On Saturday evening, November 7, live music returns to Robert Mondavi Winery at 7801 St. Helena Highway. Ziggy Marley will play one of the first shows at the winery's new To Kalon Bowl amphitheater from 6 to 8:30 p.m. The show is sold out. For three years its own calendar had gaps where the estate's events used to be. This fall those gaps start to close, and the season taking their place sits on about the same stretch of highway as Oakville Grocery.
Three years without the arch
The Mondavi estate closed to the public in 2023 for a renovation that ran three years and cost $200 million. The Press Democrat reported that the project restored the winery's signature stucco arch and bell tower. It reused old concrete for paving and water features and removed decades of additions so the surrounding landscape could be seen again. The winery reopened to visitors on April 20, 2026. The San Francisco Chronicle called it the most anticipated California winery opening of the year. John Legend performed on May 14 as part of the grand reopening celebration.
The closure stopped more than tastings. Margrit Mondavi founded the winery's concert series in 1969, and over the years it brought Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, Dizzy Gillespie, Dave Brubeck, Tony Bennett, Lyle Lovett, k.d. lang and many others to the lawn. The pandemic interrupted it first. In 2020 and 2021 the winery ran a virtual Summer Sundays series in its place. In-person concerts came back and then stopped again when the estate closed. The winery opened in 1966 as the first major new winery in Napa Valley after Prohibition, so the music has been part of Oakville for most of the estate's history.
A smaller room, on purpose
The To Kalon Bowl holds up to 550 people. The winery's largest concert was a 2017 Michael Franti performance in support of local wildfire victims, which drew about 1,500. The new venue holds just over a third of that crowd. Peggy Hemphill, the winery's brand marketing director, described the format to the Press Democrat:
"It'll be a slightly smaller space, for standing room only, close to the stage. It'll be a more intimate concert experience."
Hemphill also told the paper the winery hopes to bring back its full summer concert series next year. That makes the November 7 show an early marker for 2027. The winery's own events page calls the evening the beginning of "an exciting new chapter." It also notes that food will be sold at the concert along with the wine.
The season, on one page
Once the concert is over, Oakville's calendar moves to December. Three events fall within three days of each other, all on St. Helena Highway.
| Date | Event | Where | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, Nov. 7 | Ziggy Marley concert | Robert Mondavi Winery, To Kalon Bowl | 6 to 8:30 p.m.; sold out |
| Thursday, Dec. 10 | Champagne & Sparkling Wine Grand Tasting | Oakville Wine Merchant | 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.; $55; wines from 17 producers |
| Saturday, Dec. 12 | Holiday Open House | Oakville Grocery | 10 a.m. to noon |
| Saturday, Dec. 12 | Holiday Market | Robert Mondavi Winery | 1 to 4 p.m.; entry by canned food or new, unwrapped toy |
The Oakville Wine Merchant tasting comes on a Thursday evening ahead of the holiday weekend. With sparkling wines from 17 producers poured in one room, it is a chance to compare bottles side by side before choosing what to serve at your own table. The Wine Merchant is next door to the Grocery.
December 12 belongs to the hamlet
Two of Oakville's best-known addresses have scheduled their holiday events for the same Saturday, and the times do not overlap. Oakville Grocery is at 7856 St. Helena Highway and Robert Mondavi Winery is at 7801, so the day takes very little planning.
- Morning at the Grocery. The Holiday Open House runs from 10 a.m. to noon. Santa and the Grinch will be there, along with sweet treats, hands-on activities for kids and festive drinks for adults.
- Lunch in between. The Grocery opens at 7 a.m. on Saturdays and serves breakfast, wood-fired pizza and artisan sandwiches, with a patio for eating outside.
- Afternoon at the winery. The Holiday Market at Robert Mondavi Winery runs from 1 to 4 p.m. The winery describes it as a Christmas market-style event with local artisan stalls and wine.
The market charges no ticket price. You get in by bringing a canned food donation or a new, unwrapped toy, which the winery says will help support families in the community this holiday season. The listing links to an RSVP page and says official invitations and final time details are still to come, so check back before you go.
That Saturday is what Oakville has been missing for three years. On a stretch of highway best known for wine shipped around the world, the biggest event of the season asks guests to bring a can of food.
The ordinary days around the events
Between the dates on the calendar, the same two addresses cover most everyday needs, including hosting guests over the holidays.
Oakville Grocery is open Sunday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. According to the store's history, Jean-Charles Boisset bought the Grocery and the neighboring Durrant & Booth house in 2018. In April 2026 the store and Williams Sonoma launched a pantry collection that includes mustard, olive oil, tapenade, a braising sauce and seasonings, and the announcement said a curated selection would be sold at the Oakville store. For gifts, that means a jar from the shelf, sold under the name of a store just down the road.
For guests visiting in December, the reopened winery offers several seated options. Its estate page lists these:
- The Mondavi Table: a 90-minute, three-course, family-style food and wine experience, $95, offered daily at 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
- Pioneer Tasting: $60.
- Legend Tasting and Tour: $150, featuring Reserve wines from To Kalon Vineyard.
- To Kalon Collective: $180, pouring wines from Schrader, To Kalon Vineyard Company, Double Diamond and Robert Mondavi Winery.
All of these are booked tastings, not a walk-in restaurant, so reserve before the holiday weeks fill up.
The road through it all is still being planned
Every event above depends on the same stretch of State Route 29, which is also where Oakville Cross Road meets the highway. As of the Napa Valley Transportation Authority's October 12, 2026 project update, improvements at SR 29 and Oakville Cross Road, and at SR 29 and Rutherford Road, are still at the alternatives stage. Roundabouts and traffic signals are both under consideration, and the update gives no construction start date.
The Napa Valley Vine Trail is also still in planning. Napa County's five-year capital plan lists the 11-mile Yountville to St. Helena segment, which would pass through Oakville, as in design, with partners seeking funding to begin construction in 2027. Neither project changes how you will get between the Grocery and the winery this December.
Event times, tasting prices and availability can change, so check with each venue before you plan your day.
Yvonne Rich has worked in this part of Napa Valley for more than three decades. If you are thinking about property near Highway 29 or Oakville Cross Road, or want to talk about owning land in Oakville, Yvonne Rich is glad to help. Contact Yvonne.
