Hestan Vineyards — Attraction in Yountville

Hestan has a small tasting room in downtown Yountville. It's sleek and modern and is filled with beautiful cookware for sale. Appointments aren't necessary, but you may want to call ahead just in case. We spoke with a friendly gentleman and he said to come on by, so we did.

We were seated on a big, fluffy couch for our tasting. Our host was gracious and professional without being pushy or too "in your face." He came over, told us about the wine, poured our tastings, and retreated to the bar. I like this approach because it gives us time to savor and evaluate the wines on offer, and we can honestly discuss them without someone breathing down our necks.

After we got to wine #2, we had decided to join the wine club without any mention or pressure from our host (that was an easy sell for him that day)! The wines here are across the board delicious, from the lightest of the whites to the boldest of the big reds. What really surprised us is the quality to value ratio. The wines are fantastic, yet the prices are down to Earth and not astronomical. Now these wines aren't quite reaching the A+ heights of some of Napa's superstar cabs, but they are leaps and bounds better than their $50 - $100 price range would suggest.

Four months later, we were back in the Napa Valley with two guests and wanted to treat them to a complimentary tasting at Hestan (wine club members get 4 free tastings when they visit). My husband called to make an appointment for the four of us in June, and the woman confirmed on the phone. All was well -- or so we thought.

When we showed up about 5 minutes early for our tasting appointment, the guy behind the bar (he's the same one who hosted us on our first visit months earlier), said that there's no way we could have an appointment because the winery was closing early for a special event. My husband said no, we had a confirmed appointment but the guy just kept trying to pass the blame to anyone but the winery. First, it was that my husband must be mistaken and he had the wrong date and time (he did NOT as it was confirmed twice). After a unpleasant back and forth, the guy finally said that the lady who took our reservation was new and didn't know that they were closing.

I wasn't very happy because we had two guests with us and it was totally embarrassing to be turned away when we had talked up Hestan, their wines and their tasting experience. I'm not the type of person who likes to yell or cause a scene, so I voiced my displeasure in the nicest way possible and we started to walk out. As we approached our car, a really nice employee came running out to see what was wrong. Her name was Joy.

I told Joy what happened and I said that I was really upset and disappointed and that we would be dropping out of the wine club because that's not the type of treatment we'd expect from Hestan. Before I could even get those words fully out, Joy insisted that we come back inside for a tasting that she would personally host. She said that wine club members are always to be treated like VIPs. I felt kind of bad about all of this because I'm a friendly person who hates confrontation, and the dude behind the bar was just staring at us when we came back in. But Joy was an absolute delight.

She didn't rush us and she was very apologetic and friendly. I know that's her job to be like that, but it felt genuine and she was upset at what had happened. We enjoyed a nice tasting and purchased half a case to bring home with us. At the end of our tasting, Joy surprised us in the most excellent display of customer service I have ever seen: she brought out beautifully gift wrapped bottles of wine: one for my husband and me and one each for each of our guests! Not only that, Joy had listened and gifted everyone their favorite bottle from the tasting! I was blown away at that act of kindness and personalized attention!

Needless to say, Joy single-handedly saved Hestan's relationship with us and we are still happy wine club members. If you want excellent customer service and delicious wines,...

This tasting room is right in the middle of Yountville. If you're grabbing a bite in one of the many great restos in the area and want to get some great wine tasting in, Hestan has you covered.

Hestan Ambiance: One big open tasting area provides a spacious and comfortable feel. The high quality cookware and restaurant kitchen ware from the Cheng family is in full display when you enter. White walls, tall ceilings and plenty of natural light makes for a very comfortable tasting experience. There's an overall clean and contemporary look.

Hestan tasting experience: Rick was our guide and got us up to speed on the Cheng family history and the Hestan Vineyards. He was very friendly, knowledgeable and the tasting was educational as well as entertaining. The same high quality expectations in the the cookware and kitchenware was evident in their wines as well.

Everything we sampled was a treat, but it was the 2014 Stephanie Napa Valley Malbec that really caught my fancy. That was my souvenir back to Vegas. =) A great wine tasting experience awaits you in the heart of Yountville at...

We had a lovely mid-December wine tasting experience at Hestan! We were guided in the tasting by Paul, who was so kind, personable, knowledgeable and hospitable! We really enjoyed hearing about the various wines and about Hestan in general. The tasting room is just beautiful and a lovely space to relax and enjoy the tasting. I am also a Hestan cookware fan, so it was like being a kid in a candy shop with all their cookware so beautifully displayed around the room. Paul was also well-versed in the cookware and was able to provide great information about their incredible products. We purchased wines and cookware during our visit - such a perfect combination! Highly recommend the experience and we looking forward...