Joel Gott Wines. Our first introduction to Joel Gott Wines was in the early 2000s when we were running an Internet Service Provider and offered a service back then known as co-location (the precursor of what is now cloud based storage). One of our partners used our facility to host several of his servers, one of which used to host the Gott Wines website and what was known as Taylor’s Refresher, now Gott’s Roadside; if memory serves us correctly we provided their email services and would often talk to Duncan Gott, Joel’s brother.
Namesake Joel Gott’s family have been important contributors to California’s wine industry. His father Cary Gott’s contributions are significant; he is a 4th generation winemaker. His father James Gott was winemaker and president of Inglenook in the 1960s. Cary grew up on the grounds of Petri Winery, just outside of tiny Escalon in California’s Central Valley. Initially wanting to flee the wine business he chose to study architecture at USC in Los Angeles. In 1965 the nearby Watts Riots happened and combined with the tensions in the city and not so sure about his continued interest in architecture, he switched schools, moved to Davis where he enrolled at UC Davis. He remembers taking a class by prominent wine professor Maynard Amerine and being completely engrossed by what he was learning. Wine soon became a passion. His first job in Napa Valley was working at Sterling Vineyards in 1969 with founding winemaker, Ric Foreman. Interestingly, some of the first Sterling wines were stored at Schramsberg Vineyards until the caves were completed at Sterling. Sterling’s hospitality center and winery on top of the hill were not yet completed at that time.
Cary founded Monteviña Wines in Amador County in 1971 (in the basement of his house) focusing on Zinfandel and was their winemaker and president until 1982. Incidentally of historical interest, winemaker Scott Harvey was his first hire. Not one to sit still, Cary was winemaker and President of Corbett Canyon Vineyards in San Luis Obispo from 1983 to 1986. At the time they were a startup winery and over the years morphed into a very successful brand – their success came quickly; Cary recalls over 100,000 cases were being produced in their early years. Later he worked for Seagram Classics Wine Company overseeing production for both The Monterey Vineyard and later Sterling and Mumm Vineyards.
The Napa Valley based winery for Joel Gott Wines is located south of Yountville on a 10-acre property owned by Sutter Home Winery. This winery dates from 1984 and was the previous home of Havens Winery. We first visited this property around 2007 for a tasting of the Havens wines. The tile roofed building sits under numerous oak trees with the wine production part of the space located to the rear. While Joel Gott Wines does not see visitors for tastings, this space previously was used for visitors to Havens Winery.
And production also occurs in Lodi.
Select Wines
The focus of their production are affordable and well-distributed wines from grapes grown in California, Oregon and Washington – crafting wines which are blends of multiple vineyards, each site offering its own unique character to the resulting bottling. Joel’s wife Sarah is the primary winemaker although there are other winemakers involved in producing their wines. The inaugural vintage of Joel Gott Wines was a 1996 Amador County Zinfandel. In 2009, Joel Gott Wines entered into a partnership with Trinchero Family Estates (same family that owns Sutter Home Winery); this relationship allows Joel and Sarah to focus on winemaking while Trinchero Family Estates has introduced their wines to a much larger audience through their distribution network.
Napa
The 2019 GOTT Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley is 98% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Malbec and 1% Merlot. This wine is deep ruby in color; the bouquet offers a union of ripe fruits and influences from its oak profile. These scents include cherry pie, mulberry, boysenberry preserves, Santa Rosa plum and blueberry, accompanied by milk chocolate, mocha, cinnamon stick and coffee. The palate sports flavors of plum, cherry, blackberry, Pakistani mulberry, milk chocolate, Graham cracker and a note of toasted oak and crushed pink peppercorn, both of which linger towards the back of the palate but are subtle. Texturally soft and plush, its mouth-feel is defined by creamy, finely polished and lighter tannins. Their presence is seamlessly integrated on the finish. Easy drinking, highly quaffable and not overly cerebral, this wine is best served on a warm summertime evening at a casual get together with friends. It was aged for 24 months in 100% new French oak barrels.
California
The 2022 Joel Gott Sauvignon Blanc California is from vineyards in Napa, Sonoma, Lake County, Mendocino, Lodi, Monterey and Santa Barbara. It was fermented entirely in stainless steel. This wine is medium yellow in color; the pretty bouquet reveals scents of tangerine, honeysuckle, guava, ripe honeydew, passion fruit, Golden delicious apple and a hint of chamomile. It also offers a very subtle herbal note, perhaps of tarragon but this is masked by its overall fruit driven aromas. Flavorful, without being too intense, its palate profile falls less on the green and grassy side of the spectrum, but rather is clearly more fruit driven. These flavors include Golden delicious apple, apricot, pineapple, yellow peach, white nectarine and Comise pear. And the finish lingers with notes of tangerine and ripe pomelo. The acidity is bright but balanced. Easy drinking by itself and highly refreshing on a very hot day like the 100+ degree Fahrenheit day that we are enjoying this wine. The only thing missing is a cold pool. Of the Joel Gott California wines we have have tried to date, this is our favorite.
The 2019 Joel Gott Sauvignon Blanc was warded the number 21 Top 100 of 2022 wines by the Wine Spectator Magazine and was their highest scoring California Sauvignon Blanc priced at $15 or less.
The 2021 Joel Gott Chardonnay California (barrel aged) is made from vineyard sources including: Petaluma Gap, Russian River Valley, Arroyo Seco, Santa Rita Hills, Santa Maria Valley and Los Olivos District. This wine was aged in 50% new French oak barrels and 50% 1 & 2-year-old French oak for 6-8 months, depending on the lot. It is deep gold in color; the bouquet is dripping in aromatics of honey including honeycomb, accompanied by toasted vanilla, baked pineapple, melting butter, corn syrup, corn tassel, canned peaches, overripe cantaloupe and caramelized sugars. On the palate there are flavors of ripe yellow peaches, apricot, baked pineapple, Crane melon at the peak of its ripeness (a local favorite in Sonoma County) and apple pie which reminded us of the freshly baked apple pies we used to enjoy at our aunt’s home post Thanksgiving meal. In addition to the fruit, a prominent thread of both cinnamon and nutmeg run the length of the palate. The fleshy and creamy texture is supported by a bright and rich acidity which continues to liven the palate on the long finish.
The 2022 Joel Gott Unoaked Chardonnay, California is medium yellow in color; the fruity driven palate is not defined by any oak as the label clearly states. The bouquet offers aromas of pineapple juice, honeysuckle, mango, papaya, orange peel, banana, crenshaw melon, vanilla and a hint of chamomile before it warms up in the glass. It texture is more noticeable than even before the fruit starts to express itself on the palate – offering a creamy, rounded and cashmere like feel. More linear in terms of its flavor profile as compared to the bouquet, the palate expresses notes of Golden delicious apples, pear, mandarin orange and melting butter. This wine finishes strong in terms of flavor persistence, but overall doesn’t pique our interest. The grapes for this wine were harvested from vineyards within Monterey including in Arroyo Seco and Santa Lucia Highlands and within Santa Barbara including Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Maria Valley.
The 2022 Joel Gott Pinot Noir, California is from vineyards in Monterey and Santa Barbara counties. This wine is pale ruby in color; the sweetly fruited and ripe bouquet falls on the fruity side of the aromatic spectrum as opposed to more spicy or earthy characteristics that this variety is known for. It opens with redolent aromas of strawberry jam, raspberry preserves, cherry pie, cherry cola, root beer and baked plums. Some of the varietal spicy characteristics show on the plate including notes of white pepper, smoked meats and dried sage. In terms of fruit, its flavors include red licorice, currant, red cherry, strawberry, raspberry, and red plum. And there are some baking spices present, showing more in the back of the palate; these include clove and nutmeg. The tannins are softly present, are grainy and lightly gritty in their textural feel. They are felt more on the front of the palate than the back and their contribution and this wine’s other characteristics provides a savory finish. Pair with something spicy from the BBQ. This wine was aged in 20% new French oak and 30% 1-3-year-old barrels.
The 2022 Joel Gott Zinfandel, California is deep ruby in color; the bouquet is a bowlful of cherries and ropes of red licorice. But there are some additional aromatic layers at play here including of Santa Rosa plum, blackberry, raspberry and Persian mulberry. And some barrel influences including of mocha and milk chocolate. The ‘Zin spice’ is also evident, similar to pink peppercorn, red chili or mole. Loaded with plenty of flavor and juiciness across the palate, it reveals flavors of Santa Rosa plum, raspberry, cherry cola, sarsaparilla, cranberry, currant, red licorice and lingers with a note of crushed black peppercorn, a light woodsy spice and dried tobacco leaf. The moderately textured tannins are gravelly and persist beyond the fruit with a drying character. Tasting this wine made us immediately want to pair it with spicy BBQ ribs.
The 2021 Joel Gott 815 Cabernet Sauvignon California is deep ruby in color; on the bouquet there are scents of cherry, tobacco spice, cream soda, dark raspberry, cinnamon stick and a noticeable woodsy spice similar to old cedar box. We can duplicate this latter aromatic every time we open up a velvet lined cedar box formerly used for jewelry that our grandmother gave us several decades ago prior to her passing. This woodsy aromatic is also mirrored prominently across the palate including a sawdust character persisting for great length on the finish, along with flavors of dried tobacco leaf, crushed dark peppercorn, cherry, raspberry, boysenberry, mulberry and currant. The tannins are grainy, gravelly and sport a dusty character which out runs the fruit on the finish. The grapes for this wine were sourced from Napa Valley, Sonoma County, Lake County, Mendocino, Lodi and the Central Coast. It is 100% varietal and was aged in 30% new American oak. The oak is prominent in this bottling.
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Gott’s Roadside Cafe
A local favorite since 1949, the original Gott’s Roadside Cafe is located in the southern part of St. Helena. This is the flagship location and is located on what was St. Helena’s Chinatown. It was founded by Lloyd and his wife Marion Taylor as Taylor’s Refresher and from the beginning focused on hamburgers and shakes, two still very important parts of the current culinary offerings. They also sold plenty of Carnation Ice Cream including their largest containers (3 gallons). Their grand opening was held on June 23, 1950.
An article in the St. Helena Star dated Thursday November 16, 1961 indicted Taylor had attended the Pacific Coast Regional Restaurant Convention & Exposition held at the Los Angeles Sports Arena in Exposition Park (demolished in 2016 and now home of BMO Stadium). The article stated that one national restaurant chain had sold 500,000 hamburgers – and mentioned this could be a goal for Taylor’s Refresher. Taylor’s Refresher never expanded their operations beyond the one location. But by 2024 according to an article in SFGate, Gott’s Roadside had sold 12 million hamburgers across their multiple locations during their history.
Students from the nearby St. Helena High School were an important part of Taylor’s employee based in the early years. An appreciation ad listed in the The St. Helena Star dated Thursday January 30, 1964 mentioned 63 St. Helena High students had worked at the restaurant in 13 years since their opening. In 1967 Taylor’s daughters, Virginia Toogood and Jean Nicholson along with Virginia’s husband Charles took over the operations. Charles was an offensive lineman in the National Football League for seven years including starting on the 1951 Los Angeles Rams who would win the NFL Championship game that season.
Taylor’s operated a farm stand for some time; we have seen references to fresh produce being sold on site from various advertisements in the St. Helena Star and other articles from as early as the 1950s through the late 1990s including selling fresh tomatoes, corn and melons. In 1969 an advertisement in the St. Helena Star indicated a new self-service car wash on site open 24 hours a day cost 25 cents for 5 minutes of washing. In 1973 Lloyd Taylor and his daughter Virginia applied to install gas pumps at Taylor’s but were denied by the Santa Helena City Council.
In 1993 Cary’s sons Joel and Duncan Gott purchased Palisades Market in Calistoga (long since closed) incidentally, like Gott’s Roadside in St. Helena the site of what was Palisades Market used to be Calistoga’s Chinatown. And for a short while, opening at the turn of the century, the Gott’s operated Fred’s Automatic Refresher in Calistoga, named in honor of Fred Carey, Joel and Duncan’s grandfather. Fred’s operated in what was previously Big Daddy’s Drive-in across the parking lot from Palisades Market. Winemaker Mike Henry was the manager of Fred’s.
In 1999, Cary partnered with his sons Joel and Duncan (who were only in their mid to late 20s at the time) to lease what was still called Taylor’s Refresher – the car wash was still operating at the time of their lease. They leased Taylor’s Refresher until 2014. They changed the name to Gott’s Roadside Cafe in 2010 but kept the old ‘Taylor’s Refresher’ sign intact in front of the original St. Helena location. The second Gott’s Roadside opened in 1999 at the San Francisco Ferry Plaza Marketplace and the third Gott’s Roadside opened at Oxbow Public Market in the city of Napa in 2007.
As of 2024 the Gott family operates 8 Gott’s Roadsides including two in Napa Valley and others in various parts of the San Jose Bay Area. While prices have certainly kept up with the current economy, its always fun to look down memory lane to see what they were decades ago. An advertisement in The St. Helena Star dated Thursday November 10, 1966 listed a 1/4 pound burger with onions, tomato and lettuce for 75cents.
Gott’s is certainly locally iconic but it has become a must visit stop for numerous visitors to the valley over its 70+ years in business. While one of St. Helena’s older still operating businesses, it is not among the very oldest. For reference Smiths Pharmacy was founded in St. Helena in 1874 and is currently under its fifth owners.
And Gott’s Roadside St. Helena hosted their 25th anniversary party on Sunday October 13, 2024 from 11am until 9pm including free rides on the 60 foot Ferris wheel. A live band banged out old country music songs, lines were long but people were happy and there was plenty of 25th anniversary Gotts merchandise for sale.
Several of the Gott’s Roadsides are located in very high traffic places including the one at the Ferry Building which also houses a separate Gott’s Soft Serve and the one next to Chase Center, home of the Golden State Warriors basketball team. The most difficult to find parking is for the Ferry Building location.
Above the ordering counter at every one of these Gott’s except the ones in Palo Alto and SFO is a prominent photograph of the St. Helena Gotts Roadside. And at every ordering counter except Gott’s at SFO are Gott gift cards available in various denominations. We have visited and eaten at all of these except the Gott’s SFO (visit coming by late October 2024). They are:
Gott’s Roadside, St. Helena
Gott’s Roadside, Napa
Gott’s Roadside, Ferry Building San Francisco
Gott’s Roadside, Mission Bay San Francisco
Gott’s Roadside, Napa Palo Alto
Gott’s Roadside, Napa Walnut Creek
Gott’s Roadside, Marin
Gott’s Roadside, SFO International Terminal
Station St. Helena
In addition, the Gott’s own Station St. Helena, founded in 2019 located just north of Gott’s Roadside in St. Helena, a three minute drive or a less than 10 minute walk. This cute little retro gas station space offers breakfast, lunch and dinner, including New York Style pizza’s in which they bake all required breads from scratch. Patrons can enjoy their food at an outdoor railing or at one of the outdoor patio and community picnic tables.
And this used to be a gas station called Gelow’s Too Exxon. Presently the gas station directly in front of Station St. Helena is called Napa Valley Petroleum; it offers two gas pumps. While like Gott’s Roadside, Station St. Helena is also located on St. Helena Highway, the vibe here seems to be more locals.
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Joel Gott has been involved in numerous other wine related projects including in 2001 with two partners, founded the wine brand Three Thieves. This brand is now owned by Trinchero Family. In 2007 Gott led a group of investors who purchased The Ranch Winery, which was used as a custom crush winery. This winery was sold to GALLO in 2015. In 2022 Joel and Sarah purchased one of Napa Valley’s most historical treasures, the Edge Hill Winery property, founded in 1867 as the Edge Hill Wine Company, and the Edge Hill wine brand from the Rudd family. View our notes under our profile of Edge Hill Winery on this website for more details.
Gott for Good, founded in 2019, is the charitable arm of Joel Gott Wines with a focus on providing meals to families in need. Proceeds from the sales of the Gott for Good wine bundles (4-wine pack) are used to provide meals to those in need through their partner, Feeding America with food distributed to local food banks. Joel Gott Wines are available in grocery stores in Napa Valley including several locations that regularly carry their California wines. These are Ranch Market in Yountville and Food City Market in the city of Napa. For more information and to purchase current release wines, please visit: www.gottwines.com
Editors note: our mission is to visit, taste and extensively profile ALL wineries and brands within Napa Valley; to qualify, each producer must make wine for at least one of their bottlings from grapes grown in Napa Valley and the wine must also be made in Napa Valley. To date we have personally visited and profiled more than 1,200 Napa Valley based wineries and brands.
However, for whatever reasons, there are only a small handful of physical wineries in Napa Valley that sadly, we have not been able to secure a tasting with, despite numerous efforts to do so, some of them spanning attempts of 10+ years. And these are some of Napa Valley’s most well-known, most coveted and important producers. Unfortunately we have not yet been able to visit these wineries, including Joel Gott Wines to hear their story directly and do a tasting at their winery located just south of Yountville. As a result, this profile was written based on outside research and tastings we conducted on our own.
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