Merryvale Winery

The first winery built in the Napa Valley following the repeal of Prohibition is the site of Merryvale Winery, established in 1983. Located in the heart of Napa Valley, just off the highway along the old railroad tracks, Merryvale is close to restaurants and shopping.

There is an atmosphere of grace and charm as you enter the vine-covered building past the lawn and grand fountain out front. Inside, the large heavy wooden ceiling beams and rustic décor create an old-world ambiance just right for tasting wine. As you enter on the right, be sure to peek inside their unrivaled Cask Room, where tastings and private events take place. This elegant room exudes a magical ambiance, with century-old 2,000-gallon casks lining the stone walls. There are two old 22,000-gallon casks that stand just inside the doorway, with one having been made into a private room seating up to ten people.

To fully enjoy the experience here, sign up in advance for one of their weekend wine seminars that are hosted in the Cask Room. Their “Wine Component Tasting” focuses on the essential elements in wine — sugar, alcohol, acid and tannins — as you learn how to distinguish the parts of the whole. The winery also offers a food-and-wine-pairing seminar as well as a barrel-tasting program.

The main tasting room has an ample three-sided tasting bar and a fully stocked gift shop featuring pewter items, wine accessories, wine art and logo clothing. Merryvale produces 75 wines under several labels and has three tasting levels from which to choose. The winery’s focus is on “crafting elegant, complex wines in the finest European style, yet reflecting the exuberant fruit from the Napa Valley and Sonoma appellations.” Merryvale’s white wines are whole-cluster-pressed to yield the clearest juice, then fermented with native yeasts in French oak barrels. The reds are made using traditional European methods and also aged in French oak barrels; they are then bottled unfiltered, which contributes to the rich, round flavors and supple textures.

The winery has a number of wine categories and produces a wide assortment of Chardonnay, Semillon, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Zinfandel and dessert wines.