Crafting tours since 1999
Bell Wine Cellars does something almost nobody else does at visitor scale: it bottles Cabernet Sauvignon by individual clone. The Clonal Collection lets you taste Clone 6 against Clone 337 against Clone 338 from comparable sites, and once you have done that you understand clonal selection in a way no amount of reading delivers.
The winery is family-owned with more than three decades behind it, working in small lots with sustainable growing, delicate fruit handling and minimal intervention. Alongside Cabernet there is Merlot, Petit Verdot and Sauvignon Blanc. Michael scores the staff a 9 and the wine an 8, which for a technical tasting like this matters, because the format only works if the person pouring can explain it. Visits are by appointment at 6200 Washington Street. One of the more genuinely educational stops on a Napa Cabernet tour.
