Hess Collection Winery
If you love art and wine, you are eager to visit the Hess Collection winery in California’s Napa Valley.
You might have heard about Hess Collection Chardonnay, rich and buttery, and available in your higher end supermarket or fine wine shop.
Hess Collection Winery makes wine from many different wine varieties including Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc, as well as the various blends.
History of the Napa Valley Hess Collection Winery
It’s really fascinating to hear the history of the Hess Collection Winery.
The Winery was created by Donald Hess, who inherited his father's company at the age of 20 in the earlier part of the last century. Click To TweetIn 1959, the family was very successful with their mineral water company in Europe.
But in the mid 1970s Donald came to the USA to see how the market was for mineral water. After spending four weeks visiting the entire United States, he did not see a strong demand for mineral water, or resources for making good mineral water.
A stop in Calistoga was the last straw. He did not like the water there at all.
At an elegant restaurant, he wondered what he would tell the family back home about his failed mission.
Then he picked up the wine list.
Hess Collection Winery: What Happened When Mr. Hess Looked At the List
Instead of the French wines that usually filled a list at an elegant restaurant, he saw only California wines.
He asked the sommelier about the wines, and became intrigued with the idea of making California wines.
Two years later, he returned to the Napa Valley and found the vineyards that would soon belong to the Hess Collection winery.
At first, they grew the grapes and made the wine at a different facility.
Then they searched for a winery space.
They found one in an old, antiquated winery space that had been used by monks to make wine during prohibition.
Rebuilding the space into the grand Hess Collection Winery took millions of dollars and many years.
Preparing to Visit to the Hess Collection Winery
You will want to prepare for your visit to the Hess Collection Winery.
To see the multi-million dollar of art, is free.
Tastings of wine begin at $25 and go up from there, depending on the sort of experience you want.
Click this link to watch the Video Below
How much time to spend at Hess Collection Winery?
According to Michael Jobs, the chief wine educator, 90 minutes at Hess is fine.
This is enough time to choose one of the more streamlined tasting experiences and even enough time to buy a bottle of wine and enjoy it with your friends in the gorgeous art-filled garden.
Marisa D’Vari’s Recommendation For Hess Collection Winery
Hess Collection Winery is one of the most beautiful wineries in the Napa Valley.
Their top wine, The Lion Cabernet Sauvignon from the best Mount Veeder grapes, is nearly $200 dollars a bottle.
Though touring the art collection is free, and the least expensive tasting is $25, I recommend booking one of the higher end tastings.
The Chocolate and Wine Pairing
One exciting tasting is the chocolate and wine pairing.
For this pairing, the chefs prepare truffles infused with some elements you may find in the wine to be paired with it.
The Cheese and Wine Pairing
For this pairing, you will taste seasonal artisinal cheese paired with a variety of different wines.
The Lunch Events
On request, Hess Collections winery can arrange a special lunch. The price quoted to me was $185 a person. And it’s interesting to know that two people is just fine.
The Tasting
I was lucky enough to taste through the range of current releases. Fabulous! You will enjoy your visit to the Hess Collection Winery very much.
2016 Panthera Chardonnay – new generation wine – very Meursault like, sauteed butter, long length of finish. 14.3
2016 Lion Tamer Red Blend – Malbec and zin (Prisoner is the target, Malbec is second most important grape …. 40% Malbec 27% Zinfandel 2% Mourvedre 1% Petite Verdot and 1% merlot – jammy red fruit flavors. Velvet tannins. Some boysenberry fruit
2016 Napa Valley “Allomi” Cabernet Sauvignon – $32 but also by glass – 1 hour north Howell mountain but not within the AVA -flatter and warmer – American oak.
2014 Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Grown – $75 retail – very elegant with structured tannins – 80% new french oak 22 months –
2014 The Lion Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Grown – 65% new french oak – very structured and bordeaux like – blackberry blueberry dark chocolate $185
Here is a Video of the Hess Collection Art
This is the Marisa D’Vari aka AWineStory.com List of Essentials to Bring for Winery Visits
- A hat, especially for sunny days.
- Sunglasses for the same reason.
- Sunscreen very necessary in summer.
- A charger for your device so not to miss once-in-a-lifetime pictures.
- Your favorite bottled water
- A cup for expectorating wine in case it is not provided.
- A small notebook to record details about the wine or vineyards.
- Comfortable walking shoes for vineyard visits
Hess Collection Winery Visitor Center
4411 Redwood Road
Napa, California 94558
707-255-1144P.S. If you or your friends are visiting the Napa Valley, please use the SOCIAL SHARE buttons to send them this article. You can also subscribe here to my newsletter.
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MORE ABOUT AUTHOR MARISA DVARI
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Marisa D’Vari DipWSET holds the highest qualification from the Wine and Spirits Educational Trust (WSET), representing three years of intense study. In addition, she has completed the “Honours Level” of the WSET, representing an additional year writing a thesis.
Key Wine Credentials
D’Vari has several of the most important wine credentials in the world, including the “Certified Sommelier” designation from the Court of Master Sommeliers and the Certified Wine Educator qualification from the Society of Wine Educators. She has several blind tasting and other diplomas from the American Sommelier Association and Sommelier Society of America.
Wine Competition Judge
Marisa D’Vari is a judge for the International Wine Challenge and International Wine and Spirits Competiton, as well as the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles Wine Competition
Associations
D’Vari is the first American member of the UK’s Association of Wine Educators and a member of the global Circle of Wine Writers. She is a long standing member of FIJEV, the International Federation of Journalists of Wine and Spirits.
D’Vari is a Finalist in the 2019 Millesime Blog Competition, and the author of five non-fiction books.