Merryvale Vineyards is one of the more popular wine tasting stops in the Napa Valley. Merryvale is located just as you enter the town of St. Helena driving north on Highway 29. It is right next store to the landmark Tra Vigne restaurant.

We like this winery for several reasons. We had a memorable evening at Merryvale several years ago at our nephew’s wedding rehearsal dinner. The dinner was held in Merryvale’s great Cask Room. It was one of those evenings that place an indelible mark in one’s memory bank.

The Merryvale staff is extremely knowledgeable and very accommodating. A comfortable atmosphere pervades the tasting room. Merryvale has wine education seminars monthly and holds a barrel tasting every 2nd Saturday and Sunday of the month. No appointment is needed for the barrel tasting and the fee is $7. We happened to hit the right Saturday on our visit and joined the barrel tasting. It turned out to be one big party. It was fun but best of all very educational comparing vintages and varietals.

The Merryvale wines are all excellent. Tasters get a choice of what class of wines to taste and fees vary accordingly. The tasting room is spacious and with doorways that open into the Cask Room, the barrel room, and winemaking facilities. There is also a good selection of merchandise for sale if that is an attraction. The tasting room is open from 10:00 to 6:30 pm daily.

Whenever we are in the Valley and near Merryvale we make it point to drop in and pick up a bottle of their fabulous dessert wine, Antigua, Muscat de Frontignan. You can find most of their wines in retail wine shops but usually not this one.

The Good: Good wine information, wine events, the Cask Room
The Bad: Can be very busy with visitors. Traffic in St. Helena is very congested.

Raymond Vineyards is located on Zinfandel Lane in St. Helena. Zinfandel Lane is one of the several crossroads that traverse the Napa Valley between Highway 29 and the Silverado Trail. If you are trying to escape the weekend crowds at peak season, you will find the crossroad wineries to be just a little less busy.

Raymond Vineyards has been making wine since the 1970’s. We are not sure how old the winery building and tasting room are but they look very residential almost like something you would find in a gated community. It is very non-Napa like.

As soon as you enter the Raymond tasting room you get a connection between Raymond Vineyards and the historic Beringer Brothers Winery. There are Beringer photos and other memorabilia posted in the tasting room. Raymond owner Roy Raymond began working at Beringer in 1930 and then met and married Martha Beringer. When the Beringer Family sold their winery in 1971, Raymond and Martha wanted to make their own wine and purchased land in the Napa Valley and started Raymond Vineyards.

Raymond makes wine from their 600 acres they have accumulated over the years. They produce wines from the supermarket level to the very high end. In the tasting room, you have several options for tasting wines. Tasting fees vary according to the selection. We did the basic tasting and we felt all the wines in that category were all very well made and good tasting. We didn’t buy any of the wines and that is rare for us. Nothing really jumped out at us that we had to have. Raymond is a nice place to visit at least once.

The Good: Nice wines, various levels of tasting flights available.
The Bad: Nondescript tasting room and nothing memorable about the winery.

We tried the Chablis Inn a couple of weeks ago before the summer season prices went into effect. We stayed for two nights during the week for an unbelievable $84 a night. The Chablis is clean, comfortable and well maintained. There is a small pool and hot tub, and the usual room amenities. Oh yes, they do have free Internet access, something the nearby Marriott charges at a rate of $10 per day.

The Chablis is sheltered from Highway 29 so you don’t get much traffic sounds at night. Directly across the street is a small shopping center called the Redwood Plaza. The plaza has a Starbucks and the fabulous Vallergas market. The Vallergas market has a great deli and gourmet items. You can pick up your picnic goodies there before heading out to the wineries.

These bargain prices begin to disappear as the travel season hits its peak months. During the peak season, weekday prices start at $100 and twice that for weekends. At that point, you might consider the El Bonita Motel in St. Helena, or the Chateau Hotel just a few blocks away from the Chablis Inn. Each of these hotels has an online reservation system. Use the greatness of the Internet to compare and find the best rate.

The Good: Winter rates during the week, comfortable and clean, convenient location.
The Bad: No luxuries here.