Pine Ridge Vineyards
5901 Silverado Trail, Napa, CA 94558
Website: https://www.pineridgevineyards.com/
Pine Ridge Vineyards sits off the Silverado Trail in the Stags Leap District. The name of the winery comes from its location because the estate is tucked beneath a ridge of pines. The winery is celebrating 40 years, having got its start in 1978 when Gary and Nancy Andrus purchased the original 50 acres. Today the winery is owned by Crimson Wine Group. The primary focus of the winery is Cabernet Sauvignon of course. The Stags Leap AVA led California to be recognized as a premium growing area when the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon won first place at the 1976 Judgment of Paris. The estate has tripled in size over the years and now consists of 160 acres that expands to Howell Mountain, Oakville, Rutherford, and Carneros. Although the flagship wines are Cabernet Sauvignon, the winery produces a broad range of other varietals. The wines are categorized into two collections. The Appellation collection is made up of Cabernet Sauvignon from each estate (Stags Leap, Howell Mountain, Oakville, and Rutherford) as well as a Napa Valley Cabernet that blends grapes from the different Napa Valley AVAs, and a Carneros Chardonnay. The winery exclusive wines consist of single varietals that include Petit Verdot, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc, Rosé, Sauvignon Blanc, plus a Bordeaux blend. Their most acclaimed wine of all is the FORTIS Cabernet Sauvignon.
Pine Ridge’s Demonstration Vineyard
Pine Ridge is situated in a pretty setting nestled within a bowl surrounded by hills of vines beneath the ridge of pines. One of the cool things about visiting the winery, besides the nice views, is that they have a public, self- guided demonstration vineyard where guests can get up close to the vines. If you prefer a guided tour to see more of the property, there are elevated tour and tasting options that include tastings in the caves with cheese or food pairings. These tours require prior reservations. The tours seemed to be popular while we were there as we saw a couple different groups come through. My husband and I were happy enough with the daily estate tasting that includes 5 wines and no reservation required.
Pine Ridge Tasting Room
The tasting room is modern and cozy with warm earth tones and a window that looks out at the hills. There is a long tasting bar that can accommodate many people. Although there were several people already at the tasting bar when we arrived, we were still able to get our own corner and felt like our host did a nice job personalizing our tasting. We tasted each of the appellation Cabernet Sauvignons and I felt they were all superb, each one having different characteristics. We splurged a little extra to sample the FORTIS. Our host was gracious enough to give us a poor of the Epitome wine as well. Both of them are beautiful wines. We finished up with a taste of the port, another fabulous wine. In fact, we liked it so much we took a bottle home. If you like the wines enough to join the wine club you get special privileges like being able to bring guests to picnic in the estate gardens and discounts on the elevated tours and tastings.
My husband and I had a nice time at this winery. We got to sample quite a few wines and left with a few bottles. It was definitely worth splurging a little for the FORTIS tasting in my opinion, especially if you are like us and find the price tag for a full bottle out of your range. I would return and maybe do an elevated tasting the next time.