Hello All,

I have been to Napa several times, and I have my favorite wineries. However, I drink very little white wine, and the wineries I tend to visit have very little white wine varietals. A dear friend of mine is going to Napa for the first time. She rarely (if ever) drinks red wine. It's one of the great mysteries to me. Where would you recommend a white wine lover (not just Chardonnay, she enjoys them all) visit?

Thank you in advance for your help!

Here are a few that pour credible to very good white wines:

Beringer-you may have to go to the "Old House" and pay an extra fee to get the better stuff like Private Reserve Chardonnay or Sbragia Reserve Chardonnay.

Merryvale-pours reds and whites, and the whites are not an afterthought.

But if it were up to me, I would cross over to the Kenwood area in Sonoma and go to Landmark and Chateau St. Jean which are right next to each other. Both pour very good whites.

And Ferrari Carano, also in Sonoma is a wonderful place to visit with good whites.

I'd go to Schramsberg for the white wine with bubbles.

Try Ramey (appt. necessary).

Go to Sonoma County.

I second the Schramsberg suggestion. Great cave tour and good sparklies.

HdV too

I said the same thing - go to Sonoma. But, they are just interested in Napa at this point. I, however, will be going to Sonoma in September - can't wait.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Groth makes a good SB and Chard. Was just there today and enjoyed the wines. `03 Cab is nice as well. Worth a stop, imo.

They are open by appointment.

Though it hurts me to suggest it... Rombauer. For some reason lots of white wine lovers like their chards. Too oaky by far for my tastes, but hey... whatever floats your boat. Also along the silverado trail, I'd recommend Oakville Family - I think that's their name. Once upon a time Luna had some outstanding whites, their pinot grigio was delish, but last time there it was very disappointing.

And of course, there is Vintner's Collective in Napa proper. They pour Patz & Hall and others that are excellent chards. They don't close until 6 PM, so they are a good place to visit at the end of the day.

There's a small place called Sullivan Vineyards that makes alot of red, but also a very nice Chardonney.www.sullivanwine.com

I think Rombauer would be a great place to go. I know it has a lot of oak and I'm sure they do a ton of blending to get the stuff to taste pretty much the same every vintage plus they make a million bottles every year but... they have a winning formula. This Chardonnay has been the "best selling luxury Chardonnay" in the US for several years now.

One of the three biggest lies of the "expert" wine drinker is, "I don't like oaked wines". I would surmise that many of these people are "closet oaked-Chard drinkers".

I will also say that when I do a tasting that has been purchased by the people at a charity auction (admittedly most of these people wouldn't know the difference between oak and a hole in the ground) I'll pour a Kistler, Testarossa, Berringer, an inexpensive $12 Chardonnay from the grocery store, and the current vintage of Rombauer. Eight out of ten times the Rombauer "wins".
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Saddleback makes at decent inexpensive Chardonnay from the Napa Valley. They don't have a tasting room per se but they do pour by appointment in the barrel barn. It's an interesting place to go because so few people make it there; If you don't know where the place is you'd never find it but it is very easy to get to. It is on Money Rd. off of Oakville Cross. Money Rd. goes north and is immediately across from Silver Oak's driveway. For people that attend the big Silver Oak release parties Saddleback always has a "Tag-Along" event. Silver Oak has shuttles that run up and down the street for the people that park on the streets and they will if you ask take you right to Saddleback. These two Cabs (Silver Oak and Saddleback) are about as different as Cabs can get; the Silver Oak being fruity and smooth and the Saddleback being tannic and rough as sand-paper.

How the hell did I got so far off the topic?