Carter Cellars — Attraction in Calistoga

This was our first winery visit of our 4 day Napa trip. Getting to this place was very easy, just 50 minutes from Downtown Napa towards Calistoga, around 30 minutes from St Helena. There were lots of parking spaces available and the property was very simple, small and PRETTY.

We were hosted by Barbie, she was super personable and friendly. We learned about the Carter Family, their wines, their mission, and approach to the winemaking. We started off with a little white wine that I barely remember (that happened a month ago) because all reds were impressive!

The first red was a Merlot, very rich, decent body and finish. Then we moved to all the big boys which are the single vineyard Cabernets. These babies were crawling (unfortunately) since all were current releases 2016, but I can see where they are going and by 2020 and beyond they will be monsters. We all loved the Three Kings Beckstoffer to Kalon 2016.

Side note: This winery is very exclusive, you can only get in by appointment if you are recommended by someone or if you are a member. They operate simultaneously with a winery called Envy Wines which is a lower level of wine, kind of a second label in which everybody can enjoy tastings without appointment. I didn’t try it, but I will assume those Envy Wines are...

We did a tasting with Barbie and we couldn't have had more fun! She was funny, enthusiastic, knowledgeable and passionate about the wines. We were able to try plenty of wines and loved each one of them. We bought four bottles to take with us. By the end, it seemed we were all old friends! Wish we could have tried the sold out O.G. and La Verdad, but I suppose we will just have to go back next year. Would rate 6 stars if I could. Thanks Barbie, and thanks Carter Cellars for a great time...

Carter is my absolute favorite winery. If you want to try the best Cabernet that California has to offer, this is a must visit. Beckstoffer and...