What's new in Napa this year

Is Robert Mondavi Winery open again?

Yes. The Oakville winery reopened to visitors on 20 April 2026 after a major multi-year renovation.

Robert Mondavi Winery opened in 1966, the first major new winery built in Napa after Prohibition, and its Cliff May arch and tower are the valley's best-known silhouette. The reopening kept the arch and tower and added a new hospitality wing, indoor-outdoor tasting spaces and a new To Kalon Cellar. The original tiles hand-painted by Margrit Mondavi were preserved.

Visitors book through the winery's site or Tock. The tastings run from the Pioneer Tasting up to the Legend Tasting and Tour, plus the To Kalon Collective tasting spaces and an intimate room in the old bell tower. If Mondavi is on your list, a self-planned day or a private car from San Francisco is the way to include it; group tours pick their own wineries. Decanter has more on the new look.

Who owns Artesa now, and is it still called Artesa?

Jean-Charles Boisset bought Artesa from Raventós Codorníu, as reported on 23 September 2026. It is still called Artesa, and no rename has been announced.

The deal, reported by Wine Spectator, covers the brand, the estate and tasting room, and 350 acres, 150 of them planted across Carneros and Mt. Veeder. Boisset wants to make it "a destination for art", so expect changes in time. For now the current staff is expected to stay through the transition, and tastings are by appointment.

Artesa matters to visitors because it is one of the few Napa-side stops on tours from San Francisco. The premium small-group tour lists an hour at Artesa with the tasting included, and the Gray Line day can include it too. One more change on that small-group listing: from 1 January 2027, Roche Winery replaces Jacuzzi as its Sonoma stop. And the rumour that Artesa became "Four Brix"? Four Brix is an unrelated winery in Ventura.

Twelve guests at most, an hour at Artesa with the tasting paid, lunch on Sonoma Plaza and Bay views on the drive.

9 hours

Explore the premium small-group tour → Tour details

Is the Sterling Vineyards gondola running in 2026?

Yes. Every Sterling tasting includes a round-trip gondola ride. It closes when the temperature tops 100°F, and gondola-only rides are not sold.

Sterling closed after the 2020 Glass Fire and reopened on 29 October 2023 with a new gondola system that replaced the 1973 trams. The winery's tasting page lists the Sterling Stroll with a lower fee for ages 3 to 20 than for adults, so it works for families. Walk-ins are welcome, reservations recommended, and the last Stroll tasting starts at 4:30 p.m.

Sterling sits at the north end of the valley near Calistoga. On a hot summer afternoon, check the forecast; above 100°F the gondola stops. In autumn and winter that is rarely an issue.

How did Napa mark the 50th anniversary of the Judgment of Paris?

The anniversary fell on 24 May 2026. Both winning wineries, Chateau Montelena and Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, are in Napa and can be visited.

On 24 May 1976, nine French judges tasting blind in Paris ranked a 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay and a 1973 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon above top French wines. Bottles of both are in the Smithsonian. Stag's Leap Wine Cellars marked the 50th with a three-city dinner series featuring its S.L.V. Cabernet.

For a visit, Chateau Montelena in Calistoga takes appointments and walk-ins, ages 21 and up. Grgich Hills in Rutherford, founded by Mike Grgich, who made that winning Chardonnay and died in December 2023 aged 100, can often fit in walk-ins. Neither is on a fixed group-tour itinerary, so book a private car or plan the day yourself. Our first-timer winery guide has more names.

Can you bike the whole Napa Valley Vine Trail yet?

Not yet. The trail runs from Napa to Yountville and from St. Helena to Calistoga, but the roughly 11-mile gap between Yountville and St. Helena is still unbuilt, with a 2028 target.

The planned trail is 47 miles. The latest figures we found, from mid-2025 reporting, put 33 miles open. The St. Helena to Calistoga stretch opened in August 2024, and the Vallejo ferry to American Canyon link was finished in March 2025. The middle section, through Oakville and Rutherford, is the one most visitors want, and at last report it was still in design.

Until it opens, cyclists share roads with traffic in the middle of the valley. The e-bike tour from Yountville says riders must be comfortable in a bike lane next to traffic, and it arranges the winery appointments for you.

What else changed, and which 2027 dates should you plan around?

Napa now has 17 nested AVAs after Crystal Springs of Napa Valley took effect, and BottleRock 2027 runs 28 to 30 May.

The newest appellation, Crystal Springs of Napa Valley, took effect on 15 November 2024 and covers about 4,000 acres. Any guide or label that says "16 sub-AVAs" is out of date. You will hear the AVA names on any tour: they are how hosts explain why a Rutherford Cabernet tastes different from one grown in Carneros.

For 2027, mark BottleRock on Memorial Day weekend, 28 to 30 May. Hotel prices jump, and in 2026 the city closed streets around the festival, so pick another weekend unless you are going to the festival. More seasonal advice is in our guide to the best time to visit, and this year's early harvest is covered in our harvest post.

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