Fodor's Expert Review Cornerstone Cellars

Inside Yountville's whitewashed 19th-century passenger train depot, Cornerstone shares a space with an apparel shop and displays contemporary art curated by Aerena Galleries. The winery, started on something of a whim more than three decades ago (a Howell Mountain grower offered the founders some excess fruit late in the 1991 season), produces Cabernet Sauvignon from the valley's benchland and mountain sections. Because each Cabernet receives similar treatment from winemaker Kari Auringer, the wines express what's unique about their sub-appellations, vineyard sources, and vintages. Cornerstone is a good place to find out what type of Napa Valley Cabernet you prefer—perhaps the smooth Benchlands blend, in recent years softened with Merlot and Cabernet Franc, or maybe the sturdier yet still lush Howell Mountain offering, usually 100% Cabernet or nearly so.