Multitudes of Napa tasting venues serve fine varietals within hospitable environs, but few boast the little extras that grace Vermeil Wines’ Downtown Napa tasting room. Nowhere else in wine country can visitors sip their Sauvignon Blanc beside a replica Super Bowl Lombardi trophy or enjoy a glass of Cab Franc next to a Pro Football Hall of Fame bust.
That bust would be of winery proprietor Dick Vermeil, the highly regarded 15-season NFL coach and 1999 Super Bowl winner, and a 2022 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee. A Calistoga native raised in a French/Italian family to whom wine was always very important, Vermeil has returned to the region that shaped him and to the industry in which he has deep roots. His wine legacy began with his great-grandfather, G. Iaccheri, who founded one of the early local wine companies, the Calistoga Wine Company. Vermeil fondly remembers his grandfather Vermeil making the family wine with grapes picked from the Gene Frediani Vineyard, which continues to supply Vermeil Wines today.
“I was always impressed with the adult family conversations about the new vintages and the value those wines added to the Vermeil family holiday dining experience,” said Vermeil when recalling his Calistoga upbringing. “As my brother and I grew older, we were able to help my grandfather in the family wine-making process, an experience that helped me gain a deeper respect for the Vermeil wines we were drinking today.”
Vermeil proprietor, Dick Vermeil
It’s a vibe that he hopes is replicated within his tasting room (2023 winner of Best Downtown Tasting Room by Best of Napa County), where a decades-old family portrait of his grandfather and grandmother holding his now 67-year-old son is illustrative of the family’s deep wine country roots. The atmosphere is warm, the staff is welcoming, and the wines, for which Thomas Rivers Brown directs the winemaking, are delicious. Calistoga Cabernets are the winery’s hallmark. Guests can enjoy tastings by the glass or bottle in the sumptuous interior or on the patio with a front-row view of downtown action. Walk-ins are welcome, though reservations are recommended. Choose from the Calistoga Tasting Flight of four varietals, a Reserve Tasting Flight of top-tier Cabs, the Signature Experience, a private tasting of five top-level wines paired with charcuterie and cheeses, a Food & Wine Experience that includes a four-course meal, or a Chocolate Pairing of three wines and three chocolate truffles.
Added Vermeil, “I hope that when a customer walks out of our tasting room, he or she walks out with some of the same appreciation and respect for the whole family wine experience that I enjoyed as a youth.”
