Trespass Vineyard

Hands down one of my favorite tasting experiences in all of Napa Valley. Not to mention the wine is ridiculously good. Donny is SUPER friendly, laid back, and incredibly knowledgeable. The property and it’s views are spectacular (hot tip… try to schedule your reservation before sunset, it’s an awesome place to watch the sun go down). We’ve been several times and have brought many of our friends here. I honestly cannot say enough about Donny and Tresspass. Put it on your list… you won’t be disappointed!

Donny was nice and fun to visit with. His selection of wine was decent and tasteful. Our favorite was the Cab Franc. The new Sav Blanc was also delicious. Highly recommend.

Donny was an accommodating host who made time for us to taste. We organised it last minute and, though they were low on a lot of wines (this was around Feb), he still made the effort for us to try it and ask questions. I found his vineyard unique in the sense that its in the midst of suburbia — schools, houses etc. Check it out if you like smaller wineries.

A unique and wonderful experience! Donny, the winemaker, sat with us and described the wines. We fell in love with the cab franc/​cab blend, Rendezvous. The wines were amazingly smooth and the experience was one of a kind. Book your tour with Max Napa tours and you won’t regret it!

I don’t understand all these positive reviews. I was there in July 2010. We had booked a tour through Beau Wine Tours, and the driver insisted on what a great gem this place was. My entire group enjoyed the «outdoor in the vineyard» tasting, sitting at a patio table, sipping different reds with the owner. But the Cab Franc, which is what the driver and the owner, Donny, were so excited about, was unimpressive to me and my friends. (For the record, Cab Franc is my favorite varietal and is a show-​stopper when done well.) His Cab Franc was big and fruity — not typical of a cab franc, which is usually structured and tastes of the terroir. The other wines were okay, but not awesome.
All of us bought some wine (not a lot). Every bottle that we bought home was unpleasant when opened. None of us could drink what we purchased and all of it when down the drain. We felt scammed, all four of us.
The worst part came through my friend who was visiting from Seattle. She had ordered wine to be shipped to her in Washington. Fast forward a month — no wine yet. Fast forward two months — no wine delivery. Mind you, her credit card had already been charged. The owner gave her different explanations (the heat made it unsafe for shipping was one) and eventually was forced to refund her money. She was extremely annoyed and very unhappy about it.
All in all, if you want a great Cab Franc, go to Darioush or Lang & Reed or, really, anyplace with a solid reputation. If you want to get a rustic winery sense, go to nearby Suisun Valley. Donny was a likeable guy, but his wine and customer service skills are far below par.
Skip it.

This place has also got to be one of my newer favorite boutique wineries in the Napa Valley region!
We were given the opportunity to check this place out through the wine tour we scheduled. Their operation is also one of the most intimate experiences you will have in terms of a winery visit. You literally taste their wine on some super comfy patio furniture in the middle of a field/​clearing right next to their vineyard! The owner, Donny, is very knowledgable and guides you through his wines — which were ALL fantastic!
They were pouring this cabernet that he called the ‘Dove Chocolate’ wine that was just incredible! It had this smooth, oaky finish that transgressed into flavors of melted, rich dove chocolate! I almost hate to write this review — because this is one of my new favorite go to wines (and I know it’s not going to be around as long as I would like it to be). The cab franc is also another go-​to wines that is pouring fantastic right now! I paired it with a nice steak last night — and it couldn’t have melded any more fantastically.
Oh! Just a side note, Trespass is also a super small operation — making less than 1000 cases a year. You do need a reservation as they don’t have a tasting room that they pour out of! And, it is always cool to support the smaller operations.

These are some of the best Napa valley wines I have had in my life, hands down. The Cab Franc was a show stopper with unbelievable structure and balance which improved as the wine opened up. The other stand-​out was the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon which was earthy with notes of tobacco and leather — just how I like my cabs.
Napa Valley can be a lot like Disneyland. Donny is unpretentious and his operation is more reminiscent of the wineries along the Central Coast — down to earth, friendly, and humble. Be sure to make an appointment before you go.

It has been almost a year since I visited and it has taken me working at a winery and repeatly recommending Donny’s wines to finally Unilocal about this place. While the tasting experience is so different then what is expected in Napa, the wine is so so good. If you like Cab Franc — go here and drink up! Go here, drink here, and I know a year later the experience will still be lingering in the back of your head. Oh, and having Kirk Venge as a consultant winemaker always a plus!

This is another gem, at the base of Spring Mountain. We had a great time talking with Donny and look forward to visiting him again. All of this wines were amazing. The icing on the cake was the Cab Franc. It was 100% CF and really stood out. I’ve read that you can do barrel tastings with him as well if you ask prior. Don’t miss out!

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Date: May 02, 2007
Winery: Trespass Vineyard
Winemaker: Kirk Venge
Tasting: Tasting by Appointment
Contact: 707.963.0804
Saw Don last week at the warehouse and invited me up for a tasting this week. Good time to revisit again, haven’t been since Tim at Pride recommend me to visit a few years back.
We went through a fair amount of bottles as well as one barrel sample. Tasting in the vineyard under a bit of wind, sunshine and drizzle, interesting weather in the valley this morning.
Started with the 2003 & 2004 Cabernet Franc. Both showed good balance, fruits and mid-​palate. I did pick-​up some black olives on the 2003, which is not a particular trait I like in my wine, regardless, the 2003 was still very nice. However, I do like the 2004 better, same components but with bigger fruit, yet retains the nice acidity to balance out the wine, no sign of alcohol.
If you do get the opportunity to try these two Cabernet Francs, taste them first before you look at the alcohol level. 2003 clocks in at 15.8% while the 2004 is at 15.4% if I recall correctly, but neither shows any sign of heat, on nose, palate or finish.
Next up is the 2004 Merlot, with a bit of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc blended in. Fruit and acid balance seem to be the signature of this vineyard, no need to play chemist in the lab. A nice merlot with medium-​dark fruits, ripe velvet tannin, good depth and structure.
2002 Cabernet Sauvignon is currently showing better than the 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon. 2002 is chewy, dense with good weight, also has the biggest tannin profile of all the wine we tried. 2003 on the other hand seem a bit more reserved, doesn’t quite have the fruit of the 2002, but similar structure and components in place. Be interesting to see how the 2003 develops.
Don also took the time to pull a 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon barrel sample out of the cave and brought it back to the vineyard for tasting. Oak dominant at the moment, lots of cocoa, mocha and chocolate. What’s not lost are the dark fruits that’s laying low for now, should emerge with additional time in the barrel. Interesting to note that Don mentioned the 2004 and 2006 are both bigger wine than this 2005 we tried.