I just made my 2nd visit here this past July4th holiday and I can definitely say I'm a fan of this place.
The staff is incredibly friendly and very welcoming to guests. This place is laid out similar to a coffee shop if you asked me. It has a really mellow flow to it and there are couches available to sit, in addition to the tables and counter.
When we came the first time they gave us free tastings via the wine finder app, but now that promotion has been reduced to just tasting the wines of the week (a pinot gris and a red this past week).
The wines were very good. I remember last time my favorite was the Study in Blue, but this time I certainly didn't love it as much. I think my palette is changing a little bit and I tend to prefer lighter bodied wines.
Overall we really enjoy this place and we defintely take the time to stop here if we are in the area. Check out the Oxbow market right next to it!
I would never have gone into Taste without the recommendation (and free tasting given to us) by Lori at Stonehendge. Â My girlfriend and I walked from downtown to the Market area. Â It's not too far since Napa is literally only a mile long. Â The space at Taste isn't much...kind of a large open room with a huge bar. Â Not terribly intimate or comfortable really...
The people that run Taste are awesome. Â Considering we were there solely for free wine, they didn't care and were very friendly and talkative. Â Our lady was really knowledgeable too about the area and geography, which is what I find more fascinating when it comes to wine. Â
Definitely a good stop if you're in the market area.
My colleagues and I were at a work conference and we wanted to pop in somewhere for a quick wine tasting before our evening mixer. We LOVED this place. Mary (the wine ambassador) was knowledgable and very friendly. She was very accommodating to our entire party. Excellent customer service! The atmosphere was very relaxing and refreshing, the wine assortment was excellent and the overall staff was just fantastic. If you're in the mood to wine taste, I suggest you stop in here, you will not be disappointed.
Review Source:This tasting room is conveniently located next to the Oxbow Market so that's a plus there! The server was super nice!! We described each wine we tasted and engaged in small interesting talks with us. He also let us try other bottles that we point out (even though we already had our fill from the wine card). The place is also very bright and comfortable. I feel like I can sit and chill there all day if I want to. I would recommend this place for comfy tasting.
Review Source:This was the best wine tasting experience we had till date. The lady took her time to explain every single detail on how the wine is made,what is the difference between each wine we were tasting. Not like other wineries where they pour the wine and just tell u something about the wine in 2 lines. She was very patient with all our questions.The best thing abut her was her beautiful smile, She made sure she kept wearing ti all through the time. Though this wine tasting wasnt in wineyards like others,but we had a gala time. we took this deal with groupon .with the deal,we also got 30% discount on wine bottles.They also served pizza and olives complimentary.
Review Source:5 stars - I left very satisfied - not to mention, with 5 bottles of wine as well.
I found this tasting room on Groupon - finally bought the Groupon deal because of the great reviews on yelp. Â My first impression wasn't so great though. Â I gave them a call on a Monday to get clarify some questions - I was put on hold for 15 minutes by a lady who didn't even ask what I needed help with, and I eventually hung up. Â I didn't call back until Friday, when I spoke with "Ellen". Â She was very courteous and so nice to look over my mistake. Â I was planning my boyfriend's birthday as a surprise, but forgot to include him in my calculations.. I had 3 groupons (each is for a pair), but didn't have one to cover for him. Â She offered to let him have the wine tasting for free. Â
It was a nice place - they have several tables here and there for groups/couples who decide to come in for wine tasting. Â Taste at Oxbow is just a block away from the Oxbow Marketplace on 1st St - literally across from Gott's. Â Next door was a hair salon. Â Further down the street seemed like downtown Napa area. Â Public parking at the marketplace is free (even better)!
I had a reservation on a Sunday at 4:30 PM, but even though we got there 45 minutes early, they seated us right away at their larger table (we had a group of 7). Â I guess they are under new management, but regardless, the older gentleman who helped us was amazing. Â He totally made the experience that much better - like previous reviews said, he is very knowledgeable and entertaining, and had great customer service. Â Gave us tips about wine tasting, even went through some history and demographics about wine making. Since the Groupon gave us credit toward their bottles of wine and 30% off anything else we buy, we left with 5 (could have spent more money though). Â
One last thing, not really related to Taste at Oxbow, but for wine amateurs like me, a tour of a winery would probably be better to start off with. Â They can explain to you how the whole process works.
Rounding out our day in wine countries, my friends and I made Taste at Oxbox our final stop. Our server was really nice, informative, and generous with the servings. It was nice venturing into the unknown and trying some wines that weren't familiar.
If back in the area, I'd return to this tasting room, and likely stop into Oxbow Public Market, which is right nearby.
This is a very chill tasting room situated next to the Oxbow Public Market. Â I've been here twice and both time have received great service and the first time we came here there was about 20 minutes until closing, but they were accommodating.
The place itself it big with bar seating, high tops, or a couch and chairs with a small table. Â There's even a semi-private area.
There's five tastings for $20 and there's a variety of wines to choose from. When I went the first time, we were sampled a riesling not on the menu. As mentioned, service is great and especially when I went with my girlfriends our server was giving us heavy pours (and let me have some riesling!) and giving us tips on where to go in the city.
Good place with great service and prices! If you're around the area, stop by!
After my experience, I connected with the manager who wanted to know more about what happened. Â He was professional and very apologetic. Â It's clear to me that he is working hard to provide clients with a positive experience. Â I appreciate his attentiveness and have decided to give them another try. Â I don't think I'll be disappointed!
Review Source:Had a really nice experience here. Jerae was awesome, knowledgable and just so personable which made the tasting even nicer. All of the wines were very good- we walked out with a Merlot and Syrah. We came with an awesome Groupon deal. Really worth a visit. Came on a Friday afternoon which probably made it nicer as it was less crowded. Left here pleased.
Review Source:This was the last stop in our wine tasting day. We walked here from another tasting room downtown because I can never get enough wine and they are open until 7pm when all the other places closed at 5-6pm! We found a free 2 tastings coupon on the Wine Finder app. My boyfriend and I each got two tastes of different wines. The Study in Blue was the best- really unique and flavorful with a cool name and bottle, too! Unfortunately it was one of the more expensive wines at $45/bottle, however my boyfriend also loved the smoothness of their Merlot so we took home a bottle of that instead for $18. The atmosphere was bright, clean, & spacious with a large bar. It felt like a gallery or a coffee shop. I could see us returning to relax and hang out while we had a glass of wine, & would have if our travel schedule wasn't so tight! Customer service was also comfortable, friendly & informative. We loved our visit!
Review Source:A couple days before we were set to leave on our anniversary trip, I got an email about an awesome groupon detail. Â Too good to pass up so I jumped on it. Â So, last night we modified our plans to accommodate for it. Â Really glad we did. Â On the phone setting up the reservation, and in person, the service was nothing less than fantastic. Â The pours were generous, the pizza was great, the wine was also great. Â If we were locals, this is definitely a place we would frequent often. Â Just an awesome, pleasant experience, Â and a great way to unwind on a Friday night.
Review Source:Bought a really good deal on Groupon, so off we go me and my babe to Napa. This place rocks, I made reservations for a Saturday as soon as we got there we were seated by the window. They came out with a very good chesse plate with crackers. Next up the wines which were very good.. We ended up getting the red Zinfandel and the reserved Cab!! We will be back but of course this was out second trip there.. A great place to hang out with your girls or just kicking it with your friends and also a great place for lovers!! Â Cheers...
Review Source:We had a deal for 25 dollars off a bottle of wine, tastings for 2, and wine and cheese. Â I have to say everything was great. Â We loved the cheese and crackers, and the wines were so good, we bought more than the value of our coupon. Â I thought all the wines were decent, but the chardonnay and the 60 dollar cab were my favorites. Â My husband liked the Clockspring Old Vine Zin from Amador county. Â It was on sale for 12 dollars, and my husband thought it was a great deal. Personally, I would have bought the cab, but the zin was good too. Â On top of the nice cheeses, and the good wines, the chairs were comfy, the service was great, and the staff was friendly. Â It's not cheap but it's a nice place to go. Â I love that the Oxbow market is almost right next door, Â We went there and bought a bunch of food to take home.
Review Source:We originally bought Groupon deal for Taste of Oxbow, thinking it was just a really good deal for a tasting. It was probably one of the best purchases of our trip. John, our server was knowledge on every wine, recommended a few with a great response from our group of 3. The Study in Blue blend was amazing, and the early Cabernet was delicious as well. Our coupon included a cheese tasting as well, furnished by the Oxbow Market. Needless to say we loved the pairings so much we bought a few bottles and walked across the street to the market for the cheese as well, and continued our evening on the recommendations.
John was awesome! Truly passionate for wine and the Napa Valley. He sat down with us, went over his favorite wineries, made many recommendations on tastings to try on our trip, places to visit, and dinner ideas. He was friendly, welcoming, and didn't rush us in any way (unlike the girl on the phone that deterred us our first night saying we weren't allowed to "linger"). Great tasting! Definitely recommend as a before or after dinner trip downtown, but get a cab :)
Thanks John!
We had a groupon to go to oxbow. We tried many wineries before and left the oxbow testing at the end. The place was convenient and the store was cozy and nice but the wines were not as good as the previews wines we tried. The waiter was boring and wanted to close the testing room sooner. We arrived a lil before 6 and we had more then an hour to taste the wines. The waiter showed a face that didnt wanted to serve us because we had 1 hour left. We just wanted to test a few wines and leave. What irritated me is that, the groupon allowed me to have one bottle of wine for free so I asked for Cabernet 2 times to confirm. He instead gave me a zinfandel, put it a bag so I couldn't see it. It just irritated me the fact that I didn get what I wanted and I paid for it.
Review Source:Waterstone Winery at Taste of the Oxbow makes a very pleasant, reasonably priced 2008 Merlot at $18 and a really nice 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon at only $24, with all of their other wines being quite decent for the money and most coming from vineyards in Napa Valley. Â (The Pinot Noir is from the Sonoma side of Carneros.) Â Waterstone has no vineyards, but sources all of their grapes.
Most of the Yelp posts regarding Waterstone are under the name of the tasting room, Taste at the Oxbow, rather than the under the winery name. You can search under Waterston Winery if you want to read the few reviews that are there.
Waterstone Winery is located in downtown Napa across from Oxbow Market. The tasting includes four tastes for $10, but there are coupons, groupons and other offers that you should check out on the Internet. Â There were eight Waterstone wines available for tasting when I visited.
The first wine offered was the Waterstone 2011 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc at $18. Â Staff mentioned that Wine Spectator gave it a score of 86, which is a good score for a wine at this price. Â It was quite decent for the money. Â The 2010 Pinot Gris ($18) from Napa Valley had a very nice nose and was pleasantly crisp with good acid and balance. Â (The Wetstone Pinot Gris is on the wine list at Pearl, one of my favorite restaurants in Napa.) Â Next was the 2011 Waterstone Chardonnay Carneros at $18 which was dry and crisp with a touch of oak and little or no MLF that I could detect. It was decent, although I'd rate the Pinot Gris as my favorite of the whites followed by the Sauvignon Blanc.
The reds began with a 2008 Pinot Noir from Carneros that was reasonably priced at $22. The aroma was light plum with red cherry and vanilla on the palate and soft tannins. It was followed by a lovely 2008 Merlot that was only $18. Â This Merlot is one of the finest under $20 bottle of Merlot I have tasted recently. Â The nose was rather light but it had pleasant cherry like fruit upon entry, followed by delightfully integrated tannins with decent substance and acid and a good finish. This is a very enjoyable Merlot with some excellent fruit. Â It was rated 89 by Editors' Choice and 88 by Wine Enthusiast while Wine Spectator listed it among its Best New Wine Deals and described it as "lush and deeply flavorful, reminiscent of ripe black cherries." Â Do not give this Merlot much air, save an opened bottle for the next day or cellar the wine for very long, though. Equally as fine, or even better than the Merlot, was the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon at $24. Â The respectable wine critic James Suckling gave this 93 points in Tasting Report and called it an "amazing value." Â This is a rather lush Cab with soft tannins, some herbaceousness and plenty of ripe fruit. Â It is 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cab Franc, 3% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot and 1% Malbec. Â As with the Merlot, this is one to drink now. Â This is a premium tasting Cab at a half or a third of the price one would usually expect. Â
Waterstone Winery is not one of those gorgeous mountain wineries with views to die for and there are no vineyards to admire or tour. It is simply a tasting room in Napa. Â But it is worth a visit and if you can't visit, I'd recommend trying the 2008 Merlot and the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon which are both very nice wines for the price. If you do visit, be sure to check out the various discount coupons and downtown tasting offers on the Internet.
Great find! Â We used our Taste of Napa card and tried this place for the first time. Â Service was exceptional, the space was open and relaxing, there was live guitar music (it was a Friday), and the wine was delicious. Â For tourists, it's in an ideal location across from Oxbow Market.
Review Source:What a nice place! We came on a lazy Sunday to redeem the Groupon we had purchased last year. The Groupon was about to expire so we arrived soon after the posted opening time. We had not realized a reservation would be necessary, but the staff sat us at the tasting bar and made us feel comfortable.
We tasted five wines, all delicious and paired with the charcuterie & cheese platter. When we got to the more robust reds (Cab & reserve) we got two chocolate truffles to  enjoy.
We had a lovely time, despite it being very busy. We were not rushed at all, we stayed for over an hour. The Groupon included a credit of $25 toward a bottle of wine.
Another plus is the location, right next to the Oxbow market. All in all a very enjoyable afternoon of wine and shopping at the market. We will be back to visit!
Wow we had such an amazing time here! I didn't know what to expect but we came in at close to 6pm on a Friday and were greeted warmly by Karl and Cezanne. We had a groupon for a cheese platter, a tasting for two, and $25 towards a bottle. Sometimes people don't respond well when you come in with a coupon, groupon etc, but that was NOT the case here.
We talked to both Cezanne and Karl throughout our tasting who were both amazing. They answered all our questions, talked about where they were from and just on general provided great service from refilling our water to offering us additional crackers. They also told us about Waterstone winery (where their wines are from) offered up their ideas for which of the wines we should do for a tasting, and even threw in a couple small pours of their favourites. Nice touch - on friday nights from 4-8pm they have two guys playing guitar, which was a great vibe. Oh, and because they were running a little low on the cheese because of all the grouponers, they threw in some amazing proscuitto and salami from the Fatty Calf at the market, one of which I loved and went there the next day to look for (but they were out!)
We were also given two chocolates to finish our tasting from Annette's chocolatiers in the market next door. I didn't have any wine left, so they were gracious enough to pour an extra sip for me of a nice cab that went extremely well with them. Aside from the excellent service, I loved every wine I tried here, and the best part is that they are totally affordabale to purchase ($18-60).
We ended up buying a bottle that was twice our groupon offering bc we loved it so much. I've been to a few tasting rooms now, and I will say that this was one of our favourite experiences! To top if off, I have inlaws coming in June, and was really sad I didn't buy another groupon for this. To make up a small part of that fee, Karl gave me some complimentary passes, so we will definitely be back.
FANTASTIC SERVICE AND EXPERIENCE. DON'T MISS THIS PLACE.
We came here close to closing time like around 5ish, but the staff did not rush us. It was not busy at all. The female staff was attentive to us.
They carry 2 brands of wine.
We found complimentary tasting of extra 2 wines online and we also had the already free tasting of 2 wines. So we tried 4 wines in all and they were Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Riesling, and another one I don't remember. I liked the whites.
Big, spacious place. There are tables and chairs to sit. You can also order a cheese platter if you want.
fun and a good deal with the groupon, but with so many other options around, i don't think this is the best one if you're short on time or trying to make the most of it. first, it's a tasting room, not a winery, if that matters in your decision-making.
the atmosphere is nicer in that you don't just stand at a bar, you can actually sit down in some comfortable chairs and the sommelier brings the wines to you. and a plate of cheese! the cheese was pretty fun to eat and came with some delicious grapes and dried fruit.
our girl was very knowledgeable and friendly, even though she did make a (not mean) crack about me knowing nothing about wine because i live in chicago. boo for anti-midwest snootiness! well as it turns out, i do know nothing about wine, but it's not because i live in chicago. haha. but i do know what i like and i don't think this wine (all from waterstone) was great in any way. (there was much yummier wine to be had later.)
if you're looking for some nice atmosphere and more of hangout-type wine tasting, this would be a fun place to go. but if you really want to go to a winery, of course this isn't it.
Got a Groupon to come here and I'm really glad we did. Our server was incredibly friendly and fun, he was enjoyable to talk to and knowledgeable of his wines. I found the wines to be a-okay for the most part, the blue one is good, I forget what it's called, something blue. Our Groupon included two tastings and a cheese platter for two, and a bottle of wine all for $30. It was a great deal and we enjoyed the wine later that week. I generally don't taste within the actual city since there are tons of great wineries on the trails, but I am glad we ventured here. Fun little place right inside the city with decent wines and friendly staff.
Review Source:I bought a Groupon, to take a friend out wine tasting in Napa for her birthday. Â The girl that served us the various wines was super friendly and attentive. We were able to sample 5 of the wines. Â A small (tiny) cheese tray was included -- wish this had been larger ;) Â I'm not a huge fan of wine (and that statement is being generous ;) but, for a rookie I'd say it was an overall good experience. Â The ambiance is really nice. Â It was super quiet in there for a Sunday afternoon. We left with a free bottle of wine (under $25). Â
I paid $32 for the Groupon. Â (Basically, I paid for my "free" bottle of wine, and my crackers and cheese at least ;) The quoted regular price for this on the Groupon was $67, in which case I think it would be a rip-off. Â For the Groupon price, it was an "ok/good" experience. Â But, at regular prices, I would definitely walk away feeling like I didn't get my money's worth.
Taste at Oxbow was the favorite of the 4 of us hands down. I don't know if it was because we went on a weekday or what, but we received really good service. It took about 5-10 minutes of us exploring the store before someone came out to help us, but when he did, he was amazing. We had the wine tasting card (which is a extremely great deal) so we were allowed to choose a few wines to try. I didn't catch his name, but he brought out every wine that he liked, plus the ones that we had questions about, and let us try them all! I think we tried about 8 different wines at this place.
A little disappointed that we didn't get to try it with cheese (none of the places that we went to offered it, actually), but the bestie and I fell in love with the crackers that he gave us. Seriously, the best crackers of my life.
Super nice and spacious as well.
We went here as a stop on the Downtown Tasting Card (which I recommend!) Â Some of the places were better than others. Â This was a stop I would definitely make sure to do if I bought the card. Â You get about 5 different tastes of wine for free with your card. Â
The woman working the bar was incredibly nice, even though she didn't make any money off us. Â She was friendly and chatted with us throughout the tasting.
The store itself is large and wouldn't feel crowded even at the busiest times. Â
Stop by if you are hanging out in downtown Napa and looking to sip some wine!
Groupon Rocks! We got an awesome deal (wine and cheese tasting for 2 and $25 towards a bottle of wine) at Taste at Oxbow and decided to go there this weekend.
What an awesome experience! Jerae was incredibly knowledgeable, friendly, and informative. She spent quite a bit of time describing the wines, the region they came from and how they were prepared. Oh, and she gave us bottles of water to drink in between wine sampling.
The cheese selection was also very lovely. I just wish they had paired the cheese with the wines.
All our friends will be hearing all about Taste at Oxbow! And we will definitely visit Taste soon!
Thanks to groupon I was able to check out Taste at Oxbow, I honestly probably would not have gone without it.
It was delightful, the woman who helped us was so nice, and informative. The cheese was delicious, and it was so hot out it was nice to sit in air-conditioning and enjoy the wine! Â She was also nice enough to bring us bottles of water on the house!
I'm rating Taste at Oxbow 4 out of 5 stars because I thought they would recommend certain wines with the cheese, but we just blindly paired, and sometimes that didn't turn out so well. They also didn't know what the cheeses were, which was a bummer since some of them I definitely would have bought!
A beautiful sunny day in Napa was the ideal setting for voucher day. Between Groupon. Living Social, Yelp Deals, Bloomspot & Open Table Spotlight, I've bought more deals than I can probably use so it was time to print up vouchers & liquidate a couple.
The 1st was a Groupon for wine tasting at Taste at Oxbow. Taste at Obow carries Waterstone and Mahoney wines. The Groupon was for a tasting for 2 from a selection of the Waterstone wines & $25 towards a bottle purchase. The girlfriend & I wandered in during a lull when the place was mostly empty. Inside is bright, spacious & nicely decorated. We pulled up a couple stools at the bar & our wine tasting tour guide was along shortly.
Jacque was knowledgeable, conversational & informative with a dry wit. She was not at all condescending or pretentious when we explained that we were no wine experts. She started us off with a Cabernet Sauvignon & then Pinot Noir which we thought were OK. She then moved us up to Study in Blue & the Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. Both of these were quite nice & we took a bottle of each home.
We finished up with perfect timing as a few large groups showed up & it became very busy. Using 1 of my Groupons (there are many more remaining), the girlfriend & I had a pleasant experience at Taste at Oxbow. We also discoverd a pair of wines we enjoy & a few other wine tidbits that Jacque shared with us. A stop by Taste at Oxbow is a good complement to any day while in Napa.
My boyfriend and I made our first wine-tasting stop at Taste at Oxbow for our anniversary.
The woman who served us was Jerae, and she was very friendly and made us feel right at home. We were a little nervous since we were in unfamiliar territory, but she made it a nice casual experience for us, which was perfect.
The wine and cheese that we enjoyed were delicious, and so were the bottles that we brought back home. I would definitely recommend them to anyone for a laid-back wine tasting experience.
I have always had a great experience with Taste at Oxbow. It has been hot in our area lately, and so I just busted out a bottle of their Rose which I got from Taste. Â I called and unfortunately they are totally sold out of it - apparently, I wasn't the only one who loved it.
Their host, Karl, has always gone above and beyond to deliver superior service. I would definitely recommend stopping by Taste on your way to or from the Oxbow Public Market.
We were very disappointed. Taste was empty when we were there (a cloudy Friday afternoon), and while the tasting room was nice it seemed sterile and lifeless. It felt like a tourist trap. The wines we had weren't all that good, and the woman who helped us was about as cold and unfriendly as you could possibly be without actively being rude. She didn't seem to be either able or willing to answer the most basic questions about the wines she was pouring. I always enjoy tasting wine, but it made the whole experience kind of unpleasant.
UPDATE: I really appreciated the efforts the owner took to make up our bad experience to us. She seems to be very serious about making sure that the experience we had isn't typical.
This tasting room represents wineries such as Waterstone and Mahoney vineyards.
Everyone in their previous yelps were raving about Mark, well, I wished we got him as our pourer because the lady who took care of us was aloof and pretty much left us by ourselves. That's fine if I just want to talk to my partner, but I felt like I have to keep bothering her if I had any questions. Oh, don't ask me about which wine is good here, there weren't anything I found memorable and we paid $10 for 4 tastes.
If you find yourself in downtown Napa perhaps after killing time at Copia, this place is open late and right next door to Oxbow Public market.
Make sure you walk across the bridge to these clusters of wineries that are listed in the Downtown Napa Wine Tasting cards even though there is tons of construction going on. Â
We were so lucky that we got Mark to pour us our tastings. Â We probably got about 7 free tastings with our card. Â He was an absolute "wine geek" in his words and he taught us so much! Â I feel kinda bad that our group monopolized his team but hey 5 girls vs 2 guys the group of girls will always win.
I am an absolute white wine girl but I really enjoyed my reds! Â I ended up buying a bottle of 2006 Merlot.
We got our tastings paired with some good crackers.
Another interesting white wine that one rarely gets to taste is 2008 Albarino "Las Brisas" Â It has a slight spicy taste to it. Â This would def go well with some spicy foods such as Thai.
A few of us bought bottles of wine and we were able to leave it there and pick it up a little later.
The modern decor at this place seems like its really nice to get your tasting and sit and lounge around
Wine tasting places are great when the pourer can give you some background and you can take away something from it more than it was white or red wine. Â This place did that for us!