Charter Oak Winery — Attraction in St. Helena

Our recent tour of Charter Oak by the owners and winemaker, Layla and Rob Fanucci, was the high point of our stay in Napa. We had visited several wineries on this trip and past trips to Napa, but this winery stands out for a lot of reasons.

It's a family-run boutique winery with personal touches that we never found at the big wineries.

The wines are incredible and I don't say that lightly. (Not a surprise they have won numerous awards.)

From the minute you arrive, you feel like you're an honored guest in someone's home. Owner Layla (world-famous artist and a musician) gave the tour and tasting. Rob joined us for part of the time.

Part of the winery (the original historical home) is Layla's art gallery. (Worth a five star review itself. My husband and son had to be dragged out of there.)

Also on the property: the large tasting room, the underground wine cellar, the vineyards, winemaking equipment Rob inherited from his grandfather, the large chicken house (fresh eggs for the guests who stay overnight), and a few lovely new cottages where guests and wine club members stay. Everything has a story and the property is charming.

The Fanuccis live onsite and this is where they create their wine and art, as you get to see throughout the tour. They are the most hospitable and welcoming couple, sharing stories about how Rob learned wine making from his Italian grandfather and how Layla was a music teacher who picked up a paintbrush in her forties and started to paint. The story of how they turned their artistic passions into a full-time business (along with the wine tasting!) was worth the entire trip. It was hard to leave and we can't...

I was first introduced to the family of Charter Oak Wines at an event in Sea Island, GA at the beautiful Cloister Resort. It was there and then I had to meet the vintners of an outrageously delicious and balanced 2014 Zinfandel that remains my favorite bottle today. My family and I first met the winemakers, Rob and David Fanucci during their harvesting two years ago. From the moment we arrived, they were welcoming and invited us to help with the process and thus a relationship began. What you learn immediately is this tiny boutique in St Helena is a generational run vineyard that produces world-class award winning wines the same way Rob's grandfather intended, silken, elegant and balanced. Everything about Rob and Layla is about passion and that is evident not only in their wines yet too, in Layla's magnificent art that is always on display.

Also, try and stay on the property. They have two beautifully appointed cottages that make for the perfect base station when visiting wine country. We won't stay anywhere else now.

Thank you Layla, Rob and David for sharing with us. Hope...

This is an incredibly picturesque and charming boutique winery. It is the only winery in the entire Napa Valley which makes its wine by hand. Roberto Fanucci, the owner, learned winemaking from his grandfather, Guido, who came from Italy and settled in the Napa Valley. Rob and his wife, Layla, live in Guido's house, surrounded by their beautiful vineyards and fruit trees. Rob helped make wine the old fashioned way from the time he was a boy, and the grapes are beaten with ancient wooden paddles rather than put through machinery. Nothing is added in its fermentation. This wine is incredible! It has won awards in multiple blind tastings throughout the Valley and is sold out within months. As if this were not enough, there is an exquisite art gallery on the premise. Layla, Rob's wife, is a world acclaimed artist who has shown in galleries such as the Louvre and the Walter Wikheiser Gallery in New York City. You can stroll through her gallery after wine tasting and fall in love with her outstanding paintings. This unique winery is not...