Monopoly Napa Valley board game unveiled

Transport yourself to the legendary wine region where cabernet sauvignon is king with the new Monopoly Napa Valley Edition.

Offering the first look at the board, Top Trumps USA, under license from Hasbro, exclusively unveiled the new game Tuesday on “Good Morning America.”

This version of the classic game replaces the squares with representations of highly esteemed wineries and historic landmarks.

Well known for its iconic wineries, Michelin starred restaurants and picturesque views from the valley floor to the Mayacamas mountains, the wine region is America’s first American Viticulture Area. It’s comprised of five towns — Calistoga, St. Helena, Yountville, Napa and American Canyon — that primarily follow Highway 29.

With this limited-edition game, wine-lovers can play entrepreneur and pretend to own or rent a piece of this coveted agrarian valley.

Up for grabs, players vie to purchase wineries that include Beringer Vineyards, Sterling Vineyards, Frank Family Vineyards, Hall Wines and Napa Cellars. Foodies, of course, may be more interested in snapping up culinary-related properties like the Oxbow Public Market, the Model Bakery and the La Chev Bakery.

As in the classic board game, to improve the value of their properties, players can build hotels and houses on them and charge rent. And there are also Chance and Community Chest cards to keep things suspenseful with penalties and prizes.

The center of the board includes pictures of hot air balloons and sprawling vineyards.

Local retailers in Napa Valley, as well as Amazon, CVS and the Top Trumps USA’s website, are selling the new board game for $39.95.

Napa Valley gained global fame by shocking the world when a cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay produced from the region beat the best of France’s Bordeaux and Burgundy in the 1976 Judgment of Paris Tasting.

Wine writer Peg Melnik can be reached at peg.melnik@pressdemocrat.com or 707-521-5310.