How to Buy Wine in Napa

Napa Valley is home to over 750 wineries producing wines of many varieties and achieving a range of results from sublime to casual and best suited for a weekday.

Enhancing your family cellar or wine collection is not as simple as it seems. In addition to an educated palate the wine buyer must have a good grasp of what makes a vintage valuable and a sound understanding on how the wine-making process from grape selection to fermentation impacts the overall results of the cup.

A great wine is best enjoyed if the wine collector has a story adding dimension to the experience and helping friends and family expand their grasp on enology and viticulture.

Some of the best wineries in Napa do not distribute their wines to retailers. Instead, they are direct purveyors of wine to their best customers based on ongoing relationships, insider lists or membership-based clubs. If the goal of your visit is to enrich your cellar having insider knowledge of the most private and exclusive wineries can definitvely give you a significant advantage by providing you with superior limited edition wines that your friends won’t find at a local store at a price that makes sense.

To plan your wine buying trip to Napa you need to consider the following:

• What are the current weaknesses and fortes of my wine cellar?
• Do I have specific wine-buying objectives such as corporate gifting or a special occasion such as a wedding or anniversary?
• What are my personal preferences in terms of taste?
• Is my goal variety or do I want to focus on quality and established relationships with exclusive wineries?
• Do I wish to take the wine with me or have it shipped on regular intervals?
• Am I willing to wait for certain vintages not quite ready to hit the market?
• Am I also taking care of the wine preferences of my spouse in selecting our wines?
• Have I allocated sufficient time to discuss the wines with winery owners and wine makers?
• Am I visiting Napa during a time that is best suited for collectors?

Knowing where you stand as you prepare your trip to Napa will help your wine concierge and tour host point you to the best wineries and plan your schedule in a way that best fits your needs while still having a great deal of fun and creating memories.

A wine collector tour can be as short as two days and as long as five depending on your objectives. Let our five-star wine concierges plan your itinerary and coordinate flawless wine tasting and buying experiences.

Here is to excellent wine!

Javy