As luxury fatigue sets in across California wine country, vintners are trading exclusivity for experience with tastings that don’t require a second mortgage.
Getting psyched to venture to a Napa tasting room in a pair of Jimmy Choos and shell out $500 for a flight of well-aged Cabernet feels so 2007. (Was it even fun then?) But for many would-be visitors to California wine country, the perception is that it’s the prevailing option on tap at tasting rooms in the Golden State’s most aspirational neighborhoods.
That impression has merit. Stratospherically priced tasting experiences have been a thing in the Valley. Consider Tor Wines’ Black Magic Experience at $750, Immortal Estate’s 100-Point Experience at $500, and Theorem Vineyards’ Baccarat Tasting Experience at $750, to name a few.
While such lavish experiences might be the exception, the norm finds plenty of standard winery tastings priced between $100 to $200. And in Napa, hotel prices have soared to an average of $412 per night, nearly twice the rate of San Francisco…