Opus One Winery

Expensive yet iconic wine tasting in Napa Valley

Honestly, my expectations weren't high from reading poor reviews about service and overall experience. But Opus One is a bucket list winery and a one-and-done visit, but I had a memorable time there during the holidays. The walk around tour was short but our host let us take our time to take photos. The property is beautiful and the wines are quality. The tasting includes 3 pours but we were given a couple extra tastes!

Back for the tasting! It was fun. $200 for 3 wines and an Overture.

The tour was insanely short though and it gets very busy being commercialized. If you've a lover Opus One, worth it.

Winery seven was a location that I had wanted to cross off the bucket list with Opus One Winery ever since I learned about the basics of wine varietals in 2002 at Crown Wine & Spirits in Coral Gables, Florida. Having learned about what Opus One was and how highly esteemed these Bordeaux-inspired reds are within California and the wine world, I always wanted to properly experience these red blends.

The experience didn't disappoint as we loved enjoying the tasting lounge, the production areas, the aging room, and more, tasting delicious Bordeaux blend wines that brought us to a place of enlightenment. The grounds itself was epic and grand, a long driveway led you up to the opulent main buildings and entrance that has a classic yet dystopian feel. It feels like a bit of walk before you reach the massive front double doors to enter inside.

From there, they led us to this smaller patio area where we enjoyed pours of their Overture red, 2017 Opus One, and 2019 Opus One vintages. Their wines were so exquisite and refined, certainly expensive, but you can taste the craftsmanship and care in addition to the quality of the grapes used to create them.

After our tasting, we were taken on a tour of the production and barrel storage areas of the facility downstairs, which was quite grand, epic, and generated a sense of omnipotence. If you ever have the opportunity to tour Napa with its wineries, and appreciate something on the scale of Opus One, I would recommend scheduling a tasting and tour.

After reading the reviews online I can see both sides while others feel enamored by the stunning building and high quality wine, you can get a sense of 'being abandoned' at the wine tour. We booked the courtyard experience. It was raining so we sat inside in a hall full of other people. There are 2-3 staff that go around and explain the wine and give you a tour downstairs. We weren't being approached for a while. I had to ask for breadsticks and we stared at the wine until Betu (Sorry if I mispronounced!) approached us and made us feel welcomed. Our wines were already set wine set.

Pros: Stunning place, intentional wine, friendly staff.

Cons: Not as an interactive wine tasting as others. The set up of the 'wine tasting' feels less than premium with the price tag you pay for the tasting.

If you want a more fun interactive tasting I would skip this one. But if like high quality wine, this one is a good place to go for.

From the moment I entered and checked in at the front desk, I felt so welcomed and knew that I would be well taken care of. Each of the staff are so personable to make your full experience as pleasant as possible.

We opted for the Courtyard Experience, and each wine tasted superb. Our host explained each tasting with a great amount of detail and it was so fun to learn about the history of the winery. We ended up leaving with two bottles. I would definitely recommend booking reservations far in advance as they get booked quickly.

Sadly this was the biggest let down out of trip. We pre-paid $135 pp for the courtyard experience... do not do that.

The key learning here is that you can get SO much more with that money from other wineries - Opus One was not warm and friendly, they were rushing you from the minute the tour began (fast talking, abrupt ending) - 3 small red sips with very little explanation. A few tiny breadsticks. It just felt sad for the money we paid and did not match the winery's exquisite architecture and reputation. The experience should offer you MORE with better attention and care.

We went to 7 wineries - this is at the bottom of our list, and I think that says a lot.

Pretty venue but wasn't a fan of the tasting room/space they had. The service was mediocre. We felt rush in our tasting and didn't enjoy our time.

You have to pay $25 for entrance fee
If you don't want to do wine tasting
My son and daughter do the wine tasting
I am the diver I don't want to have any alcohol. I have to seat outside to wait for my kids.
We did a wine tasting yesterday from Sterling . No entrance so ever.
Won't come back and won't recommend to my any of friends.
I don't like the entrance fee policy at all.

Wine 5 stars
Service 1 star
Overall experience 2 stars

Save your time and money for better wine tasting experiences.

Checked the box but would not recco for 125pp.

The entire experience at Opus is incredible. From the moment you arrive the service is top notch. You receive a personal concierge throughout the wine tasting. The wine is obviously phenomenal, but our guide Caleb made it that much more special. He was so attentive, brought us snacks, answered our questions, and when we went to sit outside brought our wines out to us. We had a wonderful time learning about the history of Opus and chatting winemaking. The entire place is beautiful and the views breathtaking. The tour was fabulous. We thoroughly enjoyed our experience and will definitely be back.