Thorn Hill Tasting Room

Came here on a whim while training in California. Had to stop by Napa Valley and found this neat quirky spot where the host was talkative and informative. I’m normally a Merlot wine drinker by far with roots in Portugal where I love all my red wines :-). That being said, the Merlot had a slightly sour after taste while the palate wasn’t the full earthy salivation I was seeking. However, their Sauvignon Blanc made up for the lack of earthiness I made. It was crisp, light, and refreshing. I could easily have 2, 3,4, or 5 more. I absolutely loved it! My best and final tasting was a red… I love reds! So I tried their 2012 Red Rock reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. At first the dry and rather sour bite wakes you, but after you take a second sip you start to fall into its beckoning call to drink more. It’s earthy albeit a slightly fresh undertone which wake a your taste buds. All around very good wine. However my all time favorite was the …(drum roll)… Sauvignon Blanc. Honestly a very good wine.

I was sent here on a recommendation from another winery. This was a pleasant surprise. I did a full tasting where I had every wine they offer. There was not 1 wine that I did not love! I only belong to 1 other wine club, and I could not resist joining here. I have been to over 20 of the wineries in the Napa/​St. Helena region and chose to join this one. They offer mostly pure varietals which is hard to find in this price range. You must try their ice wine, I had never heard of this before and it is delicious! It’s like a white port, and is very rare because a fungus has to develop on the grapes in order for this wine to be created. You also must try their Old Vines zin, this will only be around for a short period of time because their 100+ year old vines only produce a small amount every year. I don’t even like zin and this wine was unbelievable smooth and full bodied. I also appreciate that this is not a large commercial production. If you are new to wineries, trust me, the small production wineries produce such higher wines than the mega vineyards. This place blows Beringer, Mondavi, and Cakebread out of the water. You will not be disappointed if you stop here!

We stopped in yesterday and got a really warm welcome from Roseanne and Anthony. We tried the brut, pinot grigio, chardonnay, pinot noir, merlot, zinfandel and port. The sparkling wine, zinfandel and port were my favorites but all were great wines. Anthony took excellent care of us. We will definitely be back!

Stopped into tasting room in St Helena today and were horrified by the terrible treatment we received. We’re locals who work in the industry and have literally never visited a winery where the staff were so rude and unwelcoming. We’d been meaning to stop in since they opened, and now we won’t be coming back.