Stepping into the cave of Jarvis Estate is like walking into another world, where all your senses are fixated on one thing…wine. Once a grape goes in, it never sees the light of day again until someone opens their bottle. One of the secrets to their amazing wine happens outside of the cave…in their 37-acres of estate vineyards. Their vineyards are located high above Napa, in beautiful rugged mountains that are one thousand feet above the valley floor. The cooler temperature and high elevation allow a longer “hang time” for the grapes ensuring a slow maturation.
When you arrive at the cave, your curiosity will be killing you as you try to imagine what’s behind this door.
You’ll never forget your first peek inside the 45,000 square-foot cave. How amazing is this? The domed walls lined with barrels welcomes you and even if you are not interested in wine, you will be in awe of the unique architecture.
Wine matures in massive oak barrels created especially for the winery by French coopers. These barrels are a true work of art.
This is where the magic happens. The smaller barrels are only used once, before being sold. During the tour you will learn the meticulous effort that goes into creating each bottle.
Jarvis Estates is devoted to creating small batches that are up to their standards, instead of creating mediocre large batches. They bring the grapes into the winery in small bins so they don’t hurt the grapes with their own weight. They even bottle and cork their wine by hand.
They even use crock pots to melt the wax they seal their bottles with. I love all the attention to detail they pay to their wine.
The cave has a beautiful Crystal Room, which I’m sure brings a powerful energy to the wine.
My favorite spot in the cave is their spectacular waterfall! I could have sat here all day listening to the water flowing. In addition to adding ambiance to the cave, the waterfall and stream maintains the humidity level at an ideal level for the barrel aging of the wine. Isn’t it gorgeous?
Our final stop was the Tasting Room, where we sampled six Jarvis Estate and Reserve Collection wines.
Here’s what we sampled:
2016 Finch Hollow Chardonnay (aged 10 months)
2013 Cabernet Franc (aged 24 months) THIS WAS OUR FAVORITE!
2012 Petit Verdot (aged 22 months)
2013 Merlot (aged 19 months)
2013 Cabernet Sauvignon (aged 30 months)
2013 Lake William Blend (aged 23 months)
All of the wines above were aged in new French oak.
Tips for a perfect day at Jarvis Winery:
The winery is a constant temperature of 61 degrees, so you may want to dress accordingly.
Make reservations ahead of time, since they’ve very in demand.
You must be over the age of 21 to do the tour and tasting, so sorry…kiddos can’t come along.
You’ll be walking through a cave, so you may want to wear proper footwear.
The tour and tasting lasted about an hour and a half.
2970 Monticello Rd, Napa, CA 94558
(707) 255-5280
A warm thank you to Jarvis Winery for having us as guests in your cave. A special thank you to Susan for teaching us about the history of the winery and introducing us to our new favorite wines. This would be number one recommendation of a winery if you are visiting Napa. As always, all experiences and opinions are 100% of MyTravelingKids.com.
