- Why We Recommend It: Unique winemaker’s experience, high-quality blends, biodynamic farming
- Tasting Prices: From $35 per person
- Where to Stay: Archer Hotel Napa, from $428 per night
This is not—we repeat, this is not—your typical Napa winery. Then again, that’s kind of the point. When you’ve done the whole, “drinks overlooking the vineyard” thing to death, it’s time to head to Raymond for a whole new experience. Guests are greeted by a garden of white roses that leads into the “Theater of Nature,” where the winery’s biodynamic farming (a technique in which earthly elements, such as celestial rhythms, impact how, and when, a crop will be harvested) is on full display. And when you’re ready to get your drink on, you can head inside the winery’s crown jewel: the Red Room. As its name suggest, the space is all red velvet and chandeliers—all the better to match the cabernet you’ll be drinking from Director of Winemaking Stephanie Putnam (we’re partial to the LVE cab—the vineyard’s collaboration with the one and only John Legend). Also unique? The vineyard's Winemaker for a Day experience, an immersive experience that lets you mix and match grape varietals to your heart’s content to create your very own bottle of vino. We speak from experience when we say it’s harder than you might think—let's just say grapes perform very differently solo than they do in a blend—but it's well worth the effort.
707-963-3141, 1584 S. Helena Hwy., St. Helena, CA, 94574, raymondvineyards.com