Franciscan Winery

1178 Galleron Rd, St Helena, CA 94574

Website: http://www.franciscan.com/

Franciscan winery is located off of Highway 29 in the Rutherford district. The winery was founded in 1973. Justin Meyer, founder of Silver Oak, was the original owner and produced the first growth for Franciscan. Franciscan Estate became part of Constellation Brands fine wine portfolio in 1999.  As of April 2019, Constellation sold the winery to Gallo as part of a $1.7 billion deal of 30 wineries.

Fountain at Franciscan Winery

As visitors enter the winery, they are welcomed by a flowing fountain located in the center of the entryway leading to the Visitor’s Center. The winery offers several different tasting experiences. Public tastings are offered in the tasting room or outdoor courtyard without prior appointment for groups of less than 6 people. Private tastings are available by appointment in a private tasting lounge or wine library.

Tasting Room at Franciscan

The tasting room was welcoming and filled with people gathered around the large square shaped, wood tasting bar.  Each wall surrounding the tasting bar has wood shelving displaying bottles of wine. Servers and visitors were lined up on all 4 sides of the tasting bar. Despite the fact that the tasting room was very busy while I was there, the staff took the time to provide information about the different wines and I didn’t feel rushed or ignored. This winery focuses on Bordeaux style wines as well as single varietal Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay. Some of the wines are distributed throughout the US and others are only available at the winery.