October is when Napa Valley feels most like itself. We arrived amid the late-season harvest, breathing in the familiar scent of crushed grapes and earthy pomace. Stretching across the hills, the vineyards had already turned copper, amber and deep red, a view that never fails to dazzle. Winery staffs tend to be hard at work during this period, and tasting rooms can get busy, too.

Just as I test out the service at hotels and resorts I review, I like to give our own Travel Office the occasional challenge. This time, I asked my travel advisor to arrange visits of exclusive wineries not open to the general public. Working together with Andrew Harper’s wine concierge, my advisor orchestrated private tastings at four high-end wineries across the valley, each with its own appeal.

Sullivan Rutherford Estate

As we turned onto a quiet lane off Highway 29, the manicured landscape and lush gardens of Sullivan Rutherford Estate gradually came into view. Our delightful host, Eddie Gutierrez, greeted us with glasses of crisp Chardonnay and led us around the property’s romantic pond toward an elegant timber-and-glass California Craftsman structure. From the comfort of the studio of the original owner, Jim Sullivan (the estate was acquired by Juan Pablo Torres-Padilla in 2018), we tasted select wines from the J.O. Sullivan Founder’s Reserve. A Chardonnay from this collection was more reminiscent of a Chablis, restraining the expected buttery notes while achieving focus and balanced acidity. As we sampled the Merlot, the estate’s clay-rich soil became apparent. It produced a powerful red that reminded me of a Pomerol from Bordeaux’s Right Bank. Most illuminating was the vertical tasting ranging from 2015 through the 2020s, which revealed the distinctive character of each vintage. (The 2015 was especially well structured, with rich notes of ripe plums and brown spices.) This winery champions Merlot and delivers the goods — take that, Sideways.