Orin Swift Cellars

We visited from Colorado and made this stop our grand finale of our vacation. We had an amazing time during the Scissors experience. Our host- Greg was so knowledgeable and truly made it a memorable moment to wrap up our trip . The wine selections were incredible and we enjoyed every moment. We will go back again and again!

The wines were delicious, and our wine guide was very helpful in reviewing the wines, the label and the effort that went into each blend. They took note that we were celebrating a birthday, and greeted us with Champayne. I'd go back again for sure

We have been Orin Swift fans since the first time we attended a tasting in your temporary location a few years ago. We look forward to getting our shipment each year now, and had the pleasure of visiting your location last month. What a great experience. We thoroughly enjoyed Greg and all of his knowledge/friendliness and humor. My husband forgot his glasses that afternoon and when we went back the next day after several other tastings, we got to enjoy Greg and a few of your other wonderful staff members all over again. Beautiful decor, fantastic wine and great staff. We will be back!

Came in for a tasting and Ian was our tour guide throughout our amazing experience. We were looking for some new wines to bring back to our wine shop back home and found quite a few. The Scatter Stone, face value & Firebent were some of our favorites and ended up becoming a member and looking forward to our deliveries and sharing. Highly recommend!!!

Did a tasting with Lindsey, she was amazing! The wines are amazing but the stories behind the wines and the owners ties to the community make this the best place we stopped during our trip!

This was our first time at the new tasting room. We were quickly greeted upon entering OSC. We had booked a Scissors tasting and spent the afternoon with Greg who was an absolute delight. We had already planned on joining the wine club (excited for it to be our first) and we left after a few hours of lounging and talking with Greg. We love the depth of information that was shared, and I’ve never had an Orin Swift wine I didn’t like. We look forward to a long relationship with the winery. I’d share photos, but we’ll keep those a secret 😉

Absolutely amazing experience! Isabela did an excellent job explaining the story behind every wine and catered the experience to our likes and dislikes. The scissor experience was absolutely incredible. If you’re going to do the wine tasting, spend the extra money for the exclusive scissor experience. Ask for Isabela.

What the heck, how does this place not have a higher rating? We had an incredible experience with Isabella doing the “Paper” tasting. The space is beautiful, the wine is excellent, the art is great. Wonderful space to enjoy a tasting or come hang out and grab a glass. We have been followers for years so it was very cool coming to the official Orin Swift Cellars to experience stories and wines of theirs only available there. Isabella was an excellent guide and hostess! I give them my highest recommendation.

We had the BEST time at Orin Swift Cellars. Referred by a friend who knew they would be right up our alley. We enjoyed a delicious tasting, while also learning about each wine, and the history of Orin Swift. Marcel lead us throughout and was the star of the show! He truly was so knowledgeable, friendly, and made the experience extra special. We loved everything we tried and made sure to ship a few bottles home! The creative artwork and story on each bottle is a great way to showcase their wine in a fun way! We also will recommend friends and family to make sure their itinerary includes Orin Swift!

I visited Orin Swift while in St. Helena on a last-minute trip with my daughter. Overall, our experience was very good. We didn't have a reservation and were told we could stand at the bar (totally understandable). We asked about tasting but were given no info on pricing and it wasn't listed anywhere on a board or flyer or wine list. We loved the feel of the tasting room...Art throughout and good lighting. We were poured our first taste (and, I think, second), but the server didn't provide any details about the wine except the name. I wanted to ask for some elaboration, but the two servers were just chatting amongst themselves and we couldn't even get their attention. Which was disappointing. We were walk-ins, so I understand not a priority, but we were very interested in learning more about the wines and winery. However, another gentleman appeared (by the name of Marcel) and proceeded to give us an amazing tour of the wines and history of Orin Swift. Great wines. Great story. Great art. Marcel made our visit. However, I think the staff could be more cognizant to the fact that every visitor deserves an experience that helps them appreciate Orin Swift and serves Orin Swift by building a loyal customer base and following.

My friends and I had a 5 star experience at Orin Swift. Lindsay was our wine curator and took really great care of my group. We were her first tasting at 10am on a Thursday. The wines were delicious and we went home with several bottles!

Mark is the center point of this gallery wine tasting that still echoes the agony and ecstasy of all the generations of Bank of Italy borrowers who both found loans and fortunes evolve in this most dense setting of Napa vintners

St. Helena is full of surprises. Some come with caviar bumps and wine flights priced like mortgage payments. Others, like stumbling into the Orin Swift tasting room without a reservation, come with a raised eyebrow and a polite but pointed, "You'll have to stand at the bar." Fair enough. Rules are rules. But there's a difference between enforcing policy and practicing hospitality, and our first host (name withheld mostly because I never got it) was all business, zero soul. No sparkle in the eye, no curiosity about fellow industry folks who just happened to wander in. The room never got more than half full during our stay, but still--bar it was. Then came Marcel. Marcel is a unicorn. A one-man encyclopedia of all things fermented, bottled, and labeled under the gospel of Orin Swift. He doesn't just pour wine.. he channels it. He's the kind of guy who knows the exact silver content of a 1943 Mercury dime because there's one on a bottle label. The kind of guy who can tell you about the obscure Warhol piece that inspired a design element you didn't even notice. Hell, he probably knows the name of Dave Phinney's childhood dog and what kind of wood the tasting bar is made from. It's not just impressive, it's intoxicating. The wines? Stellar. Orin Swift has always carried a Zinfandel-heavy reputation in my mind, but what we tasted told a broader, more elegant story. The Sauvignon Blanc was all structure and sun, the Cabernet blends deep and unapologetic, everything you want from the valley floor, bottled with swagger. So if you find yourself in St. Helena and you've got a pulse, make a reservation at Orin Swift. Better yet, hope Marcel is there. He'll remind you why wine matters, why stories matter, and why you should never stop being curious. And maybe, just maybe, they'll let you sit down

Orin Swift is a tasting room and art studio. They have one flight available for walk ins. We can make reservations for tomorrow! I love the interior of this place

I'm a sucker for a great story and experiencing the start of Dave Phinney's career, was a great story to learn. The tasting room is a collection of beautiful selection of his collection, which give a sense into his tongue in cheek humor and approach to winemaking. His story reminds me of the following quote, "Success is always a matter of some luck and timing." -- Kathleen Kennedy

Very unique and creative wines! Every bottle had a story. Amazing St Helena downtown location. The hosts are very caring to serve the guests! Beautiful ambiance inside!

Enjoyable tasting. Lots of stores about the making of these wines and what you see on the bottles. It turns out that Orin Swift also is very into the artwork on the bottles and labels for his wines.... 2022 tasting price was $45. for 4 wines priced $40. - $150.

Great tasting room with great environment for a close conservation with host and a great collection of wines to try. The knowledge and experience of the hosts is distinctively good.

I visited yalls tasting room with my girlfriend over the past weekend for my 40th birthday! We were hosted by Mike Johnson...he was exceptionally amazing! He sprinkled me with a little wine fairy dust, and gave us the best tasting of our whole trip! Thank you for making my 40th extra special! Cheers from NC!

We had a fun and delicious tasting at Orin Swift today. Lindsey was our wine educator and did a great job telling us about each wine varietal and the accompanying artwork on the labels. The wine there is delicious and comes at an approachable price. It was an enjoyable afternoon!

Beautiful place, not bad wines, good feel inside, but only until you talk to a lady by the counter. OMG, hospitality most definitely shouldn't be her thing. The responses to few questions were so unwelcoming that we just turned and walked away. Not used to being treated like that in St Helena.

Not their usual tasting room but enjoyed the new warehouse renovated facility! It was open and very easy to access with a large parking lot! They have 3 tasting options and we went with the basic $20 tasting which has 5 different types of their wine. Our host was friendly and attentive. We picked up our favorite dessert wine "Mute" and Slander wine. The 8YTD is a popular wine they have but too tart for my taste. We will be back to pick up more Mute next time. Great for gifting and even people who don't enjoy dessert wine will have a different perspective with mute bottle.

Came in with a group of 5 at 3:45 on Friday. One of the 6 main seating areas was taken and the rest were empty. One of our party wasn't planning on drinking and wanted to sit (he mentioned to the hostesses that he was recovering from major surgery) and we went to the bar to ask about moving the walk-in tasting to one of the empty seating areas (note, they don't accept reservations after 3:30 so these empty tables would be empty the rest of the day). I don't think I can quite capture how rude they were when trying to "explain" why our friend could sit alone but our party couldn't join him if anyone wanted to do a tasting. Ended up having two of us who were going to join the tasting cancel and sit with him. More than that loss, we were really excited to visit here because we used to buy Machete by the case - if this service reflects the values of the winery, we probably won't ever buy another bottle.

Heads or tails?!?! Forget picking and take the whole coin!!! There are two options of wine tastings and I recommend that you share with someone and get both as we did. I am a big fan of the Orin Swift line of wines but I hadn't tried Machete yet. It is now my new favorite even over Mercury. Ollie took us on our tasting tour and shared whimsical stories and was very knowledgeable about the wines they have. It was very relaxed and we didn't feel rushed at all. You must have a reservation! Book early.

Best wine tasting experience we had in Napa. Beyond the wine being great, our host, Dave I believe, was AN EXPERIENCE. I apologize if that's not his name. He's a skinnier, white male, grayish hair, who's turning 60 this year and worked on July 3rd 2023. I learned so much from him. He was personable and had us laughing while being the most knowledgeable guide about both wine and the company. Due to him and the quality of the wine, I will certainly recommend Orin Swift to my guests dining over 1000 miles away

Our recent trip to the Napa Valley was a bit of a pilgrimage. I am a huge fan of wine and living in Santa Barbara I am very adept at the Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Maria and Paseo Robles. But when I drink a Cabernet, I want it to be from Napa. Kind of thought of Napa as being so far away, I've heard it can be expensive and might even be pretentious.... But a favorite friend of mine wanted to go, she had had wines from Orin Swift and was in love with them. The only thing that truly mattered during our trip was our visit to OS. Their tastings are no longer on the Main Street but at another winery in a large shared space. But they have their space so very "dialed in". If you are at all familiar to the winery you know that second to quality is style which is reflected in the naming of the wines as well as the amazing labels. The tasting room reflected this in spades. Beau was our host and I think he could tell that this tasting was almost a religious experience, we were definitely treated well. As I recall he was fairly new to Orin Swift but you would never know, he was exceptional. We opted to do two of the regular tastings and split the premium tastings. With the bottle purchases about $100 of tasting fees were waived. Great place snd I highly recommend.

Absolutely awful experience. No sense of customer service. Ladies are not welcoming. You can't sit to have a tasting unless you pre-book an experience. The worse experience I've had in a long time. Wine is a service industry. Please either decide to have wine to taste or don't.

Amazing tasting experience at the tasting room! Ian Seletzky gave the best experience that I have ever had regarding the history of the various wines he poured! Can't wait to come back again!

Love my experience and the wine here. I had a such a great experience here I joined there wine club I'm looking forward for my first shipment. Samantha was fun and a great host.

Some good wines including Machete and Mercury Head. Got chewed out by the staff for sitting down after being told that seating without glasses at the table were available. No seating at the bar either. I agree with Alexander G. Not used to this kind of treatment in St. Helena.

Amazing. Let's just start there. A friend visiting from Orange County joined me tasting at Orin Swift and it really set the tone for the entire day. The wine is great and the tasting experience was second to none. Our guide through the experience was Ollie, she is knowledgeable, friendly, engaging and absolutely charming. Any question we had, about the wine, the art, the history, the wine maker, absolutely anything, she had an answer. She took our experience from a mere wine tasting to a conversation with a friend (even though we just met) that is how welcomed we were made to feel. The uniqueness and passion for wine & art that David Phinney has was reflected via Ollie and of course the wine! Probably the best wine tasting experience I've had and I've been tasting for decades now. Thank you David for making amazing wine, steering the winery in such a creative way and thank you Ollie for sharing all that passion with us so kindly. Wesley Date of tasting 4/16/2023.

Solid gold experience! Thank you Ian. You were awesome. Super knowledgeable. Amazing history and stories. Dave you're a great man. Keep up the good work.

Any wine touched by Dave Phinney has and will always be a top prize winner in my book, and the brand new Orin Swift Tasting room in St. Helena is no exception to the perfection of his brands! I travelled from the East Coast and was only in the Bay Area for 30 hours and this was far and away the highlight of the entire trip. Right out of the gate, Izabella made me feel not only at home, but like a long lost friend sitting back down at the table to get lost in stories of the wine and the wonderful people behind it. She went above and beyond to provide me an exceptional experience and showed a deep understanding and passion for the wine, it's history, and it's legacy. I cannot recommend enough a trip down to the tasting room in the gorgeous setting of St. Helena. Set aside a few hours, clear your plate, and open yourself to a wonderful day with friends or a treat to yourself with the finest wines Napa Valley has to offer. A big thank you again to Izabella and the staff at OSC for leaving a great mark on this enthusiastic traveler and lover of wine. I will definitely return and look forward to my next tasting adventure!

We have been to Napa many times, and this was probably our best tasting experience in a long time! We signed up for the Scissors tasting, which is in a private room and features exclusive wines only available in this tasting. The room decor was fantastic and fit the wines and the art focus perfectly. The winemaker went to painstaking lengths to create a very unique and awesome room. The wines were equally fantastic, as OSC always is. Most importantly, our host, Ian, was excellent. He really knew the history and details of OSC, but he was also a lot of fun. His presentation was perfect, not too serious and never pretentious. He also found the perfect balance of telling us stories and entertaining, but also allowing time for our group to talk and enjoy the wines. We can't recommend OSC and this tasting enough. We also really appreciated how a great host can make or break the experience!

This review is ming overdue. I had the pleasure of discovering Machete 2015 at a tasting and it was not at the vineyard but at a local upscale wine shop. The sommelier insisted on me trying it as i was looking for a very specific italian merlot within the $40 price. Clearly Machete was on the $55 range which i was not ready to spend my hard earned cash. After deep thought and serious consideration and reading the technical sheet for the wine he suggested, i gave up and went for it. Most people drink the same thing over and over, i like to experience different wines but i know my grapes. Machete was my first investment in Orin Swift cellars and so far i can describe every wine i had papillon, Machete, abstract, palermo, 75864 miles and so far my favorite is Machete. The bottle itself has a beautiful form and a distinctive art work. For the most part every wine i've tasted has an alcohol level higher than 15% but less than 16%. As you may know most wines hovering above that level are treading closely on fortified grounds. Clearly O.S vineyards make bold wines with strong attitudes and they are not mass produced for every day drinking specially because at a $50+ budget it is an expensive proposition. While the most disappointing bottle is the 75864 miles. I will be a solid fan of Dave Phinney and i congratulate him for believing in the unique talent to bring exclusive niche wines to the market. These are red wines that have syrah, petit verdot, merlot, cabernet and granache; thus making wines that stand out and can be had for years. If you never had Machete, do yourself a favor and try it. I had the 2014 and 2015 and both were excellent. https://www.orinswift.com/

It's so fun to have a tasting room right on Main Street. I love being able to pop in for a tasting on during the one day I always spend shopping Main Street. My perfect shopping day starts with a late morning coffee and croissant at Model, and then working my way down Main Street, eventually landing at Merryvale and LMR for tastings, followed by dinner at Farmstead. So slipping in a tasting at Orin Swift is the perfect "when in Rome" situation. I've loved Orin Swift wines for a long time, but I had never been able to taste them together. My mom and I stopped in on rainy Monday in February, and we were pleasantly surprised to find such a warm welcome from Courtney. We tasted so many good wines. My mom did the Finite Few tasting and I did the heads. We love doing this because we end up getting to try so many wines. My favorite was the Mercury Head, but I also really love Abstract. This is an amazingly cool little tasting room, with stone walls on one side, a wall of some sort of reclaimed wood opposite, and a fun restroom that's worth the price of admission.

A great experience wether you are new to Orin Swift wines or a long time fan. This was our first trip to Napa and a tasting at Orin Swift was the only "must do" on our list. Ian S. made our tasting experience all we hoped for and more. Ian is friendly, engaging and incredibly knowledgeable. Incredible wines, fun and relaxed atmosphere - a great experience you do not want to miss.

We had our first taste of "8yrs in the desert" in early January at the Le'Merdien in Charlotte, NC. Then when we got back home to Dublin, Oh, we found "Abstract" at our local Pub "Fado". So when my girlfriend said she had a work assignment in Sacramento we knew we had to come through, and we weren't disappointed! The town of St. Helena is lovely, and the Orin Swift store is so cool. I was in SoHo, Ny last week and that was the feel it gave me. The vibe inside was wonderful! The staff was polite and knowledgeable, and of course we got a membership and had a couple cases sent home. I highly recommend this place...oh and it was raining the whole time, but you couldn't tell here!

Let me start by saying that I am a huge fan of what Dave Phinney has done at Orin Swift. I love the wines. I thought the tasting room is really cool especially considering that when I first tasted Orin Swift wines it was on the second floor of a small office building years ago. Wine - 5 Stars Tasting Room - 4 Stars Cost of Tasting - 2 Stars Pour Size - 2 Stars Service - 3 Stars I will keep drinking Orin Swift wines, but why stop at a tasting room on the main drag when there are so many beautiful wineries to visit.

Orin Swift is always a relaxed casual tasting while feeling like you're in a an upscale environment....my fav! They honestly don't have a bad wine to offer. However the Mercury Head is our go to on the menu Cheers to Orin Swift!

Ian was our host for our tasting and made our experience at Orin Swift outstanding. The wines were excellent . Truly a great visit

Tastings at Orin Swift Cellars never disappoint! Over the weekend we returned for a tasting and once again really enjoyed the experience. Ian and Allie took care of us and customized the tasting to our preferences. Every time we come we learn something we didn't know before we came and this was no exception. We love these wines, their stories, and this experience. Well done Orin Swift!

I was disappointed in the wine tasting . We use to love Orin swift but this felt like the cooperate takeover they are! They are not near as friendly and personal as many vineyards in the area are. Also I can buy their same wines in my home town much cheaper . That was very disappointing to me . Why would I pay more here and pay for shipping when I make a journey across the country to patronize them . A lot of vineyards will comp your tasting if you buy there wines . Here they want to to spend $300 per person to comp the tastings. Go some where else on you trip to Napa .

Wow, I was a HUGE fan of Orin Swift when they had their "unofficial" wine tasting room in the upstairs warehouse of the big brick building in downtown St. Helena. Now, they've opened up a swanky, modern space across the street. No more waived tasting fees or super personalized service. We checked out the new tasting room on our visit last month and were so disappointed. The service was fine, but the room is so modern (think lots of concrete so it's unbearably LOUD in there) that you just want to taste as quickly as possible and get the heck out. The wines were lacking too. I've always been a huge champion of all of Orin Swift's portfolio but I have to say that every wine that was being poured ended up disappointing me. Yes, even the Papillon! Note that Orin Swift has sold their popular Prisoner brand to a big wine conglomerate that is now mass-producing case after case of it (and believe me when I tell you that the quality has suffered greatly). What a bummer.

Can't say enough about the tasting representative we encountered at Orin Swift! She was so knowledgeable and the stories she told will have us going on about labels at our tables for centuries! Very thankful for we stopped in. Go Titans!

What can I say about Orin Swift wines other then they are my jam... every wine is smooth and the tastings are affordable. They have knowledge staff who are very nice. Maverick was awesome. If your in St. Helena's make sure to stop here.

My wife and I visited Orin Swift over Labor Day weekend and had an absolute blast! Ian did a wonderful job telling us all about the wine and the ideas behind the wine. The stories of Orin Swift are quite interesting and would recommend going to visit. If you get the chance ask for Ian he truly made our experience wonderful! Thanks again Ian! Sam and Ashley

The history of the winery and the art behind the labels is pretty cool. The winery itself is suppose to be an alley. That's why it's so narrow and has no cell service. The art on the labels is inspired by Dave Phinney and his travels around the word. The staff told us about how he created the labels and the stories are amazing and creative! I'm more a cheap wine person so the wines here were a little too upscale for me, but there was a couple I liked. Overall, this place has some pretty cool history. Go check it out.

If you like wine history then you'll enjoy this winery since it offers great history but more importantly great wine!! It's all very good - Machete, Papillon, Mannequin, Abstract plus much more. Dave Phinney was a lovely person and really enjoys what he's doing. He's got history of producing great tasting and great value wines, he was the mastermind behind The Prisoner wine, too. He enjoys marketing too, so their labels and route to market are really cool. He signed my bottle for me too. This tasting room was well situated albeit quiet when we arrived it filled up over lunchtime. The server was great too, knowledgable about the wine and the history. Orin Swift seems to have a tight knit family of workers which is nice and as members you get to feel a tiny bit of that too. The wines are a tad expensive by USA average standards but they're so worth the money, the Machete is probably $40+ and highly rated but simply delicious. Although I might have a limited wine tasting history this place has to be my favourite winery.

My absolute favorite winery in St. Helena. The tasting room was such a unique atmosphere. They have 4 different flights you can pick from. You can only try one per visit. So of course I had to come back a second day on my last trip there. All of the wines I tasted were amazing, it was so hard to choose a bottle to buy. I buy their wines at wine and spirits so I can get my Orin Swift fix back at home!

Charming tasting room with very friendly staff. I sincerely enjoyed every red wine I tried. The staff even gave us a few extra tastings as we figured out which one to purchase. The tasting room is small, but clean and bright. I enjoyed hunting for the secret bathroom door hidden in the wall!

We thoroughly enjoyed our experience at Orin Swift yesterday- Ian was amazing and as to be expected, so was the wine. We were excited to try a few of the wines that we'd never hd before and they did not disappoint. I loved all of the stories about each bottles name or label had a cool story - my husband who is a graphic designer was in love with everything and if you ever read this Dave Finney, he would love to have a glass of wine or bourbon with you - thanks for the excellent experience and the excellent wine

Incredible tasting and facilitator Ian. The wines, the labels and the stories behind the naming of each wine was the most exhilarating tasting along with the wine labels, wine quality, and ORIN's unique focus on both the industry and his persona. Been to over 70 wine tasking mostly in Sonoma and Napa and the occasional central valley of California. I have been associated in the wine industry since before PC's had hard disks when I worked at Gallo as their first PC coordinator. Met my wife of 35 years there who worked on both the Bartle's and James campaign and then was promoted to the associate admin for Ernest Gallo and his chef setting up tastings of both food and wine. Comparing Totts vs Dom Perignon was my favorite as I got the leftovers! I want one of the LUCITE explosions so please connect back with me as I have left a message and want to surprise my wife of 35 years anniversary in a couple months. IAN, you were phenomenal (as long as you did not sell the final LUCITE explosion) !!! I would be happy with either the single or double bottle and if you could include a meeting with Orin at some point, that would be priceless. (Note: I am not saying I would pay!) Cheers. David Harrison

Our time at Orin Swift today was an absolute blast, and we have Ian to thank for that! We did both the Heads and Tails tasting and were lucky to have Ian there to guide us through them. He was so knowledgeable but also made the tasting so much FUN! If you venture to Orin Swift for a tasting, make sure to request Ian for a fun time.

Went to orin swift without a reservation (not really expecting to get in) and had the absolute best time with Mark!! Can't speak highly enough of not only the place but the service as well. They really have one of the best and Mark was so friendly but also so knowledgeable about the wines and was an amazing storyteller! Can't recommend more, definitely come here!!

What a surprise this was for us. Very good wine in a very busy location. Parking is not easy to be had, but once you've parked, make sure you stop in here. Very good wine, but also very elusive, as we got to taste three or four that they had no supply of to sell us. The offered to get us on the list for the next release, but we had to commit to buying six bottles. It's so good that we're thinking about it, but it's an expensive commitment. To conclude this short review, stop in, check it out, taste the good stuff, buy what you can, think about the club, and all the best. "Bones" poured for us, and he was patient and helpful, explaining the art on the labels as well as the philosophy of the wine maker. Again, great!

Not your typical winery tasting room, but it's location in downtown St Helena means you don't have to arrange transportation. This room is very stylish and fun, the folks serving are knowledgeable and engaging, and the wines are amazing - worth the stop! If you do go, splurge for the Finite Few tasting- you will not regret it.