Day Trip to Napa suggestions?

[Gypsy]

Hi All, we're thinking of going up to Napa/Sonoma this weekend for a day trip, if it gets late we might find a place to spend the night, but generally want to keep it low key, have some good wine, some good food, but still keep it affordable (so no French Laundry...even if I could get reservations!).

Ideas and suggestions very welcome! John's never been up there and adores wine, so it's about time!

 

[HeartingDiamonds]

Hi Gypsy,

Sounds like a fun day trip!

I was there with friends for the first time a few weeks back and had a great time! Enjoyed our dinner at Cole''s Chop House thoroughly and I highly recommend it, if you and John like steaks and other similar fare.

Another option, which we missed, is this old diner off the highway that was featured by the Food Network as being one of the best burger joints in the state! If you have time to visit Dean and Deluca, they are not far away from it and you really cant miss it (low, white building, benches in the front).

Did wine tasting at several family vineyards, and enjoyed them all (can get you the names, if you like!). The tours at Mondavi were great and reasonable and enjoyed the Opus One tasting too although for $50/head, I would have wanted at least half a bottle

.

Have you browsed the Napa Valley website? They''ve got a calendar of events listed for each week that may be of interest to you.

Napa is beeyootiful - I would love to go back!

 

[Bia]

Gypsy, FI''s family will often drive to SF when they stay with family in LA, and on the way there they stay in Napa Valley for a few days. One place they keep returning to is the Castello_di_Amorosa. It''s a castle and winery. They have fantastic day packages and tours (food and wine pairing/tastings). Plus there are quite a few resorts nearby if you guys feel like staying the night.

I''m sure there are a lot of fantastic places to see, but this always sounded fun to me. I am definitely checking it out next time I''m in California.

 

[sap483]

Gypsy, in terms of wineries, the last time we were there DH and I enjoyed Cakebread the most in Napa. Although the winery itself is not as gorgeous as many of the others, the wine is very good and the tasting was very informative. In Sonoma, we loved Ledyson. We also had a very delicious meal at Cyrus in Healdsburg. I''ve been to French Laundry too and while French Laundry is in a league of it''s own I feel comfortable saying that Cyrus is a similar experience. Bouchon was also pretty good and more casual (another Thomas Keller restaurant). DH and I also had an enjoyable lunch of burgers and milkshakes at Taylor''s Automatic Refesher.

If you end up needing a place to stay in Napa I would recommend the Napa River Inn. When we stayed it was very affordable ($180 a night), and was a great experience. We stayed in a historical room with a gorgeous working fireplace, canopy bed and clawfoot tub. Every night they brought us champagne and chocolate covered strawberries. Every morning we had a delicious complimentary breakfast in this little bakery next to the property.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[princesss]

It may be too early in the season for it, but I know one of the winieries used to (probably still does) Shakespeare in the vineyard. You can buy boxed lunches and bottles of wine, take lawn chairs and watch a play. It''s a fun way to relax and enjoy something a little unexpected.

 

[AmberGretchen]

I'm actually going to vote for Sonoma or even RR Valley for a day trip - way less commercial and less expensive, and prettier IMO.

In Sonoma, for wineries, I like Imagery (has an art gallery in the tasting room), Little Vineyards (they make a great cheap table red called "Band Blend"), Domaine Carneros (fancier, farther South, has really nice cheese plates so its a cool place to grab a nice lunch - the setting is GORGEOUS, a reproduction of a French chateau), and Ledson (also a good place to grab a picnic with tasty deli and nice setting).

The Sonoma square is also a super cute place to wander around and hang out in. Wine Country Chocolates, right off the square near Ben & Jerry's is AMAZING - seriously, tastiest truffles EVER. Lots of cute shops and a pretty public square to hang out in or eat lunch in. There's also a cute antique jewelry store called Filigree - its a tiny place but often has really nice things - we found DH an amazing antique Longines watch there.

Our favorite Sonoma places for dinner are The Girl and the Fig (you'll want a reservation) - tasty bistro-style French food right on the square, or ESTATE, a few blocks down - sort of Mediterranean/Italian, try the burrata appetizer its fantastic. Oh, and at ESTATE, they serve this homemade arugula pesto with homemade bread to start - TO DIE FOR, so tasty

Both places are much more reasonably priced than most of the options in Napa.

In Russian River Valley, there are a ton of really nice winery options, and they tend to have more free tastings than the more commercial areas. Two of our favorites were Iron Horse (AMAZING sparkling wine, gorgeous outdoor tasting room with a beautiful view), and Preston (they have an organic farm on the premises and sell their own produce, plus they make their own bread and olives in addition to wine, both of which are FANTASTIC). Also at Preston, and I know you'll appreciate this, they take in rescue kitties and they all live on the property and are cared for by the people of the winery, and they are super friendly - they totally hang out with you while you're outside on the grounds or eating your picnic or whatever - super cute! We have had several excellent meals in that area - one was at the Applewood Inn in Guerneville, and one was at Cena Luna in Healdsburg - both a little more off the beaten path, but very good food, and reasonably priced for what you got.

Finally, another reasonably-priced restaurant recommendation for the Napa area - downtown Napa is pretty boring, but St. Helena is lovely and fun to wander around. They have a couple of really nice antique jewelry stores which have AMAZING things. And our favorite place to eat there is this little place called Market, right on the main street in St. Helena. They have an antique bar they bought from an old place in San Francisco that survived the '06 earthquake, and they make really tasty, simple food - their mac and cheese is TDF - super tasty

 

[asscher_girl]

Totally ditto the other AG

We''ve been to the Girl and the Fig and love it! There''s also a great Mexican restaurant in the Sonoma square that''s awesome too. I would def. go to Sonoma, way more low key and less touristy. Be sure to check out St. Francis (we usually drive up to Santa Rosa and make our way down to Sonoma) and Robledo Family Winery (small, off the beaten trail).

Are you guys going this weekend?

Have a great time!!!

If you do go to Napa, we''ve had dinner at ZuZu Tapas - really good (in downtown) my fav winery in Napa is Silverado Vineyards.

 

[rainwood]

I second AmberGretchen''s recommendation of Domaine Carneros, especially if you like sparkling wine. Benziger Winery in Sonoma has a good and informative tour.

On the food front, we really enjoyed the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone. Great dinner without spending a fortune.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Date: 5/19/2009 10:42:21 PM
Author: asscher_girl
Totally ditto the other AG

We''ve been to the Girl and the Fig and love it! There''s also a great Mexican restaurant in the Sonoma square that''s awesome too. I would def. go to Sonoma, way more low key and less touristy. Be sure to check out St. Francis (we usually drive up to Santa Rosa and make our way down to Sonoma) and Robledo Family Winery (small, off the beaten trail).


Are you guys going this weekend?


Have a great time!!!


If you do go to Napa, we''ve had dinner at ZuZu Tapas - really good (in downtown) my fav winery in Napa is Silverado Vineyards.

Ooh AG - is that the Mexican restaurant right near the antique jewelry store, called Maya something? I''ve been wanting to try that place forever, but somehow we''ve just never gotten around to it. But if I tell DH someone with good taste thought it was "awesome" I might just convince him - we''re going up soon

I''ve never been to St. Francis either, but I''ve wanted to try it, maybe we''ll do that this time around too

 

[AmberGretchen]

Date: 5/19/2009 11:42:46 PM
Author: rainwood
I second AmberGretchen''s recommendation of Domaine Carneros, especially if you like sparkling wine. Benziger Winery in Sonoma has a good and informative tour.


On the food front, we really enjoyed the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone. Great dinner without spending a fortune.

Good call on the Benziger tour - I''ve heard really good things about it! And Imagery is actually an offshoot of Benziger (much smaller production and more quirky though) - I think if you go to one you can get free tasting at both

 

[asscher_girl]

Yep AG, I think it is something like Maya..... so good! We took out friends from Denver and it was great! We had already went to 4 or 5 wineries by that time so I don''t remember what I had

but I do know it was GOOD!

I just love that little downtown square, so cute!