Take in Stags Leap Palisades views from tasting room and patio of Judgment of Paris winner.
The winery founded by Warren Winiarski in 1970 merits a pilgrimage for its place in wine history alone. In a 1976 blind tasting now known as the Judgment of Paris, French wine critics rated the 1973 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon as the best in its category. The judges scored it ahead of four entries from revered Bordeaux producers and five other California wines. Winiarski’s triumph and Calistoga-based Chateau Montelena’s win for best Chardonnay raised the Napa Valley’s profile worldwide.
Historic Vineyard
The wine that fared so well in Paris was made from grapes grown at the historic Stag’s Leap Vineyard (S.L.V.). Its vines, mostly replanted since the 1970s, sit beneath the craggy Stags Leap Palisades. The winery’s name and the Stags Leap District appellation (the latter spelled without an apostrophe) derive from an indigenous legend about a stag that leaped through a notch in the palisades to escape hunters.
Dazzling Visitor Center
Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars owns a second famous field, the adjoining FAY Vineyard, which sits in view of the glass-and-rock FAY Outlook & Visitor. The center, designed by architect Javier Barba of Barcelona, contains exhibits describing the winery’s Paris win and subsequent history.
One Plus One Equals Three
Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars produces separate S.L.V. and FAY wines, along with Cask 23, a blend from both vineyards. Recent vintages of these three wines have received high praise from critics. Several Winery Exclusives—bottlings available only online or at the tasting room—come from its two renowned vineyards and sites beyond the Stags Leap District. In 2023, the Italian group Marchesi Antinori, which held a 15% stake in Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars for a decade and a half, purchased the winery outright.
Why go: historic operation; wines from fabled vineyards; small-lot Cabernets available only at winery.
Info
5766 Silverado Trail, Napa 94558
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This story first appeared online in 2017; it was most recently updated in 2026.
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