Napa Wine Tours
A visit to Jarvis Estate is an extraordinary Napa wine tour into the country’s first winery built entirely underground.
The Jarvis Estate winemaking facility is entirely contained within 45,000 square feet of cave. Located in the scenic Vaca Mountains. Located a short four miles east of downtown Napa. It is not only a visual masterpiece, but a technical masterpiece as well.
Jarvis Estate was the first in this country to tunnel a cave so large that it could hold the entire winemaking operation. With the help of chief geotechnic consultant Gregg Korbin and the largest computer at University of California Berkeley, William Jarvis was able to successfully plan and design the large chambers of our underground winery. As the cave extends further into the mountain, the chambers become larger. Pushing the state of the art, the last chamber could comfortably contain two full basketball courts.
The underlying principle behind the Jarvis Estate cave construction is that a parabolic shaped tunnel is inherently stable. As such, the cave tunnels and chambers are in the shape of a true parabola. Throughout the cave you will find many references to its parabolic structure.
Tasting Tours
Touring the 45,000 square foot cave is a unique experience. This Napa wine tour reveals how Jarvis Estate approaches crafting world-class wines, a process different from virtually anywhere else. The tour includes a visit to the Cuve Gallery, a collection of one dozen massive oak vessels assembled in the cave by French coopers. The underground waterfall near the end of the tour ensures the steady cave temperatures and humidity that are vital to the Jarvis Estate signature style of extended aging in new French oak barrels.
Finally, guests have the opportunity to enjoy the rewards of these painstaking efforts. The tour concludes with an intimate, seated experience in our Tasting Chamber where visitors will sample six Jarvis Estate and Reserve Collection wines. Please allow 75 to 90 minutes for your visit in order to fully appreciate the truly distinctive Jarvis Estate.