everything you could ask for. Great wine, top of the line hospitality, delicious wine and one epic wine cave. The entire tasting experience leads you through the 23,000 square foot cave, giving you the opportunity to do some barrel tasting, and leads you out to the most stunning vineyard view at the end.
Quintessa
Quintessa has one of the most gorgeous caves in the valley, and rightfully so, they needed something to equally match the beauty of their wine and the rest of their property. You could get lost in their 17,000 square feet on wine caves – honestly my dream. 😉 However, my favorite part is wine tasting in their glass tasting rooms set into the natural wooded land on the back of the property facing a vineyard view.
Caves at Soda Canyon
Tucked back off Soda Canyon Road, the Caves at Soda Canyon is one of Napa’s best kept secrets. They work like a collective and have several different high end wine producers pouring their wines there. The view from the back doors of their 20,000 square foot cave is epic, and they recently started hosting tastings there!
Schramsberg
Home to the oldest hand dug hill-side caves in Napa. This wine cave is the real deal – it was hand picked by Chinese laborers back in 1870 (some of the pick marks can still be seen), and added on a second set of tunnels 10 years later. Can you even imagine? This is one of the coolest caves I’ve been in and love the unfinished inside, with moss growing on the roof and all. Oh! And you can’t forget the walls of this 34,000 square feet cave being lined with thousands of sparkling wine bottles. Can I move in?
Inglenook
Talk about iconic! Inglenook has so much history behind it, with its first harvest being in 1882.. Did you know that Inglenook was one of the first gravity flow wineries of its kind in the Napa Valley? Their caves span 16,000 square feet and house hundreds of barrels of the ever delicious Rubicon Cabernet.
Failla
One of my favorite intimate wine cave tastings is at Failla Wines. It’s a smaller, cozy cave at 12,000 square feet, but is used for winemaking, storing, aging and hosting tastings. Love Pinot Noir and Chardonnay? This is your place!
Newton
One of the coolest wine caves I’ve ever been in. This one is three vertical levels and five avenues and is deep underground up in the hills of the Spring Mountain AVA. To get down to the very bottom, I walked down an original metal spiral staircase, which I’ve never seen before in Napa. Truly a work of art! They’re still rebuilding from the fires but highly suggest adding to the list for a future visit!
Davis Estates
Davis has a very fancy 11,000 square foot wine cave set below it’s winery. It’s immaculate and tech forward, as the VIP room opens by scanning your palm. Looking for a boujee wine cave to check out? This is it. P.S. Davis has one of my favorite Cab Francs!
Joseph Cellars
Right before Calistogra lies a cute little stop, Joseph Cellars. You’d never know it from the road, but they have a 12,000 square foot wine cave built into the hills backing up to their winery. Some of their tasting experiences are hosted at the back of their cave, and it really adds to the full wine country experience. Highly suggest!
Jarvis Estate
Have you ever seen a natural creek run through a wine cave? Me neither, until I visited Jarvis. There’s so much going on in this huge 45,000 square foot wine cave built into the side of the Vaca Mountains. It’s expansive and includes a working winery, different event rooms, a waterfall and a tasting room. Incredible caves and incredible wine!
Honorary Mentions: Palmaz – I’ve never been, so I can’t speak to it. But supposedly is the largest wine cave in the Napa Valley at 110,000 square feet! Far Niente, Porter Family Vineyards and Fantesca are all supposed to be equally as impressive. I’ll have to go and report back!
I hope you found this blog on the best wine caves in Napa Valley helpful for the next time you are planning a wine tasting trip to Napa. Let me know if I missed any of your favorites!
