My Favorite Napa Valley Red Wines

This section includes recommendations for some of the best Napa Valley red wines. It includes recommendations from both popular and lesser known wineries.

The Napa Cellars Zinfandel, Mondavi Pinot Noir and the Hall Winery Cabernet Sauvignon red wines are just a few of the wines included in this section.

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Recommendations
Napa Valley is well known for its fabulous Cabernet Sauvignon wines. There are a number of great cab wines from this region that I really enjoy. Here are some the ones I recommend:

Hall Winery: This winery is located toward the southern end of Napa Valley. If you are a cab lover, this is the place to visit. Their Kathryn Hall Cabernet wine is my favorite, although it’s also their most expensive. Try their Napa Valley Collection cab wine for something that is a little more price friendly.

Beaulieu Vineyard (BV): Another one of the great Napa Valley red wines is the BV cab wine. This wine is big and bold. It’s also budget friendly.

Merryville Vineyards: Located in St. Helena, this winery has a couple of great Cabernet Sauvignon wines to try. I haven’t tried a cab wine here that I didn’t like.

Raymond Vineyards: This winery also has a number of great Napa Valley red wines. They offer a variety of Cabernet Sauvignon wines. I’d recommend trying out their district wines. They run around $60, but are a great wine for the money.

Napa Valley Merlot Recommendations
Napa Valley is also well known for its production of high quality Merlot wines. I’ve been surprised at times by the number of great Merlots from this region. Here are some of my favorites:

Beaulieu Vineyards (BV): This winery makes a number of great Napa Valley red wines. In addition to their cab wine, I think they have a great Merlot. It’s also a great price for the money.

Raymond Vineyards: My favorite Merlot from Raymond Vineyards is their reserve Merlot wine. While it’s a little pricier, it is still one of my favorites from this region.

Merryvale Vineyards: The Merlot wine from Merryvale is a deep, rich wine with hints of cherry and vanilla.

Gallo Winery – Ghost Pines Label: There are a number of labels under the Gallo Winery brand. I’d highly recommend picking up a Merlot wine from their Ghost Pines label.

Napa Valley Pinot Noir Recommendations
The southern end of Napa Valley has the right temperature to produce amazing Pinot Noir wines. Here are some of my favorites from this region:

Mondavi Pinot Noir: The Mondavi name is well known in the wine industry. Pick up a Mondavi Pinot Noir and you’ll see why.

Beaulieu Vineyards (BV): I also really like BV’s Pinot Noir wine. It’s spicy and is a great buy for the money.

Zinfandel Napa Valley Recommendations
Zinfandel wines are tough to produce. However, I’ve found a couple of wineries in Napa Valley that have a great Zin wine offering:

Napa Cellars Zinfandel: The Napa Cellars Zinfandel is by far my favorite Zin wine from Napa Valley. It’s also listed at a great price point.

Merryville Vineyards: I’d also highly recommend the Merryville Vineyards Zinfandel wine. It’s a great find for the money.

Recommendations for Other Napa Valley Red Wines
There are also a number of other Napa Valley red wines that I wanted to recommend. Here are just a few:

Beaulieu Vineyards Tapesty: This type of red wine is a blend and a fabulous choice for Thanksgiving. It’s in the $50 range or slightly higher, but it’s a nice change of pace for a nice dinner.

Spring Mountain Syrah: Spring Mountain is one of my favorite wineries in Napa Valley. They are situated on the hill side which gives them a variety of land and altitude growing options. Syrah wine is not one of my favorite types of red wines, but Spring Mountain does it well. It’s a little pricier, but worth the money.

Those are just some of my favorite Napa Valley red wines. You can pick many of them up through the wineries web site or while you are visiting.

If you are visiting Napa Valley soon, visit the My Favorite Wineries in Napa Valley section for some tips to plan your upcoming trip.

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