Oakville Wine Merchants

Even more tastings

In early 2019, the Oakville Grocery, which was founded in 1881 and is reputed to be the oldest delicatessen in California, joined the Boisset estate. In the springtime, the Victorian house next door was entirely renovated to house 1881 Napa, the first museum in the United States to be dedicated to the history of wine, along with a tasting room. 

A range of different tastings have been set to music by Karen MacNeil, author of the Wine Bible, and by Thane Knuston, who vinified an exclusive range for 1881 Napa that reflects the diversity of the Napa terroir, which is illustrated on the old map reproduced on the ceiling. 

Since then, the offer has been expanded to include Oakville Wine Merchants, which has a range of more than 50 different Napa wines to discover, from different producers, classified by appellation, and available through a self-service system. There are 12 distributors from which visitors can select the wines they’d like to sample, or those recommended by the team. Visitors can also order a dish of cold cuts or cheeses from the delicatessen to accompany their tasting experience.

For Jean-Charles Boisset, it is a showcase for the rich history of winemaking in Californian where visitors can taste the wines and discover some exclusive antique pieces.