Guilliams Vineyards

My husband and I had an amazing experience here. It was absolutely one of my favorite stops in Napa.
It’s a small family run vineyard with beautiful views of Spring mountain. Our tasting was with John, the owner. We tasted 4 bottles of wine (merlot, cab franc, cab, and their reserve cab) while sitting at a small table over looking the vineyard and discussing his 35 years of experience in the wine industry for 2+ hours. John is incredibly knowledgable about the industry and the current practices and is willing to answer any questions that you have. He even went out of his way to contact shipping companies for us to help us figure out the best way to get our wine back home.
I was really impressed with this place. The wine is delicious and I highly recommend the tasting to anyone who has a deep interest in wine and is looking for an intimate experience.

Spent a very nice 90 minutes with the owner, John, we talked about all manner of things. The time just flew and we felt like we were spending time with an old friend. John takes the time talk talk about his love, the vineyard and winemaking and his philosophy. I appreciate that he makes his wines his way, some may like them some may not but its your taste that matters. We ended up buying a case of wine because they were so good.

Wow, talk about a special wine tasting experience.
Guilliams is a small, family-​owned winery. Tastings are by appointment only. They don’t even have a tasting room here. The winemaker’s wife poured our glasses in the wine cellar under the house (where we were invited to uncork and smell fermenting barrels). We then took our glasses out to a small patch of grass right next to the vines and spent more than an hour chatting with a few other guests and the winemaker’s wife. The winemaker came through on his tractor a few times, boots muddy from the vineyard, and sat down to chat with us for a while. This was a very interesting and intimate experience, since we were literally in the winemakers’ house and had complete access to them for a good amount of time. The wine was also quite good. Multiple bottles were purchased by our group. I recall the Cabernet Franc being a big hit.
I can’t really remember ever going to a winery and being made to feel like such a pat of the family. It was like going over to a friend’s house. After a long day of wine tasting, we were all unanimous that this was the most memorable and special stop of the day.

I am an absolute fan of their Estate Cab. I hear it’s what they hang their hat on. Good to hear. I originally went to their winery and had a tasting of their lineup. That itself is a great experience. It’s a smaller winery but a very intimate experience. Bring lunch for a picnic if you’re up for it. If you don’t live in napa, buy at least a few bottles, bring it home, chill it and enjoy! The winery owners are very nice people and made the entire winery tasting experience a pleasant one.
My friends and I just had an 05 estate cab and I must say– it was delicious! The age of the wine was right, the temperature was slightly above 59 degrees (just my preference) and I enjoyed the estate cab with great Italian food. I strongly suggest the same.

The co-​owner, Mrs. Guilliam, is great. Any time we go to such a tiny winery we expect a very personal experience, with the winemaker or another key employee giving the tour or tasting and throwing in a lot of informal info. The Guilliams do that sort of thing as well as anyone. We had a long and delightful conversation about their wines, other wines, the history of many of the Napa valley wineries and wine community, and life in general. Don’t expect anything fancy; one room serves as tasting area, wine cellar, general storage, and the basement of their home. Everything is informal and super friendly. Keri loved their cabernets. The Spring Mountain area is a new favorite of ours. We’ll be back, to the area and to this particular winery.

A work friend recommended that we stop by Guilliams (and a few others on Spring Mountain) on this trip up to Napa. I’m glad we did. The view was beautiful, the wine was spectacular and the experience was outstanding.
You don’t normally get to hear about the wine, the property and the growing process all at once. Additionally, you don’t get to hear about it from the people that own the property and make the wine. This tasting experience was so much more informative than 95% of the other tastings that I have done. When we tasted a bottle, we got to see exactly where these particular grapes came from and why they gave the flavors they did. They explained the way that the sunlight affected each of the vines and how it’s changed over the years.
The winemakers son also came by to let us taste one of his wines. We got to hear about his growing, harvesting and bottling process as well.
The grounds have some benches, chairs and tables that you could bring your lunch up the hill with you and enjoy the spectacular view. Be sure to do so if you’re doing a few tastings up on Spring Mountain.
The only bad thing about our tasting here was the phrase that the son used after letting us sample his wine, «I’ll be right back with the order form so you can buy some of my wine.» While that might not be 100% accurate, I’m within two or three words. I found that to be a little outputting. Everyone in our group noticed it. Perhaps it was a simple misspeak, but it seemed a little presumptuous and cocky. While we were going to get a bottle of his wine, the approach could have been a bit better.

It’s not often you get to sit down with the wine maker and owners in their vineyard and taste wines while they themselves are pouring for you. What a wonderful experience! If this doesn’t tell you how passionate about wine making they are their wines will.
This winery is on Spring Mountain (known for cabs) and did not fail to uphold this title. We walked away with a case of 05 cabs.
Make your reservations, have a wonderful time chatting with the owners on their lawn chairs and bring home some exquisite cabs.

This is a really cool place for a tasting; a small operation run out of a quaint cellar below Mr. Guilliams’ house. It was a great little experience on my trip up from the Bay with my friends.
In this cellar, I tasted the best Merlot I’ve ever had, and one of the best Cabernet Sauvignons I’ve ever had. My friends and I ended up buying a bottle of the Cab; however, when we got home it fell out of the trunk and broke. First I cried. Then I tried to sip it off the pavement, but my friends were able to restrain me, not without great difficulty. I will go back someday to hang out with the oh-​so-​friendly Mr. Guilliams and find my long-​lost Cabernet love-​in-​a-​bottle.
To make the trip up the mountain more worth it, I recommend scheduling consecutive tastings at this place and Smith-​Madrone, which is right nearby.
The best thing about the tasting here (besides the superb wines) was the personalized nature of the tasting – where else will you get a free 1-​on-​1 session with the owner/​winemaker? That’s awesome.
Highly recommended if you’re looking for a down-​to-​earth, friendly tasting atmosphere and a darn good red wine.

This tasting appointment was great. We were on a Spring Mtn tour and this was one of the places that we stopped. The vineyard was great. The owners did the tasting. They were very knowledgeable and friendly. The experience was intimate. Their wine is fantastic. I would highly recommend the tasting experience and their wine. It really is a different experience than the other tasting appointments you might have. Well worth it.

I’m on a Spring Mountain kick right now, partly because it’s one of the best ways to avoid Napa Valley traffic and Valley floor wine prices. Here’s the other reason: the wines take on a slightly lighter body, in general, (Pride Mountain not withstanding), and leave you with a lovely perfume and often a little more of an old-​fashioned style. Guilliams wines have fallen consistently in this category for me, though I have not had their recent two vintages. The fun of this winery otherwise is that it’s casual and funky. You taste the wines with the two owners and their dog in the basement of their house. Sick of feeling like a patsy tourist? Want to get a glimpse of the unvarnished winery life? Go here.