Elizabeth Spencer Winery — Attraction in Napa Valley AVA

On our recent trip to Napa my wife and I visited this winery because they were known for having good Riesling’s and because we had purchased a PriorityWinePass which should have given us a 2 for 1 wine tasting. When we walked in the host greeted us nicely and asked what brought us to the winery. I explained as above and he said “our Riesling is great but we are known for others as well”. I asked about the PriorityWinePass which he said they didn’t accept. I was ok with this as I really don’t like whites and we specifically chose this winery on our trip because my wife likes whites. Our waitress introduced herself and was nice the whole time. She showed my wife the tasting menu which consisted of a Rose that we were given when we arrived, a Chardonnay, a Merlot and a Cab. My wife was disappointed and told the waitress she really wanted to taste the Riesling. The waitress informed us that was not available for tasting or by the glass, only by the bottle. She recommended their Sauvignon Blanc as a close option for the Riesling. My wife ordered a glass to try of the recommendation and I ordered a glass of Rose. The waitress also offered us water and breadsticks which we appreciated. She came back later and presented a bill of $43. We paid the bill and left to Charles Krug. It was only after I purchased several bottles at this stop for less than $20/bottle I realized I just paid $21.50 per glass for 2 glasses of wine. What a ripoff!! Not to mention this winery lists itself as a great maker of Riesling yet doesn’t off a potential customer a tasting? Waste of time and money. Much better options to...

Was suggested this winery by the good folks over at Posiedon. I called and spoke to Tracy who spent quite a bit of time with me on the phone. I told her that we were interested in sweet whites and reds that are on the softer and more fruit forward side. She said that they didn't have any sweet wines but that she thought there would be something we would like. As we were coming on Super Bowl Sunday and there was only 2 of us it probably wouldn't be necessary to make an appointment but I did anyway. We arrived a little early and there were only a couple of other parties in the tasting room. We were greeted promptly, sat at a table and soon Tracy came over and started our journey.

We tried 5 or 6 wines and unfortunately didn't really find anything to our liking. But Tracy was very friendly and knowledgable. She even suggested a few other wineries that she thought might suit our palates better.

The folks at Elizabeth Spencer were great. The wines just...

Absolutely amazing wines!

We came in on a quiet, rainy Monday afternoon at the recommendation of several friends who work in the wine industry. We were given a brief tour of the gardens on the way to their new tasting room, seated next to a warm fire, and were poured a glass of some of the most delicious rosé that I have ever had.

Since there were two of us, we did one Charter Tasting and one Cellar Tasting so we could sample the broadest range of what they had to offer. I'm very glad we did because each wine we tasted was exquisite. Both their white wines and red wines were equally outstanding. My favorite red wine was the 2014 Calistoga Cabernet Sauvignon.

I am so glad that I found this winery. I look forward to coming up to Rutherford every two months to pick up my wine club shipment and taste some more...