Napa Valley

[iversonian]

Anyone in the Bay Area/Northern California know how to properly "do" Napa Valley (winery tour)? Any tidbits you might have would be most appreciated.

[donny0]

I always prefer V. Sattui. It's a bit of an anomaly. most wineries would consider 2 dozen ppl at a time a lot, this place does 200+ most weekend, but moves people well. The tastings are fee (which is sadly not so common in Napa) and the stuff is good. They also have a great italian deli (cheese tastings ftw!) and picnic grounds. Toss in the occaisional bbq outside and everyone wins.

Other than that, drive up and down that main road and pull into whatever looks good. Enjoy.

(I'm no expert, just moved into the area a year ago and have taken guests up there about 4 times by now).

[By-Tor]

tidbit: Keep up with the car in front of you on those highways or someone like me is going to run you down.



Other then that, just go be a tourist and have fun. Drive around, see a bunch of the area, not just the wine (drive around first, drink wine second, see 'tidbit')

[Apoc]

My suggestion: forget Napa and do Sonoma instead. I've been to each of them about a half dozen times, and even though there are some great wineries in Napa, my opinion is that the area has just become too commercial -- every winery seems to have a gift shop that sells a hundred little wine knick knacks and assorted crap.

Now by not stretch am I a wine snob...I know what I like, but I'm not gonna tell you that it has some undertones of boysenberry and a bouquet of fresh grass or something. But I think the vibe in Sonoma is more laid-back and the scenery is just as pretty. If you do Sonoma, I recommend Trentadue (awesome port), Limerick Lane, Christopher Creek, and Wilson...off the top of my head. I've got a list of my thoughts written down at home.

Apoc

[Knight Vision]

Stay here

Go here

wine here and here

eat here and here

I live in Sonoma County. It's wonderful. You can't go wrong with either Sonoma or Napa. But, Yountville and St. Helena are slightly nicer than Sonoma and Alexander Vallies IMO.

Sonoma and Mendocino have incredible breweries though...

[loose passive]

El Dorado county is also a good place for wine tasting. I try to hit up the area when I am driving into Tahoe.

[Fast Food Knight]

I ate here and it was awesome.

[El Diablo]

donny: V Sattui is the best winery to picnic at in Napa (great deli and great place to eat), but their wine is not among the best. Perfectly fine to have with a picnic lunch from their store, though.

OP: Here is an email I wrote to some friends recently who were taking a limo trip there from SF.

--
Map to help plan trip: http://www.napawineco.com/images/visitor_map.jpg

Starting at Darioush and going up the trail, here are some standouts.

*Darioush
Clos Du Val
Stag's Leap
Shafer
*Robert Sinskey
*Miner
*ZD

I would especially recommend those four. Staying close makes it a better trip, otherwise you're just wasting a lot of time in the car between places and drivers get lost.

Depending on how many of those you do and how much time you have, sometimes you can hit another couple on highway 21. To do that, after ZD you turn left on Rutherford. Then you are right at Niebamm Coppola (wine is OK, but very pretty winery to visit). Whitehall Lane is in the wrong direction (north from there, but not far) and is also very pretty. Grgich Hills is also close and very good. South of there (in the direction home) there is St. Supery and Cakebread and a few other smaller ones, and the giant Mondavi winery. Then, at the very end on the way back you can hit Domaine Chandon.

I would basically plan on a schedule that focused on the Silverado Trail ones starting w/ Darioush, then depending on how you're doing on time, you can do another stop or two on the way back.
--

How much time are you planning to spend in Napa? Anything specific you have in mind?

KV: I think the Coppola winery is a great one to visit, but don't think there wine is great. It's OK, though. Sterling I think is a great pick.

[The DaveR]

I strongly suggest eating at Bistro Jeanty in Yountville. Also, if you're going to go to V. Sattui I think it's best if you get sandwiches at Oakville Grocery before and eat them there. But really, if you're around there, I think the best lunch is at Taylor's Refresher. Terrific burgers and shakes (I think Shake Shack is a direct copy of Taylor's).

Make sure you take a tour that does sparkling wine. Domaine Chandon is pretty good, with a good tasting after, if a little big and corporate. If you can get a tour of Shafer (by appt only) it will be well worth it. Their wines are excellent, their property is along a hill a little off the beaten path, and their dogs will greet you when you walk into their building.

[El Diablo]

Apoc,

I agree that the Sonoma vibe is definitely less commercial than Napa (Napa has changed a lot in just the past few years) and has a ton of great wineries. I personally think Napa still has the edge, but especially on weekends, tasting in Sonoma is a lot more relaxed and fun. The only drawback is that I feel Napa has a lot more really good wineries in a pretty concentrated area, whereas the best ones in Sonoma are a little spread out. Anyhow, to your point, I rarely go to Napa on a weekend anymore, just way too crowded.

You mentioned Trentadue in Sonoma. Very close to there are Robert Young, Clos Du Bois, Stryker Sonoma, and Jordan. All places I really like.