1. Domaine Chandon
City: Yountville, CA
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (707) 944-2280, (800) 736-2892
Address: 1 California Drive
Description: Domaine Chandon, child of world-renowned Moët-Hennessy, is a trendsetter. It was California’s first French-owned winery (established in 1973), and the first to use the champagne varietal Pinot Eunier in sparkling wine. It welcomes visitors to Le Salon, an open, terraced, cafe-style tasting room where you get samples of cuvées as well as complimentary hors d’oeuvres. On weekends Chandon’s renowned tours run every hour (on the hour, except for opening and closing times), and they pretty much tell you everything you need to know about fermentation, aging, riddling, and disgorging. The scenic winery produces several types of sparkling wine plus brandy and pear liqueur. See the Restaurants chapter for information on Chandon’s exclusive eatery, Étoile.
City: Yountville, CA
Category: Nightlife
Address: 1119 State Lane
3. Cosentino Winery
City: Yountville, CA
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (707) 944-1220
Address: 7415 St. Helena Highway S.
Description: Mitch Cosentino crafts a variety of wines and sells them in an affable, low-key setting next door to Mustards Grill (see the Restaurants chapter). Cosentino’s Meritage reds (“The Poet”) stand out, as do his Zinfandels. He also is no stranger to dessert wines. The winemaker prides himself on his “punched cap fermentation” process, a traditional, labor-intensive technique that involves continually dunking the floating grape skins (the cap) into the juice during fermentation.
4. V Wine Cellar
City: Yountville, CA
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (707) 531-7053, (800) WINE-4-U
Address: 6525 Washington Street
Description: Inside the V Marketplace is this large store devoted to wines from around the world, not only Napa Valley—as many as 3,000 are available. On the shelves you might find everything from $5 bottles to an imperial of Mondavi 1978 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon that goes for $1,000. At the tasting bar, daily “flights” are offered from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Cigars are sold here as well.