Tasting in the Napa Valley Eight Wineries from Calistoga to Los Carneros Where better to start our series of articles on the tasting room experience than with the region visited by more than 6 million wine tourists each year; the Napa Valley.  Based on the sheer number of wineries and the unbelievable difference in tasting adventures to be found there, choosing where to start can be quite confusing. We chose eight wineries based on their variation in size, style, location, ownership type and reputation in order to give a broad range of what the customer can expect.

We started in the northern end of the Valley and working our way south over a two day period. It was great fun and the environments were extremely different, as was the level of service.  We have had many people complain to us about their experiences in Napa, but we were pleasantly surprised for the most part. Come along with us as we start at our first choice, Frank Family Vineyards between Calistoga and St. Helena.

Frank Family:
Frank Family winery started life in 1884 as the Larkmead Winery and can be found on the National Register of Historical Places.  The building has a beautiful sandstone exterior and 10 inch thick walls and was previously the home of Kornell Sparkling Wines.  It was purchased in 1993 by an original partnership of past Disney Studio President Rich Frank and his wife Connie with Rombauer Vineyards owner, Koerner Rombauer.  Recently the Franks purchased the Rombauer portion of the winery and now own it exclusively.  The winery has continued to produce great sparkling wines which are hard to find for sale anywhere but the winery. Continued...