Clif Family Winery at Velo Vino

Exceeded our expectations by far. Our guide, Brianna, was excellent and provided exceptional customer service and shared knowledge of the winery and its history. She was genuinely excited about the wines and made time to discuss each one despite the tasting room being so busy.

We accidentally discovered this tasting room after a nice long bike ride on a hot day and we are so happy we did. Samantha was such an awesome hostess. She made us feel so welcome and now we are proud members of the Clif family. I can’t wait to tell all our friends that visit Napa about this great place. Not only does the Clif family make great nutrition/​energy bars, they also make a really great wine. We bought some wine to take home and enjoy right away but we can’t wait for our first shipment! Thanks Samantha for making our first of many visits so much fun.

Such great wine! The food is awesome too. We stopped here without any info and were blown away! The staff is really helpful (especially Samantha!) no pretentiousness and such an amazing experience. Thank you Clif Family for such a great time!

Expensive, snobby and mediocre. Took me over 10 mins to be helped here because the couple next to me was from San Francisco and oh-​so-​bourgie.
Lame.

Came for a trading and lunch with wife’s book club. Had a great time. The wine was good. The food better. Most of all, our wine guide, Brianna, was superb –knowledgeable, personable and welcoming.

The best wine, food and picnic area in the country. Hands down, there is always a wine and food for someone here. All incredible, allow at least 2 hours here.

This place was very special. And, it was FUN.
Super friendly staff.
EXCELLENT wine.
Laid-​back atmosphere.
Bruschetta food truck.
We accidentally «crashed» the rose of grenache launch party. All our wine was paired with yummy snacks. It is, HANDS DOWN, the BEST rose I’ve ever had. If you think you don’t like rose, you should try this «ballet slipper» rose. It’s extremely lovely and the prettiest pink. Bright, with aromas of pear, mandarin, and watermelon Jolly Rancher, I am kicking myself for not buying another bottle. We’re just going to have to go back.
Laura, the winemaker, spent time with us and we enjoyed speaking to her. She speaks like a teacher. She’s wonderful.
We went home with half a case! Including the rose, the gewuztraminer, and the sauvignon blanc (a treat of peach)! We also tried the prochetta bruschetta and the arancini. The bruschetta (Long and Bailey Farms pig, garden herbs, red onion, aioli, and parmesan) was awesome, but the honeynut squash arancini stole the show. It tasted like macaroni and cheese! We would’ve ordered more if we didn’t have dinner reservations at Ad Hoc ;)
Honestly, I would’ve signed up to be a club member if we lived closer to attend the parties!

This place is amazing! We didn’t actually do the tasting but just ordered a glass and got food at the food truck. We got seated at the tables outside. This is random but I bought their chocolate toffee covered pistachios are they are so addicting!

By far my favorite tasting we did during our stay. The staff is very friendly and makes you feel right at home. We loved the snack pairings and recipes to bring home. My sister joined their club because it is just that good. We enjoyed everything we had and can’t wait to go back!

It is not what you know but who you know. Through a friend of ours we were treated to a world class wine tasting at Clif Families Howell Mt location. This charming venue is situated in a vineyard next to a pool. Our host Jeff is well known throughout the valley for his vast knowledge of wine and the hospitality business. Jeff paired a wonderful selection of wines with cheese, jams and nuts. The cheese and jams complimented the wines and provided an insight of how the wines would pair with food. Our favorite wines were the Howell Mt wines. Wines are priced from high 20’s to low 100’s. Our experience was very enjoyable and all wines we tasted were delightful. We have visited well over 100 wineries and must say this is one of the best we have visited.

I am a frequent wine taster and this is by far one of my favorite places!
I absolutely love the casual, no-​pressure tasting environment! Troy, one of the managers is always great and now recognizes my family every time we walk into the door. Everyone else in the tasting room is also incredibly friendly and accommodating.
All of the wine is very reasonably priced ($ 22 for Riesling) and tasty! They also carry a variety of food and seasonings which are great! On most tasting days, there is a food truck outside as well which serves great seasonal bruschetta! After a day of tasting it is always great to get some delicious bruschetta!
The most recent trip, the food truck was already closed so Troy brought us a sample of 5 different preserves and bread. I am always very impressed with the great personal service!
Overall, it is just a very fun place to taste with a much different atmosphere than most places in the Napa area! I would recommend it to anyone I know!

We came to Clif on a recent Saturday afternoon which seemed particularly busy. We were promptly greeted and found a cozy table in the corner for our group. I like Clif because they are a little more casual and fun! The space has some rustic components complete with old bicycles hanging off the walls.
Our server was energetic which was helpful after our Rutherford grill food coma and great about explaining the wines to us. Maybe it was just us or the fact that it was a busy afternoon but there was a little too much time between tastings. Either way we had a great time and I would not hesitate to come back again or bring friends.

This is from the makers of Clif bars so you can imagine the Fun atmosphere, great staff and love the story. The wines are super approachable and so is the team. Joined the wine club because you have the options to create your own shipments. This is a tasting room and if you’re looking for views you won’t find any here unless you look at all the photos on the wall showcasing the amazing adventures Clif riders have captured.
The team has two goals, to get you to fall in love with their wine and to ride. Sunday –Thursday they have a bruschetta truck and their pair wines with them — otherwise their standard tasting offers a pairing of house seasoned nuts for the whites and chocolates for the Reds. Oh and we left with great bars and energy supplies for my husbands next ride. They have different varieties than what’s available in your local store.

This was by far our favorite tasting room and crowd of the Saint Helena area.
So the clif family (like clif bars) has a winery and tasting room. Who would have thought?!
It’s a little snooty … snotty … snooty … you get my drift, around these parts. It’s very easy to find a $ 18 glass of wine and not so easy to find one under $ 10. I get it though, it’s wine country, your supposed to be snotty … snooty?
Not here! It’s cool because everyone working here has a very laid back vibe and it just feels so much more relaxed than anywhere else.
We signed up for their wine club and in turn got free tastings here two days in a row. Score! They will even alter the tasting to your liking (unlike most other places around).
Troy was super friendly and helpful.
If you are in the area, you’ve got to give Velo Vino a try. They even have an option to try clif bars with a wine tasting /​pairing.

Velo Vino feels more like a wine bar than a tasting room. That’s okay, but you need to know this fact before stepping inside. If you want to sit around and munch on a light lunch or bruschetta and have a glass or two of wine, this is your spot. There were lots of cyclists and other hippie /​outdoorsy /​sporty types during our visit. They obviously cater to the athletic crowd.
We sat down at the bar for a tasting and the friendly employees kept trying to push us to purchase full glasses of wine to drink. I didn’t want to drink at a bar, I wanted to do a wine tasting since I’d never had Clif wines before. It didn’t help that the group seated to the left of us were waxing poetic about the «gree-​NATCH-​chay» they were drinking. Yes, they had Grenache. That tells you a bit about their clientele, and no, they weren’t saying it sarcastically, they were absolutely sincere.
I had a 2 for 1 tasting voucher and it seemed like it was such a bother to use here. There were two wine tastings: a $ 20 basic tasting and a $ 30 reserve tasting. I’m serious about my wine so of course I wanted to do the reserve tasting. All was fine until some older woman came up and said that the 2 for 1 is «only good for the basic Yellow Jersey tasting.» Nowhere on the voucher was this mentioned. I asked if we could pay for one $ 30 reserve tasting and use the coupon for the basic $ 20 tasting for free. This seemed to get her very agitated and she said «no, I will have to charge you for both reserve tastings.» Maybe she didn’t understand what I was saying, but that makes NO sense — I’m paying $ 30 for the reserve tasting and you won’t let me use my coupon to get the basic tasting free? I wasn’t asking for 2 reserve tastings for $ 30. Whatever. We decided to leave and not bother ourselves with a tasting at all.
I’m not a wine snob by any means, but I don’t want to waste my time and limited daily tasting experiences on a winery’s «basic» line of wines. If I can’t try the reserves, I don’t usually want to bother. I also don’t know if the lady was assuming that we were just cheap couponers or what, but I’m a serious wine collector and left this 3 day trip having spent several thousand dollars on wine at other wineries.
Maybe Clif Family Wines are good but I’ll never know. I don’t think I will ever bother coming back here either. (That’s not true, I love their seasoned nuts and you can only buy them here. Dang it, guess I will have to come back for the nuts but not for the wine. I never want to drink Clif wines and now they have made sure that I never will).

Perfect is all I can say. I set up a Corp dinner and wine tasting with Jeff B from Clif Family Winery and it was outstanding. Jeff B was so easy to work with and the food was out of this world. We had about 30 people and every single person said one of the best meals and experience every, and I had a tough crowd. We tried the 2013 Medocino Gewurtraminer, 2013 Oak Knoll District Chardonnary, 2013 Medocino Grenache and the 2011 Gary’s Imrpv Zin, Howell Mt. The food paring, what can I saw. It was perfect. It’s a must. Thanks Jeff and all the staff. You really made it a great event.

This was one of the most memorable experiences from my Napa trip. Troy and the other staff gave us an awesome way to spend a few hours in the afternoon.
We had a great wine tasting coupled with some bruschetta from the food truck. I’d say of all the smaller wineries we visited this one provided the best experience and I’m really glad we stopped in. My wife and I really enjoyed the style of the place and I can’t say enough good things about the staff, you’ll just have to go and see for yourself.
Would definitely come back again if I’m in the area.
It was too hot to be on the patio but I imagine that could be a great spot if the weather permitted.

The guys that make the fitness Clif bars also make wine and food products?! Mind… Blown… And heck, their stuff is pretty *beep* awesome!
We actually didn’t spend a lot of time in the tasting room, we were lucky enough to spend a day in their estate. It was cute, quaint and gorgeous! Our host was Jeff, he was so knowledgable and patient. He was absolutely amazing, you could tell he had a lot of passion and love for what he does.
He poured us 3 whites and about 4 reds (it was hard to keep track after a few glasses :-/​). He flawlessly paired them with certain cheeses, nuts and spices. Everyone absolutely enjoyed the experience and multiple bottles were purchased.
I usually don’t spend over $ 30 a bottle, but I shamelessly bought a $ 75 cab… Yea. I did. Deal with it (more so me just telling myself that). But every wine poured was delicious and more than worth it. I may have to join the wine club since it’s about $ 150 for a quarterly shipment and you get all the wines they pour. Plus! They throw in their jams/​butters and almonds that they make!
They are a small winery that make small bath wines, all organically. Definitely make an appointment at the estate or drop in their tasting room. They definitely know what they’re doing with their wines! Gotta try their apple butter as well. On a fresh biscuit for breakfast… Heaven…

We went through Napa Valley wine tasting this past weekend and the Clif Family Winery was our final stop. Out of all the wonderful places we had gone to that day, this was easily my favorite.
The vibe of this place is great. There is a large, open area indoors and a patio outdoors. If you sit against the wall, it’s actually a booth style setting. We did the Le Maillot Jaune tasting at a booth inside. The 2013 Gewürztraminer and 2012 Petite Sirah were my favorites.
The three options sound great and food are involved in two of the options. It’s nice to have the balance of food to really bring out the flavors of the wine. I would definitely come back over time to try everything.
The service here is what really sets this place apart. The guy serving us our wine really knew what he was talking about and paid attention to what we needed. Any time our glasses would be a little low, he would make sure that we were either ready for the next tasting or needed more time. It felt more like going to your friend’s place for a wine tasting and hanging out than going to a snobby winery (which was something that we had experienced earlier in the day).
It’s also steps away from Gott’s Roadside and downtown St. Helena — making the location prime. There are also plenty of healthy drinks and CLIF bars so you can keep your stamina going in your Napa Valley adventures.
(On a completely unrelated note «Georgia on My Mind» by Ray Charles was playing when I walked in, that’s how I knew it was going to be love.)

I’ve visited here during both of my Napa trips. I’m a cyclist, so I love all the vintage bikes and the cycling décor. The service has been excellent both trips.
For those unaware, the Clif brand of energy bars is also a wine label and they have some high end snacks you’ll find at Dean & Deluca stores. The brand is great and definitely expands beyond Clif and Luna bars, although that’s what they’re best known for.
I think the wines are pretty good for the price point. They provide you with a pairing of their chocolates or nut mixes with the wines during the tastings, which is really nice. They also have an excellent olive oil that I highly recommend purchasing.
I bought two bottles of wine, a few nut mixes, chocolates and a few other gift shop items during a recent visit and had them ship the entire lot to me. They did not overcharge me for the shipping, and, in fact, may have even given me a deal. I will definitely return again during my next trip through St. Helena.