Last Updated on November 14, 2025
My husband and I had the opportunity to explore four family vineyards on an anniversary trip to California’s Napa Valley in 2025. The intimate and unique environments of each winery made the experiences more personal in a region now overcome with corporate wineries.
Chase Cellars
Chase Cellars at the Hayne Vineyard was an absolute gem. This small vineyard producing only 2,000 cases annually sits on beautiful land nestled at the foot of the Mayacamas.
Purchased by the Chase family in 1872, Captain George Chase’s daughter and her husband (and Capt. Chase’s business partner) used the land as a weekend and summer spot. Their daughter married William Alston Hayne and it has been known as the Hayne Vineyard ever since.
Walking up to the quaint farmhouse that serves as the tasting room, I was struck by how peaceful the location was. We were the only visitors at the time, and had the opportunity to speak with Katie Hayne, whose family owns the vineyard, about the property’s history and the types of wines they specialize in.
Old vine Zinfandel is the main focus, but they also make Viognier, Petit Syrah, red blends and a very unique Zinfandel Port. After the tasting and selecting a glass of Zinfandel, my husband and I were led out to the vineyard and shown the vines while hearing more of the winery’s history and the growing process that family has used to create such wonderful wines.
Salvestin-Dr. Crane Estate
Just down the street a short distance from Chase Cellars is another one of my personal favorite small wineries, Salvestrin-Dr. Crane Estate. Giovanni and Emma Salvestrin purchased land in 1932 that was part of Dr. George Belden Crane’s historic ranch, a vineyard originally planted in 1859.
Chase Cellars began to sell grapes to the Napa Valley Co-op. By the1960s, Giovanni’s son Ed had taken over the vineyard while also working at the St. Helena Post Office. Ed’s son Rich and his wife Shannon took over the estate and began the wine making journey with a Cabernet.
With Rich’s background in farming and Shannon’s expertise in wine sales, they began to bottle Salvestrin wine, the first vintage producing only 157 cases. During our visit, Shannon led our tasting and tour of the vineyard. We sampled the signature Cabernet (which paired well with some dark chocolate), along with newer offerings: a Vin Rosé, Petit Sirah and their ‘Rettagio’ (which means ‘legacy’ or ‘heritage’ in Italian).
The Rosé, a blend of Sangiovese, Merlot, and Pinot Noir was light and crisp with hints of berries – perfect for warmer weather. Rettagio, a blend of Sangiovese, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc in the super Tuscan style was one of my favorites and perfect, as Sharron Salvestrin remarked, for Tuesday night pizza.
Del Dotto Vineyards
Another family-owned boutique winery we visited was Del Dotto Vineyards. In 1988, Dave and Yolanda Del Dotto purchased a 1912 Frank Lloyd Wright craftsman house in the Rutherford region. In 1990, they began producing Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Sangiovese.
Today their varietals have expanded to include Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre in addition to the ones they began the vineyard with. Dave and Yolanda still run the winery along with their children, Giovanni and Desiree.
Del Dotto is known for its rich, luscious, silky smooth style of winemaking in small batches. With three locations, this winery has the unique experience of hosting tastings in their wine caves. On our tour, we had the opportunity to sample wines directly from the barrels and the clay pots they are aged in, including their featured single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon.
The Cabernet was very smooth with hints of cherry and warm spice. Del Dotto is also certified as a California Sustainable Winegrower and even though not organically certified, they practice farming practices such as using no pesticides and weeding that’s performed by hand or by the sheep.
Robert Sinsky Vineyards
Once located at the Silverado Trail in Stags Leap District, the winery recently moved to Wilding Farm in Carneros and has not yet re-opened to visitors. This move brings them closer to their roots and early days also in the Carneros region at the Capa Vineyard. It also brings them back to a farm, not just a vineyard property.
I was interested in tasting Robert Sinsky’s wines because they are a certified organic grower. The tasting and tour of the Silverado Trail winery was lovely experience. We still have one bottle left of the 2003 Merlot from our visit, of which there were only 219 total cases produced.
A fun thing we did at the winery was choose a bottle from a bin where the wines were all in unmarked brown paper bags – we had no idea what we were getting. They were all listed for the same low price – around $20.
I chose a bottle that ended up being a Chardonnay. and though I’m not a Chardonnay drinker by any means, more of a red wine person, this Chardonnay was the smoothest and most buttery I’ve ever tasted. If all Chardonnays were like this bottle, I would have become a Chardonnay drinker.
I am interested in visiting Wilding Farm when it opens. From his website, Robert Sinsky says, “We want a bio-diverse farm where everything contributes to give back and enrich the soil, sequester carbon and help produce great food and drink again. A perfect circle. A healthy, regenerative farm.”
He added, “We also want a farm whose produce informs the style of wine. Historically, wine was about the agrarian experience where the regional produce defined the wine, where food and wine grew up together with natural synergy.”
These four wineries offer such personalized experiences and a distinctive flair to any visit to Napa Valley. I recommend exploring them all on your next visit.
