Schramsberg Vineyards is a winery located in the Napa Valley region of California. It was founded in 1965 by Jack and Jamie Davies, who purchased a property in the Diamond Mountain District of Napa Valley and planted the first Schramsberg vineyards. The winery’s first vintage was released in 1967.
Schramsberg Vineyards is known for producing high-quality sparkling wines using the traditional method of fermentation in bottle, which is the same method used to produce Champagne in France. This method involves allowing the wine to undergo a second fermentation in the bottle, which creates the bubbles that are characteristic of sparkling wines. The process is labor-intensive and requires a great deal of skill and attention to detail, but it produces sparkling wines that are renowned for their complexity, depth of flavor, and fine bubbles.
The winery’s sparkling wines are made using a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier grapes, which are grown on the estate’s vineyards. The grapes are hand-picked and carefully sorted before they are fermented in small batches. The wines are aged in the winery’s underground caves, which are dug into the hillside and kept at a consistent temperature and humidity. The aging process allows the flavors and aromas of the wine to develop and become more nuanced, and it also helps to create the fine, creamy texture that is characteristic of Schramsberg sparkling wines.
In addition to producing sparkling wines, Schramsberg Vineyards also produces a small selection of still wines, including Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon. The winery’s still wines are made using grapes grown on the estate’s vineyards and are aged in oak barrels. The oak barrels add depth and complexity to the wines, and they also contribute to the wine’s structure and mouthfeel.
Schramsberg Vineyards is a leader in the California wine industry, and its sparkling wines have received numerous accolades and awards over the years. The winery’s sparkling wines are served at many prestigious events, including state dinners at the White House, and they are enjoyed by wine lovers around the world. Visitors to the winery can take a tour and see the process of making sparkling wine firsthand, and the winery also offers tastings of its wines, which are available by appointment.
Luc L'Ecuyer
a month agoMy wife and I had an amazing experience at Schramsberg Vineyard! We did the cave tour, followed by a delightful wine and cheese tasting. Christopher was an exceptional guide—he took us through the rich history of the vineyard and shared fascinating insights into the wine-making process. His knowledge wasn’t just limited to Schramsberg’s incredible sparkling wines and cabs; he was also a great resource on wine-making in general. On top of that, he was kind enough to recommend other spots to visit in Napa Valley, which made our trip even better. The wines, the setting, and the hospitality were all top-notch. Highly recommend this experience to anyone visiting the area!
T. W.
a week agoBest sparkling wine (champagne) produced in America hands down, in my opinion. Available at BevMo and TotalWine and restaurants. All sparkling wines made completely via the traditional French méthode champenoise. All bottles hand riddled, cave aged, and naturally carbonated from two fermentations. Several sparkling varieties available including regular and Rose types. Still wines also available. Unique old hand dug caves with natural lichen on the ceilings, just like traditional old wine caves. Great and informative cave tour with lots of detailed information on the production process with tasting of several different varieties at the end. Very romantic trip. Great ambiance! Great champagne quality and taste! Very informative and friendly tour!
Ada Kanapskyte
a month agoThe winery was beautiful, the wine tasted great, and the front staff and tour guide were all really lovely. However, my experience with their customer service left me with a sour taste in my mouth. I don't normally write reviews, good or bad, but this is the one exception. If you are a quote "family winery" and take pride in the product you make, then I would expect that extends to treating your customers with pride, dignity and respect. I did a wine tasting and tour of the winery with my mom and grandmother who were visiting from Chicago. Although the wines are expensive, I decided to order a 6-pack of assorted wines to be shipped to my mom's home in the Midwest. I thought it was worth the hefty price tag so my mom had the opportunity to indulge in these wines herself and share her great experience by gifting the wines to her close friends. We were told the delivery would be easy and speedy. However, what my mom received instead was a box soaked with wine, with the most expensive bottle broken at the neck, the rest of the bottles soaked and their labels ruined, and the box itself seemingly taped up in an attempt to fix it. We were obviously devastated - it would be an embarrassment to gift these bottles to anyone. I contacted the winery about the delivery and well, their response made it quite clear to me how much I was valued as a customer. I was told that this was quite the "rare occurrence" and my 3 options were to 1) send the wine back and get a new set, 2) keep the current wine and buy more for a whole 30% discount, or 3) return everything and get a full refund. If this is such a rare occurrence, then I expect the winery to take full responsibility for the faulty and honestly embarrassing delivery and go out of their way to compensate the customer. Instead, what I got was "too bad for you, we're actually going to spend even more money to make sure we salvage the remaining wine, and oh, would you like to buy more?" As a winery who boasted about the thousands of bottles of wine they make every year and serving an array of presidents, I really didn't expect them to be saving pennies on customers. The least I would expect in a scenario like this is a "we're so sorry, wine's on us, and here's further options." As much as I was ready to boast about this place and bring other family members and friends back for a visit, I would recommend you save your time and money and go elsewhere, where a "family" winery may actually still have some genuine family beliefs and much more respect for their customers than this place. TLDR; if you want to feel dehumanized, then this place is for you!
Erika Martin
a week agoTook a tour of Schramsberg on our last day of our Napa trip! Christopher was fantastic and so knowledgeable- the perfect combination of wine tasting and learning about the process. The caves were such a unique bonus- would recommend to anyone in the area!!!
Samantha Omer
7 months agoNot happy that they did not listen when I asked for our shipment to deliver this fall. Instead it shipped in middle of a HOT summer. That said the tour and wine tasting was worthwhile and great experience I just hope the $$$$ we spent buying their product is not spoiled upon delivery.