Dutch Henry Winery

Busy. it’s napa. great service and the property is cool. Chickens, dogs and cats. oh and wine. Will be back for sure

We were told to stop by here after tasting at Honig, and were told this was a great dog friendly winery.
It did have a nice area for dogs, but the tasting fee is $ 25 per person, and I felt the wines were not that great (especially the Zin).
You do get credited the tasting fee if you buy, but all of their wines were over $ 50 and I just felt you can get much better wine for the same price point at other places.
They also don’t release their wine for a while, so now they were tasting vintages from around 2010.
We got a much better explanation of the wine, and FREE tasting at Vincent Aroyo Winery which I highly recommend over this winery.
Granted, I know land is expensive and wines prices are always on the rise, but I felt this is one you can skip

Worst all around experience in years.
The woman serving seemed exceedingly annoyed by our presence so we walked out not finishing our first pour.
We came in early on a rainy Saturday afternoon at first happy that there was only two other couples. It took 5 minutes for her to acknowledge our presence in a very small room. My GF, with her better judgement, mouthed to me, «lets go» after it was apparent our money was not welcome but I being the stubborn one (read: want to buy more wine) wanted to forgive the service or lack there of. She poured our taste without any explanation of the varietal and walked away. We waited to make eye contact with her and when she did look us in the eyes she poured for the other two couples and ignored us again.
We jumped on Unilocal to save us and it did with, «Lava Vine.»

We decided to just drive up the Silverado Trail one day and see what we could find. We had never heard of Dutch Henry, so we did a quick search on them and saw that no appointments were necessary. There are options for cave tours and reserve wine tastings that will require an appointment.
The ‘general’ tasting was in a modest area in what I would call a ‘barn’ like structure, but that is not right. It is rustic and simple, not at all like many of the tasting rooms you find across the valley. They have several cats and dogs roaming around the property who, for the most part, want some attention. The animals add to the rustic feel.
They do not focus on any one particular varietal or have a varietal they focus on. They make Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Petite Sirah (personal favorite), Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and a Bordeaux blend (fantastic).
Our tasting room guide was extremely friendly and was quite familiar with the wines of Dutch Henry and wines of the Valley (she recommended we visit Titus).
This was one of our random stops and we were glad we came here. Had we had known they offered a cave tour and tasting, we may have looked into that. Something to keep in mind for the future.

Wine was ok, they had a Pinot that was delicious, we bought one, the grounds are great, then why two stars. The woman serving seemed overwhelming annoyed by our presence. we pulled up mid-​week and two woman, one older, one younger kicking back outside. they walked in before we got out of the car. We were greeted by a confused look and a forced, «in for a tasting?». We get poured a glass, a very brief explanation and then stared at, we awkwardly downed the first tasting and she quickly poured us another one with an equally quick description and on it went. One of the most uncomfortable wine tasting experiences we can remember. We forced conversation, asking about the winery, its orgins, how the name came about, where the grapes are grown etc etc. When we ran out of questions we took our glasses outside as it was kinda weird just staring at her while she stared at us. The younger girl was great and engaged a bit and we were able to break up the awkwardness by playing with her little dog.
Look, this lady may just not be that vocal but then why would you be working a wine room. On any other day if there were plenty of other tasters it would not have been so weird but since we were the only ones, it was.

I can’t speak to the wines because I didn’t imbibe; my husband and I stopped here because we’d been told Dutch Henry was dog-​friendly … and what a lovely welcome we received! Shamus, the resident canine, trotted out to greet us, and he and our dog roamed the premises together (off-​leash) while we chilled under spreading oaks serenaded by a couple of musicians. Picnic tables look out onto a vineyard of fall colors, where we enjoyed the lunch we’d brought with us. This place is a five-​star find among all the Napa Valley wineries with no-​dog, buy-​or-​take-​a-​hike policies.

This winery is very low key, which is a good thing. You can bring your dogs and let them run around while your sipping wine. The only negative is that their tastings are a bit pricey. Overall we had a a nice relaxing Saturday afternoon here.

Nice place. Lots of olive trees.
Rustic setting. Reasonable parking.
Ready nice bartender.

The setting is a little rustic, simple, not flashy at all. Parking is good, there is room to rest and picnic if so needed. The staff are friendly, well informed and eager to answer questions.
The wine is atypical of the immediate area, we tasted an outstanding Pinor and a wonderful Zin. This is fairly quick visit for a stop, but well worth the effort. Enjoy…

We came to Dutch Henry on the second stop of our Platypus Wine Tour. Elizabeth, our guide, was knowledgeable and friendly as we toured the grounds. We sampled four wines for $ 15, toured the cave, utilized a wine thief, and ate lunch on their outdoor picnic tables. The energy was a bit quieter here than at some of the other wineries we visited on our tour. Their olive oil was very good, you should try it if you go! If you’re allergic to cats, stay far away from this place. I’m not a big fan and their litter boxes were stinking up the bathroom area.

Stopped in again to revisit some of their reds, Elizabeth couldn’t be nicer, even had a treat for my pup. Walked the gardens outside, just need to make sure that I come back for the cave tour.

This place had the most awesome cave tour experience we have ever been a part of. We had a private tour it was relaxed it was educational it was amazing. On the cave tour we got taken to a room with this gorgeous private table and then realize that that was where we were going to do our tastings! It was like something out of reality TV shows like the bachelor. The winery is cool if you have animals with you but beware they do have two cats that are not afraid of your dogs haha! Great wines and definitely had to buy some. Will definitely return!

Great wines, chicken, dogs, cats, picnic area = tons of fun. Loved all the reds. The whites were eh. The 2009 cab franc was not for sale but freaking amazing. I loved the Rooster but I felt it was overpriced. Fortunately we had a large group discount.

Perfect picnic spot. Bocce Ball. Great wine. Cats and Dogs (who doesn’t love winery pets?). Wine cave.
I’m glad we made this a stop on our tour. This is a place to stop if your looking for a small, friendly winery.

It’s out of the way, but they have nice wines and if you’re looking for a good place to picnic, this is it. I love the cats. Maybelline needs a shave (notice I did not say «diet»), but she and Floyd are great.
Hey, guys… use that Airstream for parties! Or a mobile wine bar!

Is this the best winery in the Napa Valley? It’s hard to say, but I’ve been coming to Dutch Henry for a few years now and absolutely adore the place; the tasting room, the picnic area, the mature oak trees, the cats, the dogs, the «chill vibe», and most of all… the wine… it’s all right up my alley and is truthfully the only winery upvalley that is a «must stop» every time I’m this far north on Silverado Trail. And it’s a place I’ve been recommending for years to people who want good wine at a fair price and a setting that isn’t a madhouse.
So why the four star review rather than a five star? Only because I haven’t taken the tour there. Other than that, it’s tip-​top.
The wines are predominantly very good, and given the price point of the «Terrier Station» label (yes, a take-​off of the Dead’s «Terrapin Station» album, complete with label art by Stanley Mouse) the wine certainly is one of the best values for a Napa Valley red.
My only «complaint» (not that it’s really a big deal) is that the miscellaneous merchandise (you know, the stuff you don’t come to a winery for) is pretty expensive. $ 30 for a fairly simple t-​shirt is just way out of the realm of possibility.
But if I’m going to want a place to picnic and share a great bottle of wine with friends, Dutch Henry is my choice, even if the drive up from Napa is a bit much to make it a regular event.

I had googled «best wine caves in Napa» and low and behold, I found this place. I emailed with John back and forth for over a month, planning my company’s quarterly event for about 16 people. He was always very responsive and pleasant in his emails which made for extremely easy and effective communication!
Finally the day came and we took the 1.5 hour trek to Calistoga. I for some reason did not think to map out how far Calistoga is from SF, but it worked out fine anyway.
We arrived late which was no sweat on their end, and was directed into the main room for a refreshing glass of chardonnay. Then we headed on over to the wine caves and had a little tour and hors d’oeuvres (fried chicken on a stick and fried squash blossoms filled with goat cheese!!!). The cave was beautiful and I know they do dinners inside which I think would be a great experience for another time.
Then we had a picnic on the bocce ball courts. We had a whole roasted pig with baked beans, napa cabbage coleslaw, an heirloom tomato salad with mozarella and basil, and jalapeño cornbread. Everything was DELICIOUS! The pig was roasted beautifully and so succulent. Also, their grounds are pretty spacious and we were able to do a water balloon toss game (it was 90 degrees in October!) and play bocce ball.
The weather was amazing and it was a pretty perfect event. I would recommend this place for any small parties whether it be for birthdays or corporate events!

Be warned they have two off leash Airedales who are not particularly friendly. Our small dog had a traumatic greeting. For a dog friendly place it was disappointing.

A great winery with cute little picnic area! Friendly staff too! I loved the cat that was here too.
Small winery but perfect for small parties and/​or your significant other.

This is a great little winery with a decent picnic area. We came here on a tour, and had a picnic in the grove area. It was a bit difficult to find a table without ants crawling over it, but then again, I guess that is to be expected when you picnic outside under trees.
This winery is dog-​friendly, and they offer an award-​winning olive oil you can purchase as well as deliciously smelling olive oil soaps.
If I recall correctly, I think they also have a guest house on the estate you can rent out for $ 500/​night. This is not a bad option if you split amongst a small group.
I would love to come here again with a small group and reserve a wine & cheese pairing (Reserve tour) in the cave.