Hess Persson Estates

Recommend the ATV wine tasting, ask for Steve!! He listens to what you like during the first few splashes and curates the rest of the tasting a little based on it :) we loved our experience and left with some of the estate grown Malbec — delicious

This is our favorite winery hands down. They have a very personalized experience to their tours and you really get to experience the winery. We have done the ATV tour and the cheese pairing experience. We are members and we attended a lobster feast this year. I'll say the art museum is very worth the visit by itself and so is just walking around the grounds, but it is enhanced by the staff who are extremely knowledgeable. The wine is amazing and for what it is, it is reasonably priced. I encourage anyone in the area to schedule a tour and a tasting. But know that you do need to schedule a time, you cannot just show up to the winery and taste. This is a big part of what creates such an intimate and personal experience.

Hess Persson Napa Valley is a truly special place, blending world-class wines with an inspiring art collection in the breathtaking Mt. Veeder region. From the moment I arrived, I was captivated by the estate’s serene beauty and welcoming atmosphere. Their Pinot Noir and other reds are nothing short of exceptional—rich, complex, and beautifully balanced, each sip revealing the craftsmanship behind every bottle. The food is equally impressive, with thoughtfully curated pairings that elevate the tasting experience to something unforgettable.

We had such a great experience here! Our guide was so welcoming and knowledgeable. This was unique to other wineries we visited since we got a tour of the art gallery and the estate. Our guide was dedicated just to us for our visit and we left feeling like friends! The wine is excellent and we got more of an education here than any of our other stops.

Hands down, phenomenal. Took the ATV ride, perfect for mom is ADA. Beautiful countryside. Our tour guide, Steve, was the BEST. Intimate experience for wine and cheese tasting. Bonus art gallery. Ever employee was great at accommodating our needs. Incredible, highly recommend when visiting Napa

Visited here on 12/30/24, enjoyable tour and tasting experience. Staff is friendly and knowledgeable. Wines were excellent, purchased wines to ship home.

Visited in January for my birthday and they went above and beyond to make me feel extra special. Currently their tours are all private experiences for just your group. We were greeted with a Pinot Noir Rose before taking a tour of the cellar and barrel room where we got several pours of the Lion Tamer Cabernet Sauvignon. For the rest of our tasting, we were led upstairs to their art gallery. Unfortunately we ran out of time to look through most of the art but a more robust collection than what I was expecting. Our tasting consisted of the Lioness Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Malbec, and Celebration Cuvee. We also got to try their Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon at the end. Our favorites were actually the Pinot rose and lion tamer cab at the beginning of the tour as well as the Malbec. Highly recommend a visit!

Hess was by far one of my favorites during our week in Napa. Great grounds, great staff, clean crisp wines. The wines were just great. Our guide Michael led us through the tasting and the tour of the grounds. The art is phenomenal and showcases the Hess Persson name and estate. The long family history and traditions are still carried forward into their wine making today. Well worth a visit.

We had a tour with food pairing and the experience was amazing - highly recommend paying a little extra for the savory tasting. Each tour is to each individual party - thank you Edgar!!! The scenery is beautiful, the tour was nice without being overly educational - Edgar answered all of our questions, We were greeted by Edgar with a glass of wine to enjoy during the tour. After the tour, we had a lovely outdoor seating & tasted 4 wines with 4 paired food tastings that were exquisite. After that we went to the tasting room & tasted another 3 wines. I highly recommend the Hess Perrson tour & wines

I was really looking forward to visiting this winery for some time. We had just come from another winery when we hit up Hess Persson as the last winery. I can honestly say we just weren't that impressed with the wines that were presented. I was really hoping for some fireworks, but everything we sampled here was forgettable. In fact, we even left early with wine still in our glasses. The location is pretty cool -- up in the mountains of Napa - quite the long road from downtown Napa. Everything fell a bit short for me here given the prices. I've been to probably close to 100 wineries in Napa and I probably don't need to visit this one again.

Words can't describe the amazing experience my partner and I had over the weekend. We went this past Sunday and did the ATV vineyard tour and tasting. Our tour guide Eileen was friendly knowledgeable and very attentive. As far as the wine and culinary pairing WOW chef Chad Hendrickson really out did himself. The food was impeccable. We left craving more. We definitely will be returning in the near future. Thank you Hess !!

This review is for the gallery portion. I absolutely loved walking through the private gallery, the pieces were amazing! I definitely want to come back for a tasting at some point!

Our guide Ellen was so knowledgeable and friendly. She educated us in a very approachable, fun way that we really appreciated. We learned so much about the owners, the history, equipment, wines, art work etc. This was a special trip to Napa for my birthday and they even had a personalized menu printed for me and my sister and my in law. The grounds are absolutely breathtaking. I highlyyyyyyyyy recommend going to the vertical flight tasting and next time I would also do the atv tour.

We purchased a seated tasting for 5 with savory plates and cheese. The courtyard had a lovely atmosphere. The first miss was the room temperature Chardonnay they brought out and served us. The second issue wasn't with the wine, but the food. Not one of us liked it. The food was presented beautifully but left a lot to be desired. This was rather disappointing. They ended our tastings by walking us to their gift shop. We felt a little pressured with this, but each winery does their own thing. Based on our experience we would not be back.

We spent the afternoon at the Hess Collection starting off with a quick tour of the place, then did a wine blending course. The highlight of this spot was how tucked away it was and how quiet it was. Since they aren't taking any walk-ins, we pretty much had the entire place to ourselves! It was so wonderful. We were able to sample the different wines before blending them, then had the opportunity to create and test three different blends before deciding on our favorite. We also corked and foiled our own small bottle to take home! It was a really fun experience that I highly recommend!

Steve was a delightful & knowledgeable wine guide. I am so glad I bought a few bottles! Zinfandels and Syrahs are delish!

Our time at Hess Persson Winery was a perfect blend of excitement and refinement. The staff especially our tour guide Edgar was so welcoming, kind, and accommodating especially when I learned I booked the tour for the wrong date. The ATV tour offered breathtaking vineyard views, setting the stage for a delightful grape tasting. The winery's charming setting added an extra layer of enjoyment. A sophisticated touch awaited us at the end--a cheese tasting in an art gallery. The flavors paired seamlessly with the wines, creating a memorable finale.

This winery is awesome! In addition to amazing wines, they also have an awesome art collection! The help here was great, Alexandra was fantastic on our tour of the grounds and art collection. We enjoyed our trip so much we joined the wine club too! We will be back for several more wine tastings!

Let's start with the long list of good stuff I have to say. The winery itself has some wonderful grounds. It's definitely not on the main drag. I kept saying in the car I thought the GPS was wrong, there is no way there is a winery out here, but there was! The grounds are beautiful, it's on the mountainside, the staff was wonderful, there is a cool monastery there, and they have an amazing three-floor art museum. Our tour guide Austin was wonderful. Gave one of the best-curated tours and tastings we had on our Napa trip. He had so many interesting facts to tell us about their history and wine. We did an upgraded wine tasting with chocolates. Whoever baked the chocolates did an amazing job. One of the most perfect tempered chocolates I have ever seen. The flavors in those were wonderful as well. Those were all the good things. I don't really have anything bad to say because perhaps it's just a personal preference, but me and several others in the group didn't enjoy the wine as much as we did other places we visited. It just wasn't perhaps our cup of tea, but we still really enjoyed our overall experience.

A bit further away from most of the wineries along the 29 and Silverado Trail, Hess Collection is located along the windy roads atop Mount Veeder. Stunning location with various collections of art to enjoy in their museum. Sadly, no sipping wine while admiring the pieces, but totally understandable. We've been members for about a year, and joined because we fell in love with their red blends, Pinot, and Cabs. Some of our favorites include: Small Block Reserve Pinot Noir, Malbec, Napa Valley Reserve Cabernet, and Mount Veeder 19 Block Cuvee. We choose to pick up our wines, since we live close by. Each time we've been here, the staff have been great. Shoutout to Jan and Jen for the warm hospitality every time we're there!

A memorable winery trip! I love how the winery also has an art gallery - we didn't make a reservation in advance so we had to wait a little to get into the tasting room, so it was nice to be able to walk through the art gallery instead of just standing there and waiting. Tastings are reasonably priced at $25 for 4 glasses (they also have a $35 option for Cab lovers!) Our host was nice and friendly and even let us try their reserve Cab as a 5th glass! :) Their wines are overall quite good as well! This is definitely a winery I would recommend to check out!

Had the most amazing experience today on the ATV tour and Wine Tasting with cheese pairing at Hess Persson. Steve was our tour guide and made the experience knowledgeable, memorable, and fun! Worth every penny and will definitely recommend to friends in the future!

Great place if you're interested in more than just wine in Napa. We did the art + wine/cheese tour. It was really informative. The tour knowledge seemed to be based on your guide and luckily we had an amazing one but others seem to just glaze over the art. After the tour, we went into a private room for the wine/cheese pairing. The room was gorgeous! Also, most cheese pairings are a throwaway but Hess did it right. The cheese is high quality and worth the pairing (from cowgirl creamery). Overall a great time!

Just completed a long weekend in Napa. 7 wineries in total and this was the best, hands down. Attention to detail, knowledgeable staff, beautiful art!! The wine was also wonderful. Sandy, our host, was absolutely amazing! We will always return there, when possible. Thanks for making our weekend perfect.

Have you ever asked yourself which Donald Hess loves more: his modern art collection or his California made wines from Mount Veeder, Napa Valley, and Sonoma County? I have, and the answer is "Yes, absolutely! But he loves his family more." Don's family isn't just genetic, the luck of the human draw that lands some of us at birth into the upper echelon ranks of the top tier of the top 1%; it's also capacious enough to include the women and men who work for him at the Hess Collection, like the winemakers Alison Rodriguez, Dave Guffy, Randle Johnson, and Stephanie Pope, as well as museum and tasting room staff like Austin (aka "The Beard."). But family also means the collective of artists whose work is on display for free public access and enjoyment, by Magdalena Abakanowicz, Gerhard Richter, Frank Stella, Franz Gertsch, Andy Goldsworthy, Leopold Maler, and more. Family is also the Christian Brothers as well, the Catholic teaching order who live on the Mont La Salle property, from which the Hess Collection leases the land for its extensive vineyards, wine making facilities, art museum, and customer tasting rooms. So, it's a big, big family, of the sort that would make an Irish mother or Appalachian father quite proud. Guests can come to tour the three floors of horizon expanding artwork, some of which are enormous paintings, sculptures, and mixed media installations. While visiting, one can also sip and savor some mighty fine wine, from reserve estate Cabernet and Malbec blends to rarely cultivated whites like Gruener Veltliner and Orange Muscat to top regional favorites like Russian River Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to Rockpile AVA Zinfandel. If there is a vertical tasting of the Mount Veeder estate Cabernet Sauvignon, you would be a fool not to try it; I and my guest tried 2007, 2008, 2011, and 2012 vintages and were amazed by the vintage variations and impressive elements that emerged from each glass. Although it was the 2008 that stole the show and went home with us after the tasting and museum tour concluded. That, and the Rockpile Vineyard 2017 Zinfandel, made by Randle J., whose Artezin wines (like the exceptional Evangehlo Vineyard old vine Carignan and Collins Vineyard Russian River Zinfandel) may also be available in the wine store here for purchase. Art, wine, and extended family set atop a fabled mountain landscape of redwood forests, verdant vineyards, and unforgiving, rocky soils. Folks, even by Napa's stratospherically high Wine Country standards, it just don't get much better than this! Stop by sometime at 10am on a quiet winter's weekday and see if you don't just agree.

Cool winery. Beautiful outdoor area to just sip and relax although I think they only allow it during certain times of the season. You get to do a wine tasting as well as view pieces of art throughout the building. Also you don't have to do the wine tasting, you can just visit the winery to see the artwork. Pretty cool pieces.

ZERO stars!!! We drove for miles and it turned out they were fully booked today 8/6/22, even when there were only 4 cars in the parking lot. We asked if we could at least look around but were turned away by a very RUDE old lady for having my SERVICE dog. She insisted the reason why she wouldn't allow us in is because they were fully booked when in fact she specifically said they do not allow even service dogs in the property. I tried to give her my service dog registration ID and a card with service dog law info so that next time (if ever) we visit again she would know she cannot do that but she just gave me a dirty look insisted that the reason why she turned us away is because they were fully booked when in fact when we asked if we can just at least have a look around she said we can't because we have a dog and it did not matter that it was a service dog. Then she just threw her hands up in the air and left. I told her I could sue them (but I won't because that is not the kind of person I am...I forgive) but she said she didn't care. If she only took time to look at my card and admit that she was wrong, we would maybe consider going back but she just continued to be extremely rude and self righteous..maybe even racist because she obviously judged us by our looks. Before we even get to the reception area, she ran towards us and then she YELLED at us "Can I help you with something?!!" while looking at us from head to toe. We were dressed very casual (jeans and t shirt) as we always do when we go out with our teens. We can tell because of her lack of respect and the condescending tone of her voice! I just hope the owner reads my review and fire that extremely RUDE WHITE lady. There are 400+ wineries in Napa and couple hundreds more in Sonoma, Lodi, Suisun all around the the Bay Area that has so much more to offer which are dog friendly but most importantly PEOPLE friendly. Definitely SKIP this one!!! I have been living here in San Francisco for 36 years with a big family who are wine lovers so we frequently visit Napa and we're always eager to sign up for wine memberships. My husband has worked for the City of Napa for many years and now the Chief Finance Officer for the City of Hercules. We have travelled to many places in and out of the country with our kids and our service dog and spend a lot of money on good wines (and food) BUT over the years, we learned that the best tasting wines are those served with a smile. This winery need to train their staff good ethics and customer service. By far the WORSE customer service we have ever encountered. Stay away and spend your hard earned money elsewhere.

Wow so glad we stopped here. Our host Nancy was amazing and really provided us what we have been missing on our trip. The grounds was beautiful and we e joyed listening to the history on how the vineyard evolved. The cheese board was the best we had the the wine was great. I highly recommend this place.

Breathtaking, beautiful, and perfect!! Gus was so amazing with our cheese & wine pairings. He gave us recommendations on places to eat around the area. And even brought us over to see the de-stemmer and try some of the grapes. Amazing experience and delicious wine of course. The pairing was exceptional, definitely worth the trip out to Napa. Cheers

Beautiful place but they bring a new level of arrogance and elitism to the wine world with an ultra-exclusive appointment system. The gallery and tasting room now go quiet for most of the day as they are quick to usher you off the property for even wanting to buy a bottle at the shop. Don't bother; this is what's wrong with some of the Valley.

Underwhelming and disappointing experience. While the staff and host were really friendly and knowledgeable, the tour was such a disappointment. None of the typical tour stops were open to us. We were not even allowed to visit the art museum. Their explanation for this was the pandemic, but if that is the case, they should not charge such high amounts for such an incomplete experience.

I have been a Hess Top Collector for almost seven (7) years now. I love the wines, I love the staff, and I love the winery, including its art collection. Some other Yelper said in her review, "Make a reservation & go to this winery for a tour! You will not regret it!" To that (and to her), I'd say, "Well said. Couldn't agree with you more."

A beautiful winery. Gorgeous grounds and yummy wine. Emma explained the winery's history and of the art collection. She was delightful, informative, gracious and fun ta boot. Swoon both the wine and the art.

Make a reservation & go to this winery for a tour! You will not regret it! The grounds are spectacular & there is a 3 floor museum of modern art on the premises - I am not kidding! We arrived early for our tour intentionally so that we could tour the museum - incredible, large format art pieces abound this place - while most of it was not my style, it was great to view! Our tour was on an all-terrain vehicle that you do not drive which is fine as I took some great video & pictures while riding it through the vineyards which are on a hilly terrain. We stopped a few times for pictures & to do a tasting or two. I was surprised they were growing Malbec there! Our tour concluded with an amazing 3 course lunch with unlimited pours of wine. The food was Michelin quality - the chef is truly talented!!! You must go here & if you don't want this tour, they have plenty of other tours as well. Loved this place, loved the wine, & loved the views!!!

Came here over the holiday weekend and had a lovely tour of the museum and enjoyed the tasting afterwards! The stories of Don and his art collection were quite entertaining. Sam, our guide, was a gem. I actually really enjoyed the eclectic mix of art. I found it exciting that each room had different artists and types of art. The tasting room was pretty and the grounds were beautiful. We came during Thanksgiving weekend so unfortunately it was not nice enough to be outside. Would highly recommend!

Out of all the wineries we have been to on this trip, Hess was my least favorite winery. The museum was nice but that's about all I can say I enjoyed about the trip there. 1) when we got there, the place was very rude to me because I was a smoker. Every other place we went to was a little more smoker friendly with ashtrays around the premises and designated smoking areas. The fact that it was no smoking was fine, but it was the way the man told me I couldn't smoke there. Mind you, I smoked by the parking lot not in any of the vineyards or areas that can catch fire. 2) Our guide from our hotel said Hess was a winery that did not require a reservation, but we made one anyway because we found a discount for 10% off. We were unable to use the discount online as the brochure said but we booked it anyway. So, false advertisement. We forgot all about it because we knew this particular winery didn't require reservations. When we got there, we forgot about our reservation and they were so insistent that it's best to have a reservation as you would for any restaurant. Okay ? But you also said that it was suggested not required. Anyway they found our reservation for 11 am (we got there 11:30) and they said "hmmm I guess we can squeeze you in". We came into the tasting room and it wasn't even as busy as they made it seem but also it was very small. 3) When we began our tasting, the man was very jittery and it was clear that he had one purpose and one purpose only. He made the experience very awkward. The one thing that I hated most, was the amount of times he tried to get us to join the members club. Every other sentence and between every pour was to urge us to become club members. His purpose was not to educate us on the wine or the wine making process. He barely got into details about their exclusive wines. 4) There was not much of a good selection for white wine drinkers. And it was hard to get any details about wine because all he did was try to pitch us to ship 4 bottles to New York or to become a member. The vibes were snobby. And it got even worse when we went to go pay for the wine and we had another 10 min pitch about becoming club members. At this point, I was irritated and could not wait to leave. We visited the museum which was the only good part of the trip there.

My daughter and I visited for her very first wine tasting experience. Before setting out, we both looked for which place we wanted to go, and this was on both our lists. So this was the first stop, and it was such a wonderful place to start and introduce her to wine tasting. Every staff member with whom we interacted was fantastic. Kudos particularly to Sam, our wine host, who shared so much information/knowledge of the wines, and was able to keep up/relate to all the 'younger generation' speak, jokes, and chatter that my daughter could dish out. And visiting the art museum was such an added bonus as my daughter is an art lover, and I enjoy taking in art with her! Wonderful experience and looking forward to future visits!

everything was splendid and delightful at hpe, very well-maintained and a well-kept property, turns out, the christian bros. own the land - not hpe, these folks just operate the winery biz on the church's land, i guess it's a win-win-win? the church loves their real estate as god had meant it to be? anyway, to comment on hpe, they've done an outstanding job of operating the winery biz, at least from this novice naive wine drinker's perspective, the grounds and bldgs were immac, the staff is very friendly and welcoming and informational and knowledgeable. our host, cindy enjoyed talking and educating and reciting the history of the facility and the region. the art gallery seemed impressive with modern as in MOdern abstract art and eclectic art - diff strokes/diff folks, i guess, and it helps to have acreage and good lighting to display the pieces. the wine tasting featured 4 bottles that all had different subtleties, nuances and tastes and we ordered a couple of food plates to pair with the bebidas. the food was beautiful to see and the wine was decent maybe a 5 or a 6 outta 10 in my naive book, nothing to fall out of my chair for upon first sip as it were... again, i'm just a wine novice, not a connoisseur by any stretch of the meaning, since i've enjoyed most of my wines from costco. we did buy a bottle of their honey chardonnay which was not part of the paid tasting samples but we were offered a splash afterward downstairs by our hostess with the mostest - ms. cindy, who took a few pix of us and with us... overall a reasonably decent time at hpe, not sure i'd come back too soon since it did set us back over $350+... prob the going rate these days due to inflation which is kinda ridiculous.

*Reservation only! No cell phone service. Whenever I'm going to a new winery I always do my due diligence and check out the website and sometimes even call ahead. Because I saw the 2 for 1 promotion on Yelp, I assumed you wouldn't need a reservation for the tasting room. Wrong! This winery is reservation only. As a customer I appreciate this on some levels because it ensures that the tasting room is not super crowded and chaotic like other non-regulated tasting rooms in Napa. But it also feels like they're taking themselves a little too seriously. Hess has a gorgeous garden entrance and 3 story art museum. It's Mr. Hess' private collection. If you like modern/contemporary art you're going to love this added bonus. When you walk into the building there is a counter to the right and they're going to ask for your reservation. Like I said, we didn't have one. But they squeezed us into a 12:15 slot. (We arrived at 11:30.) I was trying to get into contact with the rest of our group but there's no cell service here. None! There's free wifi but I wasn't having any luck with it. Hess is located in a remote area of Mt. Veeder and there is a 1 mile drive up to it with switchbacks. I overheard a man explaining that he always comes to this winery first, because well you know... After browsing the art collection, we reported to the tasting room for our reservation. We were given a menu of their current wine releases. There was a nice selection of 9 varieties of white wines and 10 red options. You could choose any 4 wines for $20. (Buy one get one free with Yelp check in). 16 of the wines are only available at the winery. I chose the 13 Hess Collection Sauvignon Blanc. 13 Hess Collection Mount Veeder Chardonnay. 14 Hess Small Block Syrah Rose. And ended with 13 Hess Small Block Petite Sirah. Wow, the petite Sirah really packed a punch. The gentleman pouring our wines was pleasant. I had to ask questions to get more information about the wines. I wish he would've done a better job with the education part. The best story we got out of him involved Mr. Hess buying a Picasso to impress an art dealer that he wanted to "do business with" and didn't even know it. (No, it's not displayed on this property. We asked) We ended our tasting with a real treat, a taste of the 13 Hess Small Block Reserve Mardikian Pinot Noir, priced at $85 a bottle. I was really curious about how it would taste and of course it was absolute perfection. I asked if I bought a bottle of the Chardonnay if he could waive the tasting fee. The bottle was $40. He said it's a 3 bottle minimum before they could waive the fee. Although I loved Hess, the wines, garden, art collection. I'm taking a star away because I feel like there's still so much ageism when wine tasting in Napa. When we arrived to our tasting, the guy who was supposed to pour our wines, handed us off to the guy that we did have (who was obviously a newer employee). Also we got some attitude when we checked in and didn't have a reservation. This would NEVER happen if it was my mom and a group of her friends. Stop being so judgey Napa.

I can't speak more highly of the amazing experience we had! My friends and I had a private tour through the winery itself AND the art museum above. That in itself was impressive, but to have two of my favorite things at once was divine! We also had a wine pairing. I initially thought it would be more of a small bites and charcuterie. But NOPE! It was a multiple course meal, including some of the best steak I've ever had in my life. It was set in the perfect area and we had the whole room to ourselves and a beautiful view of the vineyard. The tour guide was so knowledgeable about the wine, the history, the art, and happy to meet any of our requests. Overall, I would say with the meal, tour and museum it was about half a day. They offer other tours but I'm not sure if they are private or not. Ours was just myself and my friends which was worth every penny!

We came to visit on a Monday, never a bad idea during summer in Napa. We made a reservation for a $25 wine tasting for 4 wines of our choosing and followed with a $5 dessert wine tasting. Every person with whom we spoke was kind, informative, and very welcoming; top notch customer service! The art exhibits on the second and third floor were an added bonus not to be missed. With so many choices in the Napa Valley, it would be time well spent to add this to your list of wineries.

I am not a wine drinker, so I cannot comment on the quality of the wines. However, this winery has an excellent quality, two story, modern art museum. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Everyone has their own tastes, and some of the pieces were a little too weird for me - but overall it was great. Their barrel room is also beautiful and worth seeing. The location is "off the beaten path" along a winding road through trees, which is also part of the appeal. I can certainly recommend it, irrespective of the wines they serve.

Wonderful winery! Location is stunning, and it's fun to look around at all the artwork! Edgar was very helpful and offered exceptional customer service!! Good luck on that Econ degree Edgar, oh we really enjoyed small world so thanks for that tip too! :) Every interaction any employee had there was exceptional really, so job well done to you all! 100% coming back to Hess!

My boyfriend and I were able to come in on a reservation for a Tour of the Palate to celebrate my 25th birthday yesterday! I just have to say, this was our first ever wine tasting experience and I can honestly say, we can't wait to come back!! Our hostess Cindy was hands down the best!! She was an absolute sweetheart and so easy to talk on and on with and you can tell she loves what she does by the way she talks about the artwork and people she works with. Then Chef Chad served us some great dishes and boy was that a treat!! Each dish was so savory and yummy, I wish we had more food and time lol Lastly, Jason served us up a Peaches 'n Cream dessert which was both beautiful to look at and flavorful to enjoy! We can not wait to come back and tour again! The grounds to walk around are so beautiful and with it being by reservation only, you really get that personal experience by doing so! Oh & best part, Cindy sent us home with a bottle to enjoy

Second time to Hess Winery to see the modern art. It's FREE to see it. No photography/videos allowed. Separate bathrooms on the entrance level in the back. They have 3 floors of art to see. They have lots of art and artist I've never heard before. I like Andy Goldsworthy art "Rock Pools". Rocks he got from his hometown of Scotland and then melted. Totally neat. His other artworks are really good too. Nice outdoor area to see some sculptures & goldfish/bigger fish in the pond near their entrance. Tastings: $10 for 4 pours, dessert wine $5 - we didn't try any. FREE winery and vineyard tours offered daily between 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Hrs: Daily 10a-5:30p

Exquisite food, art and service! I highly recommend this experience. It was great to visit during Covid when Hess was not at full guest capacity, and it felt very private and relaxing. Our host, Michael, was amazing and knowledgeable. I give the overall ex4.5 stars! The other half star is due to the busy bees we briefly endured. Staff responded wonderfully but must mitigate the problem with the bees!

This was my first winery experience in Napa and it did not disappoint. This location is pretty commercial, but all of the people we encountered while there were very personable. I appreciated that our pourer was knowledgeable, but not pretentious. The property is absolutely stunning and I love that they have an art studio inside. The tasting was $25/ pp or they have a vertical tasting of cab for $40. I really enjoyed their wines as much as I enjoyed the beauty of the place. You can make reservations online. FYI: there are 2 addresses with this property name. We accidentally went to the distribution center on the way, but they were very accommodating when we called and said we would be a bit late for our reservation. I would definitely recommend stopping here while in Napa!

This vineyard is remote from the center of Napa, but it's a nice place with a wonderful view. The vineyard looks very modern and has a lot of art inside, very interesting! We went there with family and our toddler and get a VIP tour down in the vine cellar with a nice plate with assorted delicious cheese. Our wine instructor was very nice and professional. It was very interesting and We had a lot of fun.

What a lovely place! We wine tasted with Ian, who was awesome! I found a few reds I liked. The most fun was after the tasting exploring the facilities. It's a must see.

Part 2 Hess secured the land on Mt. Veeder from the Christian Brothers order of the Catholic Church & has a 99 year lease arrangement. You may recall a couple of decades ago there was a Christian Brothers Winery on the site where the Culinary Institue is now located. I visited that spot while it was still Christian Brothers and met Brother Timothy a few times. He literally had the largest corkscrew collection in the world at one time. Back to Hess & Safra.. Safra acquired four pieces of adjoining properties at the current site of Spring Mountain Vineyard several decades ago. One of the last land acquisitions was from Mike Robbins, a legendary pioneer in the industry many decades before.Founded in 1968 by Los Angeles developer Mike Robbins, Spring Mountain made exemplary wine in its early days but faltered in the late 1970s. In 1990, after trying to sell the property for nearly a decade, Robbins filed for bankruptcy protection. Robbins asked $18 million for the operation at one point. Tire kickers came and went.Western Farm Credit Bank seized the property & the bank sold it for an undisclosed amount. One source said the 262-acre property--winery, mansion, 24-acre vineyard and 22,000 cases of wine--went for $5.5 million. This was the last acquisition by Safra group that completed what is today the Spring Mountain Vineyard. Speculation time...wonder which bank called the note in forcing, Mike Robbins into bankruptcy? Hmmm. Or how about this for speculation ... the name Safra means yellow, or gold, in Arabic.Convenient. Especially since the illustrious family has had their hand in the gold trade since the Ottoman Empire, facilitating trade throughout the Middle East.Notorious for their stable yet clandestine banking operations, the mysterious Safra family continues today as a fortress of banking successes.But the real question on everyone's mind is this: how has such an illustrious family, at times seeped in scandal, managed to remain so mysterious to the public eye,& what transpired to cause the untimely death of its golden boy, Edmond Safra? Reads like a mystery novel does it not? Back to the wine icon comparison.. I love to parallel indsutry icons so that is why I added this story,but the Hess Collection wines are amazing. Leaders can reach the finish line many different ways. I am glad Donald Hess enjoys New World wines & I actually believe Napa area benefits from this by the Hess group also playing in the weeds in Argentina and Napa as both styles of fruit are terrific. Many nuances are experienced with the many varietals. While visiting take a look at the glass display case that reveals the layers of soil down to its rocky core. I love root stock that has to struggle & fight because of elevation and drainage; the way a man has to up his game when meeting the "love of his life". Women prefer men with root stock structure but also a bevy of finesse about them!A side bar story..When you are long on wine inventory what do you do? I recently bought many cases of the Artezin brand of Zinfandel at Costco for $14, & the retail on this at the Hess Collection location is $38.To figure out what Costco's cost is for a product,take 85% of the retail price and that is what Costco paid. So Costco paid $11.90 a bottle. Ouch. Hess was long on inventory & moved it out on an "in & out" basis to Costco.Once this inventory is depleted, that is it. Look for these offerings and use QR Scanner app when trying to get information about a bottle in any store.When I purchased the several cases of Artezin recently,the data did not show this was part of Hess Collection and scoring those bottles for $14 each was a coup.Costco will even tell you the number of bottles available at each building, 385 bottles near me so I drove to that building and snagged quite a few of those bad boys.This hurts branding strategy due to extremes on retail pricing. Hope you liked the history lesson,but visit Hess Collection & stop by Spring Mountain Vineyard as well, so you can compare what the 2 icons have forged. Elevate! "When you don't have a shared vision, you end up confusing activity with accomplishments. Because you haven't defined or, worse, prioritized your interests & investments, years later you end up just waking up tired, without any accomplishments " Cheers, Vino Geno

Dude, where are we going? Are we lost? OMG that abandoned looking shack looks sooo haunted... DID I JUST SEE EDWARD CULLEN flying through the trees?? The road to Hess Collection Winery is like something out of Stephanie Meyer's infamous Twilight Series, (or maybe that was just wishful thinking on my part...) The weather was funky the day we were in Napa, too, so it made for some strange "Vampire-esque" scenery. Like the shrouded mist over a green meadow and rays of sunlight cracking through the trees under a partially cloudy sky. At one point, I seriously thought we were going the wrong way but the GPS said otherwise (and I don't trust myself with directions...I have some serious iron deficiency in my nose :P) I'll be honest, the winery looks a little creepy but I love the fish pond and grapevine arches near the entrance. We were greeted immediately and informed of the tasting options and the cardinal rule of the establishment: No Photography in the Museum. I went with the current tasting option of 4 red wines but really wanted to try their Late Harvest dessert wine. At first, the bartender said I could trade 2 of my 4 tastings for the dessert but ended up giving me a sample of it anyways. It's a sweet Chardonnay that they were able to make that season thanks to the peculiar weather they experienced...aka super duper rare. At $40/bottle, I couldn't get myself to buy it... but it was soooo delicious :( (I'm an $8/bottle of Moscato from Trader Joes kinda girl...) The museum itself was interesting. Sipping wine and discussing the art pieces with friends was so classy! 3rd floor is gnarly. They have human body shaped pieces made out of potato sacks... and floating heads... and a huge photo of a woman who is staring at you from every angle of the room. I think everyone's favorite piece was Andy Goldsworthy's sculptor of twigs and leaves: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_DIPzuBMu8-U/R1QcOAChfKI/AAAAAAAAB6M/p1rcgGCYsoU/s1600-R/AndyGoldsworthy.2007.twig_circle.jpg Classy museum slash winery with the best dessert Chardonnay I've ever had (one and only :P) Highly recommend if you're down for the adventurous drive!

Some friends and I came here for their free tour. The tour didn't cover that much ground - you just take a short walk to a small vineyard right outside the building and then head back into the cellar and then upstairs. The upper floors have some interesting art pieces. If you like modern art then this place is for you. It's no MoMA but it's free! The building has some interesting history. They'll tell you why exactly there's a random monastery next to this winery. They ended the tour with this movie clip about the winery and harvesting. I thought the movie clip was a bit too long but the room you sit in is quite nice - it's like a private theater in someone's rich home.

Aside from the awesome gallery and artwork, nice Charbono and Mouvedre wines for reasonable prices. Has a very nice gaarden seating area outside the tasting room.There is also a little gift shop just off the tasting room. None of the wines blew me away, but we did purchase both the Charbono and Mouverdre.

Frankie was absolutely amazing and gave us a wonderful time during our tasting! Would definitely return again'

My Super Hot amazing wife made reservations for us on our 3 year anniversary and WOW what an amazing place! A feast for the mind, body, and soul with an amazing food pairing by a world class chef with fabulous wines, and a tour of the beautiful museum. This was probably our 10th winery visited in 3 days but most certainly the best and most valued experience of our weekend!

Off the beaten path and it was somewhat a ways away (no cellphone reception in the area). We didn't make an appointment to do a tasting but it was a Friday afternoon and they were able to accommodate the five of us. Our host was excellent. She was engaging, knowledgeable and made it fun. We weren't planning on purchasing any bottles of wine however we ended up walking away with three which pays for one of the tasting.

A little off the beaten path, but well worth the trip! day trip to Napa. I really loved this place. We were given this recommendation by the hostess at R+D Kitchen and were very happy with it. Would absolutely visit again. Even the walk from the parking lot was beautiful. The gardens were lovely. I just wish we hadn't come AFTER lunch and had more time to explore or just sit outside. It was during a mini heat wave and the temp 102 degrees, so maybe that was just as well - lol! We were greeted inside by a lovely woman (whose name I forgot) with beautiful silver hair with fuchsia toned highlights. She was so super friendly and you could tell by the way she spoke that she absolutely LOVED where she worked (maybe she is an owner...hmmm) The art collection was a terrific addition to our visit, we spent some time exploring the gallery. Also a good place to spend time waiting for a tasting if they dont have room and you need to wait. The wines were delicious and we brought home a few bottles. Next time we come we will def make a reservation and do a tour!