6 Reimagined Wineries That Are Giving Old Napa Valley New Energy

Napa Valley’s not hard to sell as a destination for a celebratory getaway. After all, this relatively small region is blessed with a bucolic landscape of vineyards that criss-cross the valley and climb the mountains on either side, dozens of excellent restaurants, and hundreds of world-class wineries.

I have made a habit of heading to Napa for milestone moments. For my 45th birthday earlier this year, I visited Hudson, a sprawling ranch decorated with a Seussian collection of agaves and other desert plants. For my sister’s 40th a couple of years ago, we did tastings at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, which made the cabernet that beat the best of Bordeaux in the 1976 “Judgment of Paris” blind tasting that made Napa famous, and at Seavey, a quiet farm in the hills above the valley that pours estate wines in a 19th-century stone barn.

Over the past year, as many of Napa’s most famous estates have come out of long renovations with updated hospitality spaces, I’ve been scoping out the most noteworthy new and renovated tasting rooms. I’m looking forward to taking my friends and family to them, but in the meantime, here are six revitalized wineries worth adding to your next Napa itinerary. (And see below for recommendations for where to stay and eat.)

Robert Mondavi Winery: A splashy renovation of Napa’s most famous estate

Photo by Adam Rouse (L); photo by Mike Battey (R)

When it opened in 1966, the Robert Mondavi Winery was the first major new winery to open in Napa Valley after Prohibition, and the first with a tourism-focused visitor center. Its eponymous founder pushed his fellow winemakers to raise their standards to compete on the global scale (this was 10 years before the Judgment of Paris), and he was a tireless advocate for California wines around the world.

The Mondavi family sold the winery to Constellation Brands in 2004, and in 2023 the conglomerate closed it for renovations that would take three years (and an estimated $200 million). It finally reopened this spring, timed to the 60th anniversary of its original debut.

The landscaping is both more attractive and more sustainable, with native plants replacing the former green lawn, and the new main tasting space is glass-walled to emphasize views of the estate’s To Kalon Vineyard (widely considered America’s original “Grand Cru” vineyard). The winery also introduced a variety of new tasting experiences, including a reserve tasting with a private tour of the estate and a three-course wine-and-food pairing that’s ideal for groups enjoying their first visit to Napa.

Related: This Is the Most Exciting Winery Opening in Napa This Year

Continuum Estate: Private tastings and tours with the Mondavi family

Photo by Adam Potts

Robert Mondavi died in 2008, and his family no longer owns either his 1966 winery or Opus One—but their legacy lives on at Continuum Estate. Two of Robert’s children, Tim and Marcia Mondavi, founded the estate, located high on Pritchard Hill, in 2005, and this past August, they opened a new Estate House (decorated in part with paintings by one of Tim’s daughters, Chiara Mondavi, herself a winemaker) that presents panoramic views of the vineyard and the valley below.

Visits include a private tasting and a tour of the winery; cooking classes led by Mondavi family chef Sarah Scott will be available soon, driving home the connection between wine and food and providing a fun activity for visiting groups.

“This is such a personal endeavor for us, and our scale is so small relative to our past, but we’ve always been emotionally invested in our commitment to wine,” says Carissa Mondavi, another of Tim’s daughters and Continuum’s head of hospitality and communications.

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Beaulieu Vineyards: A Napa OG gets new tasting spaces and experiences

Photo by Adam Potts

Few of Napa Valley’s wineries are more historically impactful than Beaulieu Vineyard. Founded in 1900 by Georges de Latour, BV was for decades the bastion of André Tschelistcheff, who created one of Napa’s great wines, the Georges de Latour Private Reserve (people around here call it “the George”) and served as a mentor for winemakers throughout the valley for half a century.

In recent years, the 1885 stone building that houses the winery had begun to show its age (and not in the way fine wine does), so current owner Treasury Wine Estates embarked on a two-year renovation project.

The hospitality center reopened this past July, in spectacular fashion: There’s a soaring atrium with a glass wall looking out on a courtyard, a rooftop terrace, and a private-reserve wine library. The design nods to BV’s history, as well: On one restored ceiling you can see notes handwritten by cellar workers more than a century ago, and near the entrance you can walk right up to Georges de Latour’s 1925 Cadillac. The winery is also serving house-made food for the first time, ranging from afternoon tea–style canapés to multi-course pairing menus. An extra plus: BV has a variety of spaces that can accommodate large groups (up to 300).

“What was most important to us was maintaining that real sense of connection to the history of this property,” says general manager and winemaker Nate Weis. “At the same time, we wanted to bring it to life in a way that was modern and relatable. Ensuring every detail in the tasting room is uniquely ‘BV’ is how we drove that authenticity.”

Far Niente: One of the valley’s most beautiful buildings now has more room for groups

Far Niente has long been known as one of the valley’s loveliest properties, thanks to the 100 gingko trees that line the long driveway (and turn bright gold in the fall) and its 1885 stone winery, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

This past spring, the winery completed an update of the building, known as the Great Hall, to improve the visitor experience. Guests can now taste Far Niente’s cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay in various communal and private rooms decorated with murals depicting the valley, handcrafted bird-and-butterfly wallpaper, and in, one case, a polyptych of guys in berets drinking, toasting with, and fighting over Far Niente wine.

“The reimagination of the Great Hall allows us to create very personal, curated connections,” says Erin Luby, vice president of consumer experiences at Far Niente Wine Estates. “Our hope is that guests leave with a specific memory of Far Niente, whether it’s a detail they noticed in the stone winery or a wine they’re still talking about on the way home. Those are the moments that give wine enthusiasts a reason to come back to Napa.”

Pestoni Family Estate Winery: Grounds perfect for a celebratory picnic

Courtesy of Pestoni

The Pestoni family has been farming in Napa Valley since the 1890s and took over their current winery location in 1994. An updated tasting room opened in 2025, with cozy seating, an antique cuckoo clock (the family’s roots are Swiss Italian, after all), and an extensive list of library bottlings that are surprisingly affordable.

The Pestonis also relandscaped their outdoor picnic pavilion, which features bocce courts and an olive grove, and they have plans to install a commercial kitchen by this coming spring. It’s presently the only Napa Valley estate that allows guests to bring their own food for a picnic; buy a bottle of sauvy-b, snag a picnic table, and soak up some sun.

Flora Springs: A glass-tiled wonder for design enthusiasts

Jean-Charles Boisset isn’t known for subtlety. The owner of several of the valley’s glitziest spots (including Artesa Winery, an architectural stunner in Napa’s Carneros region that featured in the comedy Wine Country) has a tendency to dress the interiors of his tasting rooms in leopard and zebra prints.

But when he and his wife, Gina Gallo-Boisset, bought Flora Springs, they focused on the outside: Specifically, they festooned the exterior of the tasting room, on Highway 29 next to the Napa Valley Museum of Art and Culture, with 5 million Italian glass tiles, creating a swirling facade inspired by the work of Antoni Gaudí. Tastings happen inside (underneath and alongside more mosaics) or in a garden courtyard out back.

Where to eat in Napa Valley

You’ve got to have great food with great wine, and Napa Valley has no shortage of excellent restaurants. Longtime local favorite La Toque serves California-inflected French cuisine, as well as regional menus focused on places like Burgundy and Piedmont. Bottega Napa Valley has impeccably executed Italian food (the bistecca alla Fiorentina is sensational). At Newcomer Carabao, chef Jade Cunningham does high-end takes on Filipino dishes, such as an oxtail kare kare in coconut-peanut sauce. And I’ve heard there’s apparently this laundromat that has a pretty good kitchen, too.

Where to stay in Napa Valley

Wine country is rife with posh resorts, but for a cozier stay, check out Le Petit Pali St. Helena, a 24-room, five-cottage new hotel with a design-forward take on French country style. It’s right behind the Freemark Abbey Winery and amid vineyards, making it ideal for a secluded Napa Valley escape. There are plenty of other options in our roundup of our favorite Napa Valley hotels.