Salvestrin

Excellent wines at decent prices. My favorites: Sauvignon Blanc, Retaggio & Cult.
Second-​to-​none hospitality and great location!
Authentic, family owned, non-​commercialized, genuine wine country experience.

We decided to visit Salvestrin after reading an article about small wineries that are worth a visit. We made an appointment and stopped in on a rainy April Friday to try their wines. Our host, Andy ran out with umbrellas when he saw us coming, and we were also greeted by Olive one of the winery cats (probably the most people-​friendly cat I’ve ever met).
We sat upstairs above the winery in a nicely appointed room and learned about the 3-​generations of family members to run the winery while sipping on their exquisite wines. We started with a light and refreshing Sauvignon Blanc then 2 different Malbec wines from successive years each with a unique personality and finish. We also were excited to try the 3D Cabernet (so named for the 3 daughters –the fourth generation in the wine making clan-​all still too young to legally partake in this delicacy).
The tasting finished with a sampling of the estate produced olive oil-​a venture started by dad and the middle daughter when she wanted a horse.
The tasting is not inexpensive, $ 45 per person, and you need to call ahead for an appointment as they are a pretty small place. They’ve got a wonderful outside patio where tastings are held when the weather cooperates.
Definitely worth a visit to experience their warm hospitality and to try their delicious wines.

Salvestrin offers a delightful wine tasting experience on an outdoor patio overlooking a beautiful plot of land right on the main highway in Saint Helena. They’re known for their red wines, including cabernet sauvignon, sangiovese, zinfandel, merlot, and petite sirah, and all the ones I tasted were quite bold and complex.
If I remember correctly, Andy, the staff member I met with, was very friendly and casual in profiling each wine and shedding light on the winemaking philosophy and history here. While the experience was not a hard sell in any way, as it felt like chilling on a neighbor’s couch — the wine was compelling enough for me to take a few bottles home. A highly recommended experience, particularly when things are in bloom during mustard season.

Loved my trip to Salvestrin. Michelle was wonderful and the patio seating was quite relaxing. Loved the tour of the old B&B home and the history. Came home with a bottle and a glass. I absolutely recommend visiting this more private winery.

This was a cute little place. Family owned and very small production.
They have a patio where you can sit outside while you do your tasting. Andy was great to talk to and gave us some history regarding the property. I would definitely give him a 5 on customer service. He gave us a piece of dark chocolate to go along with our last glass of wine.
I could see this being a nice place to come if you have a bigger group because it’s not crowded and there is enough seating outside to accommodate a larger group.

Great Costumer Service & Amazing Wines! Love going into a tasting room w/​comfy couches and every wine on the tasting list is enjoyable. Would def recommend to anyone coming to the napa area!

Great place to go. Very intimate setting for tasting. More down to earth people who don’t mind if you are clueless about wine. They educated us about wine and we definitely felt like we knew a little bit more at the end.
We definitely prefer smaller wineries after visiting this Salvestrin. The larger wineries have beautiful estates, but they don’t compare to the experience.

I have been to Salvestrin once about 3 years ago and my parents went again about a year ago and we had great experiences. We really like their wines, and have purchased from them several times over the holiday season.
Unfortunately, this visit really fell flat. We had made a reservation, but it seemed neither of the sales staff really wanted to leave the tables that they had been with prior to our arrival. The gentleman was very friendly and kept saying the female salesperson would assist us. She poured one taste for us & processed our purchase (very slowly).
We were enjoying the day and view, but there was not nearly the educational experience that I had previously. I couldn’t help but wonder if the perception or treatment was different because I was not with my parents (we were 3 mid 30’s professionals).
Salvestrin is a great winery, but this sales team really needs to step it up and learn how to better balance the 3 tables they have. We would have purchased more of the wine had we received more attention.

Robert Mondavi, Swanson, Sterling and Coppola are synonymous with Napa. However, if you’re looking for a more intimate and off the beaten path experience try Salvestrin. The vineyard has been around since 1860 and three generations of the Salvestrin Family have meticulously and sustainably kept it.
We enjoyed our wine tasting experience despite being novice. Our host was very personable and made us feel comfortable. We literally felt like we were drinking wine at a friend’s home and listening to good music.
Price wise, it’s about $ 15 for the flight which was about right (price range from $ 15 – 25 for a tasting, Mondavi was $ 25). It was waived when we bought a bottle.
Our flight:
— 2010 Estate Sauvignon Blanc
— 2009 Estate Retaggio (Sangiovese Blend)
— 2007 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
My favorite was the Sauvignon Blanc as I prefer white. No prizes for guessing which bottle we took home!
I highly recommend stopping by this place if you’re around Napa!

Their hours say open until 5:00, but we arrived at 4:40, looked for someone for 10 minutes and then they said they had run out of wine for the day.

This small, family owned and operated winery offers some excellent wine in a lovely private setting where your host will likely be one of the family members. We highly recommend a visit, especially if you like premium Cabernet Sauvignon or Super Tuscans.
Our tasting began with the Salvestrin 2011 Estate Sauvignon Blanc that sells for $ 24 and is 100% SB. 970 cases were produced. After a good lemon nose, I got some crisp grapefruit on the palate with some pleasant herbaceousness and a hint of butter rounding it out. Finish was medium length. A nice, easy to drink SB. We were told that the winery use to produce only red wines but they decided to add a white wine to help balance out their wine line up and Sauvignon Blanc was Mr. Salvestrin’s favorite white.
Next was the Salvestrin 2009 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon at $ 60. This is about 95% Cab and 5% Merlot, with the percentage varying slightly from year to year. Production is 900 to 950 cases. It is barrel aged for 24 months in 60% new oak, mostly French. It starts out with a good nose of cherry with a touch of oak. On the palate it is mostly red cherry with some baking spices. Very smooth, with well integrated tannins, a medium body and moderate length finish. Quite nice for the price.
Even better was the Salvestrin 2008 Estate «3D» Cabernet Sauvignon at $ 125. This sees 36 months in 100% French oak. 200 cases were produced. It begins with a pronounced black cherry nose that leads to dark, ripe, black cherry on the palate with some ripe blackberry. It is very smooth with a full, lush mouthfeel but also has great tannins and spice, along with very good structure, balance and complexity. This one will go on our list of all time favorite Napa Valley wines. A wonderful Cab! We both really loved it!
The tasting that surprised us the most was the Salvestrin 2008 Retaggio at $ 45. (The current release is the 2010.) This is a Super Tuscan blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and is an amazing wine for the price. This one had a great nose of cherry and oak. How pleasant to just sit and enjoy the aroma. The Retaggio is sumptuous and very full flavored. I got ripe blackberry and currents on the palate, with very good spice, excellent balance and a medium length finish. We both really enjoyed this wine!
A great winery to visit. For photos and more information please see:

We went to this winery without reservations to do a quick tasting if possible. They were totally accomodating and both people we talked to their were really sweet. IThe winery has great feel to it, with the old houses in front of the newer barrel room the tasting area is located in the middle of their vineyard.
Their wines were definately not inexpensive, but you do get what you pay for with their wines. They are solid, even robust in character with a long finish.
We tasted the Rettagio 2008, a blend of Sangiovese and Merlot with a little Cabernet and Cabernet Franc. They only make 3500 cases a year of this, and I would buy a case if I could.
The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon would be a great wine for someone special at $ 60 a bottle. This one can easily cellar for ten years. Only 1000 cases are made of this one. It’s smooth and mellow, and good for Merlot and Pinot Noir afficiandos as well as lovers of the Cabernet Savignon wines.
The last wine we tasted was the Reserve 2008 Cabernet Savignon, it was remarkable and would be a nice bottle for a graduation or something really special.

If you’re ever in Napa, you absolutely cannot miss Salvestrin. My parents and I drove through Napa on an extremely busy Tuesday in early October, so busy that we didn’t even feel like staying in Napa and wanted to turn right around and head back to Sonoma. We first stopped at Beringer which was not worth our while so I decided to Unilocal a winery before we headed out of town. I came upon Salvestrin and we decided to check it out due to amazing reviews.
We didn’t have a reservation, which I hear are recommended for Salvestrin, and the tasting room wasn’t open, but as soon as we walked out of our car, Andy came out and offered us a tasting immediately. We were the only ones there as we came in between reservations, but Andy set us right up on the patio and went to get some wines.
Andy gave us double and triple pours of all of the wines (my mom says it could have been because it was her birthday and the only winery we went to in Napa), and was very knowledgeable about every single one of them. Our three tasting fees were waived with the wine that we purchased. We didn’t join any wine clubs while we were out in the valley, but this is the one that we are still considering joining.
It may be a small winery, but I’m glad that it’s the only one that we tried in Napa. Highly recommended, and I know that I’ll definitely go back next time I’m out there. (Oh, and ask for Andy, he was great!).

As I finally get to reviewing my west coast swing, there are a few places that keep jumping out at me and my experience at Salvestrin is definitely one of them.
First of all, you couldn’t have asked for better weather to spend a day in Napa. So that just made the little walk around the vineyard and the brief nap I ended up taking on their outdoor patio the icing on the cake. Granted, we also had a great time since my friend did go to school with the Assistant Winemaker, which meant we got to taste several wines straight from the barrel.
So with all the extra pours in addition to the tastes we got from the standard tasting (throw in the wines from our first vineyard stop), you can understand why I couldn’t help but sit out in the sun and just knock out for a few minutes. Salvestrin may be a smaller vineyard, but if you’re around, you should make it a definite try.

Nice quaint winery. As we walked up, we were immediately greeted and asked if we would like a tour of the vineyard. We had wine and grape samples as we took our tour and had a recap of the wine process.
Nice casual outdoor wine tasting patio, the staff would bring the wines to our seating area and serve :)

When you think of Napa wineries most people think of Mondavi, BV, Sterling, Beringer, Stag’s Leap, V. Sattui, Coppola. All are great places to visit but they are also very crowded and not very intimate. (Cakebread and Silver Oak are also two of my favorites, not super busy since it’s by appointment only.)
My wife and I visited a hidden Napa gem: Salvestrin Estate in St. Helena because it had a 5 star Unilocal rating. When we drove up to the winery, it was not what we expected, very quaint, much smaller in size than we used to but very intimate and cozy. We walked up the flight of stairs to the tasting room where we were greeted by Luke. (Highly recommended to make a reservation)
Our wine tasting experience with Luke is exactly how I think it should be: very personable, comfortable, social, and fun. I literally felt like we were drinking wine in my living room while listening to good music. I also cannot think of the last time I had a tasting flight where each tasting was superb. Each had excellent appearance, aroma, and wonderful extended finish! Soft, smooth, delicate, well-​balanced, perfect harmony!
1. 2010 Estate Sauvignon Blanc
2. 2009 Estate Retaggio (Sangiovese Blend)
3. 2007 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
The wine tasting was $ 15 for the flight which Luke waived when be bought a bottle of the Retaggio and Cabernet Sauvignon. (I’m not a white wine drinker but almost converted when I tried their Sauvignon Blanc.)
Try something different on your next visit to Napa and get a reservation at Salvestrin.
ENJOY!

Thank you for becoming my new favorite winery, Salvestrin!
This past crush season, I had the opportunity to stumble upon this quaint operation! We had some time in between winery appointments and our driver thought we would appreciate the wines at Salvestrin, so he called and got us in! I am very appreciative and glad that he did!
We sampled the wines that they were pouring and they were all AMAZING!!! So much so, that Luke talked us into joining the wine club for their 3D Cabernet Sauvignon (which is only available for wine club members).
We recently opened up one of the 2009 3D Cabs that was sent to us — and OMG it was unbelievable! It was described to us as the Barry Bonds of cabernet sauvignons — and did this hit the nail on the head with that description! It couldn’t have been any better and more spot on as to what we like in terms of a great wine! It was BIG and luscious — and had this finish that just stayed in your mouth FOOORRREEEVVVEERRR making you anxious and eager to take another sip!
If you get the opportunity to check out this winery, definitely don’t hesitate to jump on the change. Their knowledge and talent shines through into making some of the best wine in the Napa Valley — and the friendliness and warm welcome you receive when arriving at their property is even more enjoyable. I can’t wait to go back so I can relive the experience again and again!

I’d classify Salvestrin as a winery for people who know a little more than the average Joe about wine. There’s no pretense here. No fancy sign or elaborate tasting room and no requisite wine country products for sale (thank God).
Bottom line: you’d basically have to have heard of Salvestrin in order to have sought them out. We made a reservation and made this our first stop upon entering the valley.
Once we figured out where the tasting room was we were met by a really nice, informative (and cute!) guy who poured us the four wines we ended up buying. The 3-​D Cab was by far the best and will be a back of the cellar bottle until something celebratory comes up.
Pure and simple, Salvestrin does what it does best… crafting good wine.

This is a winery you could return to over and over. The wine is excellent, the atmosphere is beautiful, the staff was engaging and down to earth… the whole experience is fabulous.
We toured the winery in mid-​October of this year. Not peak season obviously, but I was still thrilled when they were able to accommodate a last minute reservation for our group of three. I found Salvestrin solely from Unilocal reviews, but if I were a Robert Parker reader I’m sure I would have heard of them. Some of their wines are 90+ points, but $ 50 or less.
Tastings are conducted outside on a well appointed patio. Granted, if you visited the winery on one of the hottest days of the year, this might be unpleasant. If you come peak season when the weather is in the 70s to 80s and the sky is a golden orange, this is an absolutely lovely experience. We got comfy in the lounge chairs, made chatty banter with our host Luke and enjoyed the ambiance of the experience.
Our tasting included:
2009 Estate Sauvignon Blanc, $ 22
2007 Retaggio (Sangiovese, Merlot, Cab Sauv & Cab Franc Blend) $ 34
and, the 2006 & 2007 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, $ 52
We only visited two wineries this afternoon so our judgement was (unfortunately?) not clouded by hours of libation. We purchased a case of untasted Estate Petite Sirah, based on how much we enjoyed the other wines in Salvestrin’s portfolio and Luke’s no-​pressure sales job. The Petite Sirah received 92(?) points from Robert Parker and considering how yummy the Retaggio was, we feel pretty dang good about the purchase. I’ll update my review with tasting notes after we receive the wine! Scratch that, after we pick up the wine. There’s no way I’m missing out on a trip to Salvestrin.

Am I the only person who didn’t think that this place was that great? Salvestrin was our second tasting on our trip and we were kindly greeted as soon as we parked our car. There’s a bed and breakfast right next to the winery, which looked quaint. Compared to the other wineries we visited, this one definitely ranks as the smallest as it is family owned and operated. The only seating available was outside on the patio so we were suffering the wraith of the summer heat, but at least there was a nice breeze blowing in.
The tasting fee was higher than the other places we went to and the cost of the waived fee was set at $ 50 for a purchase of a bottle. One of the disappointments was the lack of the number of wines tasted because a few were sold out. I think we ended up tasting only three or four wines. This combined with the higher tasting fee (I think it was either $ 15 or $ 20), made for an average visit. Nobody from the group bought a bottle and we left pretty quickly after our tasting. But, I would like to say that service was great; the couple that came out to meet us were very nice and the invite-​only lobster festival that they have every year sounded fun.