Tasting Napa's Winemaking History Where It Began

NAPA VALLEY, CA — Nearly three months before visitors will be able to see it, Beaulieu Vineyard began taking reservations today for tastings and tours inside the restored winery.

For the first time in years, guests will be able to move through the original stone structure at the center of the estate, a place that shaped the identity of Napa Valley.

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The transition begins July 13, when the winery shifts its visitor program out of the current reserve tasting room and into the renovated space.

The building dates to the 1880s and once served as the core of daily winemaking, according to the company.

Recent work has focused on keeping the structure intact while making room for guided tastings, small-group tours and, for the first time, a food program designed to sit alongside the wines rather than outside them.

“We wanted people to experience this place as it was meant to be,” Luke Magnini, the winery’s director of hospitality said in a press release. “That means being in these rooms, but also understanding the wines in a more complete way, including how they pair with food.”

Through late June, tastings will continue at the south-end Reserve Tasting Room. After that, staff will move operations into the restored building, reopening a part of the property that has largely been out of public view during construction.

A one-hour seated tasting introduces core wines, including the winery’s well-known cabernet sauvignon. Another package draws on the European background of the founding family, pairing wines with small seasonal dishes. A walking tour connects the vineyard and cellar, reflecting the teaching approach of storied winemaker André Tchelistcheff, who helped establish California vintages.

More in-depth options focus on older vintages and food pairings, including a multi-course tasting and a program built around library wines and historical recipes.

Founded in 1900 by Georges de Latour and Fernande de Latour, the winery helped define cabernet sauvignon in California. The Georges de Latour Private Reserve, first made in 1940, remains one of the region’s most collected wines.

Reservations opened today on the winery’s website, with the first guests expected to enter the restored space in mid-July.