Sip your way through Napa Valley without leaving the city limits.
Bonita Bonita is a reservation-only parlor that feels like a speakeasy with outstanding wines and food.
Whether you love sampling quintessential big reds in a historic house, cozying up to bottles inspired by a beloved French AOC or sipping bubbly in luxe digs, embark on an experiential tour in one of Napa’s 55 tasting rooms.
Vin en Noir
Opened last year, Napa’s first and only Black and Asian woman-owned tasting room features minority and women-owned global labels (curated by proprietress Leilani Baugh) like Duncan Peak Wines, a California producer with a Chinese winemaker. Baugh draws on her culinary background as a chef to host pairing dinners and monthly brunches, and she creates a space for local BIPOC artists to showcase their passion and sell their works. “I’ve always thought of winemaking as an art in itself,” she says, “Vin en Noir is a place where all the senses can be satisfied.” 1001 Caymus St., Napa, vinennoir.com
Roots Run Deep offers exceptional wines from Napa and Sonoma.
Benevolent Neglect
An ethos of minimal intervention imbues the winemaking here: very little new oak, no additives, whole cluster fermentation and minimal extraction, fining and filtering. “We’re able to show off the incredible quality of the vineyards we work with by keeping our ‘fingerprints’ off the wines,” says Ben Brenner. He and co-owners Matt Nagy and Jeff Warren serve eclectic pours like a rosé-like skin contact pinot grigio and sparkling wine from counoise, the least-known Rhône grape, in a retro rec room designed around a console record player. 1417 2nd St., Napa, bnwines.com
Roots Run Deep
Housed in a refurbished Craftsman-style house, this winery launched two decades ago in an enthusiastic ode to big reds. Owner, founder and wine veteran Mark Albrecht focuses on producing unparalleled single variety and blended red wines from Napa cabernet sauvignon and merlot, as well as chardonnay and pinot from the Sonoma Coast. Tastings of signature or reserve expressions are intimate and guided affairs, with guests seated in the living areas of the historic home. “We hope to provide an experience defined by high levels of personal attention and engagement from staff,” Albrecht says. 1607 1st St., Napa, rootsrundeep.com
Experience tastings of signature and reserve wines at Roots Run Deep.
Gamling & McDuck
Founder, owner and Minnesotan transplant Adam McClery showcases California wines inspired by his favorite region in a tasting room based on pseudonyms for him and co-founder Gabrielle Shaffer. “The Loire Valley is magical—the wines are elegant, sexy and conversational,” says McClery. He dashes misconceptions about locally-grown Loire varieties as only suited for mass production or blending with bottles like the bright and tropical 2020 Rogue Valley Chenin Blanc and the dark, lean and baking spice-tinged 2019 Rogue Valley Cabernet Franc. “Our goal is to ultimately be an archival canon project of these two incredible varietals.” 1420 2nd St., Napa, gamlingandmcduck.com
Leilani Baugh opened Vin en Noir last year to highlight women- and minority-owned labels.
Bonita Bonita
With velvet sofas, old photos in gilded frames and vintage glassware, this reservation-only parlor feels more like a sumptuous speakeasy than a traditional tasting room. “We wanted a space that transported you somewhere other than Napa Valley, with a feeling of mystery and quaintness,” says Brie Garcia, who, along with twin sister Nikki, drew on the motivation gleaned from their careers as WWE professional wrestlers for their foray into the vine—a collaboration with Whetstone Winery. The setting befits sips like their citrus-forward California blanc de blancs and the silky cherry notes in the 2022 pinot noir. 1207 Coombs St., First Floor, Napa, bonitabonita.com
Photography by: COURTESY OF BONITA BONITA; COURTESY OF BRAND; COURTESY OF BRAND; COURTESY OF BRAND
