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Dutch Henry Winery

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Written by:

Joe Becerra

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Dutch Henry Winery is a small family-owned winery at the northern end of the Silverado Trail. The Dutch Henry Winery is a family run affair. The owners are Less and Maggie Chafen of San Francisco, and their son Scott Chafen is the winemaker and vineyard manager. The family opened the winery in 1992. The winery has estate vineyards located at the winery as well as other areas in the Napa Valley. The winery is named for a somewhat shady character, Dutch Henry, who was a silver miner in the area during the mid 1800’s.

Just outside the winery there is a Syrah Vineyard that has recently been organically certified. Another addition to the winery will come very soon and that is a wine cave. Currently, space is limited in the winery for the aging barrels. The barrel room also doubles as a tasting room and that makes for tight quarters. We got a peek of the cave construction and learned that it will not only house the barrel room, but also provide space for a more formal tasting area.

Dutch Henry wines

Wine Cave Under Construction

The tasting fee is $10 and we were able to taste five wines. We enjoyed all the wines, particularly the Pinot Noir, but were a little surprised to find that the wines were priced so high. Wines range from $28 to $58. One can always expect Napa Valley wines to be more expensive than anywhere else in California. Don’t get us wrong, these wines are tasty but, compared to some of the neighboring wineries we have visited, we think the wines are priced too high for the quality. There are no bargain wines to be found at Dutch Henry.

Dutch Henry Winery

Winemaker Scott Chafen with Syrah Vineyard in the Background

The staff at the winery is very friendly and warm. Scott is usually around the winery or vineyards with his three friendly dogs roaming the area. There are several picnic tables and a Bocce Ball court. One can easily spend a lazy afternoon sipping wine and playing Bocce Ball and taking in the vineyard views.

The Good: Family owned, organically certified vineyards, picnic tables, and Bocce court.
The Bad: Wines priced on the high side.

  • Joe Becerra

    Joe Becerra has been traveling to wine country and enjoying wine since 1965. He is a retired educator, and now have the time the opportunity to share his wine travel experiences through this Website.

2 thoughts on “Dutch Henry Winery”

  1. If you consider that we source 100% of our fruit from Napa Valley and do a comparison to other wineries that also source 100% of their grapes from Napa Valley our prices are competitive to say the least. Google “Howell Mtn. Cabernet” and see how many Cabernets for under $50.There are alot of wineries in the valley that source fruit from areas that are less expensive and use the Napa Valley Name to sell these wines. Organically farmed, hand picked, barrel aged, and hillside grown all has it’s price. You also forgot to mention that the ten dollar tasting fee is waived with purchase and included tasting our organically grown Olive Oil. Bocce, picnic tables, 5-6 wines, olive oil, dog freindly, tour from the Owner/winemaker, bottle of wine for $28($22.40 for wine club members)…………..sign me up!

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