The Caves at Soda Canyon Review
Address: 2275 Soda Canyon Road Napa,California 94558.
Phone Number: 707-861-8100
Tasting Hours: By appt. Tues-Sat 10:00-4:30
Region: Napa Valley AVA, California
Reviewer: Laura Cropper
Review Date: 12/17/2015
Reviewer: Laura Cropper
Rating: 5
The Review
The staff at The Caves at Soda Canyon will make you feel like the whole place is yours just for your visit. This reservation-only winery will give you a one-on-one private tour telling you about the history of the property, the owners of the winery, and their entire wine making process. The Caves are located off the Silverado trail in the hills of Yountville.
We were so lucky to have the amazing Jay as our host. Jay is a gem, and he truly has the knowledge and skill to educate and provide a wine tasting to remember. Jay greeted us outside making for an exclusive VIP experience, or as they say The Ultimate Winery Experience. He is so talented at what he does! A barrel bar was set up outside with Viognier to begin our experience as soon as we arrived. Nice touch! In addition to Jay greeting us, we were also greeted by Lila, the winery dog. This very friendly boxer likes to welcome guests to the property with a wagging tail and a small hint that shed like to play.
The Caves at Soda Canyon was founded by Ryan and Crystal Waugh of Waugh Family Wines and developed along with their partner wineries. Each partner winery and family has their own label, and all four labels are poured on the property. You will hear of each of the families wonderful success stories from your host. The families include: Buoncristiani Family Winery, Patland Estate Vineyards, Waugh Family Wines and Lobo aka The Wulff Family.
Jay showed us the beautiful scenery from the cave entrance, and on a clear day you can see the top of the Golden Gate Bridge. From the other side of the caves, there is a second terrace with a view of the always-stunning Napa Valley. Jay led us to a lounge area set in the cave with comfortable couches with enough room for about 10 people. We sipped on wines from each of the familys labels and each had their own unique flavors and characteristics. There were about thirty different wines available among all of the families. Everything we tasted was wonderful!
There is a wine club available for The Caves Enthusiasts. I imagine this club will fill up quickly. There are two different levels to join; The Affinity Club and The Alliance Club. Within each of these clubs you can decide if you would like to have all red, all white or a combination of each for your particular allocation. The two memberships differ in the amount of bottles per shipment as well as a few of the benefits. Both memberships include: discounts on all wine purchases, scheduled complimentary tour and tasting for member and permitted number of guests, exclusive invitation to new release wines, preferred hotel rates and invitations to winery events.
All in all, The Caves at Soda Canyon is one of the best tours in the valley! Dont miss out!