Looking for a truly spine-chilling experience this spooky season? These 13 haunted California wineries hide some undeniably sinister secrets. Pour glass of blood red wine and learn more about who – or what – lurks in the cellar shadows and between the vines.
Bartholomew Estate Winery
If you believe in ghosts, you probably also believe that any building that has housed a prison, a hospital AND a morgue is practically guaranteed to be haunted. Guests report mysterious music and voices, doors locking without warning, and sudden temperature drops. Much of the reported phenomena takes place in the basement, where paranormal activity is so intense that investigators have, at times, been forced to abandon their research altogether.
Buena Vista Winery
Buena Vista Winery is one of California’s oldest wineries. Given the…mysterious…nature of founder Agoston Haraszthy’s death, it’s no surprise that many believe the grounds to be haunted. The intrigue deepens with the winery’s past. The wine cellar once served as a women’s prison, and (unsubstantiated) whispers persist that workers were buried alive during the construction of the wine caves in the late 1800s.
Today, paranormal groupies flock to Buena Vista Winery, hoping to observe phantom flickering lights, hear the wails of unseen infants or catch a glimmer of shadowy figures creeping across the grounds.
AXR Napa Valley
Have you ever heard of a “spiritual entity clause”? At AXR Napa Valley, otherworldly encounters are so commonplace that when the property changed hands in 2017, the buyers were required to legally acknowledge the presence of ghosts. Although the winery grounds were previously home to both a saloon and a brothel, most of the spirits are reportedly friendly enough – simply tapping on people’s shoulders or patting them on the head. However, AXR admits the one particularly creepy event: one night, around midnight, the sound system spontaneously began blaring tribal chants. Even after the system was powered off, the eerie music continued to echo through the night.
Dry Creek Vineyard
At Dry Creek Vineyard, some guests have witnessed a benevolent Native American spirit drifting through the vineyards. More disturbing activity, however, is rumored to take place in a former guest house. Flashing lights, creaking footsteps and clanging noises are so common that the property is no longer offered to guests.
Murder Ridge Winery
To state the obvious, the winery is named “Murder Ridge”, and not because the vineyard is frequented by a murder of crows. An actual ax murder occurred on the property in 1911. The killer was later found in a nearby cabin – holding his victim’s jacket AND a bottle of wine. Prophetically poetic, don’t you think?
Ravenswood
Ravenswood Winery hasn’t produced a vintage since 2019, but founder Joel Peterson’s harvest horror story is one of our favorite frightful tales. On a fall day in 1976, Peterson raced to harvest his grapes while dark clouds loomed in the distance. Peterson recalls two ravens suddenly joining him, singing a spooky, surreal song. The ravens continued to circle Peterson, and when the storm hit, it raged around him. Peterson and the ravens however – remained untouched by the maelstrom and completely dry.
Oak Ridge Winery
Lodi’s Oak Ridge Winery is rumored to be haunted by a small child known as La Niña. She’s said to giggle and swing from the light fixtures on the ceiling. This might sound harmless enough, but some workers during harvest season are traumatized enough that they refuse to work the night shift in hopes of avoiding any encounters.
Trefethen Family Vineyards
Speaking of swinging from the ceiling, Trefethen Family Vineyards boasts a similar – but much creepier – claim. During Prohibition, the historic winery housed a bootlegging operation. When a man broke in to steal a cask of liquor, he was caught and lynched on the grounds. Some guests report sightings of a gruesome specter hanging from the rafters, while others claim to have glimpsed the entire gruesome scene play out in the past. Talk about a truly terrifying tasting!
Beaulieu Vineyards
Given the more disturbing paranormal activity reported at some Napa Valley haunted wineries, let’s just say that Beaulieu Vineyards is “gently” haunted. While the resident ghost has been spotted traipsing through the vineyards, most assume it’s simply the founder strolling – keeping an eye on his vines from beyond the grave.
Beringer Vineyards
Legend has it that founder Frederick Beringer still haunts the halls of California’s oldest continually operating winery. Staff have reported sightings of his ghost appearing in the upstairs hallway of the historic winery, sometimes vanishing through walls.
Some of the most unsettling activity takes place in his former chambers, where glasses are sometimes shattered and objects have been hurled across the room. This unsettling paranormal activity is so frequent that the winery staff keeps a running log!
Charles Krug
Charles Krug Winery has a long history of hauntings. Founder Charles Krug claimed to experience paranormal encounters ever since the winery was founded in 1861! Many staff and guests have corroborated Krug’s claims after spotting a ghostly woman in white – often assumed to be Krug’s wife, Carolina Bale – in the Redwood Cellar.
Castello di Amorosa
Castello di Amorosa winery was constructed in 1994, but its walls boast a long and bloody history. Constructed using the remnants of a 13th-century European castle, the builders may have imported more than they bargained for – including the ghosts of a grisly past.
Staff claims that the halls are haunted by many different spirits – including that of a Bubonic plague victim who wanders through the tunnels far beneath the tasting room.
Franco-Swiss Winery
The historic Franco-Swiss Winery (part of which is now known as Seavey Vineyards) makes no secret of its grisly past. Previous owner Jules Millet was murdered on the grounds in 1882. However, the new owners, Leslie and Richard Mansfield, made light of paranormal rumors until one fateful winter evening. Hosting a nighttime tour of the winery, guests traipsed through the building armed with flashlights. One of their friends shouted in jest, “If you’re here, Jules Millet, knock three times”. The group waited with bated breath, but nothing happened. HOWEVER, the next night, Leslie awoke to a loud explosion. When she found the source, she realized Jules had made himself known after all. Each and every flashlight used during the late-night tour had all exploded into tiny, terrifying shards.
Article by Hilary Rance. Photography courtesy of Meg van der Kruik, Meza Studios and Dreamstime.