Situated on a hill just south of the town of Calistoga, the striking Sterling Vineyards winery is a familiar landmark to locals in the Napa Valley. Rising serenely from the trees in the style of the white villages on the Greek island of Mykonos, Sterling Vineyards overlooks the green carpet of vineyards covering the northern Valley floor.

Our aerial tramway runs from the woods at the base of the hill to give visitors a glimpse of the area's peaceful natural beauty. At the summit, a self-guided walking tour shows our winemaking process in detail, and the Tasting Terrace offers a panoramic view of the Valley below.

A tour of Sterling Vineyards makes a terrific starting point for a visit to local points of interest.

Our History in Brief

Sterling Vineyards' founder was the Englishman Peter Newton, an international paper broker. Mr. Newton had some unusual notions about the long range potential of Napa Valley wine, and wasn't afraid of pushing the bounds of tradition to prove them. When he began the winery in 1964 with 50 acres of grapevines, he was sure about the promise of Cabernet Sauvignon, the acknowledged king of Napa varietals at the time. But he also predicted a great future for the (then) unproven Chardonnay and Merlot, and included them in early vineyard plantings—an audacious step for the times. The first wines were produced in 1969.

For the winery buildings, completed in 1972, Sterling continued in the same original style. Designed by Mr. Newton's chief financial officer in the spirit of the whitewashed hill towns he loved in Greece, they also incorporate a reminder of Sterling's English roots: the bells from St. Dunstan's Church in London. The old church was destroyed in World War II, but the bells, now in their new home in the tower overlooking the Valley, still chime every half hour. The winery opened its tasting room to visitors in 1973.

Sterling Vineyards now farms 1,200 prime acres of Napa Valley vineyards. These vineyards cover a wide range of soils and microclimates, from the almost vertical Diamond Mountain Ranch west of Calistoga to the rolling hills of Winery Lake in the southern Carneros.

Sterling Vineyards
1111 Dunaweal Lane, Calistoga, CA 94515

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