“This isn’t the place to go for Napa’s most luxurious experience” seems like an odd way to promote your winery. But that’s exactly how one owner phrased it, and, well, it got my attention.
It made me flash back on a comment I’ve heard more than once when visiting other wine regions. And it goes like this: “We don’t want to become another Napa Valley.”
Initially I attributed that statement to jealousy or some form of vinous envy. After all, to winery owners trying to compete with Napa Valley it must be tough to hear “all roads lead to Napa” and to see tourists posing in front of that “Welcome to Napa Valley” sign on various social media outlets.
But the phrase “luxurious experience” clearly was based on an important concern within Napa. Luxury usually describes a product like Dom Perignon Champagne, a resort, a yacht or a Bentley—all nonessential, frivolous, fun, and expensive. It has become rather common for marketing folks to try to put the “luxury brand” label on wineries. That phase kept popping up whenever corporations moved in to acquire brands recently. The Duckhorn portfolio was described by its new owners as “the company’s curated suite of luxury wine brands.”
Now, there’s nothing wrong with sipping Dom in the backseat in your chauffeured Bentley as you head off to a luxury resort. It’s your money and you can spend it anyway you wish. (Then again, that open container might be illegal.) But I find the luxury wine brand label to be an empty-headed marketing strategy.
But to return to Napa Valley and wine experiences, there’s a point where the luxury angle is way over-the-top and may be turning off younger people (who as a group are now famously regarding wine in semi-disfavor). Here are some examples of potentially off-putting excess:
Among several wine experiences at Chateau Montelena, the top one is “Hillside Terrace Experience.” For $700 a person, you can “Indulge in ultimate luxury with our Hillside Terrace Experience. Your private journey begins with a guided tour of our beautiful grounds and vineyard, followed by a customized wine tasting on our hillside deck.”
For $500 a person, Shafer’s “Hillside Select Experience” is “Our most luxurious private experience which focuses exclusively on Hillside Select. Your visit begins with Billecart Salmon Champagne and Regiis Ova caviar before boarding a Polaris Ranger vehicle for a private tour of the estate.”
At Domaine Carneros, “The Ultimate Carneros” tasting offers—for $275 per person—the following: “Unlock the Chateau doors to luxury and sophistication with this curated blending of our most premium offerings. Your experience begins with a glass of our finest sparkling wine paired with delectable caviar from Tsar Nicolai and an abundance of local cheeses and charcuterie. From there our expert wine educators will guide you through a journey of four sparkling wines perfectly paired with five international bites. Then, as part of this unforgettable experience, you’ll witness the dramatic and impressive technique of bottle sabering.”
A few weeks ago I heard that at Rutherford Hill you can reserve a Valley Vista Skyloft table on the terrace for 2 hours for $250. But that’s only for the view; all tasting experiences are additional. The Merlot tasting is $100 per person! When you pose for selfies, don’t say “cheese.” That will cost you extra.
By comparison, the Carneros event sounds like a deal! But these examples should serve to clarify what is in mind when talking about luxurious experiences in Napa Valley.
To return to my opening comment, it was the Leonardini family, owners of Whitehall Lane, who said about their winery: “This isn’t the place to go for Napa’s most luxurious experience.”
Located in a prime area along highway 29, Whitehall Lane proudly identifies as a family-owned winery now in the hands of the third generation.
I couldn’t help noticing that most wineries offering those super deluxe, ultra luxurious experiences are not family owned and operated. The former Franciscan Vineyard founded by Justin Meyer is now home to the Prisoner. Constellation, which owns around 100 brands, acquired the winery and brand in 2016. The basic tasting in the Prison Lounge is $96 a pop. But The Exclusive” tasting event inside the prison comes with a cheese platter for $243 per person.
At Whitehall Lane, just up the road, a tasting of the current releases is $40, and visitors aren’t exactly slumming. As Katie Leonardini: explained to me, “After three years in the making, in May 2024 we celebrated the opening of our Estate Garden Pavilion which is a beautiful outdoor space overlooking the Mayacamas Mountains. You can relax in one of our swings under the Pavilion and amongst our Merlot vines to enjoy our current release lineup.”
So, in a way Whitehall Lane caught my attention at the right time and helped me get a better fix on what a genuine Napa experience could be during 2025. A major part of the image problem is social media, the influencers and travel bloggers, who love to entertain readers with tales of their once-in-a-lifetime luxury experiences. They want sizzle, flamboyant and daring experiences…and wine is a minor player or an excuse for a party.
A Family Winery
It may not make headlines but for what it’s worth, the authentic Napa Valley experience is alive and can be enjoyed by anyone. Whether you visit, say Trefethen, Truchard, Monticello or many others, it starts and ends with family, not with caviar.
Whitehall Lane is emphatically a family enterprise rather than a corporate one, with three generations now involved. The family took the reins after Tom Leonardini Sr. caught wind of the former owners of the winery being open to the possibility of selling it. Tom Sr. had formerly run a successful (and sizeable) car rental business, then also took a vinous turn when he founded a wine shop in 1985 called Napa Valley Winery Exchange. During the early 1990s, Whitehall Lane was gaining media attention for its Cabernet and Merlot, and when Tom Sr.’s contacts up in Napa let him know that a purchase might be possible, he acted quickly, made an offer in March of ’93, and a week later the deal was done.
The winery has been a family affair ever since. Tom Sr.’s daughter Katie is the VP of Operations and Retail Sales, and her brother, Tom Jr., is VP of Distribution and Wholesale. He’s also known variously as Tom II or Tom 2, because there’s also a Tom III (or Tom 3) involved, along with Katie’s son, William Melancon.
At first glance, this could seem like a cast of characters prone to familial claustrophobia, but Tom Sr.’s longstanding dictum has been that that “in order to work in the family business, you must have worked somewhere else previously.” That was true for him, of course, between the rental car business and the wine shop, and likewise Katie worked at Franklin Templeton Funds and Charles Schwab in San Francisco before joining the winery in 2008. Tom II earned an MBA with an emphasis in marketing and worked with a wine and liquor distributor in California before coming aboard. Tom 3, currently Whitehall Lane’s Cellar Master, got his hands dirty at Green and Red Vineyard and Napa Beverage Company before joining the family business. When I was in touch with the family recently, Katie’s son William had just returned from working a harvest in South Africa before heading to Denner Vineyards in Paso Robles. This winter he’ll head to New Zealand for harvest, so the ethos underlying Tom Sr.’s dictum seems alive and well.
It also seems that this familial ethos emanates outward from the winery, based on something Katie mentioned to me about Whitehall Lane’s wine club: “Our club members know and appreciate that we are a three-generation family running the winery. They feel a strong tie to a winery where the owners are here most days, and often members will stop into the estate winery just to say hello.”
Authentic Wines
Although the current wine roster includes specialty items like Pinot Noir, sparkling wine and Semillon, Whitehall Lane was first known for Cabernet and Merlot, and has not wavered off course. While one of the limited production Cabs retails for $125, prices overall are within most budgets—at least for special occasions. The 2021 Napa Valley Cabernet is set at $56 per bottle, and the Merlot sells for $40. An attractive Bordeaux blend named “Tre Leoni” goes for $36, way below the Napa competition.
The winery’s house style, says winemaker Jason Moulton, is to bring out the best from the winery’s valley floor vineyards. Moulton began in 2016 and says that’s what the winery had been known for historically. He arrived at the winery with experience working in New Zealand, South Africa and Bordeaux. Today, he is the Director of Winemaking and Viticulture, which is not common, but he has been a big advocate of sustainable viticulture.
Two currently available wines I tasted confirmed that the winery does indeed have a house style that makes it stand out from the Napa crowd. First is the 2021 Merlot and the other is a Sauvignon Blanc:
Whitehall Lane Winery (Rutherford – Napa Valley) Sauvignon Blanc 2022 ($30): From the winery’s estate vineyards, this wine was blended with 20% Semillon. The fermentation was performed by native yeasts and 25% of the wine was barrel fermented in French oak, with 15% of those being new barrels. It was also aged on its lies for four months, which comes through in the winery’s smooth texture. The aroma is an attractive combination of cut grass, lemongrass and fennel. With flavors of apple and brioche, it shows considerable finesse with its lovely texture and beautiful balance. The finish is just crisp enough for good length. Overall, it leans more toward a Graves style but softer and is much more charming for lack of a better word. 93
Whitehall Lane Winery (Napa Valley) Merlot 2021 ($40): Blending is Moulton’s love, so here he added 8% Cabernet, 7% Malbec, 2% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc to the base variety of Merlot. He favors a cold soak prior to a warm fermentation with frequent pump-overs. The blend was aged in French oak (35% new) for 20 months, and then bottled un-fined and un-filtered. All that work and fuss stuff paid off, as this is an absolutely stunning Merlot. Rich and complex but still true to the variety. If all Merlot tasted like this, the movie “Sideways” would have been a bomb! It has a deep garnet color and displays aromas of dark plum with hints of cranberry and walnut. Full and round on entry, it is mouth-coating and savory, with flavors of youthful dark fruit along with light oak and gentle tannins. With some dried herbs poking through in the finish, there’s a lot going on here. Enjoy now or over the next 4-5 years. 95
Final point for now: there’s none of that “allocated,” “waiting list,” “members-only” haughty stuff. These two exceptional wines along with the winery’s Cabernet Sauvignons are available to everyone through the old fashioned three-tier system. Better yet, the winery frequently offers special deals online, either 25% off or free shipping, so it is worth signing up for their email alerts.
As I write this last line, the winery just offered 5 cases of its 2013 St. Helena Cabernet Sauvignon (its top-of-the-line release) through an email alert.