Barnett Vineyards — Attraction in Napa Valley AVA

The view was great, but the experience was disappointing. We were really excited to come to Barnett as a highlight of our trip to Napa. We are both huge fans of Barnett Cabernet, and were really excited to drive up and try it! We have had their regular cab, but have both always wanted to try the Rattlesnake Cabernet. To be honest, that was the biggest thing we were looking forward to doing other than seeing the view. My girlfriend (now fiancé) had planned this tasting as an early birthday present to me, not knowing that I was planning to propose to her the day before on our trip. I only include this because I had reached out to the winery in advance to let them know we would be celebrating our engagement, and that we would love to try the rattlesnake if it was available (I understand that it is limited production and can run out - I kept my fingers crossed that they would have some!)

When we arrived as the first group of the day, we were led to our tasting area - a cute area shaded by the old winery building. Our host was very nice and personable - when she asked what our tastes in wine were, we mentioned the rattlesnake and the cab franc (another wine on their list that is limited) she said she would see if we could taste them. After tasting through the other wines, she told us that there was no rattlesnake or cab franc available to try. We understood and enjoyed comparing the 2016 and 2021 cabs she had poured for us. They were both very good! After that, we went on a small tour of the facilities. This is when we were disappointed. We asked our host if she could get some pictures of us with the beautiful view, and she mentioned there was one overlook that was specifically the best for pictures. A larger group had arrived after us and was seated at some beautiful tables at this specific overlook outside of the cave entrance enjoying their tasting with another host. It felt awkward interrupting them to get pictures, but was not an issue for us until we realized that their host was pouring them Rattlesnake Cabernet out of a Coravin for their tasting. Their host was also more experienced and was able to talk to some of the wines (ports) that our host wasn't as informed of. (I'm not faulting our host on this, as she was newer and had mentioned the ports that were made were only done once or twice - a niche question for sure). Continuing the tour into the wine cave, she showed us an entire pallet of the Rattlesnake Cabernet that was being packed. Again, just frustrating that there are pallets of the wine and other groups were allowed to try it, but we were not even though we had mentioned it multiple times.

The rest of the tour was nice, and we ended up taking a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc home. I want to stress that out host was nice and the wine was good, we just felt underwhelmed by the experience for the price that we paid. Honestly, we were extremely disappointed that we were not able to try the flagship Rattlesnake Cabernet when we had looked forward to and had asked in advance, especially when other groups were allowed to try it. Before our appointment, I was actually telling my fiancé how I was wanting to get a bottle to commemorate our engagement. I guess I could have asked again after seeing the other group get to try it and all of it in the cave, but the whole experience left a bad taste in our mouth since we had asked in advance and again with our host earlier. I did not want to keep asking for something that they did not seem to want to do.

This was the most expensive tasting experience we did on our trip to Napa at $100/pp, and I have to say the views from Paloma right down the road on Spring Mountain were just as good for 1/3 the price. We left feeling disappointed and wishing we would have just gotten a bottle of rattlesnake from Total Wine - we could have bought a bottle for the same price as we paid for our two tastings and actually gotten to try the one wine we were looking most forward to, especially on our...

Save your money and time!

Hmmmm … where to start… First time in Napa Valley, did a lot of research to find a couple of vineyard to visit. This be had alot of positive reviews so despite being $100 per person, double/triple the price for other vineyards, we booked a reservation. Boy we’re we in for a surprise. The drive wasn’t the best or safest drive. But when we approached their gated vineyard, we were expected to be blown away for beautiful scenery and experience. Sadly it was just the opposite of that. As we pulled up, what appeared was a pretty small place. The view was pretty nice as it was on top of the mountain. So, we disregarded the false impression on their website. The worst came after. Our host was so rude! Didn’t catch his name, most likely he didn’t tell us. The whole time he was not attentive what so ever. Going in and out of the room we were seated to pour a small amount of wine and walked away. He barely communicated with us. No history of the vineyard, wine, zip - nadda. We tried asking him question only being met with short answers. Almost like we were bothering him. Complained about some stuff happening there like why the dog was there. Something wasn’t going right with either a coworker or something. The whole time he looked as though he was so bothered we were there to make him work. Very unprofessional. Of course we’re on vacation so we’re taking photos for memories, one of our party member was on her phone and he said, rudely “are you just going to be on your phone” which we didn’t realize we couldn’t do. Towards the end we decided to purchase a bottle, paying with cash. He couldn’t figure out how to ring us or whatever, as it was not communicated so he just said “I got it, I guess.” So let’s make it clear that it was NOT intended to be “complementary”. He poured the last bottle and walked away. While walking away he said something along the line of “well, guess that’s it” but the music was blasted and he said it as he was already walking away. So who knows what he actually said. Pretty much this experience left us very uncomfortable and very dumbfounded by the professionalism of this business. I emailed them with no response. So I will be posting this review in all places. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS VINEYARD. SAVE YOUR MONEY. WORST EXPERIENCE...

My fiancé and I came with our friends for a tasting over Labor Day weekend and the experience was phenomenal and exceeded any expectations we walked in with.

First off, the views of the vineyard from our tasting table were stunning. It’s not everyday you get vineyard views like this. Secondly, our server (shoutout Garett) was incredibly attentive and knowledgeable about the wines and grapes. We thoroughly enjoyed his presence throughout our tasting. Thirdly, the wines were fantastic. My personal favorite was the Merlot and my partner loved the Sauvignon Blanc. We left with a few bottles in tow.

Highly recommend checking this place out for a tasting – thanks team for an...