Turnbull Wine Cellars
Our Name
The Turnbull name goes back to the early 1300’s, when Scottish King Robert The Bruce was hunting in the Great Caledon Wood, near Sterling, with a group of his closest and most trusted companions. When a ferocious bull suddenly attacked the king, his friend William Roule heroically placed himself between the bull and the king, and subdued the great beast, by turning its head to the ground, until help arrived. The grateful king dubbed his subject “Turnbull” and awarded him a crest featuring a bull’s head with the motto: Audaci Favet Fortuna.
Our Story
Renowned award-winning Bay Area architect William Turnbull founded Johnson Turnbull Vineyards in 1979. Turnbull Cellars was designed to be low-key and in tune with its environment, and is a classic example of a small hands-on Napa Valley winery. William Turnbull once said, “You want to have an image of a winery that cares about the last drop of wine in the bottle.” That tradition is carried on today.
Patrick O’Dell, a Northern California publisher, purchased the winery in the spring of 1993, and renamed it Turnbull Wine Cellars. This was when the image of the "turning bull" on the label was redesigned, the newer image derived from a bull’s figure on a Minoan drinking vessel. The Turnbull family crest continues to be embossed on each label, reflecting respect for the history of this distinguished family name.
Known for our 100% Estate grown single-vineyard designate Cabernets, Turnbull Wine Cellars is located in the heart of the famed Napa Valley AVA of Oakville, California. Please find us at 8210 St. Helena Highway (Highway 29), one half-mile north of Oakville Crossroad, on the east side of the highway.
Our world-class gallery is open to the public and features a rotating collection of historic black and white photography by a plethora of famous artists, including such notables as Berenice Abbott, Ansel Adams, Margaret Bourke White, Jane Brown, Clarence Sinclair Bull, Marsha Burns, Imogen Cunningham, Judy Dater, Walker Evans, Burt Glinn, Phillipe Halsman, George Hurrell, Yousuf Karsh, Andre Kertesz, Dorothea Lange, Bettina Rheims, Herb Ritts, Roy Schatt, Jock Sturges, Peter Stackpole, Edward Steichen, Paul Strand, Joyce Tenneson and Edward Weston. There is no charge to tour the gallery.
Our Main Tasting & Retail Room
Open daily, 10:00am–5:00pm | $15 tasting fee
This is where you can taste, enjoy and purchase our current releases and some small production “winery exclusive” wines, all produced from our estate vineyard properties.
Our Reserve Tasting Room & Gallery
Open daily, 10:00am–5:00pm | $25 tasting fee | Admission to the gallery is always complimentary.
In the larger of our two tasting rooms, view our current art exhibit and taste five of our estate grown, single vineyard designated reserve wines including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
