Ladera Vineyards

We love any wines from Howell Mountain, so we set off to wine taste here after enjoying a bottle of their wines at a local restaurant. Reservations required.
The winery and vineyard is very nice. Unfortunately it was too cold for us to do any exploring while we were there. Instead we got down to business and did what we came here to do: drink and buy great wine.
We had a great wine tasting experience and ended up buying 4 whites from their Sonoma label and 2 reserve cabs.

Had a lovely Terrace Tasting with Jeff as our guide today. Ladera’s current owners are to be highly commended for salvaging & restoring this grand old structure. Now, the wine! A lovely Sauvignon Blanc that had me dreaming of shrimp & crab. The Pinot Noir is wonderful. But, the Plateau Cab is Outstanding. Ladera is off of the beaten path but well worth driving up the mountain.

Gorgeous estate. Rich history. Delicious wine. Knowledgable staff!
We thoroughly enjoyed our tour and tasting! Our hostess, Julie, was funny and welcoming, and had all the answers! We appreciated all the little tidbits about the estate and never felt rushed or pressured.
Definitely worth a visit for the beginners as well as the well seasoned wino!

Just got back from a great trip to Napa. We were able to take the barrel tasting tour with Justin. What an amazing experience. I leaned so much more than I thought. He made this by far the best tour of 8 wineries. Eh wine was amazing as well. Tasting wine drawn right from the barrel is very cool. It is interesting to see how different the taste is from different barrels. Do not miss this winery.

The highlight of our trip to Napa, undoubtedly. This winery has it all. Great wine, beautiful setting, and a great hostess, Julie. Everything about this tour stood out. From the drive up the mountain to the history behind the winery was unique. We did the barrel tasting tour. While I am slightly knowledgeable about wine (or maybe not), I truly had no idea of how complex the barrel making process is. This tour does an excellent job of explaining the process. The fact that a barrel tasting is part of the tour makes it that more exciting. We were thankful to have Julie as our hostess, especially after the wonderful recommendation she gave us for lunch. A must for any wine connoiseur.

I visited this winery many years ago and loved the atmosphere and wines. Going back with friends recently was a very disappointing experience.
The tasting room host did not know about the tasting fee policy and charged our credit card without asking/​informing us. We visited a few other wineries on Howell Mountain that same day and they were all much more gracious. We ended up filling our trunks with wine (literally) but not with Ladera. We bought the minimum to waive the tasting. Would have purchased more if the experience had been friendlier.
I was sad and a little embarrassed as Ladera had been my choice. My friends were not fans.

Full disclosure, I love Howell Mountain Cabs, my favorite grape. Having given that disclosure, let me say that Ladera Vineyards is fantastic, my favorite winery in the Napa Valley that isn’t a dedicated port maker. Somewhat of a surprise, their sauvignon blanc and pinot noir were outstanding, and of course, not surprising, their cabs are world class. This alone would be enough to go to Ladera, but there is so much more. Price of wines, for this quality in Napa, are reasonable and in some cases, a great value. The winery itself is like going back in time to Napa a hundred years ago. The building is over 125 years old, most of it original, use many traditional wine making methods like gravity feeding, and are away from the hustle and bustle of the valley floor. The family and staff were incredibly friendly, which not something I usually associate with a Napa tasting experience. Samantha (Sam) did a terrific job, especially on the cave tour, and the owner’s daughter went way above and beyond with our kids. There are a lot of great wineries and tasting experiences in Napa, but if you don’t make Ladera Vineyards your 1^st or 2^nd stop, you are making a mistake. We will be joining their wine club. They are so relaxed yet classy you can’t help but want to be a member.

My husband and I went to Ladera on Labor Day weekend with another couple. We had a private tour at 10am (never too early to start!) and Ladera was just perfect. Sam was our guide, she was very sweet and very knowledgable. The property is lovely and the wines were too. Joined the wine club, which has a very unique, flexible membership. Highly recommend Ladera!

Ladera is one of the oldest wineries on Howell mountain dating back to 1886. It is a simple, unassuming property with an old stone building an a sprawling gravel patio.
Make an appointment for a tasting and sit outside on the patio, enjoy a couple of their wines and spend some time outdoors soaking up the sun.
I think Angie was our host for the tasting. She was great! We could take as much time as we wanted and there was no pressure. She knew exactly when to come back out and entice us with her knowledge of the area and the winery to try the next wine on the tasting menu.
Ladera’s Cab an Sauv Blanc are amazing. Their wine club is pretty fantastic as well. I signed up for the Proprietor to get 6 bottles shipped twice each year and 15% off purchases (there’s also the Patriarch for 12 bottles twice each year and 20% off).
Bonus — there are a couple rows of malbec vines planted right next to the patio… being that it was harvest time, we got to try a couple right off the vine.

Ladera Vineyards is a member of Gems of the Valley, an exclusive wine membership club of nine prestigious wineries in the Napa Valley. We were greeted by Jonathan (and his sweet dog Luca!). Tour started with a stroll around the estate, where Jonathan educated us on Ladera’s history, the vines, the fermenting tanks, the wines, Howell Mountain, and the rest of the Valley. The tour finished with an amazing tasting, and continued education from Jonathan! His expertise really made our experience more enjoyable!!!

I had read about Ladera and had made a reservation for my husband and me and our three daughters. We miscalculated time and were late. No matter. The Ladera people were very accomodating. We were treated to the most amazing tour and tasting. Michael was extremely knowledgeable about wine, European history, cooking and gardening, but without out the air of snootiness. So gracious. Our 20,21 and 23 old daughters were captivated. They were very generous with their time. The location is lovely, the wine and cheese were excellent, and the drive is through lovely scenic country. Amazing afternoon!

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Ladera Vineyards is the home of estate grown and produced hillside Cabernet Sauvignon in Howell Mountain Appellation. Their beautiful historic 1886 building was restored and renovated stone winery, they make their wines from the top floor for crushing, to first floor for fermenting, and than store it in the underground barrel caves.
All Ladera wines are aged for about 2 years in French oak barrels tucked safely in their underground caves, where they are racked by gravity as often as taste determines. Their renovation includes almost 18,000 square feet of caves dug into the rock, where they store all their wines. I love that cave!
It’s a longer drive to get here, but the drive is stunning this fall season, leaves changing color, relaxing, and I feel as I was some place else rather than Napa Valley itself.
Beautiful estate, tasting tour is about 1.5 hrs to 2 hours, you need to call in advance for RSVP, because Ladera doesn’t open to the public.
— 2008 Ladera Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon — 100%cab.
— 2008 Ladera Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon — Blend: 95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Malbec, 3% Petite Verdot
— 2008 Ladera High Plateau Cabernet Sauvignon — 95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Malbec, 1% Petite Verdot — I couldn’t stop drinking this blend!
— 2009 Ladera Howell Mountain Malbec 100% Malbec — I dig this wine.
— 2011 Ladera Sauvignon Blanc Howell Mountain — Saugvion Blanc for only $ 25 per bottle, this was crisp, green apple, beautiful nose, and such a bargain. I love it.
I also took my friends here for the recent harvest party at Ladera Vineyards, what an amazing event. The winemaker was there to chat with you at your table. The delicious food was catered by Smoke Open Fire Cooking, whole roased pig, wild turkey, beef, salad, salsa, melons, cookies, and a live Mariachi band; and all the best wines that you can drink. The grilled meats were stunning piaring with Ladera wines, and the harvest party was complimentary for members, and $ 65 per person for guests. It’s STEAL for the high quality of food and wine Ladera served.
All my friends enjoyed the harvest party and all said it was the best parties that they’ve been too. Natalie was so good to us. She toured us the estate, she told us about the history of the winery and served us some seriously tasty wines.
I highly recommend this Ladera wines to you.

The wines and (two-​hour) tasting tour at Ledera was the best tour I have ever received in the Napa Valley or in Sonoma. Michael Hildbold knew so much about the history of wine-​making in the valley, and of course about the winery but also about wine, grapes, growing, and producing. It was amazing. It was well worth the cost and time. We toured and then tasted wine in the winery cave at a lovely table set for the four of us. We had an excellent Charcuterie to compliment the wines.

Came here on a recommendation on Unilocal.
We called 1 month in advanced to set up a winery tour and tasting. The wine cellar was modernize and AC free (note green). The tour was very complete and explained the steps from A — Z on their unique wine making process.
The wine was good but not stellar. Would definitely recommend to others to stop by. Not the easiest winery to get to though, but worth a trek up the winding road.

What a great tasting experience with our host, David. We come to Napa a couple times a year and came here for the first time at the recommendation of the generous folks at Chappellet. Ladera is a bit of a drive off the beaten path but is just beautiful, historic and has great, minerally cabs. Call a day in advance to do the full tour (cave, barrels, etc).

I would love to rate the winery based on its wine, but we never got that far!
I was visiting Napa over a weekend in April and on our last day, we decided to make the long drive up Howell Mountain to try Ladera. I’ve never been before because well. its a long drive up Howell Mountain and my trips to Napa are usually a day trip from SF or I’m staying around downtown Napa. It was a beautiful day, we didn’t want to be around a lot of crowds and we thought it would be a nice drive, so why not? According to the local winery guide that has a map of all the vineyards with their contact information and whether or not you need a reservation, most of the places needed a reservation (which makes sense since they don’t have as many visitors). At Ladera, you did not need a reservation. Perfect… or so we thought.
The grounds are beautiful and well kept. After parking, we actually stopped to take a few pictures before heading to the tasting area. When we got there, there was no one to be found. Very strange because the tasting area appeared to be a small bar directly in front of the steel tanks which was completely open. We peeked around the bar and no one to be found. Called out… No answer.
We decided to call the winery. Note that reception in the area is terrible. After finding a spot in the parking lot where our phones would work, we called. From the tasting area, we could hear a phone ringing. No answer. We left a message asking them to call back. Nothing. Not that day or the day after or ever.
Although the grounds were quite nice, that alone was definitely not worth the trip. The only real positive aspect of this visit was that we stumbled upon a fantastic winery with absolutely amazing views called Burgess. Not only did we buy several bottles of wine after we did the tasting there but I’ve also looked for it when home in NYC. If you make it to Burgess, get the 97 cab although everything there we tasted was quite good — even the rose — I typically don’t like roses.

Ladera Makes Some Fab Cabs! One thing I’ve learned in what is now my third year in a row going to Napa is that it pays to call wineries ahead and arrange a special tour. What a difference vs. just pulling up to a tasting room bellying up to the bar. Another lesson, limit the winery visits to two a day (but that’s another story…). After winding our way up to Ladera Vineyard a few weeks ago, we were met by the very affable hospitality director Gordon Waggoner, who instantly welcomed us with a glass of their crisp Sauvignon Blanc, the perfect start to the morning. After a fascinating tour of the property and the interesting turn of the century stone winery, we settled into an amazing underground cellar room, filled with their magnificent cabs and a very lovely plate of food pairings, including some delicious local cheeses, nuts and delectables I am now forgetting. The star of the sit down feast was their Howell Mountain cabs that were the right blend of flavor and value. Gordon was a terrific host, and provided a great education on their approach to winemaking. Before it was all said and done, and there were several empty bottles and plates of food, we we’re sold and all joined their wine club. Just got my first shipment today, and look forward to opening a bottle up on the right special occasion. Great experience, great wines = we’ll be back for more. Check out my blog post of this review and others on my site:

Ivisited Ladera for the first time today. I was thoroughly impressed with both wine and presen0 napa tation.
I called day-​of for my reservation on a Wednesday. They were busy but able to accommodate me. This is truly a special spot on Howell Mountain.
I tried the 09 Sauv Blanc, plus the 3 Cabs: 1 Napa Valley, 1 Howell Mtn, and 1 Lone Canyon. Sav Blanc was awesome was crispness plus good body. 3 Cabs were all beyond expectations. The NV was great and definitely worth the price. Howell Mtn was killer with solid tannins and good fruit showing already. The Lone Canyon was my favorite because it was already showing signs of development. These wines will definitely develop in the bottle. I will be curious as to how the wines I left with will develop in my cellar.
Recommendation: Get an appointment here because I can tell you can get an awesome experience when they are expecting you. The vineyard is exquisite and they have a historic wine making facility.
There will be no disappointment here. High quality of wines and awesome experience. Will be adding to my top 10 napa winery list.

What a great time my family and I had here. They were very welcoming once we arrive although we must have had to call a dozen times as we got lost on the way up! But we finally made it, and they gave us the royal treatment. If you’ve ever had the pleasure of tasting their estate cab, it’s even better when you are trying it in such beautiful surroundings.
This is one of the oldest winery buildings around and quite different than the ultra modern Cade around the corner. Both are great, but it’s so nice to be amongst the charm of the true history of this region.
Thank you Ladera for being such wonderful hosts and stewards of Napa history.

I’ve been wine tasting for several years now and I have to say that we had a terrific experience at Ladera Vineyards. Perhaps things have changed since November of 2007!
We rolled in unannounced on a Saturday and were greeted by a very nice server. He let us in on the wine tasting and we were so glad he did. The wine was terrific! I like wines that are more earthy and complex and this wine did not disappoint.
Afterwards, we took our picnic lunch to the little picnic area outside and had a lovely, peaceful greenbelt/​vineyard view.
Interestingly, we live near a community called «Ladera Ranch» in Orange County, CA and apparently Ladera the community tried to sue Ladera the winery over the name. Crazy, isn’t it? Wine would BOOST their image. Not take away from it.
At any rate, you almost can’t go wrong with anything from Howell Mountain, but I would highly recommend Ladera. Just be prepared for a bit of a drive if you are staying closer to Napa proper.