Napa Valley

[dancingqueen]

Another question for our upcoming San Francisco trip... So many of you were so helpful with restaurant suggestions. Thanks again!

I''m trying to figure out the best way to visit Napa for one day (Sunday). I''m thinking of hiring one of the private tours that I found online (napawinetours.net). You can rent a jeep, SUV or towncar for 4-5 people for around $400-500 and you can customize it for the wineries you want to visit. Apparently they will pick up and drop off at SanFran hotels. Do you think this sounds like a better idea than the wine train? I''ve heard the train is a good time, but I don''t like the idea of being on the train the whole time and not visiting various wineries.

Neither one of us have been to Napa and we may have 1-2 of my husband''s business friends joining us. Any suggestions or comments? Thanks!!

 

[Beacon]

Definitely best to have your own wheels when visiting Napa. Wine train is not enuf at all.

 

[ringgal2006]

The last time I was in Sonoma, we rented a limo and had the driver take us to the various wineries in the area. We stayed in Union Square (in San Fran) and the limo driver picked us up at the prearranged time and then dropped us off after the trip. It was the best way to do it because we didn''t have to worry about driving and could spend as much time at each location as we wanted. Napa has similar opportunities available. If you would like the name of the company, please let me know.

Have fun!!

 

[widget]

Have you considered Sonoma Valley rather than Napa? Charming small town, good shopping, restaurants, smaller wineries....and fewer tourists!

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[lost on 5th]

i will second widget''s suggestion. sonoma is BEAUTIFUL and great wine up there. its my favorite place to go when i take CA wine trips. i did napa once and the tourists and wine trains were enough to keep me away.

i would suggest renting a car and making a trip of it.. (overnight if you havent secured your hotel in SF).

i have a few favorites up that way.. food and wineries

for napa.. i would suggest:

bouchon

great food and wine.. and not too over the top. actually the reason i still goto napa.


if your trip takes you to somoma.. i actually really liked the food at the restaurant associated with the in we stayed at

http://www.vintnersinn.com/

we had several beautiful dinners there watching the moon rise over the vinyard.

 

[Mara]

i agree if you can make it an overnight then do it. we did the wine train but it''s more like a touristy fun dinner thing...if you want to see wineries do a tour or something. we stay in downtown napa but maybe you guys can do a napa day thing then a sonoma night thing, there are a ton of cute places to stay in sonoma. and then you could see both areas. calistoga is cute too, my parents love going there and doing those mud bath things! hehe.

 

[appletini]

Napa Valley is more compact so you can easily vist more wineries in one day. If you have more time on another then do Sonoma Valley. Also definitely rent a car so that you can go where you want when you want. And ask for recomendations at wineries you visit.

Places to eat in the Napa Valley...
Cindy''s Backstreet Kitchen (St. Helena)
Martini House (St. Helena)
V. Sattui--great spot for a picnic
Taylor''s Refresher (St. Helena)--outdoor hamburger place--awesome!
Auberge du Soleil (Rutherford)

Wineries...
Cakebread
Duckhorn
Napa Valley Wine Company (has lots of small producers in their tasting room)
Goosecross
Revana Family Winery
Prager Port Works (if you like port)
Stag''s Leap

 

[widget]

Date: 10/5/2006 8:36:43 AM
Author: appletini
Napa Valley is more compact so you can easily vist more wineries in one day.

appletini...I suspect you''re thinking of Napa Valley vis a vis Sonoma County.

I was referring to Sonoma Valley, which is considerably smaller and more intimate than Napa Valley. Some SV wineries (to name a few):

Bartholomew Park
Buena Vista
Gundlach Bundschu
Sebastiani
Ravenswood
BR Cohn
Viansa
Cline Cellars
Gloria Ferrer Champagne Caves

There are also a couple of cooperative tasting rooms right on the Plaza where you can taste wines from even smaller, family wineries..

Besides more charm, Sonoma Valley has more history...both viticultural and early California. (I should join the chamber of Commerce! LOL)

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[sumbride]

FI and I were just there (that''s where we got engaged!) and stayed in the town of Napa and hired a limo for the day. It was $325+ tip for a 7 passenger limo for 8 hours. It was great! He had sodas and water in the limo for us so we could stay hydrated amongst all the wine and it was nice not to have to deal with the parking lots. He dropped us at the door and picked us up there. I''d be happy to refer you if you like.

V. Sattui has a great little cheese-shop/picnic store but Oakville Grocery is also wonderful. Having done the Sattui thing a few times, he took us to Oakville to pick up our sandwiches before the rush and we actually had a picnic at Reverie Winery on the Silverado Trail. It''s a tiny little winery, and you have to call ahead, but it''s really special. They only make Cabernet Sauvignon and it''s expensive, but definitely a good treat. I would go back there before anywhere else.

If you go to Sattui, go early. It opens earlier than most of the wineries but gets very crowded around lunchtime and our limo driver said they actually only allow a couple of cars in and out at a time so you can get stuck there.

Mondavi has an excellent "all-points" tour BUT it''s a major time-suckage and kind of expensive. Good to do once but go early.

Sterling is fun for the gondola ride up the mountain but the self-tour and the tasting room are only so-so for the $15/person price. AMAZING views though.

 

[curlygirl]

I have to agree with Widget, you might want to try Sonoma. You have to go to Vella Cheese shop and get some supplies for a picnic in the square! And, you must go to one of the most amazing wineries I have ever been to: Matanzas Creek. You will feel like you are in the south of France as they have a huge lavender field in front. It''s gorgeous and the wine is delish!!

 

[widget]

Date: 10/5/2006 10:35:39 AM
Author: curlygirl
I have to agree with Widget, you might want to try Sonoma. You have to go to Vella Cheese shop and get some supplies for a picnic in the square! And, you must go to one of the most amazing wineries I have ever been to: Matanzas Creek. You will feel like you are in the south of France as they have a huge lavender field in front. It's gorgeous and the wine is delish!!

Great tip, curlygirl!! Vella's is one of Sonoma's greatest secrets! (Ig Vella's daughter has opened a darling shop featuring exotic imported cheeses called "The Cheesemaker's Daughter"....worth checking out.)

Fav restaurants: The Girl and the Fig, Cafe La Haye, Della Santinas, Depot Hotel. And long favored haunts for locals: The Swiss Hotel and Mary's Pizza

The only reason I ever travel to Napa is to visit "Patina" in St. Helena. FABULOUS estate/antique jewelry.

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[Mara]

we loved cole''s chop house in downtown napa, we like dt napa as it''s small and quaint but there really aren''t wineries down there, there''s a vintner''s tasting collective where they serve up about 20 wines but not an actual winery.

greg was reading some article recently about how in napa some of the wineries are charging you to just get into the property now! so it''s not just a charge for a tasting, it''s like a $15 charge to enter the winery and then you get a tasting or something. i thought that was ridiculous because i''m not really a wine person so i don''t typically taste, so i''d have to pay anyway just to walk in with my husband kinda thing. i guess a lot of people were not happy about that. so not sure if they are doing it now or it was just talk or what. but i''d check into it too as you are planning which wineries to visit.

the wine train DOES drive you buy a ton of wineries which is pretty cool since you can see the fields and buildings but not go in. which was fun for me since i don''t actually drink the wine...haha.

 

[dancingqueen]

Thanks for all the suggestions! I''m a little apprehensive about this part of my planning. I''d like to see Napa first and then possibly visit Sonoma another day if time allows. I kind of want to see the popular wineries just because this is our first trip, but I realize it may be crowded, touristy, etc.

You all are so helpful and I enjoy reading all your posts. I need to figure out how to post pictures so I can actually post my ring at some point (since this is a diamond site) and change my avatar. Slowly figuring this out...

 

[larussel03]

Is Napa a decent destintion for a bachelorette party? Is it super expensive??

My friend loves wine and learning about wine and I was thinking where we could plan to go for hers (or mine but not for a while haha)

 

[codex57]

I recently took a Napa trip for the first time (always thought it was far, turns out, I now live only about 1 hour 15 min away). Wine train looks kinda old and run down. I did Mondavi. They''re one of the biggest, so I thought I''d start with them. I liked the tour, altho I did think it was pretty pricey as well. Didn''t think it was all that long, altho I guess if you''re hitting as many as possible, it might be on the long side. I liked how they showed us grapes on the vine, how they check the sugar content, and how they make wine before the actual wine tasting.

For souvenirs, I liked Annette''s Chocolate in downtown Napa. They make these chocolate wine sauces that are very good. But yeah, I''d go early to beat all the tourists. We left by around 3pm on a Sat. There was a HUGE line coming in at that time.

 

[FireGoddess]

If you go to Napa, stop by Mumm...they''ve got great champagne/sparkling wine!!

In Sonoma, I love Viansa. Not their wine as much as their great deli/marketplace and shop. Lots to see and buy, and there are picnic tables outside.

 

[lost on 5th]

just to throw a few more into the mix..

these are a bit north (alexander valley / dry creek valley)

some of my favorite zin''s are from bella. we spent an hour there tasting, talking, and having a glass while sitting in the sunshine. i think at most 12 people came while we were there.

bella

a newer place thats quiet and away from it all.. dutcher crossing

dutcher crossing

 

[FireGoddess]

Date: 10/5/2006 7:42:15 PM
Author: lost on 5th
just to throw a few more into the mix..

these are a bit north (alexander valley / dry creek valley)

some of my favorite zin''s are from bella. we spent an hour there tasting, talking, and having a glass while sitting in the sunshine. i think at most 12 people came while we were there.

bella

a newer place thats quiet and away from it all.. dutcher crossing

dutcher crossing

I shoulda talked to you before I went to the Healdsburg and Russian River Valley last week...we went to a bunch of places including well known ones like Kendal-Jackson and Korbel. I wanted to go to Bella but we didn''t have time. Next time though!

 

[gailrmv]

We really enjoyed the Sterling vineyard in Napa. we also enjoyed a food museum (!) called Copola I think, and we ate at the Julia Child restaurant there. Very nice!

 

[appletini]

Date: 10/6/2006 12:18:21 AM
Author: gailrmv
We really enjoyed the Sterling vineyard in Napa. we also enjoyed a food museum (!) called Copola I think, and we ate at the Julia Child restaurant there. Very nice!

Its called Copia www.copia.org and Julia''s Kitchen is very yummy!!!

 

[kpebbles]

i 2nd lost on 5th''s suggestion. you must go to bouchon!! it''s absolutely delicious food, and since thomas keller''s french laundry is so difficult to get into, bouchon is a great option. the prices are very reasonable and the food is outstanding!

another great restaurant is rutherford grill, but that place is always packed.

if you''re only in napa for a day, definitely bypass the wine train. actually, it''s just very expensive for a slow, rocky, train ride with cold food. it''s okay if you just want to sit for a while. For our lunch ride with food and tour of Grgich, it was $140/person.. so pretty pricey.

have fun! there is so much to do and see in napa..i''m sure you guys will come back!