Spring is when Napa Valley really shows off with green hillsides, multi-colored spring flowers along country roads, and yellow mustard bursting between vine rows. It’s the perfect time of year for a picnic.
From artisanal marketplaces filled with cheese and charcuterie to chef-prepared baskets and on-site food trucks, these wineries make picnicking in Napa easy.
V. Sattui Winery
(Courtesy of @vsattui)
The top spot in our list goes to V. Sattui Winery in St. Helena, where stepping onto the grounds feels like a vacation in Tuscany. The Italian-style winery has beautiful vineyard and mountain views, plenty of shaded lawns begging for a picnic blanket, and the on-site Mercato del Gusto marketplace—which just so happens to have all the provisions you need to build your own al fresco feast.
Inside the marketplace and tasting room, you’ll find wine, of course, but you’ll also find a seasonal deli, 200+ artisanal cheeses curated by V. Sattui’s cheesemonger, and premium salumi, including house-cured specialties from their own salumeria. Grab freshly made sandwiches, paninis, pasta, salads, and housemade desserts like tiramisù, gelato, or sorbetto, and head outside where there are more than two acres to explore. Whether you stretch out on the grass or set up shop at the hand-built redwood and cedar picnic tables underneath century-old olive trees, the scenery is stunning.
// 111 White Lane (St. Helena), vsattui.com
Clif Family Winery
(Courtesy of Clif Family Winery)
For a cool, picnic-style food truck experience in St. Helena, head to the Clif Family Winery, where you can pair wines with seasonal dishes from The Bruschetteria Food Truck. Executive chef Magnus Young’s menu changes regularly, but the main focus is always organic with California style and Italian influence: think bruschette, porchetta, herb-marinated rotisserie chicken, farm-fresh salads, and seasonal sides. On the sweet side, expect classics like cookies and bread pudding.
Swing by the food truck, purchase a bottle of wine from the tasting room, and enjoy your meal outdoors any sunny spring afternoon. For groups, picnic-style meals can be pre-ordered in advance and picked up from the Clif Family kitchen, packaged to go with compostable plates and cutlery.
// 709 Main St. (St. Helena), cliffamily.com
Tamber Bey
(Courtesy of Tamber Bey)
At Tamber Bey, you can drink, picnic, and mingle with the resident horses, making it one of the most unique picnic settings in Napa Valley. Set on a 22-acre working equestrian farm, guests pass the main gate and drive down a paddock-lined driveway to reach the winery, which is named after the owner's first two Arabian horses, Tamborina and Bayamo.
When booking a wine tasting at Tamber Bey, you have the option to add on a boxed picnic lunch ($40/person) prepared by Sam’s General Store in Calistoga. Choose between a salad or a sandwich, and you’ll also get chips, a cookie, and a glass of wine to enjoy in the pretty courtyard. For a light picnic, opt for the cheese and charcuterie board ($40) instead. After lunch, explore the property and say hello to the horses.
// 1251 Tubbs Lane (Calistoga), tamberbey.com
Black Stallion Estate Winery
(Courtesy of @blackstallionwinery)
Each picnic basket at Black Stallion Winery serves two ($120). Inside, you’ll find a curated lunch prepared in-house by chef Britny Maureze. You and your plus-one can choose from main dishes like grilled flat iron steak, chicken breast, and portobello mushroom. Sides include options like marbled potato salad, seasonal grain salad with ingredients from the winery garden, house focaccia, and brownies. As a bonus, the picnic lunch arrives in a cute insulated cooler that you get to take home.
The Estate Picnic Lunch experience is by reservation only and lasts two hours, set at picnic tables surrounded by vineyards, gardens, and water features.
// 4089 Silverado Trail (Napa), blackstallionwinery.com
Frank Family Vineyards
(Courtey of Frank Family Vineyards)
At one of the oldest wineries in Calistoga, tastings and picnic lunches take place under ancient elm trees. Frank Family Vineyards’ Picnic & Bottle Service, an uninterrupted 90 minutes of peaceful picnicking with your pals at a private table, is available on its own ($25) with the purchase of wine or as an add-on to the Estate Tasting ($60/person).
While food is not provided at Frank Family Vineyards, guests are welcome to bring their own provisions. Pull over at the Oakville Grocery (7856 St. Helena Hwy, Oakville) on the way to grab boxed lunches, sandwiches, family-style salads, cheese, and charcuterie to pair with glasses from the winery.
// 1091 Larkmead Lane (Calistoga), frankfamilyvineyards.com
