Barnett Vineyards
Spring Mountain • Napa Valley
Mountain Wines. Valley Views.
📍LOCATION
Spring Mountain
Napa Valley
📅 APPOINTMENT
Private Tasting
Reservations Required
💰PRICE RANGE
$42-270
🍇 WINE CLUB
Yes • Customizable
🍷SIGNATURE WINES
Sauvignon Blanc • Rattlesnake Cabernet Sauvignon
WHY IT’S IN MY COLLECTION
Gary has been responsible for introducing me to more than a few of my favorite Napa wineries, and Barnett Vineyards is another one I can thank him for.
We were looking to add a few new wineries to our Napa rotation when Gary recommended Barnett. Our first visit was in October 2023, and it didn’t take long for me to understand why he thought I would love it. The wines were fantastic, the property was stunning and the hospitality immediately felt warm and welcoming.
By the end of that first tasting, I loved the wines enough that joining the Savor Collection Club was an easy decision. Six bottles twice a yea and, importantly for me, completely customizable. I can choose the wines I actually want in my cellar rather than simply taking a predetermined allocation.
Since then, I’ve returned four or five times, and Garrett has hosted us every time. He’s fantastic, and that consistency is part of what keeps me coming back. When the weather cooperates, we sit outside the cave overlooking the valley below. It is one of those Wine Country views that makes you stop for a minute and remember exactly where you are.
There’s no elaborate food pairing here. Breadsticks, water and great wine. And frankly, Barnett doesn’t need anything else. The wines speak for themselves.
WINE DIVA FAVORITES
The bottles I reach for, recommend and happily make room for in my cellar.
Barnett Sauvignon Blanc
Dry Creek Valley
My kind of summer wine. Fresh, easy drinking and absolutely capable of being a patio pounder, but don’t underestimate it at the dinner table. I especially love it with seafood or a simple piece of grilled fish. This is one I always want chilled and ready to go.
Barnett MMV Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley
A Cabernet I love for both its fruit and complexity. MMV is delicious enough to enjoy on its own, but it has the structure and depth to be just as happy alongside a great meal. This is the kind of Cabernet that makes it very easy to pour a second glass.
Rattlesnake Cabernet Sauvignon
Spring Mountain District, Napa Valley
The signature Barnett bottle—and definitely the splurge. Rattlesnake Cabernet comes from the steep estate vineyard rising above the winery cave, where the vineyard gets its very appropriate name from the rattlers that call the mountain home. Rich, powerful and complex, this is the bottle I think of when I think Barnett. If you want to understand what Spring Mountain Cabernet can be, start here.
Garrett at Barnett Vineyards. Photo courtesy of Barnett Vineyards
THE EXPERIENCE
Barnett is one of those wineries where the setting is part of the experience. The drive takes you up Spring Mountain to a beautiful estate perched high above Napa Valley, and when the weather cooperates, tastings take place outside the cave with an incredible view of the valley below.
Garrett has hosted us every time I’ve visited, and he’s a big part of why the experience is consistently so good. The hospitality is warm, knowledgeable and relaxed. There’s no elaborate food pairing competing for your attention—just breadsticks, water and a lineup of really good wine.
Fiona and Hal Barnett have called this property home since 1991, raising their three daughters here while gradually building the winery around the estate vineyards. That family connection still comes through in the experience today. Barnett feels polished without feeling corporate, and despite that spectacular view, the wine remains the reason to make the trip up the mountain.
INSIDER TIPS
What I’d tell a friend before their first visit.
BEFORE YOU GO
Consider a driver
Barnett sits high on Spring Mountain, and the road up is winding and narrow in places. I’ve always used a driver when visiting Barnett, which lets me enjoy the tasting—and that beautiful mountain setting—without worrying about the drive back down. Give yourself plenty of time and don’t stack your appointments too tightly. This is a visit worth slowing down for.
THE WINE DIVA TIP
Sit outside when you can
If the weather cooperates, ask to taste outside the cave. The view over Napa Valley is spectacular and is a huge part of the Barnett experience. Pour me a glass of Sauvignon Blanc and give me that view—I’m happy.
DON’T MISS
Rattlesnake Cabernet
Even if you’re not planning to splurge, taste the Rattlesnake Cabernet. It comes from the estate vineyard climbing the hillside above the cave and is Barnett’s signature bottle. This is the wine that shows you what this mountain can do.
PERFECT FOR
Who will love this winery
THE MOUNTAIN WINE LOVER
You appreciate wines with a sense of place. Barnett’s Spring Mountain estate and mountain-grown Cabernets give you a chance to experience a very different side of Napa Valley.
THE NAPA REPEAT VISITOR
You’ve tasted your way along the valley floor and you’re ready to head up the mountain. Barnett offers spectacular views, warm hospitality and an experience that feels removed from the Napa crowds.
THE CABERNET LOVER
Cabernet is why you came to Napa. From MMV to the estate-grown Rattlesnake, Barnett gives serious Cabernet drinkers plenty of reasons to make the drive up Spring Mountain.
SPECIAL OCCASIONS
You want the setting to be as memorable as the wine. The mountain drive, cave, outdoor tasting and sweeping valley views make Barnett an especially beautiful place to celebrate.
Pair Your Visit
Make a day of it
LUNCH
The Charter Oak Restaurant
St. Helena
After a morning tasting at Barnett, head back down to St. Helena for a relaxed lunch. The Charter Oak gives you Wine Country food without turning lunch into another three-hour production, and it’s right in St. Helena before the climb up Spring Mountain. It currently serves lunch daily.
DINNER
PRESS Restaurant
St. Helena
After a day of mountain Cabernet, lean all the way into Napa. PRESS makes this the special-occasion version of the itinerary: polished dinner, serious food and a wine program centered on Napa Valley.
STAY
Harvest Inn
St. Helena
This one comes with a little Wine Diva history. Paul and I stayed at Harvest Inn for our 25th wedding anniversary, and it was such a romantic Wine Country getaway. Our room was quaint with a real fireplace, and the St. Helena setting makes it a beautiful place to settle in after a day of tasting.
NEARBY WINERY
Pride Mountain Vineyards
Spring Mountain
If you’re making the trip up the mountain, make a day of it. Pride is farther up Spring Mountain Road and offers another perspective on high-elevation wines. Reservations are required, and Pride specifically recommends spending an entire day exploring Spring Mountain.
GALLERY
Scenes from my visits
THE WINE DIVA VERDICT
My Final Word
THE VERDICT
Barnett is everything I love about discovering wineries beyond the Napa Valley floor. The drive up Spring Mountain leads to spectacular views, warm hospitality and, most importantly, seriously good wine. I joined the club after my very first visit in 2023, and four or five visits later, I still look forward to coming back. Garrett makes every visit feel welcoming, the setting never gets old and the wines continue to earn their place in my cellar. Barnett is absolutely worth the drive up the mountain.
THE WINE DIVA STANDARD
Would I send my best friend here?
Without hesitation
WINE DIVA SCORECARD
Wine Quality — 5 / 5
Hospitality — 5 / 5
Experience — 5 / 5
Value — 4 / 5
Return Visit? — Absolutely
PLAN YOUR VISIT
Ready to experience it for yourself?
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