Private Connoisseur Cave Experience

For collectors who want to taste our premium VIP offerings.

“Some of the more interesting and best made wines made in Napa Valley.” — Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate

We are known for our barrel tasting in the caves, where we dip directly into the barrels and explore the newest vintage offerings. This tasting includes that, but guarantees access to our best wines: a private, 90-minute session in the cave at either winery, built around the Family Reserve single-vineyard Cabernets, The Beast, Villa Del Lago, and the limited single-barrel bottlings normally offered only to existing VIP members. Following the barrel tasting we serve our house-made pizza and upgraded VIP extra bites.

You taste from barrel and bottle side by side with a senior member of our hospitality team, who tailors the experience to the group. Parties are capped at six so every wine can be poured with the attention it deserves. It is available any day at either winery, schedule permitting.

What you will taste
The lineup changes with what is showing best in the caves, but a typical tasting would include:

• Villa Del Lago, Pritchard Hill — 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from our 20-acre site above Lake Hennessey, neighbor to Bryant Family, which Parker himself noted the wine resembles. Robert Parker rated the 2013 at 98+ to 100 and called it gorgeously seamless. VIP allocation only.
• The Beast — our flagship Napa Valley Cabernet, anchored by St. Helena Mountain fruit. Robert Parker’s 100-point wine (2013). Only 250 cases were made that year. VIP allocation only.
• Helena Mountain — valley-floor site beside the historic Bourn and Dr. Crane vineyards; the backbone of The Beast.
• Oakville — 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Oakville bench, the most structured wine in the lineup and the one Parker called “truly first-growth quality” (96+, 2013). Built for the cellar.
• Howell Mountain and Rutherford Estate — mountain power and Rutherford Bench elegance, poured against each other when the vintage allows. Offered as available.
• Single-barrel bottlings — the same wine aged in French and American oak from different forests and coopers, bottled barrel by barrel. Once a barrel is gone, that wine never exists again.

How it works

Where | Del Dotto Estate (St. Helena) or Piazza Del Dotto (Oakville) — your choice
When | Any day, schedule permitting
Length | Approximately 90 minutes
Party size | Private; maximum 6 guests
Fee | $120 per guest + tax
Wine purchase | $2,500 per couple or household — this enrolls you as a VIP Gold member
Cancellation | 36 hours notice
Age | 21+ with valid photo ID

The $2,500 is not a minimum spend; it is your VIP Gold membership, and every Gold benefit applies from the moment you sit down. That is what lets us open the wines held for members on a first visit: The Beast, Villa Del Lago and the Family Reserve library, at member pricing, with first call on future allocations. Contact our concierge at (707) 963-2134 or mail@deldottovineyards.com to arrange a date; current VIP members may request one directly.

After your visit
As a VIP Gold member you receive ongoing allocations of the wines you tasted, invitations to member events at both wineries, and private tastings on return visits. Platinum members may also request a Library Tasting of older vintages.

Request Private Connoisseur Cave Experience

Looking for the Cave Experience & Barrel Tasting?
Our signature 90-minute communal tasting is offered daily at both wineries, $120 per guest, and finishes with house-made pizza.

Book the Cave Experience