On the Edge Winery

Walked around town to try all of the different wineries. Big selection of wines here. Main drawback was that the pourer covered so much and there was no list that I totally lost track of what we tried. After going to a few wineries it really helps having a list to look at and mark up. We ended up not buying anything.

Here’s something to impress your friends with — there are only 80 acres of Charbono grapes grown in California, and over half of them is in the Napa area (especially Calistoga).
Charbono is On The Edge’s signature variety.
JS and I stumbled onto this place by accident. We were just taking a Sunday morning stroll and ended up outside their tasting room. I don’t know anything about this brand but it was a wine variety J collects.
Inside we met with an energetic lady named Mary Sue — who we later found out was the winery founder’s daughter, and now wife of On The Edge’s chief winemaker. She was pleased as punch that J was a fan of their wine, and in turn shared a lot of history and knowledge on the brand, the land and Calistoga in general.
She is the first tasting room person I’ve met who can knit, talk, work the register AND pour/​drink wine at the same time.
We had a really good time chatting with Mary Sue. It is a $ 15 tasting fee but her pours are very generous. We were encouraged to compare tones (and noses) with her about wine, and she gave us some extras for the comparison — such as comparing a newly opened bottle of Zin, vs. one that was opened overnight, and several vintages of the Charbono.
If that isn’t enough of a reason to visit their tasting room — they also have a beehive at the back of the shop (you read that right), and they make beeswax candles and collect honey from that hive.
A casual visit turned into 1.5 hours. What a find!

Love, love, love… and a little more love! Warm, friendly, fun, excellent wine, what more can you ask for? Cute little tasting room and candle shop, we had a ton of fun and will be sure to go back any time we are in Calistoga.