Van Der Heyden Vineyards

Very rustic and charming. Family-​owned small winery down Mr. Van Der Heyden’s dirt driveway. If you want polished, then the tasting isn’t that but you have a chance to converse with the owner and learn about his wine. Good wine, great Cab. Nice balance on your wine tour to the commercialized, beautiful wineries in the area.

Wow, what a find. The wines range from $ 50-​$ 75 but they are worth every dollar. Nicely aged and very blanced, drinkable right away or you can store them for many years.

This is a gem on Silverado trail. This winery was one of the 4 wineries open on Christmas Day. We decided to go there and it was a great experience. The tasting room is a very small, rustic setting. It fits about 10 people with no space to move around.
It was amazing with the cool owner pouring us the wine and explaining to us about each of the wines. The best was for the last as he poured as a late harvest cab and it was delicious. We ended up purchasing it. Also, the test tasting is $ 10, but is not waived if you buy a bottle of wine. Overall, I highly recommend it. Great wines, cool owner, very affordable !!

After visiting several «upscale» vineyards, we opted for something different… wow is it different… in a good way! Getting a tasting here, with the owner, is a beautiful/​intimate moment; like witnessing Mozart practicing in his pajamas in his living room. The wine is incredible! Not being a wine aficionado in the least bit, I could still recognize the quality; especially compared to the 30 – 40 dollar «upscale» vineyards, which I’d just tasted… this was a 10 dollar tasting! The tasting room is «cozy» (peculiar and dated) but only added to the experience. After all: Mozart’s «Requiem» was probably debuted to guest’s in an intimate setting and not at a lavish opera house. Support this masterful winemaker. His wine is distinguishable better than most.

Family owned and run winery. So quaint and welcoming. This is a must stop place for us every time we are in Napa. They have been her since 1977! The wine maker will serve you and tell you about each wine in detail. The best thing is the fact they don’t try to be something they are not. They don’t have a fancy tasting room or extravagant grounds. What they do have are good wines, a knowledgeable wine maker and TON on charm! Not stopping here would be a mistake!

My favorite of Napa’s vineyards. The owner is the one pouring for you, telling you about his wines and the trade. He’s funny (dry humor), the place is no frills bc they put their energy into the wine. It’s such a pleasant surprise when the wines are GREAT and not just good! Took my husband here and to V. Sattui and he much preferred VDH. They age their wines in the barrels longer so you taste an older wine… and you can tell. I love that the owner is so involved and that what you see is what you get. The opulence of castles or fountains isn’t here meaning you pay for the wine and not the upkeep of a tourist attraction.
Highly recommend. Make sure you come here first so you spend your budget on quality. Then go to the touristy places to get your token t-​shirt.

We made an appointment here because it had good Unilocal reviews. I’m not sure what other Unilocalers saw in this place. The only good things I saw were the price ($ 10 tasting) and the location (right off 29). The whole place is a little run down, nothing glamorous. The tasting room is tiny and musty. The owner is curt and unfriendly. The wines were fine, but nothing to write home about. Really so-​so.

We stopped in on a recommendation from a friend and I’m glad we did. It isn’t like the typical Napa tasting room, a bit kitchier and more homey. We met many of the people that worked at the winery and even had the owner pouring our wine and giving us more details about each bottle. The tasting was only $ 10, practically nothing in comparison with some of the other wineries in the area.
I fell in love with the white table wine, quite sweet but perfect to drink while cooking, eating, socializing… Seriously, this wine is fantastic so why not buy it by the case? (I swear I’m not a wine-​o). And definitely snag a box of the port filled chocolates. They are seriously delicious. I’m pretty sure I tried to hoard them and avoid sharing with people.

By far, this was my favorite winery I visited in Napa.
Pros
–less commercial
–fewer people
–cheaper tasting $ 10
–FANTASTIC dessert wines
–family owned feel
–got more attention (and more pours) during the tasting
Cons
–easy to miss; look for the tiny sign!
I highly recommend this winery if you prefer sweeter wines and a mom and pop feel to your winery.

We ended a wine tour at Van Der Heyden Vineyard. We had a wonderful tasting delivered by the wine maker himself.
Van Der Heyden sells the only late harvest Cabernet Sauvignon and as someone who is not really a fan of reds, I must say that I LOVED IT!
The tasting area is outside and seating is comprised of round metal tables with metal chairs. The Vineyards are not fancy or ostentatious, but it is obvious that the time and effort goes into the wine — exactly where it should.
The rose table wine was quite good; in fact, all of their wines were quite good!
The individual tasting fee was $ 20 a person but we had a coupon (two for one) so it was a bonus all the way around. We would definitely go back when friends come into town.

A visit to Van Der Heyden is a unique experience. The owner holds court in a small, outbuilding near his family’s home and pours wine for $ 20/​person.
The term, crotchety, old bastard, was invented to describe this gentleman. His acerbic commentary and dry humor may not be for everyone but I found it quite entertaining!
His wines are Just OK, in my opinion. I found them good but I find almost everything in Napa Valley good.
The Late Harvest Cabernet is interesting, he claims to be the only vineyard in Napa to produce this wine. It reminds me of an ice wine from Germany. I’m not a huge fun of these types of wines so please take my comparison with a grain of salt.
It seems that many people visit Van Der Heyden as a curiosity. Van Der Heyden had a full room of younger people (mid-20’s) who were having a good time tasting the wine and laughing along with the proprietors zany comments and stories.
If you are driving along the Silverado trail and want to see something unique, take an hour and stop off at Van Der Heyden for an interesting experience.

Open on Christmas — these people obviously love what they do. The quaint, quirky hut of a tasting room showcases all the fun eccentricity.
For me: the late harvest cabernet is a unique offering, but had a sour aftertaste for me. They are apparently the only folks to offer a late harvest cab.
The red table wine was very people pleasing and easy to drink. My dad, who prefers watery wines, really liked it.
The white table wine was quite sweet, like a late harvest Riesling, but not what i expected. It’s unique.
Friendly down to earth service (reminds me of the wineries we went to in Santa Barbara) and very reasonable prices; it’s a maybe.

The word that best sums up this winery: Quaint.
My hubby and I visited the Van der Heyden winery on 7÷6÷12 because my friend highly recommend this place and took us here on our very first trip to Napa. I am sure glad she took us here! :) Some of the things that stands out about Van der Heyden is that unlike other Napa wineries, it is quaint, very personal, not pretentious and still has the «family owned,» (which it still is) feeling to it. The wine tasting room itself is pretty, «humble,» looking. But the wines are fantastic! The best part of the tasting was that the gentleman who was hosting our tasting, was the owner himself and he is quite a character! :)
I would definitely recommend stopping by Van Der Heyden for a tasting and compare the experience you get here with the other «BIG,» wineries. :)

On a lark (a drunken lark, I have to admit, and much to our DD’s chagrin), we recently decided to see what the Van der Heydens were up to these days…
While some things have changed (they’ve cleaned the place up a bit!), most remains the same (the wine is super sweet and ultra expensive for a sugar bomb), and the laughs were worth every penny we spent on the tastings.
As I said in my previous review, you’ll either love it or hate it here, but I’m thinking we love it for the wrong reasons

I don’t normally write reviews, I just read them to so I know where the good places are to go for food and drink, but after reading the reviews for this delightful winery I am appalled to see that people are giving this place one star because «the only bathroom available on property was a porta potty.» You’ve obviously drank so much that you had to go to the bathroom so bad you had no choice but to use their «porta potty.»
That being said, this place makes some of the most delicious dessert wines I have ever had the blessing of putting on my tongue. The late harvest cabs and the Semillion are to die for if you are into sweet wines and you’re willing to pay $ 125+ for a bottle. (Maybe that’s the reason for the one stars for the porta pottys, they would rather have cheap craptastic wines and a nice bathroom at the winery, than actually pay for good wine). The love and care that goes into their late harvest wines is exceptional. If its a bad season, the grapes don’t get picked and the late harvest wine isn’t made that year.
Bottom line, if you want a hand crafted, delicious tasting sweet wine go to Van Der Hayden. On the other hand, if you want a nice bathroom, go to Sutter Home and pick up a bottle of $ 5 sweet table red and enjoy!

If you only prefer fancy wineries, then this place isn’t for you, as it’s an old tiny shack looking thing. However, if you prefer amazing wine, then this place is so for you.
Their late harvest semillon is heavenly! & I don’t normally use the word heavenly, as I think it is lame, but I really don’t think there’s any other way to describe it. It’s now my new favorite wine.

Not as big or fancy as the other wineries. We come here for one reason, the late harvest wine. Expensive for a small amount.
The wine tasting is held in a shanty like room. Try not to expect too much on the scenery at this place.

Don’t come here if you’re looking for a commercialized tasting experience. When we initially pulled into the parking lot, we thought we were on the set of «The Hills Have Eyes». The place is very run down and rustic, but I am extremely glad we stumbled upon this gem.
We walked into the front office. Then, we realized it was the tasting room. This is the definition of ‘mom and pops’ shop. Whats really amazing is that the owner of the estate is the one guiding your through the tasting. I can tell this Dutch grandpa has alot of pride in his craft. We were allowed to sample five pours, and with each pour, he told the story behind each bottle. I was impressed by the knowledge the grandpa had, telling you exactly what type of oak it was fermented in, what type of cork was used for bottling, and how many rounds they use each oak barrel for. He could even list out the percentages lost the evaporation each year. Best of all, him and his wife have a great sense of humor. We felt extremely welcome the whole time, and at the end of our tasting, we were already felt like friend with everyone in the room.
The entire operation is run by his family, and they do live on the estate. Even though they don’t have the same revenue or operating scale as the larger wineries, i was extremely please with their chardonnay. I walked away with a bottle of it, and my date took away a bottle of the table wine. I would also recommend their late harvest carbernet (if its in stock).
I will definitely come back here if I’m ever in the area, and I’ll continue recommending this place to friends. They thrive off word of mouth since they don’t sell to retailers or restaurants! Of the wineries I visited, this one definitely had the most character.

Great mom & pop (and I really mean mom & pop) winery with the owner personally greeting you in a summer hat, chickens running around the neighbors yard, maybe a donkey tied up somewhere – you get the picture.
Lots of fun and lots of laughs and an amazing white table wine (yes, table wine!) that you have to try – it’s on the standard tasting menu.

I agree with fellow Unilocaler Val. This winery is not much of a looker aesthetically. But what it lacks it that department it makes up for it by producing the Late Harvest Cabernet 10x over.
The host was delightful and I agree much of what he says to you when you walk in is a rehearsed mini-​speech-​but what do you expect him to say?
I like the family –type atmostphere that this winery exudes. It’s tiny so the tasting bar is enough for at least four people standing close together.
What you get from a small biz is more of a one on one warm banter.
That I appreciate anytime!
I ended up with a couple of bottles of their wine. I love the LATE HARVEST CAB especially it’s $ 50+ a bottle. I’ve also given their dark chocoloate filled with the LHC a try. It is bursting with flavors. You can’t share the chocolate at all since one bite of it an explosion of the LATE HARVEST fills your mouth.
If you haven’t tried this winery at all and the LHC do try it! They do boast about being the ONLY winery in the world that makes the Late Harvest Cabernet.