Seminars and company events
Silver Oak hosts private tastings, wine pairing dinners and receptions for groups of about 20 to 40 guests at its winery on Oakville Cross Road, in the middle of Napa Valley. Formats range from an educational tasting to a multi-course dinner with paired wines, casual or formal, which suits a client evening, an executive dinner or an incentive group. For larger numbers, the private events team works with its network of local caterers. Groups of eight or more who want a tasting or tour rather than a full private event book through the reservations team.
A typical private event opens with wines and seasonal hors d'oeuvres passed on trays, followed by a guided walk behind the scenes through the fermentation cellar and the American oak barrel room. Custom-etched bottles can be ordered as gifts for guests, and the company also runs a corporate gifting service. Silver Oak does not list meeting rooms or conference equipment: it is a place for hosted tastings and dinners rather than full-day seminars.
Weddings and receptions
Silver Oak states that it is not permitted to host weddings or wedding receptions. Private celebrations within the 40-guest range can be discussed with the private events team.
Rooms and capacities
The private events page gives a range of 20 to 40 guests for hosted gatherings. The Oakville winery has a Glass House where rare library vintages from past decades are kept on show, and seated tastings and food pairings take place across the property. Names and capacities of individual rooms are not published, so the setting is agreed with the team for each event.
Catering
Food comes from the Silver Oak Culinary Team, which writes seasonal menus around produce from the winery gardens and from local farmers. The Oakville tasting program also includes a Chef's Table experience and a vertical tasting of Napa Valley Cabernet, which give an idea of the pairing work the team prepares for private groups.
History and setting
Ray Duncan and Justin Meyer founded Silver Oak in 1972, starting in a dairy barn in Oakville with a plan to focus on a single varietal. Justin Meyer retired in 2001 and sold his share to the Duncan family. Ray's sons, David and Tim Duncan, now lead the family-owned company as second-generation vintners.
The current Oakville winery was completed in 2008 and built with salvaged and reclaimed stone, oak and redwood. In 2016 it received LEED Platinum certification for existing buildings, which Silver Oak describes as a first for a production winery, and it is a certified Napa Green Winery. Its 1,464 solar panels cover nearly half of its energy needs, and water measures have cut irrigation by 86 percent. A second winery in Healdsburg, in Alexander Valley, was completed in 2018 and certified as a Living Building in 2020.
Getting there
The winery is at 915 Oakville Cross Road, Oakville, California 94562, on the road linking Highway 29 and the Silverado Trail. San Francisco and Oakland airports are about an hour and a half away by car, and Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport is closer.
