Round Pond

We first became members of this winery in 2011. We loved their olive oils and wines, and regularly recommended that our friends and family visit when they were in the area. Unfortunately, over the years, the winery has lost the quality customer service we once knew, and the overall experience when visiting/​tasting at the winery isn’t as good as it once was. On our last visit we made an appointment to taste with a few couples, and when we arrived, one of our friends asked to use the restroom. She was told she could wait by the front desk until they were ready to seat us. It was shocking how rude the hostess was to her. We tried to give them the benefit of the doubt, and on our next visit we were told that our sleeping newborn baby wouldn’t be allowed inside the winery. After speaking with the manager, we decided to cancel our membership, and will no longer send our friends their way. Sad they lost the small family feel, and long-​time customers.

I highly recommend Round Pond as a place to visit if you’re in Napa, or a place to bring friends or family if you’re looking to give them a great time. The grounds are gorgeous, the staff is friendly and knowledgeable, the wines and oils are tasty, and the food is fantastic.
We came for the brunch experience, which is a bit expensive, so we expected a high-​touch experience. It definitely met expectations! Our day started with some coffee, tea, and scones, and we hung out on the deck a bit and got to know our fellow brunchers. Our guide talked to us a bit about the location and the history, and then we started a tour of the gardens. The information and background was fascinating, and it was fun to try a small strawberry, taste some herbs, and peer at the chickens in the coop.
After our leisurely garden tour we checked out the olive grove, which is gorgeous and so relaxing. My only recommendation — and only because it’s Napa– would have been to provide us with a small glass of white wine for this part of the tour. I know, it was early in the morning. Still, it’s Napa :)
We then entered the winery portion of the facilities, taking a look at the large vats used to ferment and store wine. We did get some wine here, tasting right out of the vats, and then out of barrels in the barrel room. I really enjoyed this part of the experience, as it’s so interesting to taste the wine this way and then compare to the bottle-​aged versions you try later. This was my favorite part of the tour.
Finishing our wine tour, we returned to the main portion of the visitor center, a gorgeous area on the second floor, to do some olive oil tasting and to mix our own concoctions of oils and vinegars. This was really fun! We were able to try an assortment of infused olive oils with small pieces of bread, and then start mixing them with balsamic vinegars made from the wine grapes, fresh herbs from the garden, and a few other condiments. We were given small, sealable containers to mix our final choices into so that we could take them with us!
The final portion of the experience was the actual brunch, which started with a plate of fresh greens. There was no dressing provided, because we had just mixed our own personalized vinaigrettes! It was really fun to sample these dressings over greens, and to do so with 2 glasses of crisp sauvignon blanc.
Then the courses of food started– oh my goodness. So many rounds of such delicious food! I was only able to eat a fraction of each course, although I found a way to make room for plenty of wine :) Our host was very generous with the wine, letting us «revisit» any that we liked, and not rushing us on from one to the next. If we wanted more white before moving onto the red, he’d pour some more!
Everything was truly wonderful with our visit, and we really enjoyed many of the wines. We ended up joining the wine club, and are looking forward to our next visit!

I had a lovely experience here! They were able to schedule us for a tasting at the last minute. Once we arrived, they surprised us with a private tasting in their library room. I was initially turned off, because the room was a little chilly — they stock some of their bottles in there. Just when I was about to ask to be seated in another area, the staff came to our rescue and supplied us with warm, cozy blankets.
We shared a bottle of their Estate Cabernet and some food to pair. I highly recommend their Cabernets if you’re into reds.
At the conclusion of our tasting, they surprised us with a customized gift form the Chef. How sweet!
Overall a highly sophisticated tasting experience with great hospitality. Will have to come back and check out their patio!

Killer views and a very relaxing outdoor patio. The wine is fantastic as well, the grounds are beautiful

The wines are phenomenal and the garden pairing was just beautiful! Being in the wine industry, I find many tastings to be drop dead boring but our server was great (didn’t catch her name — very nice British woman) and gave us our space to taste the wines while openly talking amongst ourselves about the wines. At the conclusion of our tasting, encouraged us to go across the street to their olive mill. She even called ahead to make sure that they had room for us to go over and try some of the olive oils. All in all, I had such a great experience and loved the wines enough to join the wine club. I’m looking forward to my first shipment!
PS — should we be expecting Round Pond tequila in the future?! Lots of agave growing on the property.

Lovely farm to table brunch: perfect way to end a fantastic weekend of food and wine tasting in wine country. We had a great time with Christina and Chef Jamie. Complete from the tour of the garden and olive groves, to the vinaigrette mixing, to the wine itself, and the amazing food. We all joined the food & wine club. Can’t wait for my next visit of my first shipment. Cheers

If you’re a fan of cabernet sauvignons, and can also subject yourself to the much-​delayed gratification involved in buying and storing them, Round Pond is definitely a place to check out while you’re in the area. Located on prime Rutherford real estate, Round Pond offers a highly sophisticated tasting experience highlighted by a gorgeous balcony providing panoramic views of the property and the entire valley.
I felt rather déclassé showing up in a T-​shirt and shorts, but that didn’t stop the staff from treating me well and giving me their full attention. As you walk in, you’ll notice their interesting olive oil side business, and as you taste your wines, you’ll have a side dish of homemade crackers and olive oil to nibble on. Most of the wines they offer are cabs, and to me they all tasted refined. I was also impressed by their sauvignon blanc. Overall, Round Pond is worth the visit not only for the wine but also for the beautiful, pleasant tasting room experience.

I LOVED Round Pound and can’t wait to return there again on my next visit to Napa. The wine was delicious, but I’ll have to say the lunch, tour, and olive oil were really what did it for me. My sister loves the garlic olive oil and I purchased the pomegranate sauce (I’ve drizzled it over pound cake and a ton of other things). The grounds are beautiful and the guides are extremely knowledgeable. I totally reccomend it.

We are new wine club members with Round Pond because of the quality of their wine. My wife made a reservation for a tasting and pairing in early October for my birthday. We were seated out on the balcony with fabulous views of the estate. Our host was Jane had a delightful English accent and whit! The food, olive oil, wine, and service were all exceptional.
They allowed us to take our next wine shipment home with us and choose which wine we wanted. They really went out of their way to make my birthday memorable! Thank you Round Pond. We will see you next time we’re in the valley!

We had been looking forward to our Winery Estate tasting at Round Pond. Enough that we scheduled visits to other wineries that day around the reservation. Our experience started off on the wrong foot as we were about 5 minutes late due to traffic through St. Helena. We were led upstairs and shown a table on the patio with a nice view. The hostess returned with glasses of wine and said someone would be with us shortly. We sat and chatted with the other couple with us while we waited. About twenty minutes later, a man who had been at another table came over. I guess he was curious why we were sitting there with nothing but four empty wine glasses in front of us. He said he’d take care of us and disappeared into the building. A good 15 minutes later, he returned with the promised wine and the food pairings to go with the wine. I can see why the website says to allow 1 hour for the tasting. Very disappointed with the experience.

The garden pairing was very nice. Enjoyed tasty creations from their on site garden with 4 tastes of reserve and estate wines. Generous pours for sure. Our host was lovely and a recent transplant from our neck of the woods.
The views from the patio are worth the extra fee for the pairing (meaning if you do the bar tasting you’re inside and not on the patio)

That patio?!? With a 180 degree view of the vineyards and hills and VIP treatment all the way, Round Pond is a relatively new contender in wine country.
The property has been growing and selling grapes for 20+ years. And you might also recognize the name for their olive oils. But why not make your own wine?
There’s a small number of varietals and they’re still young. Give them some time to mature.
Tastings on the patio are most definitely an experience. Make an appointment and you’ll be treated like someone from «Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous», even if you aren’t quite Robin Leach caliber yet.
Make Round Pond a stop on your next wine country trip and see what I’m talking about.

A great way to end our Napa vacation. Round Pond has Sunset Nights on Friday where they have appetizers and bottle service. The winery was beautiful and the views of the mountains/​sunset from their second floor patio was great.
Their Cab was amazing, we started with a ½ bottle then went for their 1.5L for the rest of their tasting and to drink the leftover at dinner later (they sold out of the normal 750mL the day before). The appetizers were amazing — deviled eggs with fried chicken and some grilled cheese and tomato soup — all appetizers are $ 10
We bought a few of the half bottles to take home (we had some room leftover in our shipper). I do wish that they allowed tastings at the Friday night events… without having visited Round Pond prior — I had no idea what to order. I had even asked for a taste… nope. The night was great though and (other than not having a small tasting), it could not have been better.
A short video of our trip to Stags Leap and Round Pond:

On our trip, we purchased over 50 bottles of wine. Out of the 16 wineries that we visited, we would definately go back to four — in no particular order (Hendry, Viader, Hamel Family, and Phifer Pavit — they all get 5 star reviews). We would go back to four (Round Pond, Twenty Rows, Alpha Omega, and Stag’s Leap — all 4 or 5 star reviews). Once is enough for five (Tamber Bey, Del Dotto, Hestan, V. Sattui, Domaine Chandon — mostly 3 star reviews). And would never go back to three (Cline, B. Cellars, and Cakebread). I hope my math is correct. Feel free to check out my other reviews of all the wineries mentioned.

This place was awful. The wine is okay but nothing special and over priced. They only have about 5 wines. The whole atmosphere for our tasting was rules rules rules. The receptionist acts like she’s the bouncer of a night club you’re not cool enough to get into. We had a reservation but they weren’t ready and asked us to wait outside!!! It was Labor Day weekend and 90 degrees. She said we couldn’t go upstairs because it was booked up. Once we got upstairs there was barely anyone up there.
We also did their olive oil tasting across the street which was equally bad. They want you to drink the oil with no bread or anything. $ 20 for three sips of oil.

My husband and I came here on our honeymoon. The service was phenomenal the view from the second floor patio where the tastings are done was spectacular. Make sure to call ahead for an appointment. They can also do lunch with olive oil tastings which is a great way to break up a stream of tastings.

Wine tours is what I do; my clients today had such a great experience, it’s a weekday, barrel tasting, the olive trees the gardens !! They paired strawberries and humboldt fog cheese, the patio terrace is beautiful ! Blissful, thank you .
Andre Scott /​executive car service Napa valley

I visited Round Pond on July 4^th for the estate tasting. What a great experience. Our wines were paired with appetizers, and enjoyed the tasting out at the terrace. We finished nearly two hours later and left with some of their wines. We will be back in a few months during harvest.

This review is for lack of customer service only. Not for Round Pond wines. We have no idea the quality of the wines as we did not wine taste.
OK, I get it. You need an appointment at many wineries in Sonoma and Napa. We know… But as we are just an hour away in Davis and frequently do many last minute road trips in that direction on weekdays, most wineries (by appointment only) will let you taste even without an appointment on a quiet day. With that said, I think only one winery in the past six months had no room for tasting and the employee who greeted us at that specific winery was ever so gracious with letting us know there was simply no room that day (and we could tell by the parking lot… but we tried).
Round Pond, in my opinion, does not have customer service as their main objective. And that’s ok! There are a few of those types of wineries sprinkled through out the valley. Perhaps the intention is to set themselves apart from other wineries with their attitude of «we are so exclusive we will have you enter our building and be greeted by an „air head“ receptionist. Have her telephone „someone“ to see if there is room available for two people to taste who are so rude and obnoxious as to arrive without an appointment.» At least that is how it felt when we we did show up to see if there might be room on a Tuesday near the end of the day with about 4 cars in their very large lots. By the way, we did not wait a“round” (get it?) to see if there was room.
A note: If you peruse my reviews… I have very, very few 1 star reviews.
And, Liz (if you still work at Round Pond) please save your offer of calling you to «discuss further» as I have seen your comment to other Unilocal complaints. Your winery needs an attitude adjustment. Read your Unilocal reviews! You have too many Unilocalers complaining about your «attitude».
So any one looking for an outstanding wine tasting experience near Round Pond:
Halls (St. Helena… OMG views/​staff), Luna (Napa…ask for Tyler) Reynolds Family Winery (Napa) These are wineries with exceptional staff who want each and every person to have an outstanding experience… check out their Unilocal reviews.).

We had the pleasure of visiting Round Pond this past weekend. Josh poured our wines and lead us through the tasting and food pairing. He was knowledgable, and friendly, we couldn’t have asked for better service! The property is incredible, as is the patio where the tasting was held. We really appreciated the strong familial ties that run throughout the winery, as well as the strong emphasis on farm to table. The wines were fantastic, our favorites were the Sauvignon Blancs (both the 2014, and the Reserve) as well as the Proprietor Red.
We will definitely be bringing our friends and family back in the future, as well as recommending Round Pond to fellow colleagues. Thank you Round Pond for a wonderful experiences

We came here with reservations for the Estate Tasting ($ 45). As we walked into the building, we noticed the wooden Christmas tree stacked with bottles of their citrus syrups. Nice Christmas décor. As we walked upstairs, we were escorted outside to their patio area to do our tasting. Loved the outdoor space with the vast views. They even had heating lamps on the ceilings along with a huge fireplace. It’d be a great place to have a little party.
We were greeted by a friendly staff who came to pour the wines and answer questions we had. He told us about the Round Pond history, which was interesting to hear.
The tasting consisted of 3 wines with bite-​size appetizers. We tried:
— 2012 Rutherford Sauvignon Blanc
— 2010 Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon
— 2011 Proprietary Red Wine
He also poured us the Reserve Cabernet with some chocolate. Off the ones I tried, I surprisingly enjoyed the Sauvignon Blanc the most. I love cabernets, but theirs weren’t very impressive. I didn’t care for the strong tannins. I didn’t think the $ 45 was worth it for this food and wine tasting. I think $ 30 would have been more reasonable. Service was really slow in getting our wines and food that I was so anxious to leave. In the end, we didn’t walk out with any bottles, but it was nice that they hooked us up with a bottle opener.