Robert Keenan Winery

Fabulous tasting experience. Laura was very welcoming and knowledgeable about all the wines we were served. Solid wines. Look forward to receiving my case!

Smaller tasting room off the beaten path… like WAY off the beaten path. Worth the narrow and winding drive though, because the view from the balcony was beautiful and the sommelier was super friendly. This venue would be great for a rehearsal dinner and intimate get-​togethers.

Their wines are superb and matched by their customer service. You’ll need to make an appointment. The days of strolling into Napa Valley and pulling into a winery and doing a tasting are much more difficult, especially if you’re looking to taste quality wine.
I contacted them and spoke with Laura. She set-​up the tasting and ended up pouring for us on the day of. It’s off the beaten path and nestled up against Spring Mountain. Our group had the tasting room all to ourselves during our experience. The party after ours arrived early but, we were almost done so, we didn’t mind them hanging out on the sofa’s and outside on the patio. Laura was fantastic. She provided lots of detail and specifics about the wine/​without making the tasting about her.
Also, I disagree with another Unilocaler who commented that their price points are high compared to Sonoma. Not trying to be difficult, I just simply disagree. Bottom-​line, the price of grapes per tonnage is always going to be more expensive in Napa than anywhere else in California, or for that matter, anywhere else in the United States. The real price comparison should not be compared from either Sonoma or Napa, but rather, from the same varietal, same vintage, same appellation. In that regard, Kennan is very reasonably priced. I was pleasantly surprised at their price point ($ 30-​$ 90). It’s difficult to find a good concentrated red varietal in Napa Valley from any mountain appellation selling for under $ 90.
Definitely worth visiting.

I’ve always loved this place… Great wine & people. The new tasting room is gorgeous. Beautiful place to spend a Sunday afternoon. Cab, Syrah & Merlot were our favs. Came home with a little of each.

I could see myself giving these wines four stars, except I’m wary on the price point. My favorite wines of the ones we tasted were all $ 100+ bottles, but I feel like I can get wines that I like just as much, if not more, for $ 50. Maybe I’ve been spoiled by Sonoma and this is just how Napa rolls? I don’t know, but they really weren’t three figure wines in my estimation, though they were nice wines.
Our tasting was chaotic and disorganized, which was less than ideal. The woman doing the pouring explained that she had «accidentally» opened a bunch of bottles that weren’t on the menu that morning, so we ended up tasting about nine wines. Fun! However, they were out of order, and she kept moving the bottles around and not fully explaining to us what we were drinking or letting us look at the bottles. My friend is a somm, and the lack of information was driving her a little crazy. The wines started to blend together and few of them stood out as distinctive except the high end ones, which, as previously mentioned, weren’t nearly as distinctive as they ought to be at that price point.
The thing that most rubbed me the wrong way is that there was another group in the tasting room with us, four older folks from Georgia, I believe. They were very happy to be there because they had recently had some Keenan wines at a Ruth Chris or something. Anyways, the woman pouring the tastings was taking advantage of that to just really knock on other wineries and malign their wines and make fun of people who think that those other wineries are good (lady, I happen to like Silver Oak, so just hush the hell up about how they’re so inferior to Keenan and how people who like them are such followers without independent thought!). It was astoundingly unprofessional and it left a sour taste in my mouth. Plus, because she was so busy praising the exceptional taste of that group, she paid very little attention to my friend and I, and we were regularly left with empty glasses, waiting for our next pour and trying to get a look at a bottle to figure out what we had drank and/​or were going to drink next.
The property isn’t beautiful enough to be worth the trip, the wines aren’t exceptional enough to be worth the price, and the staff was lackluster.
However, they do have a dog, and the dog was a very good dog, so getting to pet him and flop his ears and tell him what a good dog he is was a pretty good perk of that visit.

Very charming little spot. If you like merlots, this is a great option. There are so many amazing places along Spring Mountain Road. This is a good one, though there are also others. This is worth adding to the itinerary.
When I went last year in the fall, they were about to re-​do their tasting room and I can’t wait to see it.

The tasting room is under construction so they were using their office as the temporary tasting site. The carpet smelled like dog and there were stacks of paper and clutter everywhere. It really needs to be cleaned up
If they want to continue using this for their tasting room. The only reason I’m giving it 3 stars is that everyone there was so nice. The owner and their dog greeted us when we drove up. Laura who was conducting the tasting was also nice We would have liked to have learned more about their wines etc but there were 2 customers there that didn’t know anything about anything and they did ask a lot of basic questions so maybe Laura didn’t want to overwhelm them.
I love the Spring Mountain wineries. Much cooler in temperature and also not on the «strip» I would recommend Pride Mountain wineries.

We always love going to the Keenan Winery. We have been wine club members for over a year and really like the annual Members wine reception. The Mailbox Merlot has been a favorite for us but we recently fell in love with the Mernet! Can’t wait to see the tasting room after the renovation.

Then it comes to Napa Valley wine, I have always gravitated toward Spring Mountain. If you love Cabernet Franc and Merlot, some of the best of the best can be found here. Wineries like Pride and Paloma have always topped my «Best of» list. Add Keenan.
Personally, Keenan’s Cabernet Franc and Merlot are my favorites, but across the board, their wines are good. Customer service has always been a plus, and the one time I forgot to make a reservation, they were very accommodating.
If you’re seeking a large, overly corporate winery, keep driving. If you’re seeking something more personalized and intimate, make your way to this place.

My two best friends from grad school won a free lunch and wine tasting for 4 at this winery and invited me to join them.
We were given a brief tour of the beautiful vineyards by Michael, who provided lots of interesting information about the way they run things. Keenan Winery is the only winery in Napa that uses solar energy panels, and it’s really cool to see these eco-​friendly devices at work. The grounds are lovely, especially the main tasting room which is housed in the original farmhouse from over a century ago.
You can tell that the staff are one big family – in fact, many are related by marriage or blood. There is an adorable, friendly black Lab named Scrappy who isn’t afraid to shower you with affection. I’m not sure who he belongs to, but he’s such a cute presence! :)
Our lunch was a delicious homemade feast of marinated pork chops with sauteed mushrooms and garlic, the best polenta I have ever eaten in my life, and salad. There was also a homemade pesto twist bread that was to die for, and homemade pecan and chocolate chip brownies for dessert. The culinary genius behind everything was Laura, another staff member and sort of the matriarch of the winery.
Of course, no lunch at a winery would be complete without wine. We enjoyed a bottle of their 2008 Red (a blend of chardonnay, cab sav and merlot) and a 2008 bottle of their Merlot. The blend had a very unique flavor but the Merlot was the real showstopper. It was absolutely delicious, a smooth yet somewhat tart wine with hints of blackberries. Our wine tasting also included tastings of their chardonnay and zinfandel, both of which, unfortunately, did not impress me very much.
If you are touring Napa Valley, Keenan Winery is definitely worth a visit. Tastings are by appointment only and that is because the windy uphill road to the winery is only wide enough for one car with almost no shoulder to pull over, so the staff make sure to give their guests plenty of time to drive up and down the mountain. Keenan is very much off the beaten path. Having toured many of the more famous, commercial wineries in Napa, it’s refreshingly different.
À vos santé!

Robert Keenan Wine is beyond description. Dollar-​for-​dollar, I will challenge anyone to find a finer blend than Keenan’s ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ Cab/​Merlot «Mernet». I have a case of ’07 and ’08 and differences are nuanced, but I’ll put either up against any $ 100 bottle in my cellar. I travel to Napa and Sonoma twice a year and have visited many wineries and tasted countless wines. I’m fortunate to live in San Diego part of the year where I can readily purchase Keenan wine (Jonathan’s, La Jolla) without even getting in my car.
The Keenan winery experience is much like many report on Unilocal.It’s down-​to-​earth, off the beaten path and homey. It’s not the over-​the-​top experience or sleek, high tech operation you’ll find at Quintessa, Opus One, Cliff Lede or Vineyard 29, but it is wines are on par and the place is friendly and enjoyable just the same. The grounds are beautiful atop Spring Mountain, there’s a picnic table to enjoy a snack or a meal with your wine. Since Keenan’s not really set up to handle the hordes, you might find them overwhelmed by just a few simultaneous visitors, so be patient and chillax.

Keenan is a nice, friendly, down to earth tasting. Interesting to taste and informative about the vineyards and region, which was particularly useful to put their wines in perspective of the valley. Also a friendly wine dog came to great us. Apparently he usually barks to announce tasters arrival, but here he was more than happy to get some scratches and laid at our feet for whole tasting. Nothing spectacular, but a solid tasting all around.
Tasting: 6 wines (1 chard, 1 syrah, 1 zin, 1 merlot, 1 red blend, 1 cab)
Price: $ 10 comp’d with purchase
Appointment: required
Overall: Solid wines, solid tasting, reasonable prices.