Chase Cellars

Roscoe gave us a great wine tour. Fun & educational, actually. Their reserve zinfadel is great.

This was our first stop as part of the Platypus wine tour and boy did it set the bar high for what a great wine tasting experience should be like.
The vineyard itself was quaint and intimate. The host did a great job of providing us with the history of the vineyard and really made us feel at home. The wines were delicious. We left the vineyard with 3 bottles to add to our collection. We definitely wanted more but there were still 3 more stops to go on the agenda so we had to limit ourselves.
I highly recommend this place.

I love, love, love Chase Cellars! From the delicious wine to the excellent hospitality given from Alise, Katie, and Rosco you feel right at home at this winery. The story is amazing and you really find a hidden gem when you go here. They give you a personalized experience that is amazing as well. Thank you so much for everything!

Really good experience at Chase Cellars. We tasted some of their Old Vine Zinfandel and it was amazing. Chase has some of the oldest Zinfandel vines around at 112 years old (still producing). When you look at some of these vines you can definitely tell that they have been around for a while. They look pretty gnarly, It was a very personalized experience since its a relatively small family winery.

If I could give this place 6 stars, I would. We visited close to 10 wineries on our first trip to Napa, and although we had some excellent visits and exceptional wines, this place still was a standout in both of our minds. This place is a little off the beaten path (not much, as everything in Napa is pretty close), with no sign, so you will get specific, easy-​to-​follow directions upon making your appointment. I love that it was so personal, like visiting someone’s home, and the entire visit felt like that — personal, but not exclusive or snobby at all.
Alise greeted us in the parking lot and we walked over to a little table she had set up right along the edge of the vineyard that she had set up with some refreshing rose while we chatted and talked about the history of the property and family that owns it. Then we got our first taste of one of their spectacular zins — the 2011 Bourn — as we walked through the vineyard. It was great to get so up close to the vines and fascinating to learn that most of the vines here are 112 years old! We adjourned to the tasting room — a lovely room with lots of windows and french doors open to face the vineyards and tasted our next zin — the 2011 Chase Estate, which was very different from the Bourn but equally delicious. Next was the 2011 Chase Reserve zinfandel, which was fantastic. I couldn’t decide which I liked best because they were all so different. The last taste was their petite sirah, which was so luscious! We bought a couple of the zins and a petite sirah.
We were so impressed with Chase on every level, and particularly with Alise that we are joining their wine club.
Obviously, I cannot recommend a visit here enough, and I can’t wait to come back again.

Delightful experience! Excellent wine with a unique family history nestled into a gorgeous back drop of the valley. The ambiance was welcoming as if to feel like home… only with a stellar selection of wine on hand and breathtaking view of nature at it’s finest.

Amazing wines and Roscoe was an awesome host and wine educator. Highly recommend this place to everyone.

Great experience here! Beautiful, quiet setting, away from the crowds at the corporate wineries. Delicious Zinfandel and Petit Sirah! Wonderful, friendly service. Good explanation of the history of the family, the property and the vines. Would definitely go back!

Visted Chase Cellars through Platypus Tours, and this was our first stop! Gorgeous view of the vineyards while sampling wine, and great atmosphere. My favorite was their 2012 Sauvignon Blanc — we bought a bottle, but in hindsight I really wish we bought a few more to savor throughout the summer.

A great little family-​held winery where you will have an intimate experience with great wines! They love showing off the old Zinfandels that have lasted 100+ years in the valley and produce great wines. Prices were very reasonable.

Home of great Zinfandels, Chase Family Cellars is a small family run winery on Sulphur Springs Road off Highway 29 just South of St. Helena. It is an informal, down to earth winery where a visit requires an appointment, which can easily be made. We were able to meet one of the owners, Katie, briefly and extend our thanks to Rebecca for a very courteous and well informed hosting. Photos may be viewed here:
We opted to skip the white Zinfandel and started out with the Chase Cellars Hayne Vineyard 2008 Zinfandel ($ 45). It was light ruby in color with a nice nose. I got some pronounced raspberry on the palate with good tannins and a medium length finish. This is a fairly dry Zinfandel with good structure, not at all fruit forward or lacking in acid. What I like about this, and the other Chase Zins, is that it is honest to the varietal, very well balanced and, although it has good fruit, it is still fairly dry. They have more finesse than rusticity.
Next up was the Chase Cellars Hayne Vineyard 2009 Zinfandel ($ 49). I liked this somewhat better than the 2008. I got some raspberry and forest floor on the nose and more raspberry with red plum and soft tannins on the palate. The finish was longer than the 2008. Although this is a lighter style Zin and fruitier than the 2008, it still has good structure and some complexity.
My favorite, however, was the Chase Cellars Hayne Vineyard 2009 Reserve Zinfandel ($ 75) which comes from the finest grapes from the old vines. It had a better nose than the other two Zins, with a smooth, lush body of cherry and chocolate on the palate, along with pleasantly integrated tannins. The finish was especially long and satisfying. An excellent Zinfandel! If you love Zinfandel, you might want to check out the ZAP Festival:
Our last offering was the Chase Cellars 2009 Calistoga Cabernet Sauvignon ($ 65). After a light nose, I got a medium bodied Cab with blackberries, cassis, smooth tannins and good acid, all well balanced with a medium length finish. This is more of a soft and graceful Cab than one of power. It was a pleasant Cab but did not displace the Zin Reserve as my favorite of the wines we sampled.
I was able to purchase and taste a bottle of the Chase Cellars 2009 Petite Sirah ($ 50). Intensely dark black-​purple in color, it had a light to medium nose with an intense, balanced, concentrated blackberry with some dark cherry and toast on the palate. Tannins were firm, somewhat chalky and delightfully integrated. I did not get much spice but the balance was perfect. It had a moderate length smoky cherry finish. Definitely a superior Petite Sirah.
What I especially like about Chase, in addition to the small, friendly, welcoming atmosphere, is that their wines are very true to the varietal and that they do not taste like everyone else’s wine. My two favorites, the Reserve Zin and PS, both are unique and different than what others are producing. Balance is impeccable. The winemaker has brought out the best in these high quality grapes. If you like high quality Zinfandels and want something different from the wonderful Turley and Biale Zins, try some Chase Zins. And don’t forget their Petite Sirah. Better yet, visit them and try them all.

Great experience. Lovely staff. Zin specialists.

Eh. It was okay. I’m beginning to wonder what the other reviewers experienced that I missed! I know Napa Valley is all about the tasting fees these days, but for $ 20 I expected a little more. Maybe a simple food pairing. Afterall, we brought a group of 10 people for the event! The ladies who hosted us were friendly, but didn’t explain much about the wine, only that their family owns the property and they hire someone to make the wine. The wine itself was average. Good, but not fantastic, and certainly not worth the $ 50 avg per bottle! I would not recommend a visit. After all, there are so many other fantastic wineries in the area!!!

Eh, it was just ok. I enjoyed the zins, but that was about it. The people were very nice although very minimal on the explanation part off the tasting. I was very excited to try the chocolate sauce but it fell short of the $ 24 cost. I ended up leaving with a bottle of the 07 zin for $ 45 only because they put the $ 20 cost of the tasting toward it. Overall, I would skip it.

I must be honest… stopping in at Chase ended the best wine tasting day the Mrs. and I have ever experienced. We «hooked up» with a few guys from an earlier tasting who happened to know Jeff and were attending a BBQ here later that night. So, we stopped off, picked up a bottle or two and some food and headed over to an evening of delicious food with many ITB folk. The food was divine, the company diviner, and the wines were excellent.
The fine folks at Chase own the Hayne Vineyard and sell most of their Hayne Vineyard juice to Turley, although I believe they’re starting to make some of their own now. (or at least were at the time) Walking through the gnarly, old vines and hearing about the farming and winemaking was a blast, and the Zins are fantastic. If you’re looking for a less «snobby» Zinfandel out of Napa Valley, look for Chase Cellars Zins.
You can thank me later.

No trip to Napa is complete without a stop at our fave winery, Chase Cellars. Small and off the beaten path, Jeff will go out of his way to make you feel welcome. And if you’re a repeat visitor, you’re practically family. Not to mention they have the most spectacular zinfandels!
Most of the Napa wineries are run by big conglomerates and are staffed by people who make you feel like an idiot for not liking their wines, and sometimes even if you DO like their wines. I’ve taken many people to Chase over the years, and regardless of whether they like the wine (which has never happened, by the way), everyone raves about the experience they have with Jeff. We’ve stopped going to the big places on 29 or the ST, and seek out those like Chase and everyone recommended by Jeff!
If you love big, bold wines and are happy to spend $$ on a nice bottle, and want a unique wine-​tasting experience, stop at Chase.

We stopped at Chase in our recent trip to NV, thanks to Sarah at Napa Valley Wine Guides. This was our first appointment of the day with Sarah and it was a very quick and easy 2 – 3 minute drive from Harvest Inn in St. Helena.
Jeff took into the Zin old vines block, told us the history of the vineyards and discussed growing conditions in a non-​condescending, non-​boring way that is severely lacking in a lot of other winery tours. He has tons of energy and obviously loves his job! And his wines are incredible. The 2006 Hayne Vineyard Reserve Zinfandel was the clear winner, but we enjoyed all of them. I even liked — and purchased some of — the petit sirah, a varietal that I usually dislike.
If you like Zin and are tired of all the Cab in the NV, this is a must-​do winery.
We hope to see Jeff at a wine dinner at a Chicago restaurant some time in the near future!

On a recommendation from the the folks over at Revena, we came over to Chase on basically no notice (called while we were en route) and they were more than happy to have us over. Our group literally crashed their venue with no appointment.
Jeff gave us the full tour anyways and we ended up hanging with Top Chef contestant Casey Thompson plus her parents and one of the representatives of Fisher Vineyards, Scott. What a crazy way to spend the afternoon. Jeff, Pam and the rest of the Chase team poured wine after wine for hours and treated us like family guests. I cannot think of another place that was so hospitable to complete strangers in a long while.
Excellent Zinfandel and equally excellent Zinfandel Port. I believe they also make a Zin chocolate sauce for those of you with a sweet tooth. Now they’re a bit off the beaten path but completely worth visiting. It’s rare that you get the combination of excellent people and wine like this while also avoiding the heavily commercialized tourist crush that is the rest of Napa. I highly recommend calling them up and experiencing it yourself. I know I’ll be back the next time I’m headed that way.

My buddies surprised me with a stop at Chase while we were up in Napa on a mini wine tasting trip. I absolutely adore their 2005 Hayne Vineyard Zinfandel! We had a wonderful time eating our lunch at the picnic tables overlooking the 100+ year old vines in the hot Napa sun. Jeff was a very gracious host who told us the history of the winery, upcoming events, and overall wine chit chat. Very laid back, relaxed atmosphere with exceptional wines! If you can’t get the ’05 go for the ’06 reserve. And I’m looking forward to the ’07 release!

I happened upon Chase Cellars by way of the good people at the Martini House in St Helena. And what a hideden treasure it is.
It’s tucked away half a mile up Sulphur Springs Ave to the south St Helena at the edge of the historic Hayne Vineyard. The folk who run this place, Jeff and Pam (brother and sister) are just great people. They are the fifth generation, descendant from the lady (SE Chase) who bought the land in the late 1800’s.
Jeff is happy to tell you about the history, the setting and gushes when he talks about the 105 year old Zinfandel vines that they use for their wines.
Jeff took us through his wines, Zin’s, Cabernet, Petite Sirah, all of which are great, and finished with the amazing Zinfandel Port that they produce. It’s a WOW wine.
They have tables for picnics which overlook the 105 year old vines and are happy for guests to lunch there. The only catch is that you have to ring ahead and book (and hope like hell that they can fit you in)