Need help with planning for my 1st Napa weekend get-away :)

[yokozuki]

My boyfriend and I will be taking a weekend trip to Napa for the first time the weekend of April 1st - 3rd of this year for his birthday. We really do not know where to begin, as to where we should stay, which wineries we should not miss, and which restaurants we should definately try while we are out there.

The only thing that we have decided on, is that we would rather stay in a hotel in Napa, and we are currently looking for vacation packages on Expedia, Travelocity, etc.

My question is, if anyone can give us some good advice on a central location in Napa to stay at, in order to visit the most wineries during our 2 day stay, and possibly eliminate the least amount of driving time as possible, that would be great!

Any suggestions as to which wineries we should not miss, which restaurants are not to be missed, and any other helpful information would be greatly appreciated! Also, if anyone knows of any restaurants that have live music and other nightly entertainment ideas would be great too. (I am 25 years old, and he will be turning 2

In addition, are there any recommendations for wine tours by limo/shuttle that can pick up from the hotel you are staying at? Any suggestions would be great!

Thank you!!

 

[Cath]

I have not been to Napa yet, but if we''re going to talk about the Napa Valley and restaurants, I have to mention Thomas Keller''s restaurant, The French Laundry! If you are looking to splurge and you are lucky enough to snag a reservation, this not to be missed.

http://www.frenchlaundry.com/tfl/frenchlaundry.htm

 

[yokozuki]

I have heard about this restaurant awhile back. Thank you for the link, I will definately look into it!

 

[bar01]

I recommend a visit to Madonna Estates

 

[mightyred]

Hi Yokozuki,

Try this link for Napa - it shows where all the wineries are in relation to each other and to lodgings etc.
Napa Valley Map

I would definately stop by Domaine Chandon and sit on the balcony overlooking the vineyards with a glass of champers! Also Mumm Napa Valley is great. I like Robert Modavi since you can always find his wines everywhere. Beringer is fun because they aso have mustard tasting.

I used to live in San Francisco so haven''t stayed there but I do know there is Napa Valley wine shuttle that will take you to about 10 wineries. Wine shuttle You can also rent a limo to take you around for a few hours . There is also a wine train that allows tasting before the ride and you can have dinner on there at night or do a murder mystery night on it.

If I could stay anywhere one of my favourite places ever is Aubergedusoleil but it''s definately a splurge and probably too far out of the way!But it''s so beautiful I just had to share! Usually I just go there for a drink and walk through their sculpture garden. Sigh.

Have a fun time!!!

 

[yokozuki]

This is AWESOME information...can''t wait to look into all of these places. This will help out a great deal, thank you for taking the time to fill me in our your suggestion...it''s greatly appreciated!!

 

[mightyred]

No problem !

Napa is SO romantic .....you will have fun no matter what you do there!

 

[yokozuki]

I can''t wait!! Thanks so much again.

 

[jenwill]

Mighty Red gave you the exact map I would have sent you if I wasn''t sucha Jenny come lately! I would probably not suggest staying ''in'' napa, as most hotels that you will find are in the city portion....not so close to the wineries (not far, but definitely not like being ''in the valley''). the napa valley stretches through many little towns, that are one right after the other.....definitly nice places to stay. Yountville, St. Helena, others are all along the main wine highway.

 

[yokozuki]

That is really good advice, thank you

There were a few hotels that I saw that were located in Yountville that looked really nice, and I didn''t know the proxmity of the city to the majority of the wineries in general. I will definately keep that in mind..thank you!

 

[hoorray]

I agree with Jen -- stay in one of the little towns -- Yountville, St Helena, Rutherford or even Calistoga. They are much more centrally located and have a lot of charm. My favorite restaurant there is Tra Vigne (in Yountville, I think), but there are MANY good ones. Domain Chandon is a great first stop. We have always enjoyed the S. Andersen winery -- they make great sparkling wines and some chardonneys. It's hard to go wrong at most places.

 

[iceprincess]

You'll have great fun on this trip. The tour at Robert Mondavi is said to be amongst the best in Napa. In addition to the recommendation for French Laundry, I would suggest Brix http://www.brix.com/ in Yountsville (try their foie gras over gingerbread and pear appetizer!).
I stayed in Yountsville when I got engaged there last Valentine's Day and across from the bed and breakfast I stayed at was a great French restaurant called Bouchon http://www.bouchonbistro.com . Bouchon is another restaurant of Thomas Keller, the acclaimed chef at French Laundry.
Are you going to enjoy spa treatments? I didn't do it last time, but I've heard the mineral baths in Calistoga are amazing! I hope it's sunny when you go in April. Have fun!

 

[yokozuki]

Hello!

Thank you So much for the wonderful information!! I am really exicted to go! Which city did you stay in at the bed and breakfast? We were originally going to try to stay in Napa, but one of the other users in this forum told me that the wineries are more central to the Yountville area?

 

[yokozuki]

Thank you very much for the advice. I told Jen that we were originally planning to stay somewhere in Napa, however you are the third or fourth person who is telling me that most of the wineries are centrally located within the towns of Yountville, St. Helena, etc. Would you suggest doing a tour for a day to eliminate driving, or renting a car even in these smaller towns? Thank you!

 

[jenwill]

It would probably cost the same to rent a car as to get shuttle to and from the airport. I also liek the flexibility of having a car. A wine tour is not a bad option, since that way no one has to worry about restricting the tasting, but then you are more locked in to places. Maybe tour one day, and explore the next in your car. Also, while the towns are close to one another, it is still mostly ''driving distance''. You will have a great time in April....everything is so green! And not as crowded as summertime!

you are making me want to take a trip up there and maybe stay for a night!

 

[SubAtomic]

You should definitely go to V. Sattui around lunch or dinner. They have a fantastic deli with everything you could want and huge picnic grounds. It is great to sit there and drink a bottle of their wine, eating nice cheeses, meats, etc. The last time I was there they also had a couple of BBQs going. If you can, find Del Dotto and get a tour of their caves. It was easily one of the best tours. Very expensive wines, but absolutely super people.

 

[yokozuki]

Thank you very much for the great advice! Will definately look into that.

 

[Mara]

We go to Napa not just for the wineries so we actually stay IN downtown Napa, at the Napa River Inn on Main Street, which is a cute boutique hotel that is on the site of an old 1900's building, has it's own cute general store, two onsite restaurants, and a YUMMY bakery.

There's tons of cute shops downtown, and you are about 15 minutes from any wineries. Also sometimes places around there probably have wine tours where you take a bus and don't have to drive, I would look into that.

Try the Napa Wine Train, we did it for fun our first visit out there, and didn't have any expectations, some people say it is cheesy but we had a blast. We took the later eating option, which means you get to be in the back of the train, in the caboose drinking while the first people eat their food...and it's great because you can stand outside on the back of the train..which is way more fun than being inside the train. The food is okay, typical I guess, but the wine was good, the waiters were really nice (tips baby) and overall we had a blast. It drives through and around a bunch of wineries too.

French Laundry we have heard is amazing, good luck getting a reservation if the trip is soon!! I've heard they are booked a year out!

I agree also that there are other towns that have wineries as well like Yountville or St. Helena which are both very popular, but there are wineries all over, and up and down that one highway, 41 or something? So I don't think you can really go too wrong. Personally, we get tired of just wine tasting and so the downtown Napa stuff is perfect for us since we can relax, look at the river, eat good food, shop, and taste wine (there are also wine tasting places in the downtown area and also a wine museum with lunch that we have never checked out).

Oh and for a great Steakhouse, we ate at Cole's Chop house for New Years Eve dinner which was SOOOO GOOD!!

Cole's Chop House
1122 Main St.
Napa, CA 94559
"Best Steakhouse in Bay Area" Zagat Survey 2004...Cole's Chop House is a Classic American Steakhouse located in historic downtown Napa. Featuring 21 day dry-aged steaks, Certified Angus Beef, signature cocktails, and a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence wine list.

Use Citysearch.com as well to look for good places to eat.

 

[Mara]

Also wanted to add (since this post got me wishing for a Napa trip again soon) that I found this on the Napa River Inn website (www.napariverinn.com), a package for room and wine tasting, see below. I don''t drink too much wine so I don''t know which are the best to visit etc.

We stay in the Executive Rooms at the Embarcadero Building (there are two buildings, various room types):

Executive Room: Historic Landmark Package - Historic Landmark Package includes room for one night. In-room Breakfast. Complimentary wine tasting at historic wineries and buildings – Bounty Hunter Rare Wines, Trefethen, Vintners Collective, and Ehlers Estate. A complimentary tasting and tour at the historic Beaulieu Vineyards. $169.00 per night.

The In-Room Breakfast is a yummy egg croissant from the bakery, orange juice, coffee etc.

Hmmm maybe a trip to Napa for our 1st Anni in May is required. I want steak and bakery items now!

 

[Libster]

Date: 2/10/2005 12:57:11 PM
Author: Bertrand
I recommend a visit to Madonna Estates

I enjoyed this vineyard too! Another winery that is in Sonoma that was so beautiful and has some wonderful wine is Viansa. www.viansa.com My favortie wine of their''s is Lorenzo. Have fun

 

[10X]

Hi,

Ahhh Napa sounds so nice. I miss that area of California.

When I visited there with my parents we went to Schramsberg Vineyards which was very nice. They gave us a full tour and then a tasting.

I also had the pleasure of the fine culinary cuisine of the French Laundry. AMAZING!!! It was quite expensive but is some of the finest dining in the US. I believe you need to call 2 months and some odd days (to the day) in advance for a reservation so you might have just missed that window, but you should check into it anyways.

I also spent some time at the Culinary Institute of America for some cooking classes which was very nice. They have a nice restaraunt there but if I remember it is a bit noisy.

My only other recommendation is this little store in the country that has great cheeses and gourmet snacks. I think the name is Oak Hill or something of the sorts. It has the word 'Oak' in it ...maybe OAKVILLE...rhymes with hilll...sorry I can't remember exactly, but if you are out driving it is worth the stop.

Have a great trip.

 

[yokozuki]

This awesome information, I will definately look into these places. In fact, I actually called the other day to try and make a reservation for 2 to French Laundry. It''s just short of 2 months from the date, so I was put on a waiting list. Hopefully they will call. If you don''t mind me asking, how many people were with you when you went to the French Laundry, and what was the approximate price of the bill. I have heard it is quite expensive, and it will be just the two of us. Any suggestions on what to order (hopefully we will get the chance to go!) I know they have either a 5 or 9 course dinner? Thank you for all your help!

 

[hoorray]

The grocery store is Oakville grocery. It is right across from Mustard''s Grill, in Oakville, which is sort of mid-valley on hwy 29 before Yountville. Mustard''s is another great restaurant. It was one of Cyndy Palcyn''s first, along with Fog City Diner. It might have changed hands, but I think it is still very good. We like it for lunch. The grocery has all kinds of great gormet items and picnic type foods so that you can find yourself a nice spot and bottle of wine. (Although sometimes those seem hard to find -- V. Sattui is a great spot, but usually very crowded.)

 

[yokozuki]

Hi,
I am leaving for Napa tomorrow and still haven''t decided which restaurant to take my boyfriend to for his b-day tomorrow. I have been racking my brain and came back to this post that you had sent me awhile back. Is the restaurant you recommended Brix a nice atmosphere? I wanted to take him somewhere nice and fancy, yet fun. Other than Brix, have you been to Terra, Domaine Chandon or any others? I am tied between these! Thank you so much!