Louis M. Martini Winery
254 St. Helena Highway, St. Helena, CA 94574
Website: http://www.louismartini.com/
Louis M. Martini Piazza behind he tasting room
The tasting room of Louis M. Martini is located just south of downtown St. Helena off Highway 29, across the street from Sutter Home. It is a small tasting room in comparison to many of the other wineries in Napa Valley, but don’t let its size fool you! This combined tasting room and gift shop can get busy as visitors stop in to sample the variety of Cabernet Sauvignons that the winery is well-known for. When the weather is nice, guests can opt to relax on the outdoor piazza shaded by a large vine-covered wall and bring their own picnic.
The Martini family has been specializing in making award winning Cabernet Sauvignon from vineyards in Napa and Sonoma counties for over 75 years. Louis M. Martini started by making sacramental wine in 1922 during the Prohibition years. He produced his first Cabernet Sauvignon wine in 1934 once Prohibition was repealed. Louis M. had studied winemaking in Italy and applied what he learned about blending grapes from different vineyards and using large wooden tanks for fermentation to the high quality cabernets that he produced throughout the 1940s – 1980s. The winery changed hands in 2002 when E. and J. Gallo purchased it. Today, Louis M. Martini’s grandson, Michael, is the 3rd generation winemaker and carries on the Martini winemaking traditions.
The one downside to this tasting room is that they don’t have a big vineyard on site. There are a few vines located outside the entrance of the tasting room. However, I definitely think their selection of Cabernet Sauvignon is worth stopping in for. Louis M. Martini also produces a Zinfandel, Malbec, Petite Sirah, and Moscato worth trying as well.