This year, I’ve been enjoying exploring Napa Valley more and have really fallen in love with Calistoga. For those who are not familiar, Calistoga is a town located at the North end of Napa Valley known for wineries, hot springs, and spas. With its inland location, Calistoga tends to be one of the warmest areas in Napa Valley in the summer – great for a spa or pool day. In my visits to Calistoga, I’ve been enjoying visiting the wineries in the area. On my most recent trip, I visited Bennett Lane Winery.
Note: This experience was provided to me at no charge, but all opinions are my own. I only recommend experiences that I truly enjoyed and would personally recommend to my family and friends.
The towns within Napa Valley are very spaced out, so plan your wine tastings accordingly! To give you perspective, Bennett Lane Winery is about 30 miles from the city of Napa, and with weekend traffic, it can take over an hour to get there.
We opted for a tasting towards the end of the day. I personally enjoy a reservation around 4pm because you can head to an early dinner right afterward. We were driving up from Rutherford, so traffic was an issue, but we planned ahead.
One of the things I love about wine tasting in Napa is all of the beautiful estates! Having been used to wine tasting at smaller tasting rooms, I’m always blown away by how spacious and beautiful the wineries are. The inside of the Bennett Lane tasting room is chic, but the weather was so nice we opted to sit outdoors.
Their outdoor space opens right into the vineyards and is surrounded by rose bushes. One thing to note – some outdoor tables are not on the patio but are directly on the grass, so be careful if you are wearing heels.
Bennett Lane’s owners are Randy and Lisa Lynch, whose love for wine began in Italy. Bennett Lane has a “Roman theme,” the first wine they produced was the Maximus Feasting Wine, a red blend made to pair easily with various foods. I love the name “Feasting Wine” it sounds so fun.
To add to the fun, they also have a replica Roman helmet in the tasting room that you can wear for photo ops! I didn’t try it on, but I did take photos of the wine next to it.
Bennett Lane also makes a white table wine named Maximus Feasting Wine White, a single vineyard Chardonnay, a Syrah, and a variety of Cabernet Sauvignons. Continuing the Roman theme, each wine label has an image of a different Roman coin. I enjoyed tasting Bennett Lane’s red wines – especially their Syrah.
The vibe at Bennett Lane was very relaxed, and I loved that. Our host, the tasting room manager, Travis Elder, was very friendly and knowledgeable about the wines. We enjoyed chatting with him. Thanks for hosting us, Bennett Lane!
Bennett Lane Winery
www.bennettlane.com
3340 Highway 128
Calistoga, CA 94515
(707) 942-6684
Check out my other winery recommendations or wine travel guides!
