“Ring out, Wild Bells!” Is one of Alfred Lord Tennyson’s most beloved poems, often associated with the beginning of a new year, when one rings out the old and rings in the new.

By now, you have heard the good news: after three years of renovation and recovery from the Glass Fire of September 2020, Sterling Vineyards has opened with an entirely new gondola system.

Reopening most tasting rooms would be a matter of turning a key and setting out tables and chairs, but this isn’t just any tasting room. It’s more like an adult Disneyland, with none of the downsides, and plenty of talented and cheerful staff.

Surely, riding on an aerial tram to go wine tasting at a creamy white edifice atop a mountain with an unrivaled view of the Napa Valley, should be on every wine lovers bucket list. There is nothing in the world like Sterling. English businessmen, Peter Newton and Michael Stone, planned it that way. They brought a distinctly Euroview to the nascent Napa Valley in 1964, building what was then and now, the largest stucco edifice in all of wine country. Inspired by visits to the Greek Isle of Mykonos, with its whitewashed hills gleaming in the Mediterranean sun, and punctuated with equally blinding alabaster castles dotting the deep olive tones of the hills, they created Sterling Vineyards. Right from the start, they imagined matchless hospitality that would leave visitors breathless, invigorated and forever altered. And they planted Chardonnay and Merlot, putting them squarely at odds with the mainstream obsession of the day with Cabernet Sauvignon. In fact, their first wine, in 1969, was a varietal Merlot.

Anyone who visits this spot will forever remember that rush of being swept off the valley floor, above the lily pad covered ponds and olive trees, and suddenly, rising high above all the gorgeous squares of vineyards that suddenly manifest themselves in their entirety, only to arrive at a structure that looks all the world like a giant monastery, complete with bell tower. The giant bells become the focal point as you touch down to earth, and when you learn that they are from St. Dunstan’s Church in England, destroyed in WWII, some of this Disney-meets-Mediterranean vacation begins to make sense. These amazing bronze instruments ring out every 15 minutes, marking not only the passage of your time on this planet, but bringing to mind the hands of those many laborers who created this iconic chronograph. By any measurement, this is no ordinary winery, gondola aside. Each terrace, portal, deck and cellar is wrought large against a landscape that seems grander than anywhere else.

Exclusive tasting areas and experiences for club members are abundant. Book a session at the Hilltop Terrace and indulge in a food pairing by the warmly lit fireplace, or outside on the deck. Admire the incredible artwork collected by Newton in the Founders Room, including an original Picasso, among many other sketches and paintings in his collection.

Even the gift shop goes above and beyond. Where else can you find lambswool tartan plaid scarves in an assortment of dreamy colors, and a Napa Monopoly board, featuring the Sterling gondola?

This is only the third time in its history that Sterling has replaced the iconic gondola system. The current iteration from Doppelmayr/Garaventa Group, an international manufacturer of transportation systems for ski areas, urban transport and amusement parks, has engineered over 15,000 installations in 96 countries. The current cars seat 8 comfortably with great ventilation, versus the previous version’s small cars that held four. To make the point, one of the old cars sits, museum-like, as you exit and make your way to the first tasting stop of the Sterling Stroll. You’ll enjoy a generous pour of the 2020 Pinot Gris from Carneros, as you enter the building’s interior, and begin the self-guided tour. Video screens along with storyboards lay out the history of the property and highlight how each stop contributes to the Sterling experience. We observed the crushpad and production area, quiet this year, while enjoying an unoaked Chardonnay from their vast Carneros vineyard. Overlooking the idle concrete tanks, lined up like toy soldiers from the Nutcracker, we sampled a 2019 Carneros Pinot Noir. The winery will be in full swing for next year’s harvest, under the direction of winemaker Lauren Kopit, who graduated from UC Davis in 2009, and has been with Sterling since 2014.

On this early November day, the fall colors were both blazing and sublime, amplified by the low angle of the sun, as we enjoyed a 2017 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from the terrace, where you can relax with optional small bites from the kitchen. 

Visitors during the next few months will be able to witness artist Dusty Kramer painting a giant mural on the long wall opposite the barrel room that depicts the pre-Glass Fire setting. He told us he’s using a lot of green paint: the trees that once surrounded the winery were plenty verdant.
A landmark turning 60 years old in 2024, deserves a special commemoration. A friend gifted me a bottle of 1988 Sterling Red Blend, in a Burgundy bottle, clocking in at 13% alcohol. It looked like Pinot Noir. When I handed it to Director of Hospitality, Luke Magnini, he noted with considerable excitement, that it stated: Grown, Produced & Bottled by Sterling Vineyards. “Sterling was the first winery that stated that their product was completely made by them, every step of the way,” Magnini told us. “They grew the grapes, made the wines, and bottled them, all under their control. Their hands were on every part of the process.”

Just one more way the founders put their indelible stamp on a winery experience with wines to match. In this digital age, the reminder that the hands of time are touched by all of us, rings out with every peal of the bells.