That newspaper’s wine columnist, Lettie Teague, traveled to Napa recently and found that prices had skyrocketed since her previous trips: $1,300 a night for a hotel room, $900 wine tastings. “I can’t help feeling that the region’s main crop is cash, not grapes,” Teague writes.
Her article has generated quite a bit of buzz in Napa. Locals, including these two Bay Area wine writers, can’t deny that Napa Valley prices have risen significantly over the past few years. The data is undeniable: Teague reports that the region’s average tasting fee, for instance, increased by 25% since 2016.
But the article also has many locals feeling defensive. The reasons why it costs a lot to visit Napa aren’t due to the wine industry’s greed, they say, but rather to a web of factors much more complicated than what the Journal story acknowledges.
One major factor is staffing. Long a struggle in Napa Valley, it has worsened since the start of the pandemic. As a result, many hotels and restaurants are unable to operate at full capacity. Increased room rates and dinner tabs help make up for the loss of reservations.
On the winery side, the rising costs of land, labor, farming and wine production — which extends to more recent supply chain-enforced hikes on materials like glass — continue to drive up the price of wine and tasting experiences. Ask a tasting room manager and they’ll most likely admit that the winery doesn’t make any money on tasting fees, and in some cases, that they are taking a loss in hopes that a wine purchase or club signup will counterbalance it.
When it comes to farm labor, Napa County is one of the highest-paying wine regions in the U.S., and it’s common practice to offer workers health coverage and other benefits. Napa vineyards are also subject to stricter environmental regulation than other areas in California, meaning that vintners have to jump through many more logistical and bureaucratic hoops when they want to plant grapevines. That high level of care around the environmental impacts of a vineyard pushes wineries’ costs up over time.
Smaller wineries face unique circumstances in Napa. Many of them don’t own their own vineyard land, so they buy fruit from other growers. The average price for Cabernet Sauvignon grapes in Napa Valley was nearly $8,100 per ton last year; a winery paying that price would have to charge about $80 per bottle to make a profit. Plus, in an effort to combat traffic congestion and pollution in rural areas, Napa County has limited many wineries to permits allowing them to host very few visitors — in some cases, as few as 10 customers a week. A winery in that case would need to charge a higher tasting fee.
Make no mistake: The region’s main crop is grapes. But grapes farmed by well-paid employees, in an area with an intense real estate crunch, in a moment of high inflation, end up costing some serious cash.
At The Chronicle, we’ve done our share of reporting on some of the valley’s more egregious offerings, like the $1,000 wine tasting at Heitz Cellar (which offered free tastings in the not-so-distant past) and a $1,500-per-couple experience involving custom crystal stemware at Theorem Vineyards. These experiences may seem unnecessarily indulgent, but one thing is clear: The demand is there. And as long as visitors are willing to shell out hundreds of dollars on tasting experiences, or thousands on a hotel room, operators will be encouraged to maintain their prices.
Still, despite all these eye-catching prices, devoted locals — and our wine writing team — know that it’s still possible to visit Napa on a budget. So here are some of our favorite affordable wineries, hotels and restaurants in the valley.
Breakfast: Model Bakery’s famous English muffin — a favorite of Oprah’s — can be had for $2.50, while bagels with a spread from Meadowood chef Christopher Kostow go for $5 at his new Jewish deli, Loveski. Contimo Provisions in downtown Napa has become a breakfast staple among locals for its hearty $4 biscuit sandwiches, like the Ham & Jam filled with smoked molasses-brined ham and homemade jam.
Lunch or dinner: Check out Chronicle restaurant critic Soleil Ho’s taco truck recommendations, including the carne asada taco from Tacos El Muchacho Alegre ($2.50) and the shrimp tacos a la plancha from Tacos La Playita ($3.25). A little creativity can go a long way, too. For $30, get a small bucket of chef Thomas Keller’s famous Ad Hoc fried chicken and share it with friends on a sunny patch of grass. Try the nearby Yountville Community Park.
Happy hour: This is the sweet spot for the price-conscious. Pizzeria Tra Vigne offers discounted drinks and bites, like $1.50 oysters and arancini balls, seven days a week. During Power Hour at the popular wine bar Cadet, wines by the glass and draft beers are half off.
Tastings: The majority of Napa Valley wine tastings now exceed the $50 threshold, but downtown Napa tasting rooms like Mayacamas, Gamling & McDuck and Brendel offer flights starting at $30-$35, as does the charming Lola in Calistoga. For the more traditional wine and vineyard experience, tastings at Napa icons Trefethen, Saintsbury and Robert Biale cost $40, all accompanied by generous service, wine education and gorgeous, photo-worthy vistas.
Lodging: Admittedly, finding a weekend room in Napa under $500 will be tricky, but one of the best low-cost options is the Calistoga Motor Lodge, where it’s possible to stay for under $300 a night and soak your troubles away in three hot spring pools. If you’re traveling from the Bay Area and can book last minute, check for deals on apps like Hotel Tonight, where a quick search brought up several options under $400.
And if you live close enough, a day trip is always nice, too. Headlines about $1,300-a-night resorts may get the attention, but Napa is full of more attainable luxuries, if you know where to look.
