Hess Collection Winery

10/04/06

Beautiful Tasting Room!

by monicalang

The journey to this winery is thru a wooded hillside. It is well worth the trip!

Gorgeous tasting room, wonderful wines too. Make time to see the art collection too.

• Pros: Great wines, Beautiful setting

Wine-making meets modern art in one of the most spectacular corners of Napa Valley.

by Contributor

The Background
Mt. Veeder, home of the Hess vineyard, is a gorgeous spot, with lush hillsides much like European wine regions. At 25 square miles, it's the smallest of the Napa Valley appellations. It also has some of the steepest vineyards and most remote wineries in the region. Owner Donald Hess was so taken with Mt. Veeder, he bought 900 acres and founded his winery in 1978.

The Experience
A self-guided tour is available with a 12-minute audiovisual show that explains the wine-making process. The tour ends at the tasting room, and guests can browse a retail shop offering a range of wines and books. In addition to these traditional trappings of a winery open to the public, the Hess Collection offers visitors a glimpse of its owner's impressive collection of contemporary European and American art. Three floors of galleries overlook the winery operations.