Ehlers Estate Winery is a unique winery. For one, it is the only non-profit winery in California. All of its profits go to cardiovascular research. Secondly, the winery is very old, having been established in 1886 by Bernard Ehlers. Additionally, the vineyards are biodynamically farmed. The tasting room is housed in the original 1886 winery.
Unfortunately, our visit to Ehlers was not one of our most pleasant wine tasting experiences. We visited during the week in late March. This is a time of the year when the Valley has few visitors and wineries are light on tasting room staff. Only one person was working the Ehlers tasting room and it was evident from the start that we had interrupted her lunch. She went into her spiel that was delivered without emotion. The only time we saw a smile is when we said we would purchase a bottle of the Ehlers Zinfandel.
For a tasting fee of $10 we tasted several wines. The fee is a fair price because the wines are expensive and the tasting included the Ehlers St. Helena Cabernet Sauvignon that sells for $75. It is very good Cabernet. We thought all their wines were quite good but our favorite was the Zinfandel. It turns out, the Zinfandel is the last of this wine. Ehlers has decided not to make Zinfandel but concentrate on Bordeaux style wines.
The tasting room is special because of its history. It is a very cool place just to glance around. From the tasting room entrance, one can view the estate vineyards. It is quite a beautiful scene. There is a gorgeous picnic area, which we were told can be used by wine club members only.
The estate vineyards are farmed using the practice of biodynamics and sustainability. Ehlers is one of the few wineries in the Napa Valley that farm their vineyards under these ecological principles.
The winery is located on Highway 29 two miles north of the town of St. Helena. The entrance road is just past the Trinchero Winery.
The Good: Non-profit winery supporting cardiovascular research. The 1886 tasting room, biodynamics.
The Bad: On our visit, a very unfriendly tasting room host.
June 16, 2008
Dear Folks,
I read your Napa Valley wine blog article about Elhers Winery and I am perplexed.
Please know that all of us are human and from time to time, I suppose, everyone fails to do their job well. Having said this, our families experience at Elhers Winery was a dichotomy when compared to your visit of March ’08.
We were well greeted with a nice smile and an offer to taste many things. The lady was polite and generous enough to let us taste, not only the regular product, but perhaps because it was a good day, allowed us to taste their premium product as well for the same $10.00 price. The person we spoke with, a lady named Maria, took the time to explain a little of the history of their winery, their incredibly generous foundation that supports this heart research, but more importantly, my wife and I enjoyed the nice dialog about why the wine tastes the way it does, what made theirs a little bit unique, and some other background on some other wineries that Maria had visited and/or worked with and her colleague Emily also took a few minutes to explain a little about the organization or foundation that benefits from this winery. The two ladies seemed very knowledgeable of their product, inordinately friendly to my family, and were polite enough to refer us over to a couple of local restaurants where we did not have to leave several hundred dollars for a nice dinner.
We are sorry for your experience at Elhers Winery being a complete opposite of ours. Perhaps, it is much like going into a retail outlet; ever once in a while you catch somebody on a bad day. We found the product, service, camaraderie, friendship, and advise to be wonderful and would suggest that you give them another chance if you happen to travel in that area. We also really enjoyed Paradigm Winery. Has your family visited these friendly folks?
Cordially,
Stuart & Pamela Peck