A beautiful way to spend a day in the Napa Valley is to visit wineries along the Silverado Trail. One of our favorite wineries along this route is the Clos du Val winery. The winery is located in the Stags Leap AVA in a lovely setting against the eastern hills of the Napa Valley. Clos du Val is one of the earliest wineries along the Silverado Trail with its inaugural vintage, a 1972 Cabernet Sauvignon. Like nearby neighbor, Stags Leap Cellars, this Cabernet was one of six California wines entered in the famed “Judgment of Paris” wine tasteoff of 1976. Back in those times, there were less than 30 quality wineries in the Napa Valley. Today, the winery is still owned by Bernard Portet, who along with American businessman John Goelet founded the winery in 1970. The winery has 150 acres in the Stagg’s Leap region and an additional 180 acres in the Carneros region.
