Jessup Cellars in Yountville, Napa Valley is one of the only wineries in California that offers a rotating fine art gallery inside its tasting room. Entry to the gallery is always free. The art changes throughout the year, curated by gallery curator Julie Eppich of Eppich Arts.
What Is the Jessup Cellars Art Gallery?
The gallery shares the same Washington Street space as the tasting room, so guests move between wine flights and artwork without leaving the building. Walls throughout the tasting gallery hold rotating exhibitions in a mix of styles: abstract, figurative, landscape, illustration, and dimensional glass work have all had a season here. Pieces are curated by Julie Eppich of Eppich Arts, a Napa Valley-based curator with 25 years of experience in international visual arts and events management. Before opening her own gallery in Chicago’s River North district, Julie spent three years in Singapore studying Chinese antiquities and contemporary Asian fine art, then close to a decade traveling Southeast Asia representing overseas artists. She now also serves as Vice Chair of the Public Art Steering Committee for the City of Napa.
Shows rotate on a seasonal schedule, with opening receptions held several times a year and open to anyone visiting Yountville, not only ticketed guests. Because the gallery sits inside a working tasting room rather than a standalone exhibition space, the art is meant to be experienced at a walking pace, glass in hand, rather than viewed in silence. Guests often move through the room slowly between pours, circling back to a piece a second time once a wine has opened up.
How Does the Art Walk Experience Work?
The Art Walk is Jessup’s self-guided experience: walk in any time the tasting room is open, no reservation needed, and receive a complimentary splash of wine to sip while you walk through the current exhibition at your own pace. There is no charge for the gallery visit itself. Seasonal gallery receptions expand on the daily Art Walk with an opening-night format built around the current show, typically timed to a new exhibition’s debut. Check out our events page for upcoming gallery receptions and art workshops.
Guests who want a deeper wine experience alongside their art can instead reserve a Wine & Cheese Guided Tasting with gallery access, Jessup’s signature seated experience. A host walks you through a flight of current-release wines paired with a seasonal artisan cheese plate, with the rotating gallery as the backdrop for the 45- to 60-minute visit. For a faster, lower-commitment option, the bar tasting offers a flight of three current-release wines for guests exploring Washington Street on foot, available daily until mid-afternoon with no reservation required. All three formats give guests access to whatever exhibition is currently on the walls, so the art is part of every visit, not an add-on reserved for one ticket type.
Why Did Jessup Cellars Combine Art and Wine?
Winemaking and visual art follow a similar passion at Jessup. Both start with individual components, grapes from different lots or an artist’s individual works, and depend on a curator’s or winemaker’s eye to bring them into a coherent whole. That thinking is part of why Jessup pairs a working tasting room with a real, rotating gallery rather than treating art as decoration on the walls. The winery’s owners have described their goal as building a community around wine and the arts together.
The result is a tasting room that asks guests to slow down twice over, once for the wine and once for the art in front of them. Guests who came for a flight often stay for the paintings, and guests drawn in by the art end up staying for a pour. Rotating the gallery on a seasonal schedule also gives repeat visitors, including wine club members passing through Yountville more than once a year, a reason to stop back in even between new wine releases.
What Art Exhibitions Have Been Shown at Jessup Cellars?
The current exhibition, CHROMA, features large-scale contemporary work by Gioi Tran, a San Francisco-based artist and interior designer, exploring layered color and expressive brushwork. Curated by Julie Eppich of Eppich Arts, CHROMA is on view through October 20, 2026, giving guests a full season to see the show in person. Exhibitions at Jessup change with the season, which means the gallery has hosted a range of artists and mediums over time. Past shows have included “Ode to Illustrators,” featuring resident artists Nick Cann, William McIntyre, and Eric White, as well as Reid Yalom’s documentary-style photography, exploring cultural memory and stillness in a single frame, shown in a joint exhibition alongside artist Emil Yanos. Other seasons have brought pen-and-ink illustration, acrylic and watercolor figurative work, and dimensional glass art into the same gallery walls, at times grouped into a themed show built around a single idea. The gallery has also hosted hands-on programming beyond static exhibitions, including seasonal collage and charcuterie-styling workshops led by visiting artists and partners, pairing a glass of wine with an evening of making rather than only looking.
Openings are typically marked with a reception night, and the gallery’s rotating format means a repeat visitor to Yountville is unlikely to see the exact same show twice. Guests can check upcoming gallery events for the next opening reception and current installation before planning a visit.
How to Plan Your Art and Wine Visit to Yountville
Jessup Cellars sits at 6740 Washington Street, a short walk from The French Laundry and the rest of Yountville’s restaurant row, which makes the gallery easy to fold into your day exploring Yountville. . Guests short on time can budget 20 to 30 minutes for the Art Walk alone. Those combining the gallery with a seated pairing should plan for an hour, plus time afterward to browse the wine shop or take a second look at the art. Jessup is also a dog-friendly winery, with well-behaved, leashed companions welcome both on our patio and inside the gallery space.
For groups, Jessup Cellar’s is also available for private events in our gallery space, from small celebrations to corporate gatherings held amongst the current exhibition. First-time visitors mapping out a full day in Yountville can also reference Jessup’s complete guide to wine tasting in Napa Valley for tasting formats, hours, and what to expect beyond the gallery itself. Because exhibitions rotate seasonally, travelers planning a return trip to Napa Valley will likely find a different show on the walls than the one from their last visit.
Timing a visit around the season can also shape the experience. Summer brings the fullest calendar of gallery programming, including seasonal workshops and reception nights, alongside longer days for a walk down Washington Street afterward. Harvest months bring the busiest tasting room traffic in Yountville, so guests planning a gallery visit alongside a guided tasting during that stretch should reserve further ahead. Winter and early spring tend to be quieter, which suits guests who want more time with the art and a more relaxed conversation with their host.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Jessup Cellars art gallery free to visit?
Yes. The self-guided Art Walk is complimentary and includes a splash of wine while you stroll the current exhibition. There is no admission fee for the gallery itself.
Do I need a reservation to see the gallery?
No reservation is required for the Art Walk. Guests who want a guided tasting alongside the gallery, such as the Wine and Cheese Pairing, are encouraged to reserve ahead, particularly on weekends and during harvest season.
What are the gallery’s opening hours?
The tasting gallery is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with closures on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day.
Visit the Gallery
The gallery at Jessup Cellars is free daily, with no reservation required. Visit the gallery — free daily — and reserve a tasting.