Silver Oak
Updated: Jan 12
Key Info
Iconic. Cult Status. American Wine Institution.
Established in 1972.
A standard of California Cabernet.
One of the top selling wines people order at restaurants.
Most people think Napa Valley when they hear Silver Oak.
Silver Oak does make famous Napa Valley Cab.
It’s important to note that…
a 1977 Silver Oak, ALEXANDER VALLEY CAB, came out BEFORE the winery ever produced a Napa cabernet.
Alexander Valley wine makes up the MAJORITY of Silver Oak’s 103,000 case production.
As of 2018, Silver Oak has a new state-of-the-art winery property on the outskirts of Healdsburg.
Located in Alexander Valley.
Open daily from 9:00am-5:00pm.
Walk-in tastings ok.
Tasting fee is $20 per person for three pours.
$10 (of the tasting fee) can be applied towards wine purchase.
Make an appointment for a $40 seated tasting of four cabs.
Also be sure to checkout the:
Food & Wine Pairing Tour
The Private Tour and Tasting
The Silver Tour and Taste
All offer an in depth tasting experience.
Silver Oak Cabs are food friendly and drinkable upon release.
I went home with my first over $100 bottle of wine!
The 2008 Alexander Valley Cabernet blew me away.
Wines range from $80-$160+
You May Not Know
Most high-end California wineries use FRENCH OAK barrels.
French Oak tends to taste of dark chocolate, roasted coffee beans and exotic spices.
Silver Oak is well known for aging their cab in AMERICAN OAK.
American Oak tends to add tastes of vanilla, sweeter notes, and coconut.
In 2015 Silver Oak became the first North American Winery to own and operate their very own American Oak cooperage.
This means Silver Oak controls the aging and toasting quality of their OWN American Oak barrels.
The brand new Alexander Valley tasting room is expected to be the most environmentally friendly winery built in California.
Committed to being the first 100% zero net energy and zero net water commercial winery.
Silver Oak in Napa became the first commercial production winery in the world to earn:
LEED platinum certification.
This certification is the U.S. Green Building Council’s HIGHEST level of recognition.
The Alexander Valley tasting room is on it’s way to LEED Certification as well.
Called the WINERY OF THE FUTURE!
2,000 solar panels.
Every drop of water gets used three times on the property.
If you compare Silver Oak’s Napa Valley cab with the Alexander Valley cab…
Alexander Valley is the more restrained of the two.
Alexander Valley Cab uses 50% new oak as opposed to Napa’s 90%
Sheila’s Recommendation
Don’t be alarmed when you use the Silver Oak restroom.
At first I went in and saw brownish toilette water.
I thought, hmmmmmm someone forgot to flush.
I flushed a couple of times.
The brown color did not budge.
Yuck!
Later, I realized this was part of Silver Oak’s eco friendly system.
I highly recommend coming here to see the architecture and environmentally friendly design.
Your stress will slip away as the minimalistic approach to architectural design calms your soul.
Also, the vineyard views are among the most spectacular I’ve seen.
Book a tour that gets you into the Cellar!
The library of wines surrounds you from floor to ceiling.
A massive Basalt Rock shipped from Washington State sits in the center of the cellar.
Just touching this powerful rock will infuse you with mother nature’s magical properties.
