Spottswoode Winery
One St Helena vineyard certified organic, biodynamic and regenerative organic at once. Taste Lyndenhurst against the Estate Cabernet off the same ground.
Why go
The farming comes first here and the winery says so on the way in: the vineyard is certified organic, biodynamic and regenerative organic, and the tour walks it before anyone pours.1 Then the tasting does the useful thing rather than the broad one. You get the current-release Sauvignon Blanc, then Lyndenhurst Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and the Spottswoode Estate Cabernet Sauvignon side by side, two reds off the same certified ground.1 The longer format, Then and Now, adds a library vintage and a barrel sample of the Estate Cabernet, so you taste the wine before the cellar has finished with it and years after it has.1 Who planted this and when, I cannot tell you: every history page on the site returns not-found.
Order this / avoid
- Order: Then and Now. A barrel sample beside a library bottle is worth more than another current-release flight.1
- Avoid: trying to book online. The reserve link goes to a mailing-list form, so use 707/963-0134 or tours@spottswoode.com.1
What locals & experts say
- Spottswoode, on the farming and the flight:
Enjoy a guided tour of our certified organic, biodynamic, and regenerative organic vineyard and taste our current release Spottswoode Sauvignon Blanc, Lyndenhurst Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, and Spottswoode Estate Cabernet Sauvignon.
1 - The same page, on the longer tasting:
For a more in-depth experience of our estate-grown wines, this tasting also features a library vintage and a barrel sample of our Spottswoode Estate Cabernet Sauvignon.
1
Both of those are the winery on itself, and it names no certifying body. The only other voice on the page belongs to a wine club member, and a member is not somebody I will quote to you on a wine, so I have no outside call.
Good to know
- No price is published on either tasting. Call before you commit.
- Hygiene: not established. No inspection instrument for this county is on file here.
Verdict
could-visit — The vineyard holds organic, Biodynamic and Regenerative Organic certification at the same time, which is a farming decision with a cost attached rather than a line on a label, and the tour walks it before you drink. Then you taste Lyndenhurst next to the Estate Cabernet off that same ground, which is the comparison that actually tells you what the site does. Book the Then and Now instead: it adds a library vintage and a barrel sample of the Estate Cabernet, so you get the wine before the cellar and long after it in one sitting. Neither format is priced anywhere on the winery's site and its history pages are all broken, so call 707/963-0134 and ask what it costs.