Cornerstone Cellars

Cornerstone Cellars is a downtown Yountville tasting room that offers one of the most intelligent and accessible wine experiences in the village, with a two-tier portfolio designed to welcome both casual visitors and serious collectors through the same door. Founded in 1991, the winery operates on a negociant model, sourcing from top Napa Valley vineyards rather than farming its own estate. The Cornerstone label represents the premium tier, while the Stepping Stone label provides approachable, value-priced wines that deliver genuine Napa character at a fraction of the valley's typical cost.

The winery's vineyard relationships span multiple Napa appellations, with Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from warm benchland sites and Sauvignon Blanc from cooler, bay-influenced vineyards. The negociant approach allows winemaker Kari Auringer to select the best available fruit each vintage without being constrained by estate vineyard commitments. The Stepping Stone wines draw from a broader geographic range, incorporating fruit from other premium California regions to maintain the line's value positioning.

Kari Auringer produces wines that are cleanly made and true to their origins. The Cornerstone Cabernet Sauvignon is structured and polished, showing the dark fruit and firm tannins of premium Napa Valley fruit. The Cornerstone Sauvignon Blanc is crisp and aromatic. The Stepping Stone line, priced significantly below the Cornerstone wines, delivers remarkable quality for its price tier, with a red blend and a white that would embarrass many wines costing twice as much. The dual-tier approach means that every visitor can find something that matches both their palate and their budget.

The Yountville tasting room on Washington Street is small, modern, and walk-in friendly, with a bar that feels more like a neighborhood wine shop than a formal tasting venue. The staff are knowledgeable without being pretentious, and the atmosphere encourages casual exploration rather than solemn reverence. The location, steps from Yountville's world-class restaurants, makes Cornerstone an ideal pre-dinner or post-dinner stop. At $40, the tasting includes wines from both the Cornerstone and Stepping Stone portfolios.

Cornerstone demonstrates that a tasting room can serve multiple audiences without compromising on quality for either one. The premium wines satisfy serious collectors, the Stepping Stone wines welcome budget-conscious visitors, and the Yountville setting ensures that the experience feels special regardless of which tier you are tasting. It is a model that more Napa wineries would do well to follow.