Pride Mountain Vineyards
The Napa and Sonoma county line runs through this ranch at the top of the Mayacamas. Ninety minutes through the caves with the current releases costs $50, six people maximum.
Why go
Jim and Carolyn Pride found Historic Summit Ranch in December 1989 and signed for it just after the new year, planning a small vineyard to sell grapes off in retirement.2 He was a dentist who had run the student clinic at the University of the Pacific and built a practice-management business; she went to the UC Davis bookstore and, in her words, bought one of every textbook currently being used in the various viticulture classes,
and he read all of them.2 They drilled wells, dug caves and paved roads, opened to guests in 1998, and lost Jim to cancer in 2004; the second and third generations run it now.2 The Estate Experience walks you through those caves for $50 while you taste current releases, ninety minutes, six people at most.1
Order this / avoid
- Order: the Estate Experience first. Cave walk, current wines, $50, and non-tasters come free.1
- Order: the Summit at $95 if you want library and Vintner Select bottles poured away from the main visitor area.1
- Avoid: counting on a ride share. The winery says most drivers will bring you up the mountain and will not come back for the return trip.1
What locals & experts say
- Carolyn Pride, on how they learned:
I went to the UC Davis bookstore at Jim's request and bought one of every textbook currently being used in the various viticulture classes. Overnight we had a wine library! And Jim read every single one of those textbooks cover to cover.
2
That is the founder on her own winery. I found nobody outside it writing about these bottles, so I have no outside call for you.
Good to know
- Days: Wednesday to Monday, closed Tuesdays, by advance appointment only. The concierge line is (707) 963-4949, 9:00am to 5:00pm daily.1
- Party size: six guests maximum on every format, and non-tasters count toward the six.1
- Make a day of the mountain. The winery points visitors at the rest of the Spring Mountain District rather than treating the drive as a one-stop trip.1
- Hygiene: not established. No inspection instrument for this county is on file here.
Verdict
could-visit — A dentist and a schoolteacher bought a wrecked ranch on the crest of the Mayacamas in December 1989, with the county line running through the middle of it, and Carolyn Pride tells the rest herself: one of every viticulture textbook from the UC Davis bookstore, wells drilled, caves dug, first guests in 1998, Jim gone to cancer in 2004 and the children carrying it. The visit is built to match, ninety minutes walking the caves for $50 with a cap of six people, Wednesday through Monday. Nothing outside the winery has been read on the wine itself, so this rung is the story and the offer rather than a judged bottle. Book a driver for the day, because the winery says most ride-share drivers will not come back up for you.