Updated: 10/15/2019
Per the website, there is now a $20.00 per person tasting room fee.
Voted the number one vineyard in the USA by Travel and Leisure Magazine*, (2017), Vincent Arroyo Winery in Calistoga, California offers something for almost everyone. You don’t have to be a wine enthusiast to enjoy a visit. Though you should visit for the high-quality wine, Vincent Arroyo Winery has become known as one of the most fun and engaging winery experiences in the country.
*Though the article states #1 vineyard, we believe they meant winery.

Greenwood Ranch Vineyards
Indeed, Vincent Arroyo Winery is far from the stereotypical Napa Valley winery.
The tasting room is concrete and plywood, with boxes of wine and olive oil lining the walls.
There is no bar or tasting menu. Instead, there’s a vintage card table (Vincent’s own table from the 70s) set with a selection of wines which changes from day to day.

Vincent Arroyo chats with a long time customer at the annual Amigo’s Party.
The unique wine selection, friendly staff, and relaxed atmosphere are just a few of the reasons customers return to Vincent Arroyo Winery. Not to mention that unlike most Napa Valley wineries Petite Sirah, not Cabernet Sauvignon, is the flagship wine.

A busy day in the tasting room.
I love the informal atmosphere around the table.
It’s akin to hanging out in the kitchen at a house party or family gathering. You may come in alone, but you’ll end up talking with whoever is standing around the table. Visitors from all over the world share a feeling of camaraderie at having been clever enough to discover this boutique winery in the far northern corner of Napa Valley.

Rambunctious Rosie
Adding to the friendly ambiance is Rosie, a rambunctious two-year-old black lab who loves to play ball and greets all visitors. In 2017, the winery bottled its first Syrah of Rosé. Want to guess what they named it? This is a bone dry rosé produced in the Provencal style.
You’ll often find Bodega in the tasting room, too. Bodega is a chocolate lab whose namesake wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, and Petite Verdot grapes. Naming wines after the family pets is an enduring tradition at Vincent Arroyo Winery.
A little Vincent Arroyo Winery history
It was an ad offering a 23-acre vineyard for sale in the San Francisco Chronicle in the early 1970s that called to Vincent. A successful mechanical engineer, he felt disconnected from the products he helped create. He’d never heard of Calistoga, but he knew he wanted a career that allowed him to be more hands-on. He bought the vineyard and set out to become a farmer. It wasn’t until ten years later that he began making wine.
Today, the homestead sits on that property, and most of the original vineyards are still there. There are now over 80 acres under vine. I asked Vincent what made him decide to grow Petite Sirah. He said, “It tasted good with barbeque.” Who can argue with that?
The second generation is now at the helm at VAW, and in 2018 the winery will be rebranding as Arroyo Winery.
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The tasting experience
Most tastings will include the Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, a Tempranillo or a Sangiovese, a Zinfandel or Merlot, a red blend, and of course, the signature wine, Petite Sirah. The team at VAW likes to mix it up so there is no “standard” tasting.

Menu of the day
The wines
The first wines made at Vincent Arroyo Winery were Chardonnay, Melange (a blend), Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petite Sirah. The winery currently offers sixteen different wines, all estate-bottled and sold exclusively through the winery or direct mail. Customers can reserve next year’s vintage in advance to ensure they don’t miss out on the more popular wines, like the Petite Sirah.
There are four different bottlings of Petite Sirah at Vincent Arroyo Winery.
Two are single-vineyard and two are blends. The Petite Sirah Winemaker’s Reserve is a blend of the very best grapes. Blending the grapes from different plots affords customers a chance to buy a good wine at an affordable price point. Vincent Arroyo Winery makes about twelve other wines and grows nine varietals.

Mount St. Helena in the background with grapes in the foreground.
The Petite Sirah has become a bit of a cult wine over the years. This varietal has historically been used to add more color and body to wines, and less so as a single varietal as it is very tannic. But fans love its deep purple color, ability to age well, and compatibility with rich foods.
Top Tips
On a sunny day dine alfresco at one of the picnic tables. Grab a bottle of wine in the tasting room and bring your lunch with you.
Tastings are by appointment only. Please book in advance. Smaller groups may get lucky and snag an appointment the day of.
The annual Winemaker’s Dinner and Amigo’s Party are always a sell-out. They are reserved for standing order customers and highly sought after events. Put the first weekend in May and the first weekend in October on your calendar now. It’s just one of many good reasons to become a standing order customer at Vincent Arroyo Winery.
The knowledgeable staff can answer most any question you have about winemaking – don’t be afraid to ask.
Discover what thousands of fans already know — Vincent Arroyo Winery offers one of Napa Valley’s most interesting experiences.
Come to Vincent Arroyo Winery for the wine, the experience, and a chance to share in a little bit of Napa Valley history.
Did you like this article? Go ahead and share it! You may also want to read about my first visit to Calistoga!

Pull up a chair and stay a while.
Disclosure: At the time I wrote this article I was the marketing coordinator and social media manager at Vincent Arroyo Winery.
28 comments
Please give us the prices of the wine tastings
Hello Prudence, If you just click on the link in the article for the winery, you can find all the current information on their website.
that was a great blog with full of information, thanks a lot for so much help
Glad you liked it!
Mmmm… We Wouldn’t mind visiting the Vincent Arroyo Winery and tasting some of its wines. The dry rose wine (Rosie) sounds like it would be nice for summer :-).
If you want Rosie’s Rose, you better get it now, if it’s not already sold out!
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I love the sound of the feeling of camaraderie that you’ve described – I never liked those experience which came with pretense. Will remember this one for sure, we are headed to SFO next summer.
Wine enthusiast. I’m really glad you mentioned that you don’t have to be a wine enthusiast to enjoy a visit. I love those chairs made out of the wine barrels. I love the sound of the feeling of camaraderie that you’ve described – I never liked those experience which came with pretense.
Thanks for the feedback. Have you been to Napa?
Vincent Arroyo really stands out as as relaxed, yet seiously high-quality winery. Nothing corporate about this family-owned vineyard. The grapes grow close to the tasting room, and so do olive trees in this inspiring setting with Mt St Helena in the background. The cult wine here is Petite Sirah, especially the single vineyard, which yields a complex play of tannins. Much appreciated was the gentle guidance of Penny Sadler, who explained each wine we sampled and then led us on a tour of the vineyards. She seemed to represent the low-key expertise of yhe place. Next time i am going to bring my lunch, buy a bottle and sit outside in the garden.Oh yes, the surprise wine was a delicate chardonnay .
Hi Jacqueline,
Thank you for the nice review of the winery and your tasting experience. I hope to see you again somewhere on the road as we both love to travel. And your sister, in Calistoga.
I know just the right person for whom wine tasting in the Napa Valley would be a dream come true. Me, I’ll be happy swooning over the fabulous landscapes 🙂 Such a pretty part of the world.
Wine enthusiast I am not so I’m really glad you mentioned that you don’t have to be a wine enthusiast to enjoy a visit. I love those chairs made out of the wine barrels. Where can I buy one or two? That would look great on my balcony. I do appreciate the informal atmosphere of people hanging out as apposed to the pretentious crowd. I love the scenery too!
Hi Christopher, wine barrel furniture is a thing.
I like that you don’t have to be a wine enthusiast to enjoy a visit. I like wine, but I wouldn’t call myself a wine enthusiast, but I’m all up for learning and tasting in a fun relaxed atmosphere. I love the sound of the feeling of camaraderie that you’ve described – I never liked those experience which came with pretense. I don’t believe I’ve ever tasted Petite Sirah, so will have to get back to California and plan a stop in! We love our road trips, and my husband doesn’t drink, so I always have a designated driver :D! Adding Vincent Arroyo Winery to the list.
You’ll have UBER. Or hire a driver. Or learn to spit. 🙂
Visiting Napa Valley and touring the vineyards has been high on my wish list for a long time. With so many wineries to choose from, it can be a bit overwhelming when planning a trip. Vincent Arroyo Winery hits all the marks in what I would like when touring a winery: beautiful scenery, casual and non-intimidating atmosphere, and loving pets to greet visitors 🙂
I’d love and try to time a visit with the annual Amigo’s Party, that sounds like such a fun event! Thanks for putting this winery on my radar, I’ll be sure not to miss it when planning a trip to Napa Valley!
The Amigo’s party is a blast.
I love wine and visiting winery’s, so now I need to add Vincent Arroyo Winery to my list – I love the vintage, relaxed feel of the place. I think that wine can often be seen as very stuff but it should be a pleasure open to all. I’m a fan of Sirah too so good to know it’s the grape of choice!
Hi Sam, well Sirah and petite sirah are two different things. Thanks for your comments!
I love wine and wine tastings. On the one time that I did go to Napa Valley, I remember the excursion to a vineyard fondly. Will remember this one for sure, we are headed to SFO next summer.
Let me know if you are heading this way. penny (at) adventures of a carryon (dot) com
I am not a wine person but I like the fact that you can get your own food and pick up a bottle of wine and have a picnic at the winery. I would like to know what makes them America’s no 1 winery – is it the sales numbers or the variety of wine that they sell?
Hello Anu, thanks for your comments. The rating was based on online reviews.
Oh, I love how “relaxed” the place is. There’s no bar nor the tasting menu? So different, it almost makes it more “real” in a way. Like you’re visiting some relatives, right! 🙂
And it sounds nice that one doesn’t have to be wine enthusiast to enjoy a visit, since it opens winery door to more wine lovers that way.
Seems like the place to visit, thanks for the suggestion. 🙂
Penny, I wish we could have visited and now, having read your article, I am especially disappointed. Next time!
I wish you had had time to come too! I love seeing my friends from around the world at the winery.